Location: Ponyville Hospital

Twilight was sitting beside the hospital bed where her unconscious/injured older brother Dusk is currently laying on. She was not alone as her friends are either standing or sitting around her, providing her with comfort and reassurances as the repeating noise of the heart monitor echoed throughout the silent room.

It has been three days since they found her brother injured and unconscious in the Everfree Forest.

Three days ago, her older brother came to visit and stay in Ponyville for his vacation. However, Twilight and her friends were told by Rarity about the rumors surrounding Dusk, saying that he was using Twilight’s and Shining’s status as royalty for his own gain.

At first Twilight didn’t believe the rumors until Applejack told her that Dusk was lying to her, lying about the true reason why he came to Ponyville.

At the time she was shocked. Why would Dusk lie to her? They were family, family never lie to one another. She needed to know why.
However, what happened next made Twilight wish she never knew.

Her older brother, her BBBFF, yelled and shouted at her the real reason why he came to Ponyville, the truth behind the rumors, the pain and scorn he had to endure because of her and Shining Armor.

And worst of all, Twilight thought she and her friends can simply solve the problem like they always had. But what Dusk went through cannot be so easily solved, even with the magic of friendship.

He was right. Even if they did solve his problem with the rumors, ponies would never look at him the same way ever again.

Twilight didn’t know what to do. She had no idea that she was causing her brother so much pain, so much misery. She even stopped calling Dusk her BBBFF. She is the Princess of Friendship who neglected her own brother, her own family member.

She never felt more ashamed with herself then ever before.

So when Dusk turned to leave, she panicked and tried to stop him. She wanted to talk, tell him she was sorry. She wanted to make things right.

However, her brother had a different idea. Due to her moment of grief, she only realized to late that Dusk charged up an illumination spell at max charge. The spell did as it intended, it blinded her and her friends, forcing her to release Dusk from her magical hold.

When Twilight and her friends recovered from the spell, Dusk was already gone. Luckily Rainbow Dash was the quickest to recover and sped after him, with Twilight and the rest of the Mane Six quickly following behind.

However, when Twilight and her friends reached Ponyville, Rainbow Dash returned with a bleeding nose and told her that her brother has ran off into the Everfree Forest. Twilight and her friends quickly sped to the Everfree Forest, she expected the worst.

Once they reach the Everfree Forest, they started combing the forest for her brother. However, due to it being night time their chances of finding Dusk was low at best.

But Twilight didn’t care, she needed to find her brother, he needs her more then ever.

Minutes felt like hours as they searched through the forest for her older brother to no avail. Just when all hope of finding Dusk was lost, a whirlwind of energy whipped through the forest.

Twilight sensed a sudden spike of unknown energy emanating deeper within the Everfree Forest, however, it only lasted a few seconds before disappearing completely. Thinking her brother being near the energy spike, Twilight and her friends quickly made their way towards where she felt the energy spike.

Once they arrived, Twilight couldn’t believe what she saw.

A large section of the forest was now a smoldering crater, the bushes, trees, leaves, and even the grass surrounding the crater were either singed, smoldering or completely destroyed. But what caught Twilight’s attention was what lay in the middle of the crater.
It was her brother, Dusk.

Seeing her unconscious and possibly injured brother, Twilight immediately ran into the middle of the crater, ignoring her friend’s cries of warning as they soon chased after her.

Once Twilight and her friends reached Dusk, Twilight saw the state that her brother was in and the amount of blood that coated Dusk’s clothes.

Fearing the worst, she casted a mass teleportation spell and teleported the whole group plus her injured brother directly to Ponyville Hospital. Once there, the doctor and nurses immediately brought Dusk to the ER.

After a few minutes, the doctor returned and informed Twilight and her friends that the injuries that were inflicted on Dusk were suppose to be fatal but were already healed, something that baffled the doctor. However, Dusk was still unconscious and needed to be kept monitored at the hospital.

Normally Twilight would be curious about Dusk’s already healed injuries, however, at the time she did not care. All that mattered was that Dusk was still alive.

Now Twilight is beside her unconscious brother, holding his hand. It has been three days since Dusk was hospitalized, and for the past three days he has not woken up.

Twilight is beginning to worry. She has sent a letter to both Shining and Cadence about Dusk’s hospitalization two days ago. She didn’t send a letter notifying their parents, she didn’t want to worry them.

Plus, they most likely know the reason why Dusk came to Ponyville in the first place.

For the past three days Twilight has been at Dusk’s side, barely eating, barely sleeping and refusing to leave his side until he wakes up. She felt solely responsible for Dusk’s condition, if she hadn’t been a horrible sister to him, if she only bothered to at least contact or even meet him more often, if only she knew about Dusk’s situation before it escalated, then none of this would’ve happened.

Twilight tightened her grip on Dusk’s hand. ‘I’m sorry big brother. I’m so sorry.’ Twilight thought as she felt her eyes starting to tear up. She has also been crying over her brother’s unconscious body for the past three days, apologizing profusely to the unconscious stallion.

She then felt a hand on her shoulder. “It’s going to be alright sugarcube. Your brother is going ta be alright.” Applejack said with a reassuring smile.

Pinkie then came into the picture. “Yeah Twilight! Turn that frown upside down! Everything is going to be fine! Once your brother wakes up, I’ll give the best recovery party, EVER!” Pinkie exclaimed with excitement as she threw confetti into the air.

Once the confetti settled, Rarity spoke. “I agree with Pinkie. Once your brother wakes up and recovers, we should all formally introduce him to the rest of Ponyville. It’s the least we could do.” Rarity said, her tone laced with a hint of regret.

“Yeah. And I still need to apologize to him…” Rainbow added in a hurt/regretful tone.

During the past three days, Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash felt absolutely terrible, they believed that they were solely responsible for Dusk’s condition. Even though Twilight said it was alright, all three mares still felt responsible and promised Twilight to apologize to her older brother the first thing when he recovers.

Twilight smiled as she hugged all her friends. “Thank you everypony. I wouldn’t know what I’ve done without you.” Twilight said as she started to cry.

However, they were soon interrupted when the door slammed open.

“Twily we’re here! We got your message and got here as fast as we can!”

Twilight and her friends broke the group hug as they turned their attention to the door. Standing at the door was a unicorn stallion standing at 6'1" feet tall with a white coat and three-toned mane and tail of blue, dark blue, and cyan blue. He’s currently wearing a white military uniform with his cutie mark on his left breast of the uniform and white dress pants to match.

Standing behind the stallion is a beautiful Alicorn standing at 5’9” with a pink coat with a three-toned mane and tail of violet, magenta and light yellow. She’s currently wearing a magenta dress with pink accents and a gold crown and necklace.

These two were none other than Shining Armor and Princess Cadence.

“Shining! Cadence! You’re finally here!” Twilight exclaimed as she hugged both of her fellow royals and family members. After a brief moment Twilight broke the hug as both Shining and Cadence turned their gaze over to the unconscious Dusk.

“Is he alright Twily?” Shining asked in a concerned tone as he and Cadence made their way over to Dusk’s bedside.

Twilight nodded. “Doctor Horse said his injuries were healed, but he remained unconscious for the past three days.” Twilight explained in a somber tone.

Both Cadence and Shining then turned towards Twilight. “What happened to him Twilight?” Cadence asked in a concerned tone. Both Shining and Twilight knew Dusk was the cautious type, if he was ever injured it was usually for a good reason.

But not this time.

Twilight bowed her head in shame and sorrow. “Shining… Cadence… it’s-”

“It’s all my fault!”

Shining, Twilight and Cadence turned to Rarity in surprise.

“It’s my fault that your older brother is injured. I believed some ridiculous rumors about your brother and told Twilight about it. I’m responsible for your brother’s condition.” Rarity said with a regretful tone.

Before either Shining or Twilight could speak, they were interrupted once again.

“It’s not entirely Rarity’s fault. It’s my fault too! I believed the rumors and suggested that we should beat up Dusk.” Rainbow Dash confessed in a sad tone.

Applejack then spoke. “It’s mah fault as well. Ah made Twilight believe that her older brother was a lying stallion and made her distrust her own kin. A’m terribly sorry.” Applejack explained as she held her hat somberly on her chest.

Shining gave Twilight a confused expression. “Twilight, what are they talking about? Are they truly responsible for Dusk’s condition?” Shining asked in a serious tone.

Twilight shook her head. Shining has not heard of the rumors surrounding their older brother, if he heard them who knows how Shining will react.

But Twilight has to tell him. It concerns their brother after all, he has the right to know.

Twilight took a deep breath to calm her nerves before telling both Shining and Cadence everything that has happened so far to Dusk. His arrival in Ponyville, the rumors, his reason for coming to Ponyville, and most importantly the reason for Dusk’s grief.

After her explanation, Shining’s expression turned to rage while Cadence’s was a bit milder in comparison.

“I knew the nobles of Canterlot were upstart pricks, but to target your older brother because he’s related to you, that’s just a new low.” Candence said, her tone was far from pleased.

Shining curled his hands into fists. “Twilight. We need to tell the princesses about this. The nobles of Canterlot has gone too far!” Shining said in a furious tone. Shining loves his family, especially Dusk. Dusk was the best older brother a stallion could ask for, he was the one who gave Shining confidence to reach to new heights, he was even the one who gave Shining confidence to confess to Cadence.

So when rumors are going around about how his older brother is a worthless stallion without his knowing, he is more than angry. He was outright furious.

But before Twilight could agree, they heard a groan emanating from the hospital bed as something started rustling the sheets.

Everypony in the room immediately brought their gaze towards the hospital bed as their eyes widened.

Dusk is awake.

Dusk opened his eyes as oxygen filled his lungs. He groaned as his body felt sore and his joint’s stiff.

He felt the familiar touch of cloth and fabric beneath him and covering most of his body. As he sat up, he soon realized that he was in some sort of bed in a medical facility, possibly a hospital of some sort.

He then saw an equine snout in his vision, he knew it was his own but it felt both familiar and alien to him. He then stared at his hands as he inspected the grey fur that covered his arms and hands. He then raised a hand to feel his head as he soon felt what felt like his mane, long ears and finally a horn.

His body felt both familiar and alien at the same time, however, that was the least of his worries.

‘Where am I?’ Dusk thought, confused and concern. He knew he should be panicking or at least concerned about his situation, but he felt eerily calm and his mind clear and collected, like he was incapable of feeling such negative emotions.

He groaned as he clutched his head with one hand.

‘What happened to me?’ Dusk thought.

As soon as he asked this question, a single name popped into his mind.

‘Ceres…’

Dusk recognized the name and the memories that came with it, however, this made him skeptical about who he was.

He first reevaluated himself and his life so far.

He was Dusk Shine was a unicorn stallion, related to two important royals and lives in a kingdom called Equestria. He was scorned by the pony society of Canterlot due to the numerous false rumors that spread from the growing jealousy and hatred of the kingdom’s nobility against his younger and more famous siblings. This has lead him to grow more distant and enraged of both his siblings, for he believed it was their fault for his harsh life.

He then went over the memories of Ceres.

Ceres on the other hand was a powerful leader of the Zerg Swarm, an intergalactic alien race with an empire that has hundreds of planets under it’s rule. Before Ceres was the ultimate leader of the Zerg, he used to go by the name Cerebrate and served underneath two proverbial gods, one of which died from it’s own hubris. Ceres then died and later on was resurrected only to be experimented on and tortured for his very essence. However, years later he was saved by the vey being he was sworn to protect and serve.

The Queen of Blades.

From then, Ceres faithfully followed his queen into every battlefield against impossible odds and lead her armies with brutal efficiency and cunning strategy. It wasn’t until the battle against Amon did his queen ascended to godhood and destroyed the dark Xel’naga, she then disappeared soon afterwards.

Three years after the death of Amon, Ceres lead the Swarm into a new age of peace and prosperity. However, his days grew dull due to said peace between each of the major factions of the Koprulu sector. Unfortunately for Ceres, he was baited into fighting a rogue Tal’darim fleet and was “killed” for his hubris.

It was at this point both memories of Dusk’s and Ceres’s converged, showing him how he met and merged with Ceres out of desperation for survival.

‘My Queen. I am sorry for my failure. But fear not, for I have created a successor. A new Guardian of the Swarm.’

The last words of Ceres echoed through his mind. Ceres has merged with him, not only out of desperation, but also to ensure the survival of the Zerg Swarm. With Ceres’s memories and very soul merged with his own, Dusk knew that the Swarm always needed a leader, but the leader must be powerful enough to protect the Swarm in return.

In the seconds since he woke up, Dusk knew his purpose and the prime directive given to him by his predecessor. However, he still felt conflicted about his identity and his very being.

Is he Dusk of Equestria, or Ceres of the endless Zerg Swarm?

However, before he could ponder any further, he sensed movement to his left.

“DUSK! Thank Celestia you’re awake!”

Dusk felt somepony wrap their arms around his neck as they pushed their face into his chest. Dusk looked down at the one who invaded his personal space and immediately recognized the one who is currently hugging him.

‘Twilight Sparkle. My younger sister. So that means…’ Dusk then slowly observed his surroundings, finally noticing and recognizing the other ponies in the room.

‘Why are they all here?’ Dusk thought in confusion. If he remembered correctly, some of Twilight’s friends hated him due to some rumors, however, those same ponies seemed glad that he’s awake.

Soon the purple Alicorn released her hold on him and gave him a beaming smile, her eyes brimming with tears.

“I’m so glad your okay BBBFF. I’m so sorry for everything. I want to make things right again. I promise, I will be your LSBFF once again, and I’ll do whatever it takes to resolve the rumors going around in Canterlot.” Twilight said with conviction and a happy smile, soon a white stallion stepped forward and stood beside Twilight.

Dusk recognized the stallion, it was none other than his younger brother Shining Armor. “Big bro, I’m glad you’re safe. I can assure you that those nobles in Canterlot will get what’s coming to them, if it’s the last thing I do.” Shining said with stern conviction.

Soon after, three mares stepped forward, Dusk recognized each one of them as Rarity, Rainbow Dash and Applejack. Friends of Twilight Sparkle and current bearers of the Elements of Harmony.

The first to speak was Rarity. “I am terribly sorry for what I said about you Dusk. I should’ve known better than to judge other ponies based of some horrible rumor. I hope you could forgive me and we can start over.” Rarity apologized in a hopeful tone.

The next was the cowpony Applejack. “And ah apologize for making Twilight believe that you’re some no good stallion. I just hope you can forgive this foolish mare for her mistake.” Applejack said in a somber tone.

Lastly, the cyan mare stepped forward, albeit hesitantly. “Hey… I know I might be the last pony you want to see right now… so I’ll just get this over with. I’m sorry for accusing you and injuring you, I just thought that you were just using Twilight for your own gain. But it turns out I was wrong and what I did got you hurt. I’m terribly sorry.” Rainbow Dash apologized in an embarrassed but sincere tone.

There was a brief moment of silence as Dusk turned his head to gaze monotonously at his hands in front of him. He can tell their apologies were sincere, he could sense their current emotions and read their thoughts due his psionics.

When Ceres merged with Dusk, he knew for a fact that he inherited Ceres’s powerful psionic powers and his mastery and control over them. He knows how to wield his psionics just as well as Ceres once can, however, with his current biology, Dusk’s mind cannot handle some of the more strenuous abilities.

He does not have any of the Zerg traits that Ceres once had, which includes his strength, speed, agility, stamina, and most importantly his high regeneration and extremely developed cerebral system. However, he can tell he’s still part Zerg, just not at the level that Ceres was before the merge.

He’s practically a Terran with some Zerg DNA, however, he still retains one aspect of Ceres’s biology that is crucial to completing his end goal.
Ceres’s ability to manipulate and evolve Zerg biology.

Dusk could feel and see the various genomes from the Zerg genome cache contained within his very DNA. With this, he still retains the very blue prints to create any and all of the Zerg units and their upgrades.

He will fix his own biology in due time. But for now he has some concerns about the ponies surrounding him.

“Where am I?” Dusk demanded in a serious tone.

Most of the ponies in the room flinched at the seriousness of his tone, thinking he was still upset. “You’re in the Ponyville Hospital. Is everything ok BBBFF?” Twilight answered in a concerned and cautious tone as she held his hand.

Dusk frowned. ‘So I’m in the hospital…’ Dusk thought as he removed his hand from Twilight’s, no doubt the action caused emotional pain to Twilight.

He then asked another question. “How long was I unconscious for?” Dusk demanded in the same tone as before, something that came naturally to him.

There was a pause as Twilight hesitated, her mind is clouded with both fear and nervousness from what Dusk can sense. “You were unconscious for three days. I was so worried that you might not wake up big brother.” Twilight answered in a somber tone.

Normally Dusk would reassure Twilight with a smile, however, the Alicorn’s misery didn’t effect Dusk in a slightest. Something that Dusk noticed about himself.

He felt as if his emotions were dulled or even suppressed at times, his mind is calm and much clearer then it has ever been in years. He can think more dynamically and more efficiently than ever before.

Whatever the merging did to him, it made him much more… “efficient.”

“So what happened three days ago, after I passed out in the Everfree Forest.” Dusk asked as he already knew the answer.

His question to Twilight gained the reaction that he expected from everypony in the room. Twilight eye’s widened in worry as she nervously answered.

“W-We found you in a large carter, unconscious and covered in… b-blood. I thought you were… d-dying so I teleported you here and got the doctor to try and save you. But after a few minutes the doctor said you were fine even though the injuries you sustained were suppose to be fatal. What happened in the forest big brother?” Twilight asked with genuine concern.

Dusk didn’t answer right away as he started reading the minds of each of the ponies in the room.

Unlike magic, psionics are much subtler and almost untraceable when it comes to it’s use unless he uses his psionics in a way that reveals its use. While magic has versatility, psionics is much more efficient when it comes to control, preparation and use.

That is why he’s able to easily read the minds of all the ponies in the room without their knowing, even Twilight didn’t notice. None of them had any mental barriers of any kind in place to protect themselves against psionic abilities, and even if they did, Dusk was more than confident that he can destroy those mental barriers no matter how powerful they might be.

And right now everypony thinks he’s still mad at them like he was three days ago, still upset over the rumors going around in Canterlot and how his younger siblings were the indirect cause of his harsh life.

Personally, he didn’t care anymore. However, he can use this to his advantage.

Dusk looked directly into Twilight’s eyes with a frown. “I was attacked by a Manticore. What happened afterwards I don’t remember. Now let’s drop the subject.” Dusk said in a strict tone. Twilight and her friends visibly flinched back at the hostility in his voice and didn’t ask any further questions.

Shining however, frowned at Dusk’s tone. “What’s the matter with you Dusk? Do you know how worried Twilight and her friends were over your hospitalization? Twilight got you to this hospital and stayed by your side for three days straight. Can’t you show at least some consideration for her?” Shining said in a stern tone, frowning directly towards Dusk.

However, Dusk gave him a stern gaze in return, the intensity of such gaze surprised Shining.

“If I remember correctly, the reason for my hospitalization was due to Twilight’s and her friend’s inability to tell the difference between fact from fiction. I will admit, it wasn’t the wisest idea on my part to run into the Everfree Forest, but after what Twilight and her friends have put me through that day, I needed to be alone. But they refused.” Dusk explained, he could feel the guilt and sadness radiating off of Twilight and her friends, especially the three mares from before.

Shining went to retort, however, it was Princess Cadence that beat him to it.

“But still, can’t you forgive them. I’m sure they learned their lesson and felt guilty for their mistakes. They did also apologize.” The pink Alicorn asked in a hopeful tone, however, Dusk shook his head.

“Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. There are some things I cannot forgive so easily. For now, I wish to forget that day and enjoy my stay here in Ponyville while it lasts.” Dusk explained in a calm tone as the somber atmosphere rose in the room, even Pinkie Pie was quite sad.
Dusk did not care about what transpired three days ago, however, the reason for his cold attitude is to give himself more freedom from the prying eyes of Twilight and her friends. With this distance he made for himself, he can go on and do whatever he pleases, something that is crucial for what he wants to do next.

There was a brief moment of silence until it was broken when the door opened to reveal a doctor. The doctor noticed that Dusk was awake as he made his way inside the room, ignorant of the somber atmosphere.

“Ah! You’re awake at last. That’s good, now let me do one last check up before you can leave this establishment.” The doctor said as he made his way over to Dusk and started checking his healed injuries.

“Your injuries seemed to be doing well. There is not much more I can do for you. You’re free to go, just sign out at the front desk on your way out.”

Dusk nodded as the doctor soon left the room. Once the doctor left, Dusk looked directly at Twilight.

“Where are my clothes?”

Twilight was brought out of her somber state as she quickly replied. “T-They’re over there on the table.” Twilight said as she pointed towards a table with fresh new clothes beside where Fluttershy is currently sitting.

Dusk removed his blanket and hopped off the bed, he was currently wearing a hospital gown as he made his way over to his clothes. Once he grabbed his clothes he turned to the rest of the ponies in the room with a raised eyebrow.

Getting the message, everypony left the room except Pinkie Pie, who is currently jumping on the bed.

“WHEEEE!”

Poof!

“WHEEEE!”

Poof!

“WHEEEE!”

Poof!

“WHEE- ULK!”

Rarity came back into the room, grabbed and dragged the energetic pink mare out of the room by the back of her shirt while giving Dusk a nervous smile.

Once both mares left, Dusk changed into his new attire which consisted of a black t-shirt and a brand new pair of jeans.

Once in his new attire, he soon stepped out of the room as everypony gathered outside gave him various different expressions.

“So BBBFF. You ready to go?” Twilight said with a hopeful smile, trying to be cheerful.

However, Dusk gave her a monotone expression as he simply made his way towards the exit.

“Let’s go.”

He didn’t see the sad expression that Twilight, her friends and Cadence is giving him as he made his way down the hall. Nor did he see the looks of disapproval coming from Shining. Even if he did, he could care less what they thought of him.

For he’s a changed stallion, no longer is he the weak willed Dusk that ponies knew and tormented.

He is now something much… much more.

Location: Ponyville, Castle of Friendship

Dusk is currently in Twilight’s personal library reading through a text book on Equestria society.

Six hours ago after he left the hospital, both Shining and Cadence returned to the Crystal Empire but not before saying their last goodbyes.
Once they left, all of Twilight’s friends soon left afterwards. Applejack, Rarity and Rainbow Dash were still sad over the fact that Dusk still has not forgiven them. It was all part of his plan, he did not want to attract any attention to what he has planned in the future.

His plan is to create a new Zerg brood and ultimately return to the Koprulu sector. He can create a larva; all he needs is the essence to make one.

Among the three races of the Korprulu sector, the Zerg were the most efficient and unique when it comes to building and replenishing their armies. While the Terrans and the Protoss recruit and train their soldiers from their local populace, the Zerg are different. The Zerg literally breeds new soldiers in the millions, however, like any army there is a price. While the Terrans use currency and propaganda to recruit more soldiers and the Protoss using duty and tradition to recruit their own, the Zerg use essence to create their units.

Essence is the foundation of all life, it’s the very blue print of any living or non-living organism. In order for the Zerg Swarm to breed more units, they need the essence to create these units. The Zerg use to and still consume any living organisms they come across in order to gain the essence required, however, the Zerg long ago discovered a new resource that gives plenty of essence. Almost every planet in the Koprulu sector has mineral patches and vespene geysers as a common natural resource. All races of the Korprulu sector use these two vital resources to build their armies and power their machinery. The Zerg use these resources because the minerals are the manifestation of the planet’s essence, something that the Swarm can use. The vespene gas is used by the Swarm as a catalyst to increase the amount of essence gained from these minerals by twice the amount in order to breed the more powerful Zerg units.

All Dusk needed to do was find and gather enough essence to start the foundation of his brood, and from there grow his brood and find his way back to the Koprulu Sector.

Dusk has decided to return to the Koprulu sector soon after he left the hospital. He had no obligation to continue his life on this world, his family will no doubt try and stop him, but as long as nopony is aware of his plans then he should have no problem leaving.
However, before even creating a brood, Dusk needed information about the world he’s been living in for the past 27 years and any kingdoms that might become a threat to his future plans.

Dusk’s knowledge of Equestria, it’s society and history, and the other surrounding kingdoms is basic at best. Luckily for him, Twilight keeps a vast collection of books, scrolls, journals, and other texts in her library, making it the perfect place to gather information.
Since his return to castle, he immediately made his way to Twilight’s personal library and immediately started gathering information about everything it has to offer in terms of Equestrian society to its history.

Thanks to his far more efficient mind, he has read through six text books on Equestrain history, three books on the major kingdoms of Equis, and finally finishing his second book on Equestrian society and norms.

He closed the book as he leaned back on his seat and closed his eyes, going over the information he just gathered.

The world he’s currently on is named Equis, supposedly created by the first Alicorn Goddess, Faust.

This world has nine major kingdoms, each with their own specific race and culture. The Kingdom of Equestria, the Minotaur Kingdom, the Dragon Lands, the Griffon Kingdom, the Crystal Empire, Yakyakistan, Zebrica, Saddle Arabia, and finally Neighpon.

Out of these Kingdoms, Dusk deduced that both Equestria and the Crystal Empire will most likely be a major threat to his zerg brood.

The Kingdom of Equestria is the most powerful kingdom compared to the rest of the other kingdoms. It contains over ten major cities and holds a population of over 4.5 million ponies within its Kingdom borders. The kingdom is home of the pony species as they are considered the dominant species in Equis due to their numbers and advancement in both magic and technology.

There are four types of ponies. Earth ponies, Pegasus, Unicorns, and lastly the Alicorns.

Earth ponies are known for their superior strength, endurance and magical ability to cultivate the very earth for their needs.

Pegasus are ponies with the ability to fly and control the very weather itself by moving and controlling the clouds.

Unicorns are known for their ability to utilize magic for either everyday activities or to create complex spells.

Lastly are the Alicorns. They are a rare type as they are only four in existence. These ponies are considered immortal and have all the attributes of all the other three pony species but to a greater extent.

Overall Equestria is primarily a matriarchy due to its ruling hierarchy being all princesses and the fact that the total female population out-number the total male population by 5 to 1.

Due to its skewed gender ratio, polygamy is considered the social norm for marriage as the mare is considered the most dominant in both the relationship and by social standards. Also, gay and interspecies relationships are not unheard of as they are also socially accepted.

From Ceres’s memories, Dusk knew that in Terran society the males are usually the most dominant in the relationship and marriage is normally a single male and female. However, females have equal standing as the males, and in some situation are more dominant then the males.

Continuing on, Equestria is ruled by three Alicorn Princesses.

The first and most powerful of the three is Princess Celestia. She is revered as the Goddess of the Sun due to her ability to move said celestial body with her magic alone. She is also known throughout the world to be peaceful, kind, and wise. She has ruled over Equestria for well over 1000 years of peace since she founded the kingdom with her sister, Luna.

Princess Luna is the younger sister of Celestia and co-ruler of Equestria, overseeing the kingdom when night falls. She is revered as the Goddess of the Moon due to her ability to move and control said celestial body with her magic. She is also known as Nightmare Moon due to her past jealousy of her older sister and was ultimately banished to the moon for 1000 years. However, she returned on the dawn of the 1000th Summer Sunset Celebration, where Twilight and her friends defeated Nightmare Moon and turned her back into Luna.
Since then, she ruled beside her sister and kept a vigil watch over the dreamscape for any nightmares that come to plague the dreams of ponies.

Then lastly, there is Princess Twilight Sparkle. Dusk’s own sister.

There is another Alicorn, however, she is ruling the Crystal Empire alongside with Dusk’s younger brother Shining Armor. Her name is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the Princess of Love. While the Crystal Empire is not directly part of Equestria, both kingdoms still have a strong alliance due to the fact that both ruling hierarchies are related to one another.

Out of these four Alicorns, no doubt Celestia and Luna will pose the biggest threat to his brood. Due to Celestia’s peaceful and protective nature and the wrath and bloodshed that the Zerg can unleash, Celestia will no doubt try and stop Dusk and his brood.

So it’s imperative that Dusks starts his plans as early as possible and keeps it a secret from anypony else. He will only reveal the true nature of his plans until his brood grows to significant size, to the point where not even the princesses can pose a threat to it.

With his mind made up, Dusk looked outside the library window seeing how dark it’s gotten.

‘It’s most likely midnight. Good, I should get started right away.’ Dusk thought as he stood from his seat. He has already decided on the location where he’s going to grow his new Zerg Brood. The one place where no pony will be willing to go.

The Everfree Forest.

Dusk opened the library doors only for it to reveal Twilight, who has a tray of food in her hands.

Twilight’s surprised expression quickly turned cheerful. “Hi BBBFF. I thought you might be hungry, so I had Spike to make you some dinner. If you want, we can sit and talk in the library while you eat.” Twilight suggested in hopeful tone.

Dusk gave her a blank expression. Ever since he returned to the castle, Twilight had been trying to get closer to him and to gain his forgiveness in any way she can. However, every one of her attempts failed as Dusk would firmly tell her to leave him alone.

She would usually leave soon after, only to come back minutes later with another excuse to be with him.

Dusk shook his head. “Not hungry.” He replied as he moved pasted the princess. He had better things to do.

“Where are you going?” Twilight asked, her voice laced with concern.

Dusk stopped but didn’t look back. “I’m going for a midnight stroll. Been cooped up in your library for too long.” Dusk replied in a calm tone.
“Maybe I can come with you? We can walk through Ponyville together, just you and I.” Twilight asked, her tone filled with hope.

However, Dusk quickly shot the suggestion down. “I would rather be alone.” Dusk stated as he resumed his walk. However, his path was suddenly blocked when Twilight teleported directly in front of him, wings spread wide open.

“I promise I won’t be a bother! You won’t even know I’m here! I’ll-”

“Twilight. I wasn’t asking.” Dusk cut her off in a stern tone as he gave the mare an equally stern frown.

Twilight wilted under his gaze as her once desperate expression morphed into sorrow.

“I’m sorry big brother. I just wanted to-”

Dusk didn’t listen as he made his way past Twilight. He didn’t care for what she had to say next, he had much more important things to worry about then to fix his relationship with his family.

As he made his way down the hall, he could hear the telltale crying of his sister echoing throughout the castle.

Not once did he look back, nor did he care to look back. He had a brood to create.

Location: Everfree Forest, 5 miles from Ponyville

Dusk has been walking for well over an hour through the “dangerous” woods.

So far he didn’t run into any dangerous creatures that frequently prowls the forest. Just the regular harmless animals.

For over an hour he was trying to locate the perfect spot to start his new Hive cluster, however, he was having little luck. The forest was dense with plant life of all kinds as there was little to no open spaces that can hid and sustain his Hive.

However, before entering the Forest he saw a group of large mountains in the far distance. He thinking it would be a good place to look, he decided to make his way towards the mountain while looking for a suitable place for his brood.

He was closing in on the mountains he saw earlier. ‘The mountains look like a good place to place my Hive. All I need to do is scout out the mountains before establishing my Hive’ Dusk thought as he soon saw the group of mountains.

However, before he could approach the mountains even further, Dusk’s instincts flared as he dove to the side, narrowly dodging a lunge from a large creature.

As Dusk rolled into a crouch he finally got a good look at the creature that attacked him.

It was a Manticore, but not just any Manticore, it was the very same one that attacked and hospitalized Dusk three days ago.

The Manticore seemed to recognize Dusk as it growled in feral hunger and rage, possibly remembering how Dusk injured its right shoulder.
However, Dusk wasn’t afraid, far from it.

He was excited.

Dusk stood from his crouched position. ‘Round two.’

The Manticore bellowed out a mighty roar as it once again lunged straight at Dusk, it’s maw wide open as it’s claws are ready to rend flesh and bone.

Dusk, however, didn’t move an inch. He simply smiled as his eyes glowed bright orange.

The Manticore froze in mid air, as Dusk held it with his psionic powers. The Manticore tried desperately to move, to break his hold, but to no avail.

Dusk smirked. ‘The predator becomes the prey.’

Dusk then raised his left hand with an open palm towards the Manticore. He then started to slowly close his fingers as the Manticore was slowly being crushed in tandem.

As his hand continue to close, he soon hears the snapping and popping of bones coming from the Manticore as it entire body was slowly being contorted into a ball.

The Manticore was very much alive as it is now exuding large amounts of fear towards Dusk. It couldn’t roar in pain, it’s lungs and ribcage were already crushed. Just before Dusk fully closed his hand, he took one last look as the eyes of the Manticore, seeing the fear in it’s eyes.
After a brief moment of silence, Dusk closed his hand.

Squelch!

What was once a Manticore, is now a ball of flesh, fur and meat as blood dripped out of the ball and pooled underneath it.

Dusk then psionically collected the essence from the mass of flesh as he soon released his hold on the ball of flesh.

Splat!

Dusk reviewed how much essence he gained from the dead Manticore. ‘I gained quite the amount from that Manticore. Just enough.’ Dusk thought as he clasped his hands together and concentrated.

After a brief moment of concentration, Dusk unclasped his hand as he created a bubble filled with translucent green liquid. He then used the essence he just gained from the Manticore and started creating a larva within the green bubble. Soon a Zerg larva started to form within the green bubble as it quickly grew in size.

Soon the larva was finished as the bubble popped, letting the newly created Zerg larva fall into his hands.

The newly born larva started wriggling in his hands while making happy clicking sounds, a similar behavior to what an infant does towards its mother.

For a single moment, Dusk felt happy that he wasn’t alone, even if it was just a single larva within his mind. For many years he felt useless, without a purpose in life. But once he merged with Ceres and created this larva, he felt like he had a purpose once again, to shepherd a new age for the Zerg Swarm.

Now with a happy larva in hand, Dusk made his way over to the mountains. Along the way he ran into some Timber Wolves, he easily dealt with them and collected their essence. He soon reached his destination, however, he saw he had to do a bit of climbing.

The larva chirped, emotions of concern was sent to his mind through their psionic connection.

Dusk rubbed the larva to sooth it’s worry. “Don’t worry. I’ll be careful.” Dusk said as he secured the larva and started his climb.

It took him a couple of minutes, but he managed to reach the top of a rocky ledge. As he stood on the ledge, he finally looked down upon a large clear valley filled with nothing but grass and flowers as a river ran directly through the valley. The valley was also surrounded but four large mountains acting as natural barriers from the outside world.

Overall, it was the perfect place to start his new Hive.

“This will do.” Dusk said as he slid down into the valley and made his way towards the middle.

As he reached the middle, like the larva, Dusk created a creep tumor and placed it on the ground. Immediately the creep tumor started to generate creep as it quickly spread.

As the creep was spreading, it then started gaining the necessary nutrients from the ground, grass and flowers of the valley, however, at the same time not killing the plant life.

Dusk knew why the Creep wasn’t killing the plant life like it normally should. A year ago in the Koprulu sector, there were many reports of planets that were once barren and devoted of life were suddenly flourishing with new fauna and plants. Many scientists from both the Terrans and even the Protoss couldn’t find the answer to this sudden phenomenon, however, Ceres knew.

When many of his zerg worlds started to report new plant life, he was curious and had Abathur look into the phenomenon. Later Abathur discovered that many of the plant life has a small bit of essence from the previous leader of the Swarm, the Queen of Blades.

Ceres, greatly shocked by this news, stated that these worlds would be preserved and heavily guarded due to the blessing these planets received from his queen. In order to preserve these planets, with the assistance of Abathur, Ceres changed the Zerg creep so that it will gain the required nutrients from plant life without killing it. This made the once harmful Zerg creep into a food source that any living organism that isn’t Zerg can feed off from. However, if the hive is threatened or if Ceres, his co-hosts or any broodmothers feels like it, they can change the creep back to normal, killing all plant life and any who would ingest it.

This explains why the creep now isn’t killing the plant life in the small area within the valley. Once the creep spread a good enough distance, Dusk placed the larva on the creep and mentally ordered it to morph into a drone after giving it enough essence for the metamorphosis. Once it received the required essence the larva curled up into a ball and immediately transformed into a Zerg egg.

Dusk then waited. After ten minutes the egg soon hatched into four Drones, ready for any task given to them. After the drones hatched Dusk then realized a significant problem.

‘Where am I going to get the essence to create an entire brood, those creatures I slaughtered earlier were barely enough to create a larva and morph it into drones and not once did I see any mineral patches or vespene geysers on this planet. This is a problem,’ pondered Dusk as he looked for a solution.

After a minute of pondering, Dusk looked towards the four mountains surrounding the valley.

‘Wait… what if these mountains contain the resources I need. I better check them just in case.’ Dusk then flared his psionics and started scanning deeply into each of the mountains.

Due to his underdeveloped mind, the psionic scanning placed a massive strain on his mind. However, it something he could bear.
While he was scanning the mountains, he sensed a strange energy reading deep within each of the mountains.

‘What is this energy… it’s definitely not minerals or vespene gas but something much more powerful. It feels exactly like the magical energies emanating from the forest. I must discover what it is.’

With his decision made, Dusk stopped his scanning as he then ordered the four docile Drones to dig a tunnel through the nearest mountain to the unknown magical energies.

The four Drones immediately went to work and started digging into one of the nearest mountains as ordered. After five hours of constant digging the Drones finally reached the source of the unknown energy.

Through the eyes of one of his Drones, Dusk saw a large cavern covered from ceiling to the floor with various different assortments of jewels, crystals, gems and diamonds. The entire cavern was radiating with unknown magical energies from what Dusk could sense. Through the mental link, Dusk ordered each of the Drones to carry back a different mineral each.

After breaking off a piece of these precious minerals the drones returned with their specific mineral for Dusk to inspect. Once the drones arrived, Dusk took a green gem from the first drone and held it in his hand.

‘This is the source of the unknown energies? It’s not the mineral that the Swarm normally use, but it is used by the denizens of this world for the magical power it contains. I wonder…’ Dusk then decided to absorb the gem in his hand. The pieced glowed and in a bright flash it was absorbed.

Dusk’s eyes widened at the amount of essence he just received from the single gem alone. The essence he gained from a single piece was enough to create two eggs of drones, significantly more than what a single piece from a regular mineral can yield of the same size. He also received a startling piece of information from absorbing the crystal.

‘This gem… these crystals… they’re the very essence of magic made manifest in a physical form!’ With this new revelation, he absorbed the other precious minerals and noticed the difference in essence yield with each.

Gems gives the most amount of essence, diamonds give the second most followed by jewels and crystals. However, each of these precious minerals gives significantly more essence than a regular mineral piece of the same size.

Now with more than enough essence, Dusk then ordered one of the four Drones to create a hatchery where he previously placed his creep.
One of the Drones made its way over to the patch of creep as it immediately morphed into a large purple bubble attached to the creep, filled with nutrients necessary for its growth.

‘It will take a single day for the Hatchery to be completed. Until then, I should return to Ponyville.’Dusk thought to himself.

With the foundations of his brood created, he then ordered the remaining three Drones to each dig tunnels into the remaining three mountains.

As the Drones went off to do their given task, Dusk climbed out of the valley and started his trek back to Ponyville with a smile of accomplishment.

He was one step closer to his goal.

Author's Note

That's another chapter.

Now for questions that some of you may ask.

1. What's the deal with Dusk, what happened to him? Dusk merged with Ceres, and Ceres's personality, psionics, intelligence had a great influence on Dusk. Dusk is practically Ceres 2.0, a cold-hearted, efficient, strategist, but still Dusk.

2. Will he make a Zerg army? Isn't obvious.

3. Will there be romance? I'm planning a more one-sided romance. Don't worry, I'll moderately pace the romance and not do "They fall in love with each other immediately and shagged the next minute"

For my story I try to be realistic to the canon as possible when it comes to character interactions, reactions to certain situations, and their personalities. I watched all the episodes, the movies, and other fics on this website. And from that I write all the canon characters as I see them.

Also for those who are afraid of the Zergs being steamrolled or the character having no idea how to build and run a Zerg army efficiently. Don't worry, that is why I had the prologues, to show you readers just what Dusk has become when he merged with Ceres. Dusk has all the knowledge that Ceres had, he will not be a newbie when running the Zerg Swarm, he WILL know what to do and he WILL show all of Equis that he's not to be f**ked around with.

Overall, he WILL not be a door mat.

Thank you for reading this chapter. If you have questions, review, suggestions, then either PM me or put in the comment section below.

See you next time.