Chapters The Prologue
The doors to the castle crashed opened, spewing onto the old marble flooring a lavender unicorn stallion. His star dust pictured flank bounced off the ground before making him flip over once and onto his belly. The stallion groaned in pain before snapping his eyes wide open.
“Damn't, Blitz!! Don't you dare-" The stallion tried to raise to his hooves. His efforts were soon thwarted when the lavender unicorn was pelted in the face by a purple and green scaley body. Catching it before it hit the ground; the unicorn would find that it was a little purple and green dragoness, his number one assistant, Barb. The little dragoness lay within his hooves, the only signs of life being the soft movement of her belly. He sighed in relief before snapping his head back towards the way he had came crashing into the Castle of the Ancient Pony Brothers, finding a cyan Pegasus just outside the doorway, his messy rainbow mane bellowing in the wind as he faced towards the raging darkness that was rushing towards him. The stumps where his wings had been, oozed blood freely, twitching ever so often in protest to the pain their master must have felt. With tearstained eyes the unicorn set the dragoness down as quickly as he could and began to scramble back towards the door.
“Blitz!!” The unicorn cried out with tearstained eyes, quickly scrambling to his hooves in an attempt to make it back to his friend. “I’m coming! Hang on!”
The once pegasus looked back towards his friend with a sad smirk saying. “Sorry Nerd…Guess this is where the awesomness that is me ends…Haha..." The stallion lowered his head slightly before turning back to face the darkness. "Later Dusk.” A blue aura engulfed the doors, slamming them shut just as the darkness was about to engulf Blitz.
Dusk slammed his hooves against the door, pounding away at it harshly as he called out the cyan stallions name. “Blitz! Damn it Blitz! You pig headed, egotistical, moron!!” When no sound came from the other side, Dusk fell to his hunches as tears flowed unrestrained down his cheeks. “Damn it...” A pink hoof gently gripped his own as it pulled him to his causing him to face the one that needed him now.
“Dusky…Come on…” Said the owner of a rather downcasted stallion, the usually curly mane upon his head now silky straight, flowing gently against his neck. “We need to go…Artemis is waiting…”
“B-But Berry…I…And Blitz is…His wings…and he…” Dusk stuttered before a the other hoof of the pink stallion found its way upon Dusk's shoulder, silencing him.
“I know Dusk…” Berry said in a somber tone. “I know…”
Dusk couldn't stop the next wave of tears that flowed down his cheeks once again, his pink friend quickly wrapping his hooves around the unicorn without hesitation. The tearful goodbye only lasted for a moment before both stallion's picked themselves up off the floor, Dusk placing Barb upon his back as he did so. He couldn't waist anymore time, dead friends or not.
The dreary atmosphere that was the Castle of the Ancient Pony Bothers did not help to calm him, but their walls , coupled with the magic he knew Artemis was pouring into the shield spell that was keeping the ‘Darkness’ At bay gave him some security. Though he knew it would soon brake, and that this was going to be their last stand.
The pair made their way to the inner chambers of the castle, stopping only to find a pair of spears pointed at their throats upon doing so. A pair of female pegasi sporting darker versions of the Solaris’s day guards armor. Leathery like wings flapped in defiance, as their cat like eyes took in the two ponies.
“Ebony…Ivory…Stand down…” commanded a regal like voice from behind them. A dark blue alicorn, his star like ethereal mane flowing gently in its non-existent wind, made his way in between the two guradsmanes, a stoic expression upon his features. Dusk looked up at the winged unicorn, his own expression moving from the fear of being impaled to unrestraint anger.
“I could have saved Blitz!!” He said pointing a hoof in the alicorn’s direction. “Why the buck did you just let him...Let the Darkness take him?!” Berry the pink party pony gave a worried glance between the two powerful beings, his heart sinking slightly as Dusk and Artemis stared darkly at each other.
“I am sorry Dusk Shine." Artemis began," Sir Blitz was a good friend and a noble stallion. Even in the end even I could see his friendship with you was above all else to him." Before Dusk could offer any kind of rebuttal the alicorn prince held out a hoof to silence him, "Despite all of that you would have only prolonged the inevitable.” Artemis turned to trot to the end of the room. “We have reached…a complication in your findings for our task, Sir Dusk.”
“What do you mean inevitable?" The lavender unicorn would ask. "And my findings had complications? B-But that can’t be right. I…I worked out every possible angle that I could to make the portal to work as it should. I know it’s not tested outright, but our scrying did convey that what we saw was indeed our world, forgoing the fact that we could only see the Ancient Castle only. That is most defiantly the past. I’m sure of it!” Artemis shook his head before turning to face the stallion.
“That is not the complication Dusk. The complication is that without enough unicorns to power the portal, it will not be able to work like we had intended to.” Artemis stopped in front of a large mirror, big enough for a pony, even one as tall as Artemis, to look at their whole body with ease. “Just two…That’s all that I can send before I believe that my powers will become unusable.”
The implication of the prince's words were not lost on Dusk, his face contorting from horror to anger at the drop of a hat. “But…but you’re a bucking alicorn! Your power…YOU MOVE THE MOON FOR SOLARIS’S SAKE! HOW CAN YOU NOT HAVE ENOUGH!?”
“MY POWER IS THE ONLY THING KEEPING THE DARKNESS FROM DESTORYING US!!” Artemis countered, his Canterlot voice shaking the very room they were in. Dusk cowered in front of Artemis as the alicron of the moon towered over of him. It only took a moment for Artemis turn away from the unicorn. “Sir Dusk…I am sorry. The best I can do is send two of you…and only two before my power’s black out completely. Anymore and the portal will collapse. You would be trapped inbetween worlds to be lost in-“
“-The life stream…” Dusk finished. “Yes…I…I know…I read all the books on the subject…” Dusk hung his head down, as he ears folded back on his head.
"I am sorry...this is the best I can do for us...for you, my subjects." Artemis said softly.
“Dusky. It’s now or never." Berry finally chipped in. placing a hoof a Dusk's shoulder once again. "You and Barb have to get out of here and do what you do best. You’ve seen what that thing can do. You’re the only one smart enough to come up with a way to stop it.”
Dusk looked towards his pink friend, sadness within his eyes. “B-But…what about you…I can’t just…”
He was silenced by a pink hoof covering his mouth. “Dusky…Please…Knowing that at least one of my best friends are safe…That’s enough for me. I’m scared yes…but I’ll be happy knowing that you’re out there doing what you can to save us. I have faith in you Dusk.” He released his hoof form his mouth. “And…even if you don’t find a way to stop it…I’ll…I’ll know that you gave it your all instead of just being a mister moapy pants all the time. You will find something though…You are the smartest, brightest, cleverest, keenest, and shrewdest-“
Dust couldn't stop the smile, sad as it was, from escaping his lips. “Ok…I get it…I won’t let you down.”
Berry moved his hoof away and smiled sadly. “It’s not me you have to worry about letting down…”
Dusk gave him an odd look before speaking. “W-What do you…?” The castle shook, causing all within to tumble to the ground. Debris began to fall from the ceiling as the ‘Darkness’ began to puncture though the shield that Artemis had erected.
“It’s now or never Dusk Shine!” Artemis yelled as he released a dark beam of light towards the portal, a flash of light forming within the mirror, forming the doorway of light. Dusk looked towards the portal before levitating Barb into his hoof, holding onto her as tight he could. He made his way towards the opening of the portal, stopping only to turn and face Berry and Artemis.
The former party pony gave him the best smile he could muster as the Moon Prince yelled. “GO! NOW YOUNG DUSK! OUR FUTURE LIES WITH YOU IN OUR PAST!”
Giving them both a determined nod, that the stallion jumped, disappearing into the vortex of light before Artemis released the magic, his horn spent of all magical power. The dark blue alicorn watched as the ‘Darkness’ slowly oozed its way into the castle from all around him. The alicorn of the night lowered his head in a defensive stance. Beside him, Ebony and Ivory stood close, their spears at the ready, as did the Berry Bubble, a feral snort escaping his nostrils.
“I am sorry my subjects…”Artemis said softly. “I wish I could have done more to protect you…”
“Don’t sweat it Arty!” Berry said as he inched back. “We just saved the world…you know…in an indirect sort of way! Sort of like Son Neighku’s father did in the one Neighga comic when he sent his son to another world before his planet exploded! That part always made me cry…like a lot!”
Artemis couldn’t help but smile lightly. “Yes…That was a good story if I recall. A bit overdramatic in the magical department later on but I enjoyed it all the same.” Artemis closed his eyes as the space between him and the darkness diminished. “It is up to you now Dusk…And…For the future…you cannot fail…”
~
Dusk landed with a crash on solid hard ground, having spent what he felt was an eternally inside something that made his feel like his insides was being torn apart, only to be put back together. Hopefully in the right order. The lavender stallion tried to get to his hooves, only to find that his body did not feel he should get up this very second…or this very hour if his limbs could help it. His eyes instead glanced around the room he currently occupied. It was very identical to the one he had just been in before, minus the four others who he had been with and the threat of a never ending darkness to worry about…at least not right now.
If he could have cheered he would have.
“We made it thorn…We made it…” He said weakly as he pulled the little dragoness in closer, very glad that she had been unconscious for the whole of their venture. “I’ll just…rest here a moment…and then…and then…we save all of Equestria. Like we always do…” Hot tears pooled down his face as the weight of the day slowly lured him into deep slumber. Any other day, he would have said that spending the night in the most dangerous places in the world in one of the oldest castles in he had ever seen in his life to be the most craziest thing he could have ever done.
Tonight though, with hooves wrapped tightly around the little dragoness, tonight would be the most peaceful sleep he could have ever wished for.
Dusk awoke to the beam of light shining gently down upon him from the sky above, the feel of the hard stone floor making him groan in displeasure. His back, his side, and his legs all strained against him as he tried to get up from his sleeping position. “Geez…I recount most of that last statement I thought before I fell asleep…” He said groggily. He looked down to see Thorn rest gently within his arm, the little dragoness’s breath was lower than before, which wasn’t good. Not one bit.
The stallion slowly stood up and stretched his hooves before gently lifting the dragoness onto his back. “Don’t worry sis…” He said softly. “Butterscotch’s place isn’t too far from here. I’ll get help for you as soon as we get out of this blasted forest.” He took wavering step forward, testing his leg strength before pushing himself in quick trot. The Stallion took in the scenery of the building as he navigated it, a nagging feeling slipping into the back of his mind. He couldn’t help but notice that quite a bit of the place seemed different somehow. He just couldn’t place his hoof on it as to why he was thinking that. He gave it one more look before shaking his head lightly.
“Focus Dusk! You need to get help for Thorn, and then you need to get to the Prince.”
He began a fast, awkward trot towards the entrance of the building, legs painfully screaming in protest for him to rest. He did not waver however. He needed to help his friends. He needed to do what he came here to do. Rest can wait until after all of that is done.
He pushed past the opened gates of the Castle he slept in and made his way towards the rickety bridge, crossing it carefully. Memories of nostalgia began to enter his mind just as he crossed, his eyes slightly glazing over. The night he and his friends met, forming a bond of brotherhood like no other. Sure they were nerve wrecking at times, with Rainbow Blitz always taking the time to pick on him, Elusive constantly trying to change his style, Berry endless partying, Butterscotch’s fears, and Applejack’s easily always figuring out when he lied. Still they were his friends. His best friends. And none of them deserved what had happened to them.
Dusk fought back the tears as he trotting began to become more and more frantic, the stallion soon finding himself crashing through the forest non-stop. He needed to see them again. He had to make sure they were ok. He didn’t care he they wouldn’t understand. Seeing them all, Butterscotch, Elusive, Rainbow Blitz, Berry Bubble, Applejack…He needed to know that they were ok. He needed to be with his friends one more time.
He could feel the dragoness slipping from his back and corrected her position with what little magic he was able to use. The constant stream of defensives and attack spells he cast was an enormous strain to his magic. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to master anything but simple magic here and there. He didn’t care about that though. He was happy. He was happy for the first time sense he discovered the darkness and it began to engulf his world. Destroying all within its wake.
Hot anger began to build up in his soul at all the lives lost. Mom and dad. Gleaming Shield and Crescendo.
“Solaris…”
Everypony he knew died because of how ill prepared they were. How ill prepared he was. He needed to fix this. He needed to make sure none of it ever happens.
A sudden roar sounded to his left, and his eyes widened considerably. He knew that roar. He knew it all too well from the first time he heard the sound oh so many months ago. In fact it was the very first day he had met his friends, and back then, he had a pegasus that was naturally attuned to nature. Now, he was by himself, with a dragoness that was unconscious and riding upon his back. Oh! And let’s not forget that his magic has not fully recovered.
“Why me…” He quietly squeaked before turning around just in time to see the monster he had not want to see. A creature with the body of a lion, a scorpion's tail, and a pair of dragon-like wings came bounding out of the foliage, a scowl playing across its maw. It stopped just a few feet away from Dusk, the unicorn’s eye twitching in irritation and fear. But mostly fear.
“You…ah…” His eyes darted left and right, escape plan after escape plan running through his mind. “You wouldn’t happen to be my ride out of the forest…would you?” The sound of the monster’s roar told him very much so that its answer was indeed no. With all the formal grace as one could with one in his position, he retreated fast and hard, a bounding pile of fur giving chase.
“BUCKMEBUCKMEBUCKMEBUCKMEBUCKME!!” The unicorn belted down the wooden path, doing his best to run as fast as he could, but also as not to knock off the little dragoness laying across his back. He would have thought about ways to counter the beast if he hadn’t had been using most of his concentration on holding Thorn within his magic. “It wasn’t supposed to be this way! I can’t die here! I…I still have to save everypony!”
In his revelry he failed to notice the sizable rock jutting from somewhere upon the ground, though to be fair, he doubted anypony would have seen it outright unless they were actually looking for it. Still he felt himself trip and fall face first into the ground, dragging his face along the dirt path quite a few impressive meters. With face in dirt, his upper body had bent at an odd angle, launching thorn out of her seat, and causing the dragoness to bounce along the ground a ways away from the stallion till she came to a rolling stop.
The stallion flopped to his belly, his legs spread away from him as he tried to recover what little consciousness he had left. His eyes widened considerably as he noticed Thorn a ways away from him. He tried to pull himself to his hooves be felt something crashing onto his back, the paw of the manticore forcefully pushing him back into a laying position. The stallion released a silent scream as he felt more then a few cracking sensations ripple pain throughout his body. He slumped to the ground, his vision fading in and out of consciousness as he stared at the still form of his longtime friend.
He reached out a hoof the dragoness, his hoof shaking in the air as he did so. “D-Damn it…Ah…Thorn…” He gasped as he scraped his hoof along the ground in a vain attempt to crawl away. “I…I sorry…I’m…I sorry everypony…” He had to chuckle darkly to himself, despite the pain in doing so. Why had he not seen this coming anyway?
If…If he truly went back to the past then…then none of this would have happened. He would have saw himself a long time ago. ‘His’ future self would have warned him about this. ‘His’ future self never got the chance to though, because ‘His’ future self must have ended up here, in this very same position. He sighed as he closed his eyes.
“And I fail…again…” He said softly. He was surprisingly calm about accepting death. Maybe…Maybe he could be with everypony else then. He sighed. “…Yeah…I…I’m just so…”
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”
His eyes widened as he picked up a voice from somewhere close by.
“How dare you! You get off of that pony this instant! What if you mother saw you hurting others!?” There was a light mummer before he felt himself very much so relived of any and all pressure from his back. “In fact,” The voice, and now that he had enough recollection in his senses he could tell it was female, continued. “In fact, I am going to your mother about this! Now you just march on home until I get there mister!” Dusk heard a light whimper, and he had supposed it was the beast, it certainly wasn’t that very much so commanding voice he had heard before.
The heavy steps of the manticore making its way into the deep jungle caused the stallion to relax a great deal; which was a bad ideal by the way due to the amount of pain he suddenly felt wreck his body. He tried to move but felt one of his muscles do what he wanted them to do. It also caused him even more pain then before. The feeling of something landing beside him caused him to close his eyes tight.
“Oh my…your…I mean…you fur…and…” He could hear her said, the sound of disbelieving in her tone. He couldn’t help but groan inwardly and outwardly. The sudden felling of the mare rubbing his back caused the stallion to open his eyes a little. The sight of a yellow body just to the side of him making him a little relived somewhat. For what reason he didn’t know. “Oh my! Oh no! Your hurt! Um…” She gently touched Dusk’s face. “Oh my I…I don’t…”
The stallion’s eyes focused what he perceived as up, his gaze landing on the dragoness not but a few feet away. “Thorn…Help…” He gasped. “Forget…me…” He closed his eyes as his vision began to blur, the bright colors of her fur right now too much of a headache.
He could hear her voice as he believed that she now noticed the little dragoness not too far away. “W-What?! But…That’s…” She paused as she heard something crashing through the forest and the sound of a light thud landing a ways away from them. “Rainbow!” Dusk heard her cry out in both panic and relief. “I need your help!!. His mind reared for a second after she finished speaking.
“Wait…Rainbow…?” he said softly before finding himself deep in the depths of the darkness of his mind.
~
Dusk opened his eyes to the smell of sweet vanilla, a smell, he thought, was very much so quite pleasant. The feeling of his body’s sensing coming through him and causing him a dulling pain killed his good mood though. He sat up as best he could, his eyes slowly coming into focus in the dim light of the room the scented candle produced. The old time furnishings caused him a great deal of relief. He didn’t know why though. He felt he had seem them once before. Of course him finding himself in a room and in a bed, and his body heavily bandaged as well caused him to believe two things.
One; He was alive. You can’t feel pain if you’re dead…or…so he believed anyway.
Two; he was out of the forest, which was a plus in his book.
Though it did raise some questions. And the first and foremost caused the stallion to wiggle and pulling himself the nice warm bed, despite him being in more than as he did so.
“Thorn! Thorn!” he said before slipping from the bed, his body hitting the floor like a sack of potatoes. A sack of potatoes that instantly cried out in agony and pain no less. In pain that he was, he barely noticed the sudden hoof steps and the door that was nearby slam open. The sound of a gasp was barely noticed as he was in too much pain to care.
“Oh my goodness!” He heard a voice call out, this one being just a female as the yellow one. He couldn’t see her though due to the pain making him close his eyes tight. It was then that he felt something he was use to feeling, at least when others did it to him. Magic enveloped him completely, his body slowly lifting up and gently being placed back onto the bed that he had currently woken up on. He felt covers gently cover him back up before the magic left his being completely.
“Don’t move.” He heard the voice say, her tone a bit more edger then when she was worried about me. The sound of hoofsteps aproching caused Dusk to open his eyes to the world, the pain slowly calming to an annoying throb. It was then that he got a good look at the only other pony in the room.
He could tell she was of lavender fur, even in the orange glow of the candle. Her mane, a darker purple then her fur with a pink streak running down the middle of it. Two pools of violets were staring back into his own, with both interest and slight fear. Of coarse it was of mutual feeling he shared due to something that he realized as soon as he stared at the mare. A feeling that burned into the pit of his stomach.
“My name is Twilight Sparkle…” She said in a indifferent tone, contradicting the face of worry she wore. “And I want to know who you and more importantly, why the buck do you look like me…”
What followed for Dusk Shine, after the most awkward greeting in his short lifetime, was a series of questions so obscure; so invasive; that he couldn’t help but admire each and every last one of them, despite the fact that both he and the mare were getting more and more creep out the longer their question and answer session went on.
It had started out simple enough at first for both of the lavender ponies. Their names were different, but that was a given. So were the names of many of the ponies they knew...well...except for Applejack. That was more then surpiseing to the both of them. Still...that was where the differences stopped. More and more, with each question answered, both ponies would answer eerily the same. As the mare dove deeper into the array of questions she had on hoof, the more intrusive they became. And the more intrusive they became the more she seemed to hesitate with asking her next question.
The same could be said with Dusk Shine, as he became more and more afraid the more personal the questions became.
Still, they pressed onwards. Their inner scientist pushing both unicorns forwards.
After what seemed to be the hundredth of so question, the mare quickly excused herself and promptly left the room, leaving the stallion to his own thoughts.
His thoughts, however, seemed to yield nothing but question after question.
“Those questions...they seemed…most of them seemed to have no real them after a while. They were uniform at first, sticking to one subject before moving to the next, but then it almost seemed like she wasn't reading from her notes at all." His eyes darted from the side to side, running solution after solution within his mind. “Ok, Dusk Shine, ok. Think, think, think! Come on! There has to be a reasonable explanation for all of this!! Why she looks like me! Why I haven't seen any of my friends!”
The deeper he dove to find the answers, however, the more and more an impossible one popped into his mind. One of which He sorely wished was not true. His logic had never failed him before though…well…except that time with Berry Bubble, but logic always failed him when it came to that colt.
Still, the answer he kept coming up with made him shiver to his core.
He didn’t want to accept it, he refused to accept it.
But it was the answer that pointed to the most popular conclusion.
He was started by a gentle knock to the door. He waited for somepony to enter right after but instead got yet another knock, this more a little more forceful but all the same just as gentle.
Wait...are they...? But they can't be...can they?
"Um, come...in?" The stallion said after a brief slip into hesitation.
With the turn of the knob, the door pushed open, and the sight of the one on the other side nearly caught his breath away.
A pristine white pony slowly slipped into the room, their rainbow like mane flowing endlessly as if it had a life of its own. Both awe and dread seemed to creep into his fragile mind, even more so when the pony gave him a gentle smile. He watched as the mare slowly made her way to the side of the bed, gently placing her hunches on the floor before looking down at him with both curious and kind eyes.
“You must be Dusk Shine…I’m I correct.” Dusk nodded dumbly, words completely failing him at that point. Her voice soothed his soul as she spoke, releasing a bit of the tension he felt “It is a pleasure young Shine. I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria. From what I understand, you had a bit of a mishap from a manticore.” Dusk nodded again. “Is that how you and your little dragon friend got hurt?”
For the first time since her appearance, Dusk spoke. “N-No…I…we…I…” He trailed off; as he looked into her eyes those eyes he had seen only in one other pony, a pony he had loved as a father. “You…You remind me of…of…” He began to shiver as dread began to overtake him. “But…If she is…and you are…then…I…Oh Solaris! It was wrong! It was all wrong!” His head fell into his hooves. “I didn’t know! I…I didn’t know!”
Celestia gave the colt a concerned frown. “Dusk…Please calm down…”
“I can’t!” He snapped. “I…I messed up! I’ve failed! It’s my fault! I should have known and I didn’t! I’ve failed and now…now…I…” His eyes widened at a feeling seeping into his mind. He tried to counter but it was too late, magic gently washed over his mind. He looked up to find the concerned gaze of Celestia looking down at him, her eyes still holding nothing but kindness in them.
“I am sorry Dusk…Sleep for now…Gain your strength and sleep…”
Dusk eyes drooped as he fell back on to the pillow, the sleep spell quickly taking effect. Without another word he slipped on into a deep, dreamless sleep.
~
Twilight jumped as the door to the strange stallion’s room opened. Her heart calmed as she found that it was Princess Celestia making her way back into the hallway. "Princess! Your okay...I was...Ah...A little worried when I started to hear yelling."
"I am fine my Student, worry not. Dusk on the other hoof is not. I put a sleeping spell on him so that he could calm down. I am sure, with the state that he is in, he needed his rest more then anything." Celestia looked down towards Twilight. "Twilight, I need you to watch over him until he wakes up. He...I believe that he will have come to terms with his situation by that time."
"Situation? What do you mean Princess? Isn't he just a crazy stallion dressed up as me?"
Celestia shook her head. "My dear Twilight, there are many things in which I have felt you were not ready for. This stallion, I fear, is one of those things." At Twilight's questioning gaze the sun princess gave her a gentle smile. "You will learn in time Twilight, that the world is more then what you see before you. For now, take care of our guest please. I'm sure we will learn of who he really is and what he wants in time." Celestia looked over towards the window, the light of Luna's moon shining on the dark night below. "And pray that whatever caused him such pain has been put to rest."
