Dusk-Shine galloped down the trail in the forest clutching the strange gem is his teeth. Behind him the strange unicorn flew far behind him in a magical bubble. Shooting rays of energy at him. He dodged the energy and kept going. As he rounded a bend in the path he could see the trees thinning into a vast plain with a town nestled down a hill. On the far side of the town a vast apple orchard stretched up a neighboring hill. He ran harder and tripped over a root sticking out from the base of a brown oak tree. Dusk-Shine fell into a thick patch of dark brambles and hit his head on a rock. As he struggled to remain conscious he saw the unicorn suddenly stop near the edge of the forest, then turn around and fly away.
He woke up in a strange cottage filled with woodland critters and plants. The wall were lines with bird houses.and there appeared to be animals everywhere In front of him a small white bunny was chewing on a carrot like a cigar and watching him He surveyed his surroundings and noticed a yellow mare preparing some food in the small kitchen. “ugh” He groaned attempting to sit up but falling back onto the soft pillow of the bed.
“ O good you're awake!’ The yellow mare said running to his side. “ I was so worried, I found you passed out under an oak tree in the forest clutching this red star shaped gem and murmuring to yourself.” Dusk Shines eyes darted about frantically searching for the gem. “ Its ok I put it on the nightstand beside you” He tried to sit up again but the mare held him down. “ Now don’t get up you need to conserve your strength.
“Where the hell am I? And frankly who the hell are you?" Dusk-Shine asked sitting up and rubbing his eyes.
“ Its ok I’m Fluttershy and this is my cottage. “ Fluttershy? aren't you one of the bearers of the elements of harmony? Dont you like live in some mansion in Canterlot with princess twilight or something?”
Fluttershy looked at him a little afraid. “ No no ive always lived here, Anyway its always much too busy in Canterlot and way too many ponies bustling around.”
“
Ok then, not my place to judge anyway” “Thanks for saving me bye the way, i'm just glad no timber wolves showed up or anything else for that matter”
Dusk Shine stood up on his shaky legs and picked up the gem in his hoof. “ Do you know what this is?” he asked holding out the gem to Fluttershy.
“ I honestly have no idea” she replied contemplating the gem. “I can take you to my friend Twilight, She runs the library in town, maybe she knows something.”
“That would be great, thank you” Dusk Shine walked to the door with Fluttershy trailing behind. “ The towns just this way its only about a ten minute walk” Fluttershy explained as she led Dusk Shine on the path towards town.
Dusk Shine followed Fluttershy down the small trail leading towards the town. Having grown up as a baker in a small hamlet west of Canterlot he was used to the bustling streets of the Sunday market. Fluttershy lead him through a back alley into a second street facing a giant tree house. On the front of the tree a polished oak door with the symbol of a book engraved on it was fused into the bark of the tree. Dusk-Shine knocked on the door and it swung open of its own accord. Stepping across the threshold, he heard the sound of someone talking in the adjacent room. Fluttershy went up to the desk in front of the door and rang a bronze bell with her mouth. The murmuring abruptly ceased at a door in between to book shelves opened. Dusk shines first impression: purple. Apart from the lunar guards he had seen patrolling the skies in the night he had never seen a pony whose coat was pure purple. The mare (who he guessed was Twilight) walked up to him and said in a sleepy voice, “havent seen you around before, i'm surprised pinky hasn't found you yet.” Dusk shine just stared at the mare who had huge bags under her eyes and looked like she had not brushed her mane in weeks.
“excuse me?” Dusk shine asked, “ Whose Pinky?”
“Never mind” the mare said shaking her head trying to get the drowsiness out of her eyes. “ What can I do for you?” Fluttershy explained how she had found Dusk Shine passed out in the forest with the gem in his hooves. Twilight's eyes open a little wider and she looked at Dusk Shine with new curiosity. “ Can i see the gem please?” She picked the gem out of his saddlebag and held it in front of her eyes. “ SPIKE!” Twilight yelled, “Get me that book on rare gems you keep beside your basket.” A purple and green dragon walked down the stairs and handed Twilight a small book with the picture of a diamond on the front. Grumbling to himself he walked back up the stairs and slammed the door to what Dusk Shine guessed was his room.
“Okay” Twilight said as she open the book with her magic. She started flipping through the pages at a speed that Dusk Shine thought was impossible to obtain with hooves.
Suddenly Twilight stopped at a page with the picture of the gem on the front. “Phoenix gems” She read, pausing to make sure Dusk Shine was listening. “ These rare and mysterious gems can be only be found lining the edge of Weaver volcano. They are said to double the existing powers of a unicorn as well as permitting him to cast more powerful spells. The most famous gem can be found in the Alicorn amulet. Twilight put the book down and took the gem in her hoof. “Now could you please tell me again how you came across this gem Dusk-Shine?”
“I can't remember exactly where I got it.” Dusk shine said, still looking at the picture of the gem. “All I know is that it is really important.
“If you want I can just do a memory spell to look into your mind and see for myself” Twilight suggested. “ Its relatively painless and it should not take long”
“Go ahead, can you make it so that I can also see the memories?”
Twilight came a little closer to Dusk Shine. “Of course, now just have a seat on the floor and relax.” Twilight's horn started to glow and Dusk Shine blacked out.
“Hey Dusk Shine wake up!”
Dusk hine opened his eyes, he was in a cave lines with torches. The walls glinted with hidden minerals. In front of him a brown earth pony holding a pickaxe has looking at him with concern.
“Get up, don't want the guards finding out you're slacking off” Dusk shine got up and followed the stallion down into a side tunnel.
“What am I doing here, and who are you?” The stallion looked at him with something akin to pity.
“Looks like they hit you with another memory loss spell.” “I'm Dust Cloud Remember?”
“ We got caught together”
“Im sorry I dont understand. What did u mean about us getting caught together?” Dusk Shine asked backing away from Dust Cloud.
“Wow they must of really got you good. We were both running from that crazy unicorn and She managed to catch us both with that weird gem of hers. After that she put us to work on this dig project. I don't know what we are really digging up but it looks like some form of temple. So far we've only uncovered the top part. I can definitely make out the imprint of lots of these sun drawings everywhere.”
“Whats this gem you mentioned earlier?”
“ I really don't have a clue, it seems to make her magic more powerful”
“Do you know where she keeps it?”
“ You can't be thinking of stealing it, I heard she even sleeps with the thing”
“ Just tell me where she sleeps then and i'll do the rest” Dusk shine whispered.
“ At the end of the big tunnel there a door in the wall, Through that door go into the third room on the right and you should see her”
“Ok thank you, when I get it i'll come back for you.”
Dusk shine trotted back into the main tunnel. He got to the door and found it locked. He turned around gave gave a good solid buck against the padlock and it popped open. Before any guards came he entered into this new hallway and went to the third room on the right.
A light blue unicorn was sleeping in a small cot. In one of her hooves a gem shaped like red star glinted in the half light. Dusk Shine grabbed the gem with his mouth and gingerly lifted it from under the mares hoof. He then trotted back out of the door and into the main hallway. Checking for guards he went back to the side tunnel where he found Dust Cloud passed out of a crate.
“Hey Dust Cloud wake up I got something to show you”
Dust Cloud looked up at him sleepily until his eyes fell onto the gem in his hoof.
“What were you thinking! When she wakes up she is going to kill the lot of us for daring to touch her gem. You have to get it out of here before she finds out you took it.”
“Whoa dude calm down for a second. How can I get out of here anyway?”
“It’s supposed to be impossible, she has a shield around all of the entrances. Maybe the gem could help you with the shield but there is still about twenty guards between you and the exit.”
“Dont worry about me Dust, just pass me your pickaxe and i'll be out of your way for good.”
Dusk Shine walked down the hallway up to a group of three guards who were standing beside a door with a magical shield in front of it. He walked up to them purposely and when he was close enough he nailed the first one in the back of the head with his pickaxe. After the first one fell he quickly knocked out the other two with the pick and grabbed his cloak. He put on the cloak so that is covered his wings and kept the gem clearly visible on his chest. He then trotted straight through the shield and found himself in a hallway leading upwards completely full of guards. When the guards noticed the gem they spread out along the walls of the hallway and let him walk straight through. Dusk Shine walked up the hallway and opened a little door that appeared to be build in the side of a hill. Once he was outside he started galloping down a trail that he hoped leaded out of the forest. After about five minutes he heard a crash behind him. The blue unicorn was flying at him in a magic bubble.
He blinked a few times and suddenly he was back in the library staring into Twilight's eyes. He stumbled away and kicked his head into one of the book shelves. the last thing he heard was the sound of a lot of books falling and then he blacked out.
