Outskirts of Canterlot
Not many ponies were out and about in this colder, more desolate part of the city. Most had either already left for work, and those that hadn’t were likely sleeping in. The sounds of the busy marketplaces of Canterlot were barely audible, and against it was only the sound of the wind against the worn down houses and cobbled roads.
Had anypony been late to work today, they would have seen a brilliant display of neon green magic appear in a blinding sphere. In an instant, it came and within it was a tiny figure. Just as it had appeared, it dissipated into nothing, leaving the small thing within left on the cold stone. It didn’t move at first, but looking closely you could see it shivering. No noise came from it, and time passed as it continued to lay there.
As the sun rose, illuminating the figure in a golden shine across it’s dark red fur, more details could be made out. A small pegasi, with wings that seemed a little large in proportion to its body, and a pitch black mane that contained streaks of purple. He made no movements, just simply stared into the distance with his almost unnatural green pupils lined by silver within his bright white eyes. Not quite dazed, but anypony that looked at him could tell he had gone through something, but no one would believe what had actually happened. Not that it mattered though.
He stayed silent.
* * * * *
Shortly after he was dropped off, an ear-splitting boom shook the foal as he winced at the sound. He looked towards the noise and saw a dazzling rainbow off in the distance. He gazed at it, emotions of confusion, fear, and curiosity dancing across his face in wonder at the sight. As the colors began to fade away, he finally moved, getting up from where he’d been delivered.
Eventually, the sun began its descent, and as everypony went home, some noticed the foal. Even though few ran around this part of Canterlot, no pony recognized this new young one that now wandered around. No one approached him though. He was obviously a kid that was headed home, or would be found by his mother and be brought home and scolded for being out so late. He wasn’t their kid, so not a soul came to him. So, he continued wandering, exploring his new surroundings as the sun eventually set and nighttime came about.
“Hey! Watch where you’re going, kid!”
Startled, the foal hadn’t noticed that he was about to walk right into another pony. She was not much bigger than him, and in the moonlight, he could make out the unicorn’s blue fur matched with a matted mane and deep purple eyes. He immediately noticed the dirt and grime that covered her body and tangled in her hair, as she continued to scold him.
“I’m looking for my brother, slightly smaller than you, orange fur earth pony. If you haven’t seen him, then outta my way,” she growled at him. He didn’t give her the slightest whimper, and instead looked back at her with a scared look. “Well? You got something to say or are you gonna beat it?”
He moved over slightly, making room for her to pass, and looked down at the ground. She brushed past him, mumbling, as she continued her search, leaving him alone in the dark. He stood there for a bit, looking onward towards where she went, long after she had rounded a corner while calling out for her brother.
* * * * *
"This isn't a game anymore, Phillip! You need to come out already!" She'd been searching for about an hour now, and just like every other time he left her side, it gave her immense anxiety. He was still too young to understand these things though, so he continued to wander off by himself, either because he thought he was playing a game or simply because he liked exploring too much for his own good.
For Celestia's sake, what does it take to keep him still for two minutes? I really couldn't have asked for a more difficult little brother. She couldn't bear the thought of losing him, though. All they had left was each other, and it was up to her to make sure they were always safe. It’d been this way for 2 years now, and Amber had her mind set on keeping it that way for as long as it’d take.
For 2 years, Amber had been taking care of herself and Phillip. 2 years now, that their parents had left them behind for opportunities in Manehattan. The nightmares of that night came back to her now.
Please, mom! Dad! Don't leave!
We're leaving you in great hooves until you see us again, I promise.
She had to stop to hold back the emotions. Promise, huh? We're still here, where are you guys, huh? Bitter words filled her mind. She blamed them for everything, and how could she not? Her parents left them when they were most vulnerable, and without any remorse.
She shook her head, trying to clear her head, and continued onward in her search. She'd managed this long without an adult, she refused to give in and go to somepony else for help. They'd just do the same mom and dad did.
Then she heard it, that faint bit of held back laughter. She pricked her ears to the right towards some crates, and it grew louder.
She sighed, "Phillip, I know you're behind there. Come on out."
The orange earth pony stepped out of hiding, a bright smile painted on his face. His mane had some mud plastered on it, and it looked uneven, as if it'd been cut by an amateur.
"How'd you know, sis? Did you cheat?"
"You know I'd never cheat," she replied. She wiped her hoof on her chest and bopped his nose. "You need to learn to be more quiet."
He giggled some more, then was right at her side. Whenever he wasn't out and about the outskirts, he was inseparable from Amber's side, acting like her shadow.
"We need to go now, and I can't have you run this far anymore, you got it? It's already dark and we now have to walk all the way back."
They started trotting back the way Amber had come.
Phillip looked down at the ground. "Sorry Amber, I just saw some other ponies and wanted to see if they'd play. They all said they had other things to do though."
"I'm sorry buddy, but you know that everypony else has their own life. Besides, what have I said about talking to strangers?"
"To only do it if you're there. But these weren't strangers! I've seen them before."
"Do you know their names?"
"Well, no, but-"
"Unless you know their name, they are still strangers. You know how I feel about you trying to meet new ponies without me being there to protect you."
"But I don't need protection, everypony is so nice and none of them would ever hurt me."
"You don't know that. What if one of them tries to take you somewhere with them? If I wasn't there, they could just snatch you and I'd never be able to find you. I'd be worried sick, then"
They continued in silence for some time. As the night drew on, more and more houses they passed started turning out the lights as ponies went to their beds for the nights. A luxury that Amber and Phillip did not have.
"Hey, Amber?"
"Yeah?"
"Is it too late to play?"
"I'm a little tired, Phillip, so I'd have to say yes."
"Could I go play with him then?"
Amber turned to her brother, and saw he had stopped a couple paces back, and was looking back the way they came. She squinted, and could just barely make out a figure against the wall way behind them. It was that pegasus from earlier, the one that didn't talk.
"Come back Phillip," she said, quiet but firm. Phillip read the tone in her voice and quickly backed up, shrinking behind her.
"You wanna step out of the shadows there, little guy?" she called out. The foal stepped out into the middle of the road. In the moonlight, the purple streaks in his mane stood out amidst the void that made up the rest of his mane. And his eyes almost seemed to glow, a stunning green-gray mixture that must've been very rare.
He still made no effort to talk, but rather stood there, simply waiting to see if she'd say anything else.
"Are you lost? I can't help you get back to… wherever you came from, unless you tell me where you need to go."
He stayed silent, but nodded his head at the question. He took a small step of faith towards her, seeing how she'd react. She didn't know what about this kid seemed so particularly odd, but the situation was so bizarre and all her instincts cried out at her to do something other than just stand there.
"Do you know where you live? I can give you directions if you can tell me something."
He hesitated, then shook his head. There was definitely something wrong here.
"Do you know where your parents are?"
Again, a shake of his head. She gritted her teeth as she asked her last question.
"Do you have anypony to take care of you?"
No. He didn't even need to acknowledge that question, she knew it was probably so.
"We could take care of you," said the voice of her little brother from behind her.
"No, Phillip we can't just-"
"But he's just like us! And I wanna be his friend!"
I have no clue who this kid is, it's already hard enough taking care of Phillip and myself, I can't even convince myself that this kid is at all what I think he is. Her thoughts and instincts rebelled against the idea of even letting him any closer.
"Phillip, I can't just-"
"Please? Just for tonight, at least. I really want a friend."
I'm going to regret all of this.
"Ugh, fine." She turned facing the red foal, "Kid, if you want, you can tag along. But don't do anything funny, you hear me?"
She may be young and untrained, but she knew that she could do something with her horn if the need ever arises. Sweet Celestia, he’s just a pegasus, a foal at that, why am I even considering a last resort? This is just for the night, after that, he’ll find somepony else to cling to.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” Phillip screamed in jubilance. “Nice to meetcha, new friend! I’m Phillip, what’s your name, so that we’re not strangers?”
The foal looked at Phillip, mind half concentrating on observing Phillip, the other half debating. For the first time, she heard the kid speak.
“Dusk.”
Where are you going?
Mom? Dad?
Don't leave without us!
Wait!
Please!
Nooo!!
"Stop!!"
Amber was breathing rapidly. She looked around, trying to identify her surroundings. She saw a figure laying next to her- no, two small figures, one curled around the other.
That stupid nightmare again.
She could still feel her heart racing, her head pounding. She closed her eyes and sat there, letting herself calm down. When she finally got ahold of herself, she blinked a few times and looked around.
They were in an alleyway, underneath a few stacked pallets that gave some protection from the weather. It seemed like it would be another sunny day like yesterday, but you never know if some storm clouds will get pushed your way by the pegasi. Only the day will tell.
Amber looked back at the two sleeping foals, Phillip curled up close to Amber like usual, but also using Dusk's wing as a sort of blanket. I'm lucky my outburst didn't wake them.
Phillip couldn't fall asleep from the excitement of meeting this new kid. Dusk wasn't very talkative, rarely answering yes and no to some questions. Phillip didn't seem to mind though, as he just kept on trying to teach Dusk some games he usually played with Amber. It was odd though, because Dusk didn't seem to have the slightest clue on how to… well, be a kid.
I really can't shake this feeling that something's up with him. Randomly appears, doesn't talk, doesn't act like a kid… I'm almost certain he was following me last night. It doesn't matter much now though. Once they wake up, Phillip will have to say goodbye, and Dusk will have to find somepony else to take care of him.
A pang of guilt hit her hard. Amber and Phillip had made it on their own for this long, but Dusk probably couldn't make it by himself. He was only a bit older than Phillip, and didn't seem to know even half as much as her brother. He'd probably have to find somepony that would take him in, but there was no guarantee there. And if he doesn't find a home, he'll likely be taken to the orphanage, which Amber couldn’t bear the thought of right now. And the next worse case scenario would be…
Damn it, knock it off Amber, get a hold of yourself! What in Celestia’s name has gotten into you?
She couldn’t say, but she was sure it would cease once Dusk was out of the picture. Right now though, she needed to clear her head and get some water.
As she quietly moved to stand up and stretch out her legs, she noticed Dusk twitch a bit. His head turned to her, and she was met with his gaze.
“Sorry if I woke you up. I’m gonna grab something to drink, you can stay here while I get some for all of us.”
Dusk gave her a nod, then rolled back over, never once pulling his wing away from Phillip. Amber hadn’t seen Phillip so relaxed in her life, she wanted to just sit there and admire the serenity of the moment. Unfortunately, life had other requirements before she could enjoy a moment like this.
She stood up, stretched out a bit, then quietly moved around the pair of foals to get to a bucket laying nearby. Just as she was close enough to grab the handle by her teeth, she stopped and closed her.
Deep breath. You got this.
She focused all of her willpower and energy into her horn, as she tried to get it to levitate the bucket. She’d been trying this trick for so long now, and she never felt like she was getting any closer to even lifting it slightly. She never had instruction on using her magic, but she was persistent, and would figure it out on her own, just like every other obstacle that she’d faced.
However, this wasn’t the morning where it would finally work. Amber sighed, having unsuccessfully made progress, yet again. She reached down and picked up the bucket from the handle, as she noticed Dusk staring at her. His eyes were wide, like he’d just witnessed a miracle.
A “miracle” would have been picking up the bucket. But maybe he’s never seen anypony cast magic before.
“Have you ever seen a unicorn cast magic before?” she asked, setting the bucket back down. He nodded his head, which confused her some.
“Then why are you surprised?”
“Your horn glowed, but you looked like you were trying to pick up the bucket.”
What?
“If you’ve seen magic before, then you know that horns always glow when you cast magic,” Amber retorted. He spoke with no hesitation in voice though, like he knew about all this already.
Again, he nodded his head, this time saying, “Your whole horn glowed bright, like a light. But horns only glow around them when you’re just casting a normal spell. You’re casting a light spell, not a levitation spell.”
Amber was speechless.
He knows more about magic than I do! He even knew exactly what I was trying to do when I couldn’t even do it myself!
“H-How did you know-... How doyou know about?..”
“Try concentrating on the bucket instead of on your magic.”
Amber was still reeling from shock, as she stared at him in bewilderment. She followed his instruction though, as she turned back towards the bucket and closed her eyes again, as she flowed energy into her horn again.
Don’t focus on your horn. Don’t focus on your magic. Just the bucket. Just, imagine-
She peeked open one of her eyes.
The bucket was levitating in front of her, just below her chin.
Again, Amber couldn’t find her words, she was simply awestruck at the sight. She looked back at Dusk. He was smiling, nodded at her, and then laid back down. Amber stared at him for another moment, before looking back at her effort. She felt like she was barely even thinking about her magic now, and the bucket still stayed afloat.
Without another word, she went along to go fetch some water. She tried to keep her mind focused on the bucket to make sure she didn’t lose her grasp on it, but her mind was bursting with questions about what had just happened. And while she felt uncertain about many things now, she noticed that her burning question of who Dusk was was no longer backed with an unsettling feeling, but rather a genuine interest.
* * * * *
Where did he learn about magic? He’s a pegasi, and yet he seemed so casual about it. Could he know more? Could he teach me more?
She was so lost in her thought she almost fell right into the fountain. She lost her concentration as she came back to reality, and the bucket fell with a splash into the fountain. She flinched, and took a look around to make sure nopony was around to hear it. Taking water from the fountain wasn’t allowed, but it was the closest water source to where Phillip and her slept.
She focused back on the bucket, levitating it out of the water, and tried to figure out how to make it move at will. After unsuccessfully trying to just look at where she wanted the bucket to be, she closed her eyes again and tried to imagine the bucket moving where she wanted it to go. She heard the sound of the water as it filled the bucket, and felt a prideful smile sprawl across her face.
She opened her eyes, and saw that the bucket was floating upside down, not actually filled with water. She paused, then burst into laughter at the uncanny sight. As she calmed down, she centered her mind on making sure the bucket did what she wanted it to, facing the correct way this time. When the bucket lifted, now full of water, she could feel almost an invisible tug on her horn, like she was carrying the weight of it on her head.
This feeling is so surreal. I need to head back before anyone sees-
“Amber!”
She whipped her head around, losing all focus on the bucket, letting it fall down with a loud splash. The voice belonged to Dusk, and he was full sprinting towards her with a deeply worried look in his eyes.
“What’s wrong? Did something happen? Where’s-”
“He’s not ok!” Dusk cut her off. “He woke up and was really hot, then he started feeling woozy and threw up!”
Amber wasted no time, running past the red foal with blistering speed. She didn’t even bother checking to see if he was keeping up. Her heart was racing now, all she could feel was it pounding in her ears.
* * * * *
She rounded the last corner before happening upon the alleyway, which was now crowded with worried ponies surrounding Phillip, who had crawled away from the palettes and was lying near a puddle of everything he’d eaten yesterday.
“Out of my way! Get away from him!” Amber screeched as she tore through the crowd.
“What’s wrong with him?”
“That doesn’t look good.”
“Where are his parents?”
“Someone call a doctor!”
“I think he’s an orphan.”
Oh no! Damn it, why?
She finally pushed through the crowd to a shivering Phillip. His eyes were streaming with tears and he could barely open them.
“Amber, I don-”
He choked up on his words as he dry heaved.
“Don’t worry buddy, you’re gonna be alright! I’m gonna get you out of here!”
From behind her, a voice rose from behind the crowd. “Move aside, we’re here for the sick child!”
Amber turned from her brother, fear and panic setting in. This can’t be happening. I can’t let them take Phillip. I won’t let them! She felt her emotions stir, turning her fear to anger, as her horn started to flare up.
Then a shadow came down on her, and she felt a gust of wind push down on her as she looked above her. There was Dusk, his wings barely fitting in the alleyway as he descended.
“Go! Run towards the castle! Get there any way you can! I’ll meet you there!”
Before she had any time to even react, he grabbed Phillip and leaped back into the sky, fast as the trains she’d seen run out of Canterlot. She could only watch as he shot off, out of sight beyond the walls, headed towards Celestia’s Castle.
“Hey! What the?!” The voice came from a stallion who had finally pushed the crowd aside as he watched Dusk take off. Amber turned her head back to face him, but she hadn’t even finished processing that Dusk had Phillip now. He turned his gaze from where Dusk had been in the sky a moment ago to Amber. “Alright, you’re coming with me to help me sort this out, young lady!”
Amber felt stuck as she had watched the last 5 seconds unfold, but when she heard the stallion snap at her, she broke out of her trance. Just as Dusk told her, she ran down the alleyway, trying to get as far away as possible from the commotion. There was no way she was gonna go with him, if there was even a remote chance she’d be put back in that orphanage.
“Oh no you don’t!” She could hear the loud hoof steps of the stallion giving chase to her. At the end of the alleyway, Amber shot out into a busy street of ponies heading off to their everyday lives. Her head started spinning, as anxiety kicked in, and her head started to fill with memories she’d pushed down for so long now.
Focus! Not now, damnit!
She ran forward, dodging and weaving between the crowds, trying to lose her pursuer, but even against the sounds of the bustling street, she could make out the sounds of him shouting at her.
“Hey! Watch where you’re going!”
“Excuse you, filly!”
“Outta my way, loser!”
Her vision was faltering between reality and dark recollections. She shook her head, and in doing so, bumped right into another young filly.
“Ow! I’m sorry, I didn’t see-”
Amber didn’t hear whatever else the purple mare had to say, as she stumbled back on her feet, hoping the pursuer wasn’t about to grab her. Nearby ponies noticed the commotion, and parted around her to aid the filly.
She spotted another alleyway, and when she thought she was hidden behind a group of ponies, she darted for the space. She tried to keep low, but not too low that she’d be trampled. She finally made it, and ran down the corridor. She turned the corner at the end of it, and found herself in a dead end.
“No, no no no,” she stammered to herself. She noticed some boxes and crates nearby, and ran to them and started stacking them, precariously. Once she had several somewhat teetering, she tried to jump onto the makeshift tower to get over the wall. When she landed, her weight threw it off-balance, and toppled over with her along with them.
“Ahh!” she cried out among the crash of cardboard and wood splintering. She’d pulled something in her leg when she landed, and had some small pieces of the now-destroyed crates dug into her side and legs. She tried to stand, but the leg she landed on gave out from under her, making her fall back to the pavement.
“There you are!” The stallion had finally caught up to her and cornered her. “You’re done giving me trouble, you hear? I’m taking you in to ask you some questions and figure this whole situation out.”
Amber really had nowhere to run. Her anxiety was kicking into high gear, as the reality of the situation set in. He was going to take her, and she was never going to see Phillip again.
You’re not giving up this easily, are you?
What choice do I have?
You have your last resort.
I can’t control it, and even if I could, I couldn’t do anything to hurt him.
Then don’t try to hurt him. You’re only trying to avoid him, remember?
Amber pushed down her emotions, her memories, and her adrenaline. She closed her eyes and cleared her mind. She focused on herself. She didn’t know how this would work, if she could possibly make it work, but she tried anyway. She couldn’t think of anywhere specific. All she wanted was to be anywhere but there.
She felt a strange sensation around her. Through her closed eyes, she could see the bright glow of her magic’s color. She concentrated, and then pushed as much feeling into her horn as she could. Then, with a poof, she felt the wildest, yet calmest sensation, like she could feel her presence, no, her essence itself leaving and reappearing. After a few moments, when she couldn’t feel the aura around her, she opened her eyes.
She was back at the fountain. Then she felt an immense fatigue, and she couldn’t even move. No, I have to…
Then the world turned to darkness.
