Dusk Fire

Chapter 11 - Revenge

Dusk woke the next day, a determined scowl on his face. He changed the sheets, took a shower, and then sat down at his desk. He unlocked one the drawers and pulled out a small ornate box. Setting it on the desk and opening it, Dusk revealed several components of a hidden blade. It was his own design, based on what he'd seen in his father's workshop. Dusk laid the components out on his desk and began working on them.

He worked with such concentration and zealous fervor, that it was only at sun down that Dusk finally completed his weapon. It fit his hoof perfectly, and the blade extended and retracted without a sound. The blade itself was made out of a complex metal compound that allowed the blade to stay sharp and strong much longer than any traditional blade. At full extension, the blade was longer than a dagger, yet shorter than a sword. It was the perfect length to be concealable and act as a stand alone weapon in open combat. There was, however, one problem. It was obvious to the naked eye that it was on his hoof. Sure, he could simply cast an invisibility spell on it, but if somepony was to touch his hoof where the weapon was, they would feel it. What Dusk needed was a chameleon spell. However, he had no idea if one even existed, or where to find the tome if it did. He would have to make it himself. Dusk growled in exasperation; he was good at magic, but he wasn't that good. He had no idea how to make spells, and it would take him months, if not years to learn how to create basic spells; a chameleon spell was sure as shit not basic.

As he packed away his things, Dusk heard a light tap on the door. He locked the drawer, assuming it was only the wind, when he heard another few. He stood up and waited for a second, listening intently. As he slowly trotted towards the door, he heard another few taps ring out.

"Who is it?" Dusk asked in a low, yet audible, voice.

"It's me..." a small, sheepish voice replied from the other side.

"Who's 'me'?" Dusk asked, a smile forming on his face as he recognised Signet's voice.

"Signet..." she replied. "Can I come in?"

Dusk opened the door for her and let her inside. She was carrying a small stack of papers which she set down on his desk as Dusk closed the door. Signet retreated to a corner of the room, near the door, as she looked around.

"That's..... that's your homework for today..." Signet said.

"Thanks," Dusk replied with a smile, looking through it quickly. "Come over here," he said, with a sideways glance at the small yellow mare.

Signet hesitated for a moment before trotting up to him. She yipped in surprise as Dusk put a hoof around her slim waist and pulled her close.

"Do you have feelings for me, Signet?" Dusk asked, not making eye contact.

Signet blushed furiously. "N-No.... I think of you as a good friend, th-though..." she replied.

Dusk let out a sigh of relief. "Thank god for that...."

"Wh-Why?" Signet asked softly.

"Because I don't like breaking hearts," Dusk answered simply, before giving her a friendly squeeze.

"Oh..." Signet said, calming down quite a bit.

He let her go and trotted to the door. "You can go now, if you want," Dusk said as he opened it.

"Thank you..." Signet replied softly before leaving the room.

Dusk watched her leave before closing the door and flopping onto the bed. He sank into the mattress as he ran revenge scenarios through his mind. One of the stood out, and it brought a wicked smile to Dusk's muzzle. He got up and quickly left the room to find Rose.

It was a cool evening, and the afternoon sun shone orange and red like the flame that occupied Dusk's heart. He trotted through the hallways, heading straight to the nurse's office. He came to the door and tried the handle. He found it locked and, as he did with his door yesterday, Dusk looked side to side to ensure he was alone before picking the lock and heading inside. Closing the door behind him, Dusk quickly scanned the room, looking for the drug he wanted. Schools didn't typically stock the kind of 'medicine' he was looking for, but he wanted to look anyway. He searched for about an hour before he found it. Locked away at the back of a small fridge in the back of the storage room was a half full ampoule of PCP. Dusk smirked, partly because his plan was coming together, and partly because of his insane luck. This drug was originally used as an anesthetic, but its use was discontinued because of its hallucinogenic effects. It was probably one of the most dangerous hallucinogens around. The only question to ask was, unless the nurse was a junkie, what on earth was an ampoule of PCP doing in a school; especially one that was dated quite recently. Dusk simply shrugged and drew about 10 ml of the stuff into a hypodermic needle before leaving and heading back to his room.

Once he returned to his room, Dusk tossed the syringe into his fridge before preparing his dinner. He wished he had somepony to have dinner with. After what Rose did, he felt very isolated. He wished Signet would return so he could talk to her. He sighed as he stuck a meal into the microwave and pressed the button, letting it go. He stood, watching the food spin around and around and around behind the glass, tears dripping from his chin.

"I never thought I'd be raped...." Dusk whispered softly. "I didn't even know it was possible for a stallion to be raped."

The microwave beeped, wrenching Dusk from his thoughts. He pulled the meal from the microwave and set it down on the table, tossing a fork next to it before sitting down and beginning to eat slowly. It was 2006; Dusk had to be very careful about how he transferred this drug into Rose's possession. He mulled over his plan as he ate his dinner, thoughts and considerations, coupled with variables and limitations, flicked through his mind quickly as he examined almost every possible route of approach until he found the one that would work. He smiled again as he finished his dinner and his plan, before tossing the container into the bin and the fork into the sink and heading into the shower.

Waking with a devious smile the next morning, Dusk made himself breakfast before leaving his room and heading into town. It was a mild Saturday morning; the perfect condition for a stroll. He passed many ponies that morning as he trotted out his angst and stress, building up his confidence for what he would do on the following Monday. He had it all figured out; he would find Rose and slip the syringe into her saddlebag. When they were walking into their next classroom, he would trip her. Hopefully this would make her saddlebags spill their contents, allowing the teacher to see the syringe. The best revenge was a passive one. He would get her expelled, probably arrested, and the only way she could link his motive to it was if she admitted she had raped him. It was a catch 22. She would get in serious trouble either way. Dusk chuckled evilly.

"This is perfect," he mused to himself under his breath.

Caught up in his thoughts, Dusk didn't see the sapphire blue mare bump into him. In his defense, she was hidden behind a stack of books, which went flying when she fell over. Dusk blushed in embarrassment as he helped her up and picked up her books with his magic.

"So sorry about that. I wasn't loo-" Dusk stopped mid sentence as he got a good look at the mare before him. She was slender pegasus, with an average height, and a subtly athletic build. She wore a red jacket, open at the front, and had red bangles around her upper fore hooves. He mane, a darker blue than her coat, was medium length and was tied with a pony tail in the back, and she had tied several locks of mane together that fell down to her shoulders, framing either side of her face. Her tail was two toned; predominately blue, like her mane, with light blue highlights. Her eyes were a deep, sapphire blue, that seemed to sparkle subtly in the sunlight. Dusk felt his face grow red hot as he stared at this mare, who was desperately trying not to make eye contact with him. She seemed to shrink away from him, as if she was bracing herself for a verbal or physical assault. It wasn't until he noticed this that his senses returned to him and he realised she had been apologizing very quietly and timidly.

"I'm so sorry, sir. I didn't see you... I'm sorry, really I am," the mare said.

"It's okay. I wasn't looking," Dusk replied. "Look, let me buy you a coffee or something."

The mare stopped her apologies and slowly moved her eyes to look at him. "Y-You're not gonna yell at me?"

"No..... why on earth would I do that?" Dusk asked, slightly confused.

The mare began to relax slowly, taking a few deep, shaky breaths. "I'm just.... used to it," she explained. "Thanks for picking my books up."

"I did what any pony would do," Dusk said, noticing the way her eyes seemed to sparkle more as she grew more comfortable.

"You'd be surprised at the amount of ponies who don't care," she replied with a small smile.

Dusk returned the smile. "Come on, there's a cafe just around the corner. We can talk there."

The mare turned and followed him as he began to trot towards the cafe. "My name is Sapphire, by the way. Sapphire Starlight."

'How fitting...' Dusk thought as he fell back to walk abreast with her. "I'm Dusk Fire. It's a pleasure to meet you, Sapphire."

She smiled sweetly, seeming to cheer up a little. It didn't take long for the two to arrive at the cafe. Dusk held the door open for Sapphire, and let her choose a table. She picked a booth near the corner of the room, and set her books down in the space between her and the wall. Dusk ordered them both cappuccinos before sitting down opposite her.

Sapphire seemed to shrink into the soft cushions of the booth, crossing her arms as if she were warming herself on a cold winter night. She gave him an awkward smile, and it gave the impression that she hadn't smiled genuinely for a long time, and had subsequently forgotten how to do so. A small seed of pity entered Dusk's heart. He got the sense that this mare had been through quite a bit, and was bottling up a lot of problems. She was very introverted, but it wasn't like Signet, who simply had trouble with social situations.

"So, what are all the books for?" Dusk inquired.

"I'm running an errand for the library at my school. They needed more copies of some of their textbooks," Sapphire explained.

"Oh? What school do you go to, anyway?" Dusk asked.

"The... ah... the Grey Mare College," she replied softly.

"Huh. I go there to. I'm surprised I hadn't noticed you before," Dusk said, trying to think of some place he may have seen this mare.

"Well, that's because I only just transferred here three months ago. And I spend most of my time in the library or with my coltfriend, anyway," Sapphire replied.

Dusk did well to hide the pang of jealousy he felt at the word 'coltfriend'. Before he could say anything in reply, the waitress arrived with their coffees, setting them down in front of either pony. Dusk said thank you before taking a sip of the bitter, yet silky smooth coffee. Sapphire did the same, giving Dusk a small smile after she put her mug down.

"Thanks for this," Sapphire said after taking another sip.

"No problem," Dusk replied, before drinking a substantial amount of his own coffee. "I felt it was only the right thing to do. You looked like you needed a coffee, anyway."

"I really did..." Sapphire replied with a small sigh.

"Sapphire?" a loud voice suddenly called out from the doorway.

Dusk turned to find the source of the voice, noticing how pale Sapphire went at the sound of it. Standing in the doorway was a large pegasus, wearing the team jacket of the school's hoofball team. The hulking grey pony stared straight at Sapphire, and trotted purposefully towards her.

"Who's this loser?" the pegasus asked.

"Strike, please... he's just being nice..." Sapphire whimpered in reply.

Strike grabbed Sapphire's upper fore hoof and hauled her up. Dusk made to stand up in her defense, but she gave him a look which said 'leave it'. Fighting against the urge to help her, Dusk sat back down, quivering in anger.

"Stay away from my mare, loser," Strike said, before dragging Sapphire out of the cafe with him.

Dusk watched them go, before turning around and slumping into his seat. He quickly finished his coffee before grabbing the books Sapphire had left behind and leaving the cafe.

Dusk delivered the books to the library that Monday before preparing himself for what he would do to Rose. They had math together in third period that day, so that was when he would strike. Quickly packing his bags, Dusk headed off to his first lesson, english. He glided through the halls, concealing his torment with his usual face of mild anger, heading towards his english classroom. Once there, Dusk entered and took his seat, pulling out his books and pens and slumped back in his chair, ready to write down whatever needed to be written. The truth was, he had absolutely no interest in the current subject. Instead, his mind hovered around the idea of getting Rose in deep trouble. If she would go so far to do a deed that would scar him for the rest of his life, he might as well return the favour.

The lesson seemed to crawl past as the teacher talked about the book they were reading and discussed their final assignment. Dusk was barely listening, twirling a pencil in his hoof, and it was with a sigh of relief as Dusk stepped out of the classroom at the end of the lesson.

"That lesson had gone for way longer than it should have," Dusk mumbled as he headed to his next class, magic.

He arrived a little bit late, and received a stare or two from the other ponies as he took his seat. He wasn't phased, it was common for ponies to stare at a late student. He took his seat quickly and opened his book, hastily copying down the notes that were already on the board.

"Finally, something to keep me a little more than occupied..." Dusk mused as he studied the notes on the board.

They were learning a new spell that day, a healing spell. Several ponies had heard of this spell, but had not performed it yet; Dusk was one of these ponies. He sat back and listened to the teacher explain the basics behind healing spells; how it speeds up cellular reproduction in order to regrow anything from skin to whole limbs and organs. The one thing that made a healing spell stand out, and fairly difficult to perform, was that it required a part of the caster's life force in order to perform. It was the instilled essence of life, passed on and magnified by the spell, that created the healing effect. It was theoretically possible to revive somepony from the dead with a healing spell, however in practice it usually resulted in the caster's death, due to the massive amount of life force that was needed to cast such a spell.

"If anyone could revive a pony from the dead with a healing spell, it would be one of the princesses," the professor explained. "That's how much energy it requires to perform such a feat."

Dusk raised a brow in interest. He didn't realize that a healing spell could bring someone back from the abyss of death. He raised his hoof, a question suddenly planted in his mind.

"Yes, Dusk?" the professor asked, noticing Dusk's hoof.

"Is it possible to train or condition oneself to perform a revival?" Dusk asked.

The professor thought for a second. "Theoretically, yes. Although I have no idea how long it would take for a pony to condition themselves to such an extent."

Dusk put his hoof down, satisfied with the answer he had received. At this, the professor began to instruct the class in how to perform the spell by pulling out an orange and putting a large gash in it with a knife.

"Now, a healing spell works on all organic material that can be considered alive, or if it is dead, in a reasonable condition to ensure a successful revival. For example, you would not be able to revive a cow by casting a healing spell on a piece of steak. Because this healing spell works on all organic material, its power extends to plants as well as animals. Therefore, you will be able to 'heal' this orange," the professor explained, much to Dusk's, and many other student's amazement. It came as a surprise that a healing spell could fix an orange. The professor's explanation was logical, but it seemed that the entire class had simply assumed the spell only extended to animals. "I can see that this comes as quite a surprise to many of you," the professor said with a smile. "Now, who wants to heal my dearest little orange first?"

Dusk left the classroom with a small smile on his face. He had learned something new that lesson, and it came with quite a joyful feeling. He headed towards the canteen and spent about fifteen minutes waiting in line for his food, before finding Signet, Vivette, and Opal's table. Signet gave him a small smile as he sat down next to her.

"G'day, gals," Dusk said in a more Ausstralian accent than usual.

"What's up, Dusk?" Vivette replied with a soft smile.

"Not much, honestly..." Dusk said, poking his food.

"Eh, it's a Monday," Vivette replied before yawning.

Before Dusk could answer, Signet gave him a small nuzzle to get his attention. Looking down, Dusk saw a small paper swan laying in Signet's hooves.

"Do you think he'll like it?" Signet asked quietly.

"Think who will like it?" Dusk asked, admiring the perfectly crafted swan.

"Dusty... he's in my art class and I think he's amazing," Signet replied.

Dusk chuckled softly. "I think he'll love it," he replied, knowing that Dusty would.

"You really think so?" Signet asked, a hopeful look in her eyes.

"I've been his friend for two years. I know he'll love it," Dusk replied with a confident smile.

Signet let out a small squeal of joy before tucking away her creation. Dusk looked up to see Opal giggling at him.

"I am still shocked at how quickly Signet has warmed up to you," Opal explained.

"Really?" Dusk asked, mildly surprised.

"Yeah. She usually hates stallions, considering the amount of shit she cops from them," Vivette chimed in.

"Shit?" Dusk asked.

"According to what Signet told us, you've already seen a prime example of it," Opal said sadly.

"She doesn't tell anyone?" Dusk asked, looking down at Signet before wrapping a hoof around her protectively.

"I'm afraid they'll hurt me more..." Signet replied softly, tears glistening in her eyes. It was obvious that she wasn't comfortable with this topic, and it only served to make Dusk pity her more as he gently squeezed her.

"I think I know how you feel," Dusk mumbled under his breath, his mind wandering to the events of last Thursday night.

He rubbed Signet's shoulders just as ponies started moving to their next class. Dusk stared at his untouched tray of food for a little while. The warmth of Signet by his side, and the tray of food in front of him made him feel odd. He suddenly got up and grabbed his bags, picking up the tray and tossing it in the bin as he trotted away from the table and towards his math class.

He spied Rose as he trotted down the hallway. Readying the syringe, he quickened his pace and came up behind her, quickly and quietly removing her handkerchief from her bag and loosely wrapping the syringe in it. He then planted the handkerchief and syringe in her saddlebag all while she was none the wiser. He quickly moved in front of her as they reached the classroom doorway. As they moved inside, Dusk stuck his hoof out discreetly, causing Rose to fall over, face planting on the floor. The contents of her bags spilled out, and the handkerchief unfolded under the weight of the syringe, which rolled out across the floor, coming to a rest against the teacher's hooves.

"What is this?" the teacher asked, picking up the syringe and looking at it. "Rose Burn, the principal's daughter, with drugs? Dear oh dear...."

Dusk smiled internally as he took his seat.

"Come with me, Rose," the teacher said, grabbing her by the hoof and hauling her up. "You might as well take your books; you probably won't be needing them."

The teacher took Rose out of the classroom, leaving the class to stare at the doorway in a haze of surprise and confusion. Doing well to blend in, Dusk put on a face of mock surprise, but his insides were trembling with excitement. His plan had worked, and if all went well, Rose wouldn't be setting hoof into this school ever again.

"Finally, something to put that bitch in her place," a stallion said from the back of the crowd.

Several ponies turned to look at him. "What on earth do you mean?" one asked.

"She traumatized me. Taunted and teased me whenever she saw me, and now she's been caught with drugs," the stallion explained. "I hope she gets expelled."

"We'd be better off for it," a mare said in concurrence.

"Little bitch was hopped up on the power of being the principal's daughter," Dusk added, much to the approval of several other ponies.

The room suddenly exploded into chatter as everyone began to feel it was acceptable to publicly air their opinions on Rose. Much to Dusk's surprise, it seemed that she had caused a lot of pain and made a lot of enemies. He suddenly felt a lot less guilty about what he had just done. Not only had he obtained his revenge, he seemed to have indirectly made a few lives easier with the orchestration of her removal. He smiled softly and deviously. Perhaps this could become a profession? Removing ponies to make the lives of others easier. Dusk stored the thought away for future contemplation and returned to his internal gloating over this personal victory.