Duskrunner Chronicles

Chapters

Ch1 Ancient Mystery
Ch3 Clues at Last.
Ch4 Finding a Little Help
Ch5 The Hearalth
Ch2 Starting the investigation

Ch1 Ancient Mystery

This is a story based off of something me and a friend were kidding around about. We wanted to maker up our own ponies and I made up Duskrunner, who was supposed to be an astronomer. When i started to think more about him, I thought about how Duskrunner was such an awesome name, and how it sounded important. Well, i started to daydream about him being an important pony in Equestria, and that's how this story got started.

This is something of a pet project of mine, so it means a lot to me to know people's opinions. So, leave any feedback you feel would help make the story better in any way.

Cheerilee stamped her hoof on her desk to call the class to attention. The class of young colts and fillies quieted down slowly, sensing something exciting about to happen. Their teacher stood up in front of the class.

"Today, my little ponies, we will be visited by a very special guest who has a very special lesson for you all. Twilight Sparkle."

As the teacher pony stepped aside, Twilight stepped up to the desk and set down a large book. Using her magic, she opened it to the first page and made it levitate where the whole class could see it. "Today, I'm going to teach you all a little about Equestrian history." The entire class groaned, except for a young unicorn filly in the back who pulled out a pen and paper. "Now, now, this is something I think you will all enjoy. This is a piece of Equestrian history that was lost a long time ago. Everyone had forgotten about it, even Princess Celestia, until Princess Luna came back and told me about it."

A few members of the class perked up a bit, the filly in the back looking excited. She didn't have a cutie mark that Twilight could see, but she had a feeling that the little pony would end up being a scholar or something. "This is the story of a very special pony from way back in the beginning years of Equestria." She turned the page on the book, showing a picture of Equestria with 2 large castles at each end. "Not many ponies know this anymore, but the 2 princess used to live at separate ends of Equestria to make it easier for them to raise the sun and moon everyday. When Celestia lowered the moon, Luna was supposed to raise the moon, which was supposed to be instantaneous. But Luna had a habit of sleeping through her turn and often the moon would not rise for hours,since Celestia would have to fly over and wake her sister up."

The class snickered at this, everypony trying to cover their mouths to muffle the sound. Twilight turned the page, showing a picture of Celestia and Luna weaving some sort of spell. "Since this was becoming a major problem, the 2 princesses worked together to make a magical solution to it. They worked for 3 days to make a spell that was able to create a pony from nothing and imbue him with special powers." She turned the page, showing a picture of a powerful looking unicorn who was the color or thunderstorm clouds. His horn was obsidian black, and his mane was the color of the twilight sky. The mark on his flank was a half sun/ half moon with a running unicorn at its center. "This is Duskrunner. He was the result of the spell woven by the sisters. He was the first and only pony ever created by magic, and was given the power to run faster than any other pony. He was faster than even the swiftest Pegasus, able to run faster than the pony eye could see."

A young pony int he front raised his hoof, waving it back and forth. "Miss Twilight, why did they use magic to make a pony? Why didn't they just give Princess Luna an alarm clock?" The class chuckled at him, but many nodded non-the-less.

"Well, back then they didn't have alarm clocks," Twilight said, turning the page again. "Back then, technology wasn't nearly as advanced as it is now, so they needed a magical solution. Now, as you can see by this picture, Duskrunner's job was to run from 1 tower to the other to wake the princesses up to raise their orb into the sky. To do this, he was given the ability to travel clear across Equestria in only an hour. that is weeks faster than anyone else has ever managed it. he did this every night and morning, leaving the castle an hour before the time the sum or moon was due to go down and running to the other castle. He was so fast that, when he ran, he twisted the magic of the sun and moon until they blurred together for the hour that he ran."

The filly in the back who had been taking notes raised her hoof in the air. "Is this why we had twilight every afternoon?"

Twilight smiled. "Yes. And every morning too, though few ponies are up at that time to see it. And I have to say, I'm glad that he caused that. Who knows what my night would be if we didn't have twilight?" the class laughed again, as did Twilight and Cheerilee. "Well, that's the basic story of Duskrunner. Any questions?"

The filly in the back raised her hoof again. "Miss Twilight? If Princess Luna had Duskrunner to hang out with every night, why did she go on to become Nightmare Moon?"

Twilight's smile disappeared, and several of the ponies in the class shuddered. "Well... that has to do with Duskrunner's speed. As any pegasus will tell you, going fast for so long is a very tiring experience. Duskrunner, after having run so fast for an hour strait, had just enough time to wake the princess up before he collapsed from exhaustion. The princesses each had a special room set aside for him in their castle so he could sleep the 6 hours he needed to after each run."

Another young filly in the middle of the room raised her hoof, asking her question before being called on. "Miss Twilight, if Duskrunner has such an important job, how come we've never heard of him before?"

A young colt next to her rolled his eyes. "Because he doesn't exist anymore, duh. Why would they keep him around after Nightmare Moon was imprisoned in the moon?"

"Actually," Twilight said, setting the book down, "You're only half right. It's true that Duskrunner wasn't needed anymore after one of the princesses was missing. But according to Both Princess Luna and Princess Celestia, Duskrunner was as immortal as they are, so he should still be around. but nopony has seen him since he last rode out to Princess Celestia's castle about a week after Nightmare Moon's incarceration. Some ponies went looking for him for the first few years, but after a while everyone gave up. Duskrunner has been lost to history ever since."

The rest of the class was spent with the students asking questions about Duskrunner and trying to figure out where he may be today. The class was one of the most fun that week and seemed to fly by. As the little ponies filed out of the school, Twilight stopped the young unicorn who had been taking notes int he back.

"Excuse me, can I talk to you for a moment?"

The unicorn girl squeaked and came to a dead stop, dropping her bag by accident. "Oops. Sorry, Miss Twilight. You spooked me."

"Sorry, Um... what's your name?"

"Pagette, but everyone calls me Page. Among other things.." she said, looking down sadly.

Twilight used her magic to pick the pony's bag up and set it on her back. "Well, Page, I noticed you taking notes on today's lesson. So, I thought you might enjoy taking this home." She pulled the Duskrunner book out of her bag and handed it to Page.

"B-but, isn't this yours?" Page looked excited and a little nervous.

"Yes, but I have several of them back at the library. Spike has been helping me make them to give away to all the libraries in Euestria. Since Princess Luna came back, we've been learnign alot about early Equestrian history."

Page smiled widely, putting the book inside her bag and closing it. "Thank you Twilight! I'll be sure to read it as soon as I get home. Oh!" her eyes widened. "I have to get home! Mom will be wondering why I'm late."

Twilight smiled and moved aside. "Ok then. Hurry home; and enjoy the book."

Page ran off, giggling happily at her new book. Twilight smiled as she saw the little unicorn run off. For some reason, she had a good feeling about giving that book to the little filly. she wasn't quite sure why, but she had learned not to question her feelings about stuff like this. She turned and started for home.

Ch3 Clues at Last.

Pagette turned the pages of her book throughout the night. It seemed the entire first half of the book was just about Duskrunner's daily life. During the day he would spend time among the ponies of Canterlot. Despite his words, he tried very hard to convince some ponies to attempt to enjoy the night. But none of them ever did. Something about the night seemed to scare them despite his assurances that there was nothing to fear. Everypony assumed that, being a magical pony under the protection of the princesses, he was safe from any danger, but they were not.

For years Duskrunner kept trying, and comforted Princess Luna as best he could. But despite his efforts, there still came a day when she became bitter and transformed into Nightmare Moon. When she tried to get him to help her bring about eternal night, he refused, though it broke his heart to do so. She turned on him and said that she never wanted to see him again. When he tried to go back and see her later on, her tower was magically barred against him somehow.

When Celestia was finally forced to trap her sister in the moon, Duskrunner went to her. he was convinced that he would be able to calm the princess and get her back to normal. Pagette turned the page to see what happened next.

=+=+=+=

Duskrunner walked into the grand hall and swiftly made his way to the throne where Celestia sat. For most ponies it would have been all-out running, but for him it was barely speed walking. It took min less than 3 seconds to make it to the throne. Duskrunner did not look like a happy pony as he stiffly bowed to the princess out of habit.

"Princess, I wish to speak with thee."

Celestia sat up stiffly, looking less than happy herself. "Speak, Duskrunner."

"Princess, I wish to see thy sister. I am sure I can calm her enough that she will-"

"No, Duskrunner!" Celestia almost shouted, stamping her hoof. "we wilt not release our sister from her confinement until we are sure of our ability to suppress her again if it be needed."

"Then do not release her. Allow me to go to her. I wilt be able to bring her back from her transformation. I wilt-"

"Duskrunner," Celestia slouched a bit, sighing. "We are aware that thou hast a special relationship with our sister, but we can nay allow this. If thou were to go to her, We are almost certain thou would end up falling under her spell. We would not be able to subdue both of ye if she were to ensnare thee."

"Princess, I must insist that thee-"

"Duskrunner, we have made up our mind. You wilt ne're see our sister before we are prepared. Begone."

Duskrunner stamped his hoof, leaving a solid indention in the floor. He turned and ran from the room, causing a whirlwind to follow. Celestia looked down at the floor and sighed again. She knew that Duskrunner was desperate to see her sister again, but she could also see that he understood, in some small part, why she couldn't allow it. had he been truly angry, his powerful leg could have left a crater in the floor wide enough to swim in. A guard walked in looing concerned, but she waved him away and told him to call in a cleaning crew.

=+=+=+=

Page stared at the page that showed Duskrunner leaving the castle. She had never heard of anypony talking to the princess like that; or acting so rashly anywhere near her. Duskrunner must have been really angry to risk having Celestia mad at him. Page found herself starting to admire the crazy stallion.

As she turned the page, she was glad to see that she was finally getting to the part where the book told about where Duskrunner had gone. The page told about how everypony in Equestria had felt a strong wind blow past them, and there had been the sound of a stampede, but nothing to cause it. This had gone on for days until it suddenly stopped. Then everypony went on feeling slightly fearful that it would start up again.

Page was now on the last page of the book, and felt like she had wasted her time. As she ran her eyes over the last page, though, she started to change her mind.

Though there is little evidence of where Duskrunner finally ceased his run and settled down, many scholarly ponies have made it their life’s work to discover it. It has been stated by a few ponies of note that several strange occurrences came to pass not long after Duskrunner’s absence. Some examples are that a number of weather patterns were disrupted by the raging winds, several smooth roads suddenly appeared in places no pony had ever set hoof, and a large region of Equestria was suddenly covered in ominous craters. Geological experts have stated that there is no evidence of any natural cause.

The most famous and notable occurrence has been studied at great length, but little discovered. This notable occurrence took place in a region not far from Canterlot, which had no name at the time and was just a normal forest. But, exactly 14 days after Duskrunner’s disappearance, and 3 days after the winds stopped, there was a strange explosion that rocked the very earth itself.

This explosion came from the center of what is now called the Everfree Forest. It is noted that this explosion seems to be the cause of the strange and wild nature of the forest. Throughout the years, many scientist ponies have gone in search of the source of the explosion, but none have ever found it. Pegasus that have flown over the forest have reported a strange black mark at the heart of the forest, but have never ventured close enough to examine it.

Some Duskrunner experts believe that the fabled pony has made his home among this wild land. Others believe that nopony would ever survive in that dangerous place for so long, magical or not. Nopony has ever found Duskrunner, but that could be in large part due to the fact that he does not WANT to be found.

Page slammed the book shut and excited bounced around the room. She had a clue! Duskrunner had to be somewhere in the Everfree Forest! All she had to do was go there and look for him!

Page stopped in mid-hop, both because she realized that she was acting like Pinkie Pie and because she had realized what she was thinking. The Everfree forest was a dangerous place that very few ponies ever dared to go into. A young filly like herself would never be allowed in there, even if it was the mystery of a lifetime. And if she tried to go there alone, she would was certain she would get lost and her mother would worry.

What she needed was a guide; somepony who knew the Everfree forest better than anypony else. But where would she find somepony like that? Maybe she could ask Twilight for help, or maybe Fluttershy. They had been there before, but they didn’t know much more about the forest than she did. Plus, the only pony who would probably be willing to take her was Rainbow Dash, and Page didn’t really think she could keep with a Pegasus.

As she paced her room, she felt her stomach rumble. She giggled and headed for her door. Solving ancient mysteries was hungry work. She walked down the stairs and into the kitchen to see if her mother had gotten dinner ready yet.

As she came to the bottom of the stairs, she heard her mother out in the shop. “Alright, here’s your order of clay and paints. That’ll be 12 bits.”

“Thank you, Ribbon, very much. For giving me the paints and such.”

Page giggled again. It was Zecora the zebra. She liked the way the strange pony always talked in rhyme. It made it fun to talk to her, though some ponies complained that they couldn’t stop after a conversation with her.

Now that she knew Zecora, Page had a hard time thinking why she had ever been scared of her. Sure Zecora looked strange, and spoke in funny rhymes, but that was no reason to be scared. She guessed the main reason people had been scared was because she lived in the… Page slapped herself in the head with her hoof. Why hadn’t she thought of that before!?

Ch4 Finding a Little Help

Pagette ran down the street after Zecora, calling after her as she did. The Zebra stopped and turned around, surprised to see the little pony chasing after her. When Page got there, she was panting for breath and had to take a moment to get herself composed.

“Get your breath back, little filly. Now why are you running after me, silly?”

Once she got her breath back under control, Page looked up at Zecora and suddenly realized she had no idea how she was going to ask for her help. She decided to just come out and ask. “Zecora, I was wondering if you could help me out with something. You live in the Everfree Forest, right?”

“Yes, my little pony, it’s true. How can I be of help to you?”

“Well, Twilight Sparkle gave me this book, and it talks about this pony that seems to have disappeared in the forest a long time ago. I was wondering if you had ever come across anypony that lived there before you did.”

Zecora thought for a moment, scratching her chin with a hoof. Then she smiled and nodded. “Actually, young Page, I do. Perhaps I could introduce him to you? He lives deep in the forest, where I seldom go. But I’m sure I could lead you to his home.”

Page smiled and jumped up and down. “Alright! I’ll find that old pony in no time!”

Zecora tilted her head questioningly. “Old pony? What is this you speak? The pony I know is a bit younger than me.”

“Oh, I’m not talking about that pony. I meant the one I’m looking for. He’s called Duskrunner, and he’s been missing a very long time.”

“Well, before I take into Everfree, your mother you should go and see. Although I see you want to hurry, we wouldn’t want her to be worried.”

Page blushed and looked down. “I guess you’re right, Zecora. I should go and ask my mom if it’s OK first. I’ll meet you at your house.” And she took off down the road for her home.

Zecora smiled and turned to head for her own home. She had no idea why Pagette would want to know if anypony had been in the forest as long as her, but it wasn’t really her business. And now that she thought about it, the friend she had in the forest had mentioned the name Duskrunner to her once when they first met. Perhaps he would be able to help Pagette more than she could, after all.

=+=+=+=

Page walked into Zecora’s house with her saddlebags full of food and other things she would probably need. She didn’t know how long she’d be out here. Her mother had told her she could only go as long as she came back by sundown and she never left Zecora’s side. This seemed annoying, but Page knew better than to argue with her mother.

When she got there, Zecora was ladling something out of her cauldron and into several bottles. It looked like some sort of soup. When she saw Page, she set aside the ladle and put a top on the bottle.

“Little Page, there you are. Be grateful we must not go far. Though these bottles are very small, I’ll need your help to carry them all.” She set the bottle and several others into a bag and slung it over her back. Then she added a few bottles to Page’s bag as well, being careful not to crush anything.

Page looked at one of the bottles and sniffed it, noticing a very delicious smell coming from it. “Is this soup? What are these for?”

Zecora lead her out of the house before replying. “These bottles are full of my famous stew; a very tasty and healthy brew. I bring it to my neighbor each week. He’ll help you find the pony you seek.”

Page giggled a bit, and then almost tripped over a tree root. She caught herself just in time and managed not to drop a bottle. “Zecora, I’ve always wanted to ask; why do you always talk in rhymes?”

Zecora laughed. “I’ve always found rhyming to be fun. I’ve been doing it since before I could run. I used to do it for good luck, but I did it so often that I got stuck.”

“So, you can’t talk in anything but rhyme?”

“Oh, I can if I try to. But it brings a strange look to ponies when I do. By now they all expect my rhyme, so I do it all the time.”

“Is it hard coming up with that stuff on the spot all the time? I don’t think I could talk in rhyme.” Page giggled when she realized that she just had.

“It’s hard at first, I will admit. But by now I’m used to it. When you do it all the time, you find it harder not to rhyme.”

They walked and talked for about half an hour before they finally came across a clearing. In the middle of it sat a 2 story house that looked like it had just grown out of the ground. The roof was covered in grass and wild flowers, and the walls were so covered in vines that Page wasn't really sure they weren't just made of them. There was no glass in the windows, just holes in the walls. The front door was the only thing that looked ponymade and in good condition.

"This is the home of the friend I mentioned. He will be able to help you in your mission." She knocked on the door solidly, then called up to the second floor. "Are you up there, Descoleigh? Wake up, you lazy po-nay!"

A voice from the second floor called out, "Zecora, I keep telling you I don't sleep this late. I'm just working. And you know the door isn't locked, so just come in. I'll be right down."

The voice didn't sound very tough or noble, so Page had little hope that this Descoleigh was actually Duskrunner, as she had begun to hope. her hopes were completely gashed when she walked in and saw that the pony who lived here was just a young earth pony. he was several years older than her, and just a bit taller than Zecora. His coat was almost blindingly white, and the mark on his flank was tree with a door in it.

"Zecora, I'm so glad to see you. I haven’t had a really good meal in days. That stew is just too good to not eat all at once. Oh? Who's this?" He finally saw Page and walked over to shake her hoof.

"I'm Pagette, but everyone calls me Page. I'm helping Zecora to deliver the stew."

"Well, glad to meet you, Page. I'm Descoleigh, but those who know me call me Desco. So, are you an apprentice to Zecora? Learning to make all those potions and such?"

"No, I'm actually here because I wanted to know if you could help with something." She levitated the bottles in her bag onto the shelf in the back of the room.

"Well, if it has anything to do with this forest, I should be able to help. I've lived here for most of my life. what is it you need help with?"

Page pulled the book out of her bag and set it down on the small table in the kitchen. Desco frowned when he saw it and moved to turn a few of the pages. “Ah, Duskrunner. Yeah, I’ve heard of him before, but not in a long time. What makes you think I can help you with finding him? Come to think of it, aren’t you a little young to be looking for old fables in such a dangerous place?”

Page glared a bit, but composed herself quickly. If she didn’t get Desco’s help, she’d never be able to find Duskrunner. “You don’t have to be big to enjoy a good mystery. And this pony has been missing for over a thousand years now, so that makes it even more exciting. And I need your help because all the clues I have say that he’s in the Everfree forest somewhere.”

Desco scratched his chin with a hoof. “Well, I guess that’s possible. MY family came here a long time ago to try looking for Duskrunner, so I know this forest a lot better than anyone else. But there are some places here that even I have never really explored.”

Page smiled and hopped up onto a chair. “So, you’ll help me?”

Desco thought for a moment, then smiled back. “Why not? It’d be nice to have some company besides Lady Rhymes-a-lot. If she stays for more than a few hours I’m stuck talking like a poet for days.”

All three of them laughed at that, though Zecora couldn’t help commenting, “Perhaps we should end this visit soon; to save you from a rhythmic doom.”

“Aww, do we have to? We only just got here.” Page was reluctant to leave after she had just found help with her mystery.

“Your mother said be home by dark, so it must be soon that we depart.”

Desco walked over and opened the window. “She’s right, little filly. The forest likes to play trick on ponies, so sometimes a long trip can seem like a short one or vice-versa. It may have seemed like it only took an hour or get here, but it was actually more like three. So you’ll have to leave soon if you want to get back to ponyville by nightfall.”

“But I wanted to get started on exploring today! I want to find Duskrunner before anyone else tries to find him.” Page was almost sobbing. She thought she had the rest of the day to look. Finding out she had to go home so early after finding a lead was almost enough to make her cry.

“Now, don’t you start bawling. You’ll have plenty of time to have me show you around on another day. Your best bet is to wait until the weekend, that way it will give me time to look around for the map my grandfather made of this place, and we’ll have the whole day to look. For now, though, you should get home so your mother doesn’t start worrying.”

Page had to admit that he was right. She should be more patient and wait for the right time to look. All the mystery novels she read had gotten strait to the point, but only because they sometimes skipped over the really boring parts of the job. A real mystery solver was patient and waited for the right time and place for the answer to present itself. So she would do just that.

Descoleigh had been right about time working differently in the forest. Though it felt as though they had left Zecora’s place barely 2 hours ago, the sun was mush farther along than it should have been. And, even though the trip back to Zecora’s seemed to take even less time than the trip to Descoleigh’s house had, the sun was almost set by the time she had said goodbye and gotten home.

=+=+=+=

Ribbon was sitting at her work desk and filling out the last few papers for work that day. Pinkie Pie had come in asking if she could special order lots of edible food decorations. Ribbon had never done those before, but was more than happy to order some if it meant getting a discount at Sugercube Corner. When Pagette walked in, Ribbon put away her work and turned to her daughter. “So, how did your day with Zecora go?”

“Oh, it was awesome! The Everfree forest is such a weird place. But Zecora showed me to a friend of hers house. He’s called Descoleigh and he’s lived in the forest almost his whole life! He said that he’ll help me go looking for Duskrunner this weekend. Can I go, Mom?”

“Well, you know I don’t like you going anywhere with strangers, Page. I’ve never even heard of this Descoleigh before. I’m not sure if I want you hanging around with him out in that dangerous forest all day.”

“But he’s lived there longer than anypony! He’s the only one who can help me!”

“Well…” Ribbon was concerned that her daughter was letting her taste for adventure cloud her judgment. “How’s this, if you can get him to come to ponyville so I can meet him, then maybe I’ll let you go. But only if I think I can trust him, otherwise you’re staying right here at home.”

“DEAL! I’ll get Zecora to pass a message along to him and I’m sure he’ll come down. You’re going to love him, Mom. He’s really cool.” That last part was a bit of a stretch. Page hadn’t really seen enough of Desco to say if he was cool or not; but anything that made her mother more inclined to let her go would help.

“OK. Well, go get cleaned up and ready for dinner. You look like you ran through every dirty patch in that forest.”

Page took off up the stairs to go get cleaned up. There were 2 whole days before the weekend, and she was going to have to prepare thoroughly for her trip through the forest.

Ch5 The Hearalth

The next two days seemed to drag by as Pagette counting the days until the weekend so she could go with Descoleigh to search the Everfree Forest. But whether she would get to or not was still in question. She had asked Zecora to see if Descoleigh would come to Ponyville and meet her mother, but he had yet to show up. If he didn’t show soon, then there was no way her mother would let her go.

Finally, on Friday afternoon, just as she was giving up hope, he came. As she saw him coming up the road, she ran to get her mom. By the time he reached the front door, Page was waiting, doing a sort of happy tap-dance on the spot.

When he finally came in, Ribbon did a double take. It was rare to see such a tall pony, even a stallion. Descoleigh was the tallest pony that she had ever seen apart from the princess. He was nearly a head taller than her, and looked very powerfully built. She could see how he was able to manage living in the depths of the Everfree Forest.

“Sorry to show up so late, but I haven’t been to Ponyville in so long I forgot how to get here. And then when I did, some pink pony dragged me on a tour of the whole place before I could stop her. Strange little filly; she seemed to be breaking all kinds of laws of physics when she did it. I think she actually dragged me through a brick wall.”

Ribbon and Page laughed, both saying “Pinkie Pie” in unison. Ribbon offered Desco a chance to stay for lunch, which he accepted graciously. She had to admit that she was starting to like this pony. After lunch, which consisted of a large salad and hay sandwiches, Ribbon finally got to the point of the matter. She and Desco had a long discussion about him bringing her daughter into such a dangerous place. She was reassured when he explained that he had been living in the forest for most of his life, and knew almost every inch of it. When she asked how he would be able to protect Page, he told her about how he knew every kind of danger in the forest, and how to get past or avoid all of them with no harm done.

After the lengthy discussion, Ribbon was finally willing to let Page go with him. If nothing else, he would be able to protect her from most of the dangers by sheer size alone. Very few creatures would mess with a pony his size. And if he knew even half as much as he said he did, Page would be in excellent care. When she finally said that she could go, Page almost fell out of her chair with excitement.

=+=+=+=

An hour later, Page was following Descoleigh into the entrance to the Everfree Forest. She was so excited that she was running circles around him as she patiently walked down the trail. She had expected to have to wait until the next day to go. But Desco had merely said, “I’ve always maintained that the weekend starts as soon as the school day ends.”

So, with little complaint from Ribbon, the two of them set off. Once they were in the forest, Page started to calm down some. Now that she was actually here, she was starting to become aware of just how dangerous this idea might have been. With every step they took, the forest seemed to grow denser and darker. She started to jump slightly at every sound she heard, until finally a thunderously loud crash made her dive for cover beneath the only cover she was sure was safe; Desco.

After calming down enough for her to come crawling out from under him, Page was blushing so hard she looked as red as her mother’s mane. As they started walking again, she asked, “How can you walk through this creepy place without being scared?”

Desco chuckled. “It’s easy for me. I’ve been here so long it doesn’t feel creepy to me anymore. And as for all those sounds that are making you jump all over the place…” The loud crash from before sounded, making Page dive for cover again. “It’s easy to be scared when sounds are new. But I know every noise this forest can make; and it is easy not to be scared when you know what the sound is. Here I’ll show you.”

Tugging her along by her tail, he pulled her to the source of the loud crashing noise. Page covered her eyes, shaking at the thought of what might be making such a racket. “Okay, take a look.” She opened her eye a crack, looking around for the monster that could have made the crashing sound.

When she didn’t see anything, she opened her eyes properly and looked around. All she saw was a fallen tree. “So… it was just the tree falling down?”

“Yes, that was the crash. But I think you might want to ask why we heard two trees falling so close together.”

Page looked around but couldn’t see what could have knocked down the tree. Then she looked more closely at the tree itself. It seemed to have lost a few branches in the short time she had been there. She looked closer and realized that there were thousands of small insects running around all over it, eating it at an alarming rate.

“What are these things?” she asked, pulling back when she saw one of them jump at her, trying to get at her glasses.

“They’re called Tillmites. They eat dead trees by chewing at their roots until they fall over. Then they get to work eating it down branch by branch. They can reduce a tree to nothing in minutes. Look, they’re already done.”

Page looked back at where the tree was and was astonished to see that there was nothing left but a giant pile of tillmites. Now that their work was done, they seemed to be just waiting around for something. “What are they doing now?”

Desco pointed his nose up and she looked too. Up in the trees, a small furry creature with huge glowing eyes was staring down at them. It’s mouth was hanging open and it looked as though it was trying to eat its own paws. When she was about to ask what it was, the thing popped its paws out and start tossing down acorns and nuts. One of them landed right in the pile of mites and they started to move exaggeratedly.

“That little guy up there is a Willow Wisp. They feed on nuts and acorns, but only rotten ones. They can’t see very well despite their large eyes, so they gather nuts but the dozens and store them in their cheeks like a hamster. After that, they find a tree near a dead one and start sorting through the nuts in their cheeks. After they find the healthy ones, they toss them to the ground, where tillmites come along and find them. The mites then burry the fresh nuts in the soil of the tree they just devoured and it help to start a new tree growing.”

Page stared down at the mites, who were running around gathering the nuts and acorns and then diving into the ground. “So they all work together to keep the forest healthy?”

“Exactly.” Desco lead her back to the path they had been following. “You see, even if the Everfree Forest is scary, it’s still a forest. And en ecosystem, especially one as unusual as this forest, has to work hard to keep itself healthy. So all the creatures here have evolved habits and survival techniques that help in that endeavor. Even the scarier creatures here play some part in it, including the dragons.”

Page swallowed audible. “There are dragons here?”

Desco chuckled. “Yes, but they tend to ignore most creatures smaller than them. That includes ponies, so we’ll be fine. The only dragon we have to fear is a young one that hasn’t reached full size yet. They would look at us as light snacks. But there aren’t a whole lot of young dragons here, and you can always hear them a mile off. Oh, we’re here.”

Page looked ahead and was started to see the clearing that held Desco’s house. She hadn’t been aware that they had traveled so far. The way time and distance were so messed up in the forest made it so hard to judge travel. She guessed she would just have to get used to it the way Desco had.

They both went inside and Desco pulled out a large map that looked very old. On it was the Everfree forest, drawn with very little detail except for a few key places. One of these was the clearing they were in; another was the area where Zecora’s house now stood. And, in the exact center of the map, there was a large black spot. It was much larger than any of the other clearly labeled areas, and was given the strange name “The Sorrow” in bold red ink that stood out against the blackness. The only other labeled part was a large tree that was labeled “Hearalth.”

Page looked at the large tree and the black spot. Those seemed to be the only places in the forest that had been given names. She pointed to the tree. “Hearalth? What’s that?”

Desco looked at the picture of the large tree. “Hearalth was the name that was given to that tree when this map was first made. It is ancient Equestrian for the word Heart. It was given that mane because it seems to be the liveliest place in the forest, as well as the safest. No creature, however fierce, will do another harm while near that tree. I’ve never found out why, but I know it’s true. The last time a dragon came after me, it stopped the moment it came within sight of that tree.”

Feeling a bit nervous, Page pointed to t big black spot. She didn't even have to ask; Descoleigh frowned, looking sad, and explained. "That is The Sorrow. It's called that because of the overwhelming feeling of sadness that comes over anything that crosses its border. The moment you step inside, the sadness starts to drain you of all feeling until you don't even have the will to go on. Nothing living can survive there, even plants and insects. The last time a pony went in there, he never came out. I went to look for him, but I was too late. I hate talking about that place."

Page shuddered as she imagined what it must been like to have that kind of sadness hitting you all at once. She seriously did not want to go there, even if the book made it sound like a good place to look for Duskrunner. If he was thee, would he even want to come back? Would there even be anything left to find? Duskrunner was immortal, but would even he die if he stayed in a place where you lost the will to live?

She gulped, then pointed to the huge tree again. "How long would it take to get to Hearalth?"

"About 3 hours; but it should seem much shorter if we keep our minds off the trip. We can leave in just a minute. There are a lot of fruits and stuff at that tree, and I want to get some fruit while we're there." He grabbed a pair of saddlebags and slung them over his back, then grabbed a smaller set and plopped them onto Page before she could react.

They both set off soon after, chatting the entire way there. Descoleigh showed Page all the different types of plants and animals they passed, telling her which were dangerous, which were safe, and which were a little bit of both. The first was a type of berry that, when you ate it, made you sparkle in the sun so brilliantly that it was blinding. Page stored a few of them in her bag to give to Rarity later. The second thing he showed her was a large yellow flower that eat anything that went inside its mouth, which let out a sweet smell meant to pull things ot it. Page had nearly put her head in the large yellow mouth before Desco pulled her out of the way, the petals slamming shut like the flower had bloomed in reverse.

The most fascinating thing, at least to Page, was a bush about as tall as she was that had apple-sized fruits growing from it. The fruit was a perfect sphere, each one a different color from the rest, though they all changed colors every few minutes. What made them interesting, though, was that when you pulled one off the bush, it started to change colors rapidly, finally topping on a random one, which gave it a flavor. The only problem was that you could never tell what flavor it was going to be by color alone. Desco said they were called Bertie Berries, named after the pony that had discovered them. The flavors literally could have been anything, including things like tar and sunshine. When Page tried the shimmering white berry she had picked, it tasted like Zap Apple Jam. when she tried another berry, which was orange, she almost threw up as she tasted what she knew to be the stuffing in her mother's old office chair.

"I told you," Desco chuckled as he watched her splutter and spit for over a minute, "They can taste like ANYTING. I once got one that tasted just like hair."

After the trip was over, which seemed to take no time at all, they stood at the foot of what looked like a huge wooden wall. When Desco picked up Page and navigated his way up the bark, she saw that it was actually a root that came off a tree that was so large it could have passed for a mountain. She wondered out loud how nopony could see this huge tree from Ponyville.

"You know, I've often wondered that myself. Everfree is a very strange place, with its own set of rules. And one of those seems to be that the only way to see this tree is to walk up to it. If you fly over it, it blends in with the rest of the forest so perfectly that it's like it isn't even there. Same thing if you climb a tree somewhere else and look at it. Despite its size, it's not the highest tree in the forest, though it is the tallest, so it can be easy to overlook from a distance."

As they walked along the root, which was large enough be used as a line of houses, they found that it was possible 6to walk right up to the top of the tree trunk by way of a spiraling vine. As they traveled along, Page was astonished to see dozens of dangerous looking creatures wandering all over the tree, including the vine they were walking on. Once, they even passed by a large Manticore, who simply nodded as it passed them.

As they reached the top of the tree trunk, Page was astonished to see that something like a crude house had been made there. The branches had somehow been pulled into a shape that made a strange little house. They walked inside and Page saw that there were signs of a pony having lived there. It looked like they hadn't been there for a very long time, though. There was no real evidence that the pony who had lived there had been Duskrunner though; and she couldn't really see how this helped.

As they searched through it, they didn’t find anything of any interest except for a wall that had 2 large hoof prints on it, like somepony had kicked it when they were angry. Other than that, all signs of life having been there were gone. Page was so certain this was the place that she even checked under the bed and all the bookshelves, looking for secret doors. But it turned out to be a bust.

Still the trip wasn’t a total loss. Even though the house had been deserted, the rest of the large treetop wasn’t. There were all sorts of creatures, from cute little bunnies to vicious dragons. All of them seemed to be completely at peace, simply enjoying each other’s company and dining on all the fruits that grew on the branches.

Looking at a tree this size, one would expect the fruit it grew to be the size of houses. Instead, the fruits hanging from the tree’s smallest branches were normal sized, but extremely varied. Page saw apples sitting on the same branch as oranges and bananas. Then she spotted a pineapple that was hanging right next to what looked like whole strawberry bush that also had blueberries and raspberries growing on it. But what she found most impressive was what looked like an upside down cherry tree hanging from a branch, with what had to be millions of berries hanging off it.

As they wandered around, gathering anything that struck them as looking tasty, Desco introduced her to several types of fruits that only grew in the confines of the forest. These were things like the Zap Apples, which only bloomed every few years or when specific conditions were met. There was a type of berry that Desco said only came into fruit when it rained, and tasted like a blend of every sweet berry there was. There was also a kind of melon that grew suddenly every Friday the thirteenth and tasted sour if you picked it on a day with an odd number but salty if you picked it on an even one.

Then he showed her a type of fruit that could only be found on this tree. It was at the very highest branch of the tree, hanging off a tiny little stem that looked like a mean look would sever it. It was a perfectly square fruit, about the size of a basketball. It was a pale yellow in color and seemed to be pulsing slightly every few seconds, almost like it was breathing. Desco lead her up the branch, right next to the large fruit and she saw that the stem was even smaller than she had thought. It was no thicker than one of the hairs in her mane.

“This,” Desco said, giving the fruit a gentle pat with his hoof, “Is the rarest fruit in the world. I myself discovered it and have since named it a Moon Melon. It’s a very strange fruit that only grows mere minutes after it is picked. But it’s not as easy to get ahold of as it sounds. Go ahead, try it.”

Page raised an eyebrow at him. Pick this thing? It looked like as she would need to do was blow on it and it would fall right off the tree. But she stepped up and grabbed it, tugging on it lightly. When it didn’t come off, she tried pulling harder, and harder. When that didn’t work, she used her horn to try and pull it down, putting all the magic she had into it. Finally, the jumped up and hung off the fruit, tugging with her entire weight. She only stopped when she turned her head and saw Desco laughing his flank off.

“You see,” he said after she had gotten down and blushed herself silly, “the Moon Melon can only be picked once a month when the moon is full. Any time before, and that little piece of string that holds it won’t come off for anything. I’ve seen a fully grown dragon try to pull that thing off by biting it and hanging off the tree. It stayed like that for 3 days before it gave up and left. Funnily enough, if he had held onto until night time, he would have gotten it.”

Page looked at the huge fruit with wonder. “What does it taste like?” she asked, quickly trying to remember when the next full moon was.

“Well, that is rather hard to describe. You see, the fruit tastes different depending on a number of factors. It will taste differently if it was picked on a cloudy or clear night, if it was picked by a colt of filly, and even based on the your mood when you eat it. But there is one thing I have always noticed: it always tastes best when you share it, and worst when you eat it when angry.”

Page had a sudden thought. “So, if it grows back minutes after being picked, does that mean you can get more than one during a full moon?”

“Yes, it does. I’ve managed to get 10 in a night before, but only because I couldn’t carry more than that. And I’ve noticed that, since the fruit tastes best when shared, the creatures here tend to split it among themselves after they get ahold of one.”

Page was fascinated by this fruit. Imagine something that was specifically designed to bring people together like that. Maybe she should try bringing one to her mom. Or better yet, to Pinkie Pie, who would be able to make extremely tasty goodies with it. She would have to see about getting one to bring home.

“You’re actually in luck,” Desco interrupted her thoughts as he lead her back down the tree; it was growing dark. “The next full moon is actually tomorrow night, so we’ll be able to gather a few.”

=+=+=+=

Before they got ready for bed, Desco having pulled an extra mattress from under his bed, Page sat at her table and got out her notebook. In it, she had written down the few clues she had gathered before coming to the forest.

• Duskrunner in love with Luna.
• Duskrunner ran away from Celestia after Nightmare Moon was imprisoned.
• Large explosion happens soon after Duskrunner disappears.
• Everfree Forest springs up soon after explosion.
• Duskrunner most likely in Everfree Forest.

Under these she wrote out the new clues she had come up with.

• 2 places Duskrunner could be hiding
o Hearalth: Large tree that grows lots of fruit and makes creatures friendly.
o The Sorrow: Dangerous place, makes you so sad you don’t want to go on.

She shuddered as she thought of that place. If Duskrunner hadn’t been at the Hearalth, then the Sorrow was the only place left to look. But she REALLY didn’t want to go there. But she had to if she wanted to solve this particular mystery. She starts writing again, making her last note.

• Explored Hearalth. Found old house but no sign that Duskrunner was the pony lived there. Large hoof prints show that very large pony must have made them. Just how tall was Duskrunner?

She closed her notebook and put it back in her bag, then went to the mattress Desco had made her. She was exhausted after all that walking.

Ch2 Starting the investigation

Pagette almost skipped down the road as she headed for home. The new book in her bag was heavy but she didn’t notice the extra weight. She was excited to have a change to take a look at such an ancient mystery. She had always enjoyed mystery stories and loved to challenge herself by trying to solve mysteries she found around ponyville. Mostly these ended with her having wasted hours of her time when she could have just asked an adult. But she didn’t solve mysteries to get the answers, but because she loved the thrill of discovery.

Now she had the chance to try solving a mystery that was a thousand years old! She was so excited that she wanted to run home and start reading her book right away. But her mother would want her help in the crafts shop.

Page’s mother ran a crafts shop that sold everything a pony could need for any sort of artistic endeavor. The shop was full of scissors, paper, paints, thread, and everything else artistic. Many times in her life Page had been warned never to run in the shop or touch any of the sharp objects. Page rolled her eye. Like she hadn’t figured that out the first time she cut herself trying to make a birthday card for her friends. But she understood that her mother was protective of her; especially since her father had died before Page was born.

Still, it wasn’t all bad having a mother like hers. At least she never had to worry about running out of materials for her mysteries. With all the paper and pens they had, she could was never short of scratch paper for her notebook. Plus, her mom was a great cook, and made delicious food every night.

As she entered the shop, Page almost ran into Rarity on her way out. The white mare was obviously on her way home after buying thread and cloth for her dresses.

“Oops, watch out, Darling. Wouldn’t want to ruin all my new materials. Ta, Pagette.”

Page giggled. Rarity always sounded so funny when she talked. Page walked through the shop and into the back room that served as both the kitchen and her mother’s work office. Her mother was busy at her desk filling out order forms for more of everything Rarity had just bought. She turned around when she heard Page come in.

“Oh, hello Page. I heard Twilight Sparkle was a guest at your class today. Was it interesting?” Page’s mother, Ribbon, was a unicorn like her, but bright orange in color with a red mane and tail.

“It was great!” Page walked over to a peg on the wall and levitated her bag onto it, pulling the book out. “She told us about a really old pony that used to help the princesses raise the sun and moon.”

“Oh? I never heard of anypony like that. What was her name?”

“His name was Duskrunner. He was created by the princesses to run across Equestria to wake up Princess Luna every night. She used to sleep through her turn to raise the moon.”

They shared a chuckle at that, Ribbon turning back to her work. “So how come I’ve never heard of this magical pony?”

“Twilight says that he disappeared after Nightmare Moon was trapped. Nopony has been able to find him since. But he should still be around because he was made immortal like the princesses.”

“Sounds like you have a really big mystery to solve. Are you gonna try to find this Duskrunner?” Ribbon knew her daughter loved mysteries, and was sure that someday it would lead to her cutie mark. Page was always looking for mysteries to solve, and this one would probably keep her busy for weeks. Ribbon could only hope it didn’t affect her daughter’s school work.

=+=+=+=

Page almost ran into her room, setting the book down on her desk and opening it to the page that Twilight had left off on. It showed the picture of Duskrunner running across Equestria, blurring the sun and moonlight together. There were no words on the page, so she turned it and was delighted to see that the book was written clearly and had little pictures on every page, with several large ones taking up whole pages. It was exactly the kind of book that she loved, lots of details and little picture references. She would have lots of clues to help her with her newest mystery.

She started to read, and was amazed at exactly how detailed the book was. It was almost like the person who had written it had been doing so as it was happening. She was able to picture the scene with ease.

=+=+=+=

Duskrunner walked into Princess Luna’s chamber, yawning after waking from his rest. The princess was lying on her bed looking up at the stars. She turned to look at him as he came in. “Duskrunner. We are happy to see you again. Was thy rest peaceful?”

Duskrunner walked to the bed and lay next to her. “As ever, Princess, I am always at my most restful when in thy tower.”

Luna smiled, moving closer to Duskrunner and laying her head on his shoulder. It always comforted her to feel him next to her. Though he had been created by the combined effort of her and her sister, Duskrunner appeared much older than she did. He was nearly a head taller than her, and his horn was nearly twice the size of her own. He was smaller than her sister, but not by much. It had been Celestia’s idea to make him seem like an older brother to Luna, and she was grateful for the foresight of her sister.

Duskrunner nuzzled her, placing an arm around her shoulders and hugging her to him. “Princess, is something bothering thee?”

Luna sighed and snuggled closer to him. “Yea, Duskrunner. We… feel as though our populace dost not like us. They dost not revel in our night, but rest throughout. Dost they not enjoy our work?”

“Princess,” Duskrunner brushed his hoof down her mane to comfort her. “They do indeed enjoy thy work. But just as I need to rest after my strenuous exertions, so must they rest after their long day of toil. They simply to not have the energy to revel in the night thou hast made.”

“We know this, Duskrunner. But we are still lonely. Thou art the only company we enjoy during our night. And thou still require hours of rest, whence we must endure alone.”

“I am sorry for that, Princess. But I can nay more help my physical need for rest than thou can. But thou can be sure that I know of thy loneliness. I feel it every morning, while I must be away from thee.”

=+=+=+=

Page couldn’t help but let out a tiny “Awww” at the lovely scene described by the book. There was even a delicate little picture of Duskrunner and Luna together on the bed. It was so tiny that she needed to use her magnifying glass to see it properly, but was so detailed that it she could see the individual hairs on their manes.

But it had yet to give any clues as to where Duskrunner had gone. But it was now obvious why he had gone into isolation. He had obviously been deeply in love with the princess. After she had been imprisoned in the moon, he must have been very upset and angry at Celestia. No wonder he had left and hidden for a thousand years.

Still, she wasn’t looking for why he had disappeared. She was looking for where he had disappeared to. She was severely tempted to skip ahead and read about when he had left, but she knew that overlooking even a single detail could compromise her entire investigation. She needed to read the book thoroughly and take notes.

She got out her notebook and opened it to a clean page. At the top she wrote ‘Duskrunner Notes’. She put a bullet mark on it and wrote next to it ‘Was in love with Princess Luna’. She put another bullet mark down and then turned back to the book. She was going to have a lot of reading to do tonight.