Dusk

Sweet country air smells combined with the sounds of nothing, giving an air of peace and tranquility in the tiny Earth Pony village. Warmth filled Dusk's body; it was the feeling of home.

Dusk admired the village, realizing for the first time in his life how peaceful and picturesque it was. Huge fields of rolling grass and crops danced eloquently in the warm, smooth breezes. Earth Ponies walked around at a lethargic pace; nopony was in any rush to go anywhere. Many of them slowed down even more to stop and stare at Dusk. Even though the pony tribes were supposed to be integrated, apparently word hadn’t reached the village; Dusk still remained the only non-Earth Pony to be seen.

Even though he had lived here for years, Dusk had to rack his brain for directions around. After thinking he knew where to go, he started walking along the dry, uneven dirt road to rows of houses. All the houses remained there, just as Dusk remembered it. They had been completely untouched by time, almost as if the village forgot to age.

He walked to one of the small, wooden houses resting alongside the main road and smiled. Home. As he knocked on the front door, his spirits lifted. Everypony would be behind there! Oryza, Frumentum, and his parents, Comaros and Vincillia. The door opened, and a pony with long, straight, golden hair stood in the doorway.

“Frumentum?” Dusk asked, holding back tears of joy.

“Dusk?” he asked back, feebly smiling. It looked almost as if he had forgotten how to be happy.

Dusk nodded his head, only to be met by a huge hug from his brother. His coat smelled of grass and fresh soil; the smell of farms. “Come on, Dusk. Come on inside.”

Just like the outside of the village, the interior of the house was virtually the same. Outside of the couches appearing even saggier than before and the whole place being generally cleaner, it was exactly the same. The sofas even seemed to be at the exact same angle facing the living room. Frumentum lead him to the kitchen table, where they ecstatically sat, eager to catch up after years of being apart.

“So,” Dusk said to start the conversation, “How’re you doing? It’s been so long!”

“I’ve been better,” he replied, staring intently at the wooden table. “Times haven’t been so great recently. And you?”

“I guess I could say I’m doing pretty well. I have a nice filly back in the monastery I live in. You have a special somepony, Frumentum?”

He sighed and shook his head. “No, I can’t say that I do.”

Dusk surveyed the abnormally empty room. Something seemed...missing. “Say, where is everypony? Are they out?”

“I guess you could say that,” he said in a depressed manner. “Mom and dad are both gone. Mom got deathly sick a few years ago, and dad got mutilated in an accident about half a year ago.” His voice seemed hollow, somehow not incredibly sad at this news.

“Oh. Well, what about Oryza? Has she met anypony yet?”

Now Frumentum’s eyes began to glass over with tears. “She’s the sad story.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Frumentum clenched his eyes shut, squeezing more tears out. “She’s…gone, too.”

Dusk started to feel sick as tears flooded his eyes. “How did she die?”

“I don’t even know if she’s dead.”

“Huh?” What did he mean that she might not be dead? How could she be gone, then?

“Well, it all happened a year or two after you left. Right after she got her Cutie Mark, she decided she wanted to go on an adventure. She set out on her odyssey, and actually got pretty far. Even got together with a group of ponies who traveled around, living on the roads, never staying in the same place for too long. They even taught her how to read and write. She came here and taught me so we could keep in touch. One day, she stopped sending us letters. Soon, a pony from her group tracked us down and told us what happened. They were attacked, and he was the only one to get out of it. He said that her body wasn’t at their camp, so there’s at least the chance she’s still alive.”

“Really?”

Frumentum nodded his head to verify Dusk’s question. “Yeah. Honestly though, traveling the world? Where in the world would she get that idea?”

“Yeah,” he said, rubbing his mane in nervousness. “Where might she think of that?”

They just sat in the room for a few minutes, nopony knowing how to break the awkward silence.

“Well,” Dusk stood up slowly, “I probably should be going. I’ve sort of been on the road a while.”

“Dusk?” Frumentum asked.

“Hm?”

“You know where I live, right?” Dusk nodded in response. “Never lose touch with me. We’ll exchange letters, and we’ll have to get together sometime. Since mom and dad are gone and nopony knows where Oryza is, we’re really the only family either of us has left. I don’t want to lose you.”

Both Dusk and Frumentum were fighting back their emotions. “Sure. Come here, brother,” he pulled Frumentum into a hug and whispered into his ear.

Frumentum grinned widely, tears of joy now replacing his ones of sadness. “Really?” he asked in disbelief.

Dusk just responded by smiling and patting his front pocket.

“Wow, Dusk. I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“Well, you know me. Can you really say you’re surprised?”

Frumentum chuckled lightly. “Not really. I guess I always could see it coming.”

“I guess I should be going,” Dusk said, inching toward the door. “I guess I’ll write to you sometime soon, then?”

Frumentum beamed. “I’d like that.”

Dusk closed the door behind him. He sniffed deeply, the smell of summertime thunderstorms hanging in the cloudy sky. Thoughts began racing through his mind as he walked along the dirt path, heading back to the monastery.