The Intoxicating Color of Red

“Ah, mister Dusk! I’m so glad you could make it.”

Huh. What an ordinary little mare. Sand colored, grey mane, gray tail, glasses. Although i’m pretty sure she’s not my realtor. But where my realtor? She said that she would meet me at Ponyville station and instead i’m meeting with this mare. Although I really like her neck. It looks so soft and I almost want to… No, no thoughts like that. Not now.

“I’m sorry, ma’am, but who are you?”

She looks taken back by my question. Is she surprised? If so, of what? That I have eyes in my head?

“I’m mayor mare, mayor of Ponyville.”

She sounds so proud as if it is some sort of achievement. Perhaps I should have stayed in Las Pegasus?

“Okay, if you’ll excuse me, I have to find my realtor. She said that she would meet me here.”

“Yes that is why i’m here.”

“Is that so? Do please explain.”

“Your realtor is my sister and she is unfortunately stuck in Appleloosa so she contacted me to make sure you got the tour she promised.”

Well that’s a surprise.

“I see. Do lead the way then.”

“Hey Twilight what’s taking so long?” Spike yelled from outside Twilight’s crystal castle. “We’re gonna be late for the picnic!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Twilight came running out of the castle with saddlebags full of supplies.

Spike stood with crossed arms and a frown when she came out. “What took you so long?”

“I had to *pant* triple check *pant* the supplies.” She answered out of breath from her small run through the castle.

Spike couldn’t help but roll his eyes at her as he started walking.

They had been planning a picnic with their friends for over two weeks and now the day had finally arrived. They were supposed to meet the rest of girls at the edge of Sweet Apple Acres.

It was a warm summer afternoon. Flowers out everywhere, a fresh smell in the air and many ponies were out enjoying it.

Many things had occupied Twilight’s mind lately. Most noteworthy was her research in magical matter manipulation. She had tried to do a specific spell for weeks, but still had no result and she didn’t feel like she was getting closer to a solution. Every step she took only felt like a step back. It was frustrating to say the least.

Twilight looked over the many ponies around her. They were laughing and enjoying their normal lives. As much Twilight wanted it to be, she knew her life wasn’t normal. She was an alicorn princess with her own castle and a long track record of dealing with the evils that had haunted Equestria the last two years. She wanted to go back to how things were a year ago. Before she was an alicorn, when she was just a librarian of the Ponyville library and student of princess Celestia. Twilight knew that in time she would have to have a more prominent and responsible role in Equestria. But there was a question that kept haunting her. Was she ready? Above anything, she just wanted to have the time for that question to be answered as far away into the future as possible. Twilight’s thought process was interrupted by somepony squealing. It was Amethyst Star.

“OHMAGOSH OHMAGOSH OHMAGOSH!” She yelled and ran around shaking a few ponies. “I can’t believe he is coming to Ponyville today!” She yelled as she shook a stallion into, something that resemble scrambled eggs, on the ground. She ran over to a mare. “Wait how do I look?!” She asked the mare, a maniacal expression on her face. “EVERYTHING MUST BE PERFECT!” She screamed and continued her running through Ponyville.

“What’s up with Amethyst Star?” Spike looked to Twilight.

“I don’t know, Spike.” Twilight answered with a raised eyebrow. It was rare for her or anypony in general to see Amethyst Star acting like that. “It must be important.” Twilight noticed the stallion that Amethyst Star had been shaking was getting back on his legs and walked over to him. “Excuse me.”

The stallion jumped at her sudden voice and fell back on to the ground covering his face with his hooves. “No more, no more please!” He begged and then opened an eye to look at his possible assaulter. “Oh, princess Twilight!” He quickly switched into a position of bowing instead of covering his face.

“Please, don’t do that…” Twilight said with a groan. There was a lot of things she disliked about being a princess. Ponies constantly bowing for her was in her top three. “I just wanted to ask if you know why Amethyst Star is acting so weird.”

The stallion rose. “Oh, uh, she said something about somepony coming to visit Ponyville. Some guy named Azure Dusk or something.”

“Huh. Not anypony I know.” Spike said with crossed arms, slightly disappointed. “Do you know him, Twilight? Twilight?” He looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. Her eyes were wide and she almost looked pale. “Twilight what’s wrong?”

“Excuse me, but did you say Azure Dusk?” Twilight asked the stallion.

“Uh, yes?”

“The Azure Dusk?”

“I’m pretty sure?”

“The Azure Dusk who proved Starswirl the bearded’s theory on Biological matter manipulation wrong?”

“Uh, I guess?

Twilight stood still for a few seconds, contemplating what she had heard. Azure Dusk was a pony she had looked up to since she had started on Celestia’s school for gifted unicorns. He had written four books on magic. Two in his field matter manipulation, one on speed cooking, and the last on uses for magic in the field of healing. He had won the magical award for most inspiring work of the year twice. In other words, he was a genius and not more than eight years older than Twilight herself.

"Oh. My. Gosh." Twilight simply said as she found her way back to reality and she squealed.

"What?" Spike said, confused at Twilight's weird behavior. "Who is this 'Azure Dusk'?"

Twilight smiled at her assistant. "He is one of my favorite scholars in the arts of magic." She replied excitedly. "He has written four books and traveled all over Equestria and other countries."

"If he's so special then why haven't you talked about him before?"

"Well..." Twilight grinned sheepishly and looked to be blushing for a second. "I guess I must've forgot at the time."

"Uhh, okay?" Spike didn't know what to make at her words. Usually when Twilight becomes interested in a book or it's author she couldn't stop talking about said book or author until she found some new book she would find interesting. Spike's eyes widened as he remembered something. "Twilight, we gotta go, we're already late for meeting our friends!"

Twilight's eyes widened a little at his words. She had completely forgotten about the picnic with the recent news crashing down on her. "You're right Spike. We shouldn't keep our friends waiting let's g..." Twilight noticed a stallion in the distance following mayor mare near the flower shop. "There he is..." She muttered.

Spike followed her eyes and saw mayor mare and two stallions that seemed to be following her and Amethyst Star trotting after them. He instantly assumed that the stallion Twilight had been talking about was the older one of them. He had no mane and just looked really old in general. "Oh, the guy without a mane." Spike casually said.

Twilight did a spit take. "What? No!" She exclaimed. "The other one, the one in the suit."

Spike looked back towards the stallions and saw that the older one had shied away and was walking towards the ponyville's home for the elderly. Spike looked closer at the remaining stallion who Amethyst Star had trotted up beside. He was a blue coated stallion with a blond mane and he was fashioning a pink shirt and dark grey jacket. He was looking lazily out on the village while seemingly talking. "That guy?" Spike asked in disbelief.

Twilight raised a brow at Spike. "Yes?"

"But he's so..." Spike stopped himself.

"But he's so what?"

"Young..." Spike muttered in response. It was surprising because normally the authors Twilight talked about was usually old. At least in their late fifties but this guy looked to be in his early thirties.

"Well yes, he is quite young for his accomplishments, but that is what makes him so special." Twilight's face shifted into one of deep thought and then she turned back to Spike. "Spike, tell our friends that I will be a little late for the picnic." She said, levitated her saddlebags to Spike and began walking towards the stallion and mayor mare.

Spike picked up the saddlebags, slightly confused. "What? Why?"

Twilight turned back her head and smiled sheepishly. "Well, I have to meet him! Besides I think he can help me with a problem that I've got."

"Can’t you just ask princess Celestia for help?"

"It isn't a topic I think is worth consuming princess Celestia's time on." Twilight shuffled her hooves nervously as she muttered her next words. "Besides, I don't think Celestia could help me even if I asked." She glanced nervously up at the sun as if expecting it to crash down on her.

Spike raised an eyebrow. "Really? What is it exactly you're working on?"

"I have to be sure if it is even possible before telling you." Twilight winked and began trotting towards the stallion who was now talking with Amethyst Star.

"And here we have ponyville's hall. We use it for weddings, gatherings and other big events."

How very ordinary and boring. They have one of these in almost every village in Equestria. As if anything happening in one of those could be considered 'big events'. Although...

"When did you renovate it?"

Why is her face lighting up every time I ask her a question?

"Last summer. One of our citizens earned the bits to renovate it. She is so sweet that Applejack."

Applejack? That name sounds familiar. Did I read it in a paper or something? She was an apple farmer wasn't she?

"How did you know we renovated it?"

Might as well explain the obvious.

"There are places where the wood is older than others. Particularly in the beams around the building, there are traces of faded paint in the corners underneath the windows, the windows themselves are polished and without any scratches and dust and other things haven't found their way in between the window cases yet, which suggests that the windows are either of very high quality or new."

Ugh... She's gaping at me... Why do they always gape as such trivial things any common pony can see? Might as well ask, these things can take long depending on the pony.

"Are we going to continue the tour?"

Ah there she woke up.

"Oh, uh, yes sorry. Just follow me."

What else would I do?

So far nothing is very unusual about this village. It's quiet, no signs of conflicts or anything out of the average. Depending on the house, I could have a nice garden here. It would take some time to grow though and I can't see any possibility for my other activities. But I probably won't stay to find out. This place seems boring. And I had heard so many great things about this village. Disappointing.

"Excuse me."

Hmmm... What an old stallion. He looks to be at the end of his road from what I can see. He's shaking, breaths ragged, sweat dripping down his face and in his coat. I would say he has a few years left. Five at most. What a shame.

"And here we have the flower stand."

Now this actually intrigues me. I've heard that they should have a big assortment of flowers around here. They almost have all of my favorites. Blood petal lilies, named for their exquisite red color and iron tasting petals making them resemble blood in a way. Nightfall petunias, called so because of them only blooming when the night falls in the space between the moon rising and sun going down. They even have a single dying light. My favorite flower. Filled with thorns with petals in the colors of red, yellow, blue and black. It's smell, a harmony of strong and acidicky and a blend of roses. It's thorns are even poisonous and that poison what gave it its name. When one gets stung, they slowly lose their color and then they die. There has been made quite the variety of antidotes and it isn't very deadly after you remove the thorns since they can't grow back. Nevertheless it is a beautiful plant.

 It seems it is time to move on. Wonder what place the mayor intends to show me next.

"Mr. Dusk?"

Well, well, well what do we have here trotting beside me? A mare. A unicorn at that. Purple coat and short mane that is a mix of purple and blue. She looks to be in her mid twenties. Her breath is ragged, her mane slightly disheveled and she has quite the large smile. She must've been running a long way or something.

"Yes?"

She squealed. Why did she squal? Is she sick? No, her pupils aren't dilated, she isn't pale and she isn't acting any the part. There is only one explanation then. Oh, no...

"It's you! It's really you! Azure Dusk is in Ponyville and I am speaking with him!"

Ugh... I hoped these stopped popping up last year. I don't like drawing attention to myself and yet somehow there is still one like her in almost every village I visit.

"Can I get you to sign my book?"

Wow. She actually has a golden edition of my first book. I think the publisher only made a hundred. Color me impressed.

"Now, Star, i am showing mr. Dusk around, I'm sure he can sign your book later."

Well this is surprising. Mayor mare to the rescue. I usually don't like signing books. It gets tiring after the two hundredth time and I just don't like it in general. But in this case I will make an exception. I like her goforth attitude.

"No it's alright. Here you go."

Ugh, I hate having to smile. It is a waste of muscle power just to seem nice. But I do like writing.

"*squeal* Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

She's hugging me. Why is she hugging me? It feels warm. I don't think I've had such a hug since I was a little colt. My skin and very being wants to recoil from her and her warmth, but I almost can't.  My coat is brushing against hers and I can feel her heartbeat. That juicy organic pump that pumps gallons of blood around her sleek body. I almost feel like... No, not here, not now, not her.

"Oh! Sorry!"

Thank goodness she let go.

"It's okay. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a tour to continue."

The mayor looks ready so let's get going so I can get out of this village.

"Okay, thanks for the signing!"

Ugh, glad that's over. I hate fans. Wait, what's that in the distance?

"And here we have the--"

"What is that glinting structure in the distance?"

Ah good. The mayor is following my eyes. I can't quite make out what that structure is, but it must be specially made to be that big and glinting so much in the sunlight.

"Oh, that's princess Twilight's castle."

What?

"I've never heard of this 'princess Twilight'."

"Well I have sure read a lot about you."

Another female voice coming from behind me this time. Who could it... No... An alicorn princess. Well... I didn't expect that. Let's see. Lavender colored coat, same with the wings, her mane and tail have stripes of a darker purple. She looks healthy. Decent sleek feminine features, a shy grin and beautiful purple eyes although they lack confidence. Her hooves are close together and her grin looks forced. She looks nervous.

"Princess Twilight! What a lovely surprise."

The mayor is bowing. Hmmm... Understandable. Maybe I should do the same? No, it doesn't look necessary even though the mayor is sending me her most begging eyes and gesturing me to follow her lead. And the princess... Amusing. She is almost recoiling away from the mayor as she is bowing. One of her front hoofs are lifted and threatens to take a step back, her wings are also on the verge of flaring with the slight shaking I can make out. Her eyes look almost panicked or saddened at the mayor. She clearly doesn't like the attention. Let's see if I can help her.

Twilight's body threatened a taking a step back. She certainly hadn't expected the mayor to bow like that. She usually didn't. It was almost saddening Twilight. Now the only ponies who didn't treat her like that were her friends and Spike.

Twilight looked to the stallion that she had come to meet and almost looked away in embarrassment. He was looking her over at every aspect. But she couldn't help but analyze him as well.

He was not the tallest of stallions, but he still had a decent height. A bit smaller than Big Mac. He wasn't very muscular but that was typical for unicorns. Azure colored coat, blond mane and tail, wearing a pink shirt and a dark grey jacket. And then there were his eyes. Cold blue calculating eyes that screamed of intellect and knowledge. Twilight almost jumped when he suddenly smiled. It was a warm smile, a welcoming smile that gave her a certain comfort. It reminded her a little of princess Celestia's motherly smile.

"I'm assuming that you're princess Twilight." He said happily.

Twilight felt her knees become like butter at his voice once more. It was dark and soft like silk, but also firm as if he could silence an entire hall full of ponies with a single word.

Azure Dusk stuck out a hoof and Twilight reluctantly took it and he began shaking hers firmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Twilight?"

"Sparkle." Twilight muttered lowly before shaking her head back to her normal self.  "Twilight Sparkle."

Azure Dusk stopped shaking her hoof and looking deeply into her eyes while keeping his smile. "Twilight Sparkle." He repeated. "What a lovely name." He let go of her hoof and turned back to mayor Mare. "Shall we continue the tour?"

Mayor mare looked oddly at him because of his behaviour. “Uh, sure?” She turned around and began walking down the street.

Azure Dusk shot Twilight another smile. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Twilight Sparkle.” And then he continued his tour with mayor mare.

Twilight was left there standing, looking after the stallion as he walked away. It was refreshing for her to have somepony not treat her like royalty but just like any other pony. Twilight turned and began walking towards her castle, thinking about the stallion and his unusual behaviour, his appearance and his warm smile. It was then she remembered why she had gone over to him in the first place and skidded to a halt. Wait a second… Twilight then turned and then began running in the direction of Azure Dusk and mayor mare. “Hey, wait!”