My Little Pony: Friendship is Bothersome

Chapters

Part 1 - Chapter 2: Applejack And Rainbow Dash
Part 1 - Chapter 3: Rarity And The Rest
Part 1 - Chapter 4: Calm Before The Storm
Part 1 - Chapter 5: The Nightmare Begins
Part 1 - Chapter 6: Through The Land We Go
Part 1 - Chapter 7: The Friendship Element
S.S.1: Boastful Pride
S.S.2: Carnivorous Instincts - Part 1
S.S.2: Carnivorous Instincts - Part 2
S.S.3: The Sonic Rainboom
S.S.4: The Golden Apple
S.S.5: Crimson Amethyst
Part 2 - Chapter 1: Chaos Reigns
Part 2 - Chapter 2: Maze Of Lies
Part 2 - Chapter 3: Organised Chaos
Part 2 - Chapter 4: Scarlet Iris
Part 2 - Chapter 5: Eris
S.S.6: Part 1 - Children of the Night
S.S.6: Part 2 - Nightmare Night
Part 1 - Chapter 1: Errand Boy
Picture

Part 1 - Chapter 2: Applejack And Rainbow Dash

“Who’s up first, Barb?” Dusk asked after having picked himself up off the floor and handed the scroll back to her. Barb took it and opened it ever so slightly to reveal the first thing on the agenda.

“Food. Looks like that’s being handled by somepony named… Applejack.” she replied, closing the scroll again. Dusk sighed and tried to quietly vent his anger through breathing techniques. He was interrupted by a high pitched gasp. His eyes shot open just in time to see a shocked pink pony somehow hanging in the air before she shot off like a racer to Celestia knew where.

“This is going to be a long, long day.” Dusk said as he shook himself off. Barb followed suit and coughed a little in the process.

“Just don’t stress, alright? I don’t wanna be cleaning scorch marks off your body like last time.” she said. Dusk shuffled around in his clothes, going so far as to fix the collar on his shirt.

“You said Applejack?” he asked, changing the subject as he walked forward.

“Yes. And it’s that way.” she replied, pointing north. Dusk sighed and followed Barb’s directions.

The Orchard of the Apple family was… colourful to say the least. Dusk just knew this Applejack was going to be the happy-go-lucky type, with some probable sense of dignity. He was half right. Upon reaching the first pony he saw there, he tried to introduce himself.

“Hello, I’m–.”

“Well, howdy there partner! Name’s Applejack, proud member of the Apple family which has taken pride in selling the finest apples in Equestria.” she took Dusk’s hand and began shaking it faster than he could follow. The blood began to get forced back into a more motionless part of his arm, leaving his hand and forearm stinging from the vibrations. When she let him go, he fell to his knees with the same arm between his legs, trying to rub the veins to force blood into the sore appendage.

“Dusk… Shine. Oh buck! I came here from Canterlot to check up on the festival’s progress.” he managed to say as he smacked his dead arm against the nearest surface he could find. Unfortunately, it bounced back and slapped Barb in the face. It hurt Dusk more than it did Barb who gave him a dirty look. For the first time since arriving, Dusk smiled, but sheepishly.

“Well y’all don’t need to worry none. The whole family’s managed to come here for the celebration and they’ve gone and made their signature dishes. Why don’t y’all try some?” she offered. Before Dusk could decline, Applejack began ringing a dumbbell repeatedly.

“Soups on Everypony! Yee-haw!!!” she cried out. Dusk almost wished it was one of Barb’s insane notions of an undead stampede that had knocked him over and carried him along the wave of bodies, but sadly, it was the family. They very ceremoniously moved him to a wooden seat which sat by a table. They then began to place one of each kind of apple related baked goods on the table.

“Mr. Dusk, Allow me to introduce y’all to my family; Apple Cobbler, Apple Strudel, Carmel Apples, Apple Pie, Apple Cider, Apple Salad, Cousin Braeburn Apples, Apple Juice, Aunt & Uncle Orange, along with Squeezed Oranges, Orange Crush, and my side of the family: little Applebloom, Big Macintosh, and finally, Granny Smith.” Applejack gestured over to a sleeping elder. “Come on Granny Smith, we got company!” Granny Smith awoke from her nap to join the festivities. “Ah think they like you.” said Applejack. “I’d even say that y’all are already part of the family!” Dusk almost choked on his own saliva at the mere thought.

“Uh… I really don’t think–.”

“Too late Dusk, when the Apple family likes somepony, you’re as good as family.” Applejack interrupted. Dusk wasn’t sure what to say.

“Barb… help?” he asked.

“Are you kidding? I wanna eat before you go pissing everypony off. This stuff looks fit for the Princess.” she whispered. Dusk shuddered at the thought of having to eat so much food presented to him.

“Well it seems like you’ve got the food sorted out, so I’ll not trouble you any further and I’ll just head back to town to make sure everypony else is doing as splendid a job as y’all *ahem* you all are.” Dusk began to shift out of his seat nervously, smiling as sweetly as he could, but he was interrupted by the aptly named Applebloom.

“You’re not gunna stay for Brunch?” she asked, sounding like Dusk had just killed her puppy. Dusk had an incredible amount of difficulty trying to break free of the sad stare the little filly was giving him. He wanted to decline, but the stare had kept his throat locked and he refused to even breathe.

“Barb!” Dusk managed to squeak from between his lips. Barb heard him and did what she thought was save him.

“We’d love to stay!” she declared. Dusk gasped as he heard the reply. Fortunately, that gasp coincided with the gasps of joy from the Apple Family.

“Alright then! Dusk Shine, y’all are never gunna wanna eat anything else again after this.” Applejack declared in return. Dusk put on his best happy face and laughed with Applejack.

“HA I don’t doubt it. HA HA HA HA HA HA. You’re fired.” he turned to Barb at the end.

“I’m Union.” she replied, sticking her tongue out at him.

Dusk waddled along the road, hearing the sounds of the ocean in his gut. Every step he took hurt as he felt his belly button was going to burst open like a cork on a champagne bottle.

“How can one dragon eat more than me and not feel like I do? You’re like the black hole of Coltcutta.” he groaned. Barb just giggled at him.

“I’ve a fast metabolism, Dusk. Not to mention working for you is like community service for criminals.” she replied. Dusk tried to add up the two reasons in his head and factor in consumption rates, and it made sense to him.

“Whatever… what’s next on the list?” he asked, falling to the ground on his back. Barb looked at the roster and cleared her throat.

“Looks like weather control. And that’s supposed to be handled by Rainbow Dash… What do you think, gay colt or mare?” Barb asked. Dusk awarded a huff of amusement.

“Has to be a Mare… No gay Stallion would leave clouds in the sky when it should be clear throughout.” he replied. A sudden call from above alerted them to a presence.

“Look out!” the voice called out. Dusk lifted himself up into a sitting position, only to be knocked back down by a blue mass colliding with him. For a moment he thought the sky had begun to fall. Then with wide eyes, he noticed a rainbow tail sprawled along his face. With great difficulty, he rolled the mare off of him and turned onto his side.

“Gonna whiz red.” he groaned, clutching his groin.

The rainbow mare picked herself up and noticed the two newbies acting strangely together.

“Hey, sorry man. I tried to warn you. Name’s Rainbow Dash, and I’m the fastest Flyer in Equestria. And that’s not bragging, it’s fact… mixed with bragging… and awesomeness. And who are you?” Dash waited for Dusk to pick himself up with wobbly legs.

“Dusk… Shine. Oh buck! I came here from Canterlot to check up on the festival’s progress.” he said, repeating the same thing he’d said to Applejack… exactly everything.

“YOU’RE from CANTERLOT?! That means you must know the Wonderbolts!” Dash piped up excitedly.

“Well, they know Dusk.” Barb muttered, remembering a bad experience that involved said Stallion giving Spitfire advice on life, including quitting her day job in exchange for cooking and foal-bearing. Barb could tell he remembered that time also.

“I… may have met them once… never heard from them again though.” he replied. Dash burst with excitement.

“Ohmygosh! This is awesome! I’m talking to somepony who’s actually met the Wonderbolts! I’m gonna join them one day, you know. I’ll catch their eye as I demonstrate my awesome skills. I’ll show them that I’m fast, agile, flexible and–.”

“Lazy?” Dusk interrupted. Dash froze in place and slowly turned her head around as if bearing her gaze down upon an enemy.

“Come again?” she deadpanned.

“You’re supposed to have cleared the skies in preparation for the festival.” he scolded the mare.

“That sky is as good as clear.” Dash said with a passive attitude. Dusk clenched his fists, trying hard not to yell at the mare.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I must have missed it under all those clouds.” he said sarcastically. Dash got in his face and revealed a confident smile.

“I can clear that sky in ten seconds flat!” she declared. Dusk crossed his arms and pointed up to the sky.

“The proof is in the pudding… scratch that, no food references.” he said as he felt his stomach groaning in protest to the mere mention of pudding.

“You want me to prove it?” dash challenged. Dusk nodded, covering his mouth. In an instant, Dash shot up into the sky and began clearing the sky over Ponyville. After what felt like ten seconds, Dash landed in the same spot she’d taken off. Dusk had watched her with Barb. Only the dragon was slack jawed at the display.

“What’d I tell you? Ten. Seconds. Flat!” she said, ruffling Dusk’s mane. Barb suddenly got diarrhoea of the mouth.

“That was so cool, it was awesome, it was beyond comprehension, it was… it was–.”

“Eleven seconds.” Dusk interrupted. Both the mare and dragoness looked at him at once and cried out in unison.

“WHAT?!” Dusk rolled up his sleeve to reveal a watch with the time paused at 11.5 seconds.

“Eleven and a half to be exact. Anyway… Now I’ve goaded you into doing your job, I can move on faster to a more important matter. Barb, who’s next please?” Barb just stared at him, frozen. With time being wasted, Dusk growled, cracking his knuckles. The scroll floated over to him and opened in front of him.

“Decorations… Rarity. Sounds like a joy.”

Author's Note

Okay, so Sky Bound has given us a new Picture. This is how you should view Dusk and Barb.

What do you think? If you're lucky and really really beg him, he might do Gleaming Shield and the others, providing I give him the details on their clothing I suspect. So start grovelling at his hooves, my friends.

Part 1 - Chapter 3: Rarity And The Rest

Dusk stormed as grouchily as always to the Carousel Boutique. That blue Pegasus had done nothing to improve his mood despite his epic win, and having humiliated her had gone so far as to put Barb in a bad mood.

The boutique looked like the kind of place foals were warned not to go into because there would be a scary witch pony waiting to fatten them up and stick them in a stew. Then again, that candy shop they had passed by fit the description better.

Dusk entered of his own accord and took a quick glance of the lobby.

"The decorations look impressive enough." he commented, ticking off 'decorations' on the checklist.

"Beautiful." Barb added with a tinge of awe. Dusk considered the word for a moment.

"Yes, I suppose you could say they're beautiful, but I'm not really an appropriate judge." he replied.

Barb groaned and grabbed his maw, turning it as she corrected him. "Not the decorations, her!"

Dusk's eyes were led to a white mare with a Victorian styled purple mane and tail. It was that shade of purple that was often associated with royalty or nobility.

"Again, not the right judge." Dusk said, pulling his face from the dragoness' grip. The conversation seemed to attract the attention of the mare in question.

"Oh hello, darlings. I'm sorry to say we're closed today, I've had to focus all my skills on preparing for the Summer Sun Celebration."she said. Her accent was thick with the tongue of Canterlot Nobility. It struck Dusk much like Rainbow Dash had earlier. This mare was a high-class wannabe in a low-class town. He was in the damn Twilight Zone.

"That's good to know. We expect the best and the most dedicated to possess such a role as yours. Had you not focused your time solely on the celebration, your suitability for the role may have been brought into question." Dusk replied. Barb smacked her face, ashamed to even know the unicorn beside her.

"Uh... I... Suppose. Exactly who are you?" the mare asked, giving Dusk a warning look.

"I'm-."

"Going to go outside and leave this to your assistant so you don't piss off another local." Barb interrupted, shoving him out the door.

"I'm so sorry about him. Dusk's... Difficult to get along with. I'm Barb and I'm here to check up on the progress of the festivities." she said.

"Ah, excellent! Well you'll be happy to know I'm almost finished with it all, I just need to add the final touches to the sun designs. I've managed to procure some yellow gems and I need to stick them to this." She led the dragoness to the grand design; It was a fabricated sun with a mixture of red and orange inlays around the circumference. It looked like a giant more detailed version of the Princess' cutie mark.

"That. Is.... Amazing." Barb was beside herself. Still looking at the sun, she ticked the 'decorations' box off.

"Alright. I'll leave you to it, because if I stick around, chances are you'll find yourself short a few dozen gems." She said. Rarity giggled and shook the dragon's hand.

"Ta ta, darling. Come and visit any time you want after the celebration. We'll do Lunch." Rarity said, accompanying the dragon out.

Dusk waited outside for his assistant, taking the time to calm himself down and try to improve his mood. It managed to work to an extent, until the inevitable interruption of an exiting dragoness. With a deep exhale, he addressed Barb and they were on their way.

"Looks like 'music' is up next and it's being choreographed by Fluttershy." Barb said. Dusk considered the name.

"Sounds... Timid." He said, keeping an ear out for any form of music. He quickly discovered a chorus of birdsong harmonising beyond their usual ability. Dusk motioned for Barb to follow and within a minute, they spotted Fluttershy standing in front of a low hanging branch with a number of birds perched on top. They seemed to be going through a warmup when Fluttershy addressed an individual bird.

"Um, excuse me Mr bird. If it's alright with you, could you possibly sing at a lower register? You're kind of out of sync with the others." She asked. The bird seemed bashful at her words and Dusk had to blink as he wondered how an animal could actually respond so sentiently to a pony.

"Hello?" Dusk called out. Fluttershy turned around and spotted Dusk. She jumped up like a frightened cat and froze in place as if petrified. Dusk seemed unsure and slightly curious. He waved his hand in front of her face and even clicked his fingers. She was unresponsive.

"Okay, this is kind of funny." he said, beginning to chuckle. Barb joined him.

"Yeah, kind of." She agreed. Dusk pressed the yellow pegasus' forehead and she began to fall backward.

"Oops." Dusk said, quickly moving to catch her. He lifted her up and let her down against the base of the tree.

"We'll I think she has the music under control. Let's tick that off the list and take a break. Maybe check out our sleeping quarters." Dusk suggested. Barb smiled and drew her claw along the checklist, ticking 'music' off the list.

As the pair left and headed towards the Library, Barb suddenly began to giggle.

"What?" Dusk asked, looking to the bemused reptile.

"You were very kind to that last one. I think you like her." She teased.

"Nonsense. I just didn't find myself hating her on sight due to her funny display." Dusk defended.

"Whatever, lover boy." Barb teased.

"I don't like her." Dusk said cautiously.

"Yeah, you do." She pressed.

"I don't."

"You do."

"I don't!"

"You do."

"I don't!!"

"You do."

"I DON'T!!!"

Another voice entered the argument. "Excuse me." It said timidly.

"WHAT?!!" Dusk turned to the source of the voice, snapping like a dragon. He froze when he saw the topic of the argument sinking to the ground into a ball, tears threatening to surface.

"Oh crap." Dusk croaked, kneeling down to meet her level. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you. My assistant was pushing my buttons. Are you okay?" As dusk spoke, he noticed his demeanour was the complete opposite to before when addressing the other ponies. He knew it wasn't a matter of liking her, he just couldn't bring himself to make somepony like her cry. He was cold, but not that cold.

The mare was still shaking and Dusk decided to take a different approach.

"Are you Fluttershy? My name's Dusk Shine." He said. She still shook like an earthquake. He tried to consider what he knew about her already and recalled her apparent affinity for animals.

"Hey look, a dragon!" He said, pulling Barb to his side. Fluttershy gasped with excitement that could combat her fear and threw Dusk aside. The stallion landed against the wall, making a unicorn shaped groove in it.

"Oh my goodness! A baby dragon!" Fluttershy exclaimed with glee.

"Princess, I don't want to be in Ponyville anymore." He prayed, falling out of the groove in the wall.

"Oh she's so cute! I want to know everything about you." She said.

"Where to begin?" Barb said, considering her life so far, such as it was.

"And that's my whole life so far." Barb finished. Dusk's eyes sagged as he began to feel drained of all appreciation for other living beings.

"And here I though your life consisted of; wake up, get up, eat, work, eat some more, work some more, eat and sleep." He said. Barb scoffed at him.

"We'll If you ever took your fat nose away from those books, you'd notice what I do for you. I mean seriously, I'm your only friend because you're intolerable and I grew up with you." She replied.

"You haven't grown since your third birthday. You're predominately short." He interjected. The dragoness huffed in annoyance and strode beside her new friend instead.

"So you're the Princess' personal student?" Fluttershy spoke up.

"Yes, though she has difficulty understanding my priorities. Instead of letting me investigate into a potential legend, she has me doing this; checking off preparations for the celebration." Dusk replied, his irritation seeping through his teeth like venom.

"That legend is nothing more than an old pony's tale. If you ask me, she sent us here to stop you from wasting your time with it." Barb commented.

"I doubt her wisdom allows her to perceive my intentions so haphazardly." Dusk replied, stopping at the entrance to the Library.

"Oh thank sweet merciful Celestia, we're here." He almost cried out.

"Don't go celebrating yet, Dusk. I'm sure Fluttershy is tired from her day of training her animal friends. Any good Stallion would invite her in for a drink and to let her relax." Barb stabbed his hopes like a needle with a balloon. He almost went so far as to almost let his legs buckle from under him.

“Alright, fine. But she’s your friend, so it’s your job. I’m going to get some sleep before the dawn of the celebration.” he said, opening the door. He was met with pitch blackness. Fluttershy wasn’t too keen on the darkness either.

“Who would be so idiotic as to draw the curtains during the day?” Dusk groaned, throwing one of them open. As he systematically went from one window to the other, Barb and Fluttershy saw the collection of ponies crouched behind him, wearing party hats and decorations hanging above them.

“Oh crap.” Barb let out as Dusk turned around.

“SURPRISE!!!”

Part 1 - Chapter 4: Calm Before The Storm

As the bomb went off starting the party, Dusk could only stand in place, his right eye twitching of its own accord. Barb stood slack-jawed, watching Dusk for any immediate reaction. Fluttershy approached Barb and whispered into her ear.

“I-is that a normal shade of red?” she pointed out the colour Dusk’s face was turning. Barb shuddered as she imagined the outcome.

“Have you ever seen a kettle blow up?” Barb asked in turn. Fluttershy shook her head. “Well imagine Dusk as the kettle, and the water that’s supposed to be in there is his patience, only he’s run out of patience. It’s only a matter of time before he blows.” Barb explained. Fluttershy as expected, didn’t like the sound of that. She began to shake and curl up in on herself. Seeing this gave Barb an idea.

“Careful now, Dusk; you’re scaring Fluttershy.” she whispered into his ear. As if she’d spoken a safe word, Dusk’s expression calmed itself down as he sucked in air and let it out with the intensity of a yawn.

“I’m going to bed.” he muttered just loud enough for Barb to hear over the party that had managed to remain ignorant of his semi-episode. As he ascended the stairs, he began to unbutton his shirt, starting at the top. He’d managed to make it to the third button before a pink pony suddenly entered his field of vision.

“Ooh! There you are, I’ve been looking for you since the party started. I’m Pinkie Pie and I threw this party just for you! Do you like it? I’ve been told I’m the number one party pony in all of Equestria, which is great for me because it means that I know what other ponies like and it makes it easier to be their friends if I can relate to them, you know? Oh and you’re that guy that came to check up on the festival preparations Well don’t worry, because all the celebration stuff is taken care of so you can check that off the list–.” Pinkie rambled on and on. All the while, Dusk’s face began to twitch repeatedly as he fought the urge to… shut her up. Thankfully, Barb had caught on to the look and rushed to prevent a disaster as if her life depended on it, in which case, her social life did.

“Thank you so much for the party, Pinkie Pie. Dusk and I are very grateful and I intend to enjoy it to the fullest. Sadly, Dusk here has had a rather… trying day and it’s showing this very second.” Barb paused what she was going to say to look upon her partner with a mixture of fear and disgust as his entire body had begun to twitch. “So he’s a little… moody and needs to be alone for a while.” she added, pushing him past Pinkie to his bedroom door.

“Okey-dokey-lokey!” Pinkie replied, bounding off back into the party. She went so far as to leap off of the second floor and land in the crowd. It was impossible to tell if the others had actually caught her, or she’d bounced off the ground like an ice skater. Having liberated Dusk from the mouth of doom, she opened the door and shoved him through, slamming it shut afterwards as if she’d just thrown an explosive device in there instead.

Dusk’s vision had gone blurry and red for a moment, but as the sound of the party had been muffled by the door slightly, that vision turned to pink and he continued to unbutton his shirt like a mindless drone. As he did so, he wondered how in the wide, wide world of Equestria did that pink pony function. Having undone the final button on his shirt, he removed it to reveal a lean, ripped body that would have made even the Royal guard jealous. Those fights with his sister had proven to be beneficial in the long run.

On his lavender back, rested his cutie mark; the hot pink six-pointed star with a silver one underneath, surrounded by another five little white stars. On his chest rested a large surgical scar in the very centre where the cartilage was. He brushed his fingers along the scar, feeling the groove on his surface. The doctors had said that it would fade in next to no time, but it had been almost thirteen years and it was just a long pale bump.

Dusk refrained from recalling that particular memory and focussed on finding his bed. He didn’t bother to disturb the covers, but just took to lying on the bed with nothing but his pants. He’d deduced that the cold air would wake him up after a little while and he could begin researching his case before the celebration began. His head touched the pillow and he was out like a light. As slumber took him, he made one defiant comment.

“These ponies are going to kill my patience before the celebration begins.”

Barb was having the time of her life now that the party had gotten going and was out of Dusk’s way. A few choice ponies had gathered around the dragoness, Fluttershy especially. Funnily enough, they were the same ponies she and Dusk had checked up on earlier that day.

“So, sugarcube… what’s up with yer partner, Dusk?” Applejack asked, sipping some cider from her cup.

“Well, he’s single, but I don’t think you’ve got a shot there.” Barb replied. Applejack blushed redder than the apples on her farm.

“Ah didn’t mean like that! I meant–.”

“Well of course she doesn’t have a shot. She’s not as sophisticated as such a Stallion deserves.” Rarity cut in. Applejack forgot all about trying to rectify her mistake and turned to the fashionista.

“Hay now. Don’t go sayin’ nothin’ y’all will regret afterward.” she defended.

“A true lady has no regrets in any aspect.” Rarity argued.

“Not even that dog ugly perm you did for that Doctor guy that made him look like a Porcupine?” Dash interjected. Rarity drew daggers on the Pegasus with her eyes.

“We agreed to never speak of that again.” she hissed. Barb half expected venom to fly out of the unicorn’s mouth.

“What Ah meant before was,” Applejack interrupted, bringing the conversation back to normal. “What’s his problem? Ah mean, mah family gave him the ol’ Apple Family welcome and he looked more miserable than Cousin Toffee Apple with toothache.” she began.

“Yeah, and he had the nerve to argue with me about my flying skills.” Dash chimed in.

“An argument he won, if the rumours are true.” Rarity smirked. Dash growled at the unicorn and looked back to Barb for an explanation. All eyes were on her, except for Pinkie who looked around the circle, seemingly interested in the stares than what they were aimed at.

“Well, you see… Dusk is…very antisocial. Seriously, the marketplace in Canterlot goes silent whenever he walks past. Freaks me out every time. Seriously, I yearn for the days when he sends me there, just so I can pick up a decent conversation.” she replied. All the ponies seemed to feel sorry for the little dragoness.

“But why’s he so mean?” Rarity asked. Barb considered the question delicately. She knew the reason, but telling almost complete strangers would undoubtedly bring Dusk’s wrath upon her, and she’d had enough for one… lifetime.

“He just doesn’t like other ponies. The Princess and Captian of the guard are the only exceptions, although, he fights with the Captain so often, it’s become a ritual.” she replied. She felt that Dusk would find that response acceptable, should he ask.

“I’m surprised nopony’s beaten him up.” Dash said, punching her fists together. Barb found the comment funny.

“Seriously? We live in Canterlot. Ponies are all about status there, and Personal apprentice of Princess Celestia is up there with Nobility. Everypony’s afraid to even look at him funny. And those foolish enough to actually ignore his status wind up with dirt in their mouths.” Barb felt boastful at this point.

“How?” Dash demanded.

“He’s not Celestia’s apprentice for nothing. In addition to wrestling with the Royal Guard Captain, he’s supposed to be the most powerful Unicorn since Starswirl the Bearded.” The ponies cried out in unison, halting the entire party.

“WHAT?!”

“Y’all mean to tell us that that jerk who passed on a Pinkie Party is one of the strongest unicorns in History?” Applejack asked. All the guests gasped in surprise, leaning into the small group to look at Barb for confirmation.

“Well, he hatched me… and nopony has been able to hatch a dragon egg since Starswirl.” Half of the guests turned their heads up towards the door that barred them from the stallion in question.

“And you say he’s single?” Rarity asked. Barb snorted.

“Sorry, sweetie, but you don’t have a chance. For one, you’re too… fancy. And for another, he’s never showed any interest in mares, except family and the Princess.” Barb said. “I live with the guy and sometimes I think he forgets that I’m female.” she added just for example. Contrary to what most in Canterlot believed, Barb had no romantic feelings towards Dusk. Theirs was more of a fusion of symbiotic and sibling relationships. Then there was the minor age gap. While only a few years younger than him, Barb was still considered little more than an infant among her kind.

“You’re saying there’s no chance?” Rarity asked. Barb smiled and crossed her arms.

“Rarity, it’s more likely that the Nightmare Moon legend is real than you getting with Dusk is.” barb ended the comment there.

“Well, what about this ruffian and Rainbow Dash?” Rarity asked, motioning to Dash and Applejack.

“Hay!” AJ warned.

“Well, Dusk may just appreciate hard working mares, and so long as Applejack’s entire family doesn’t make him sick with all the food he was offered today, maybe. And as for Rainbow Dash… I don’t think so. After what he said to Spitfire, I don’t think athletic mares even qualify for–.”

“Hang on, what did he say to Spitfire?” Dash demanded, showing her warning face.

“Oh crap.” Barb said.

“What did he say?” Dash asked again. Barb raised her hands.

“Trust me, you don’t wanna know. All I’ll say is that she didn’t take his comments very well and she ended up with a face full of dirt… well carpet, since it was inside when it happened.” Barb said. Dash seemed like she was on the verge of storming up to Dusk’s room. Barb decided to move on from the topic. “If anything, I think Fluttershy here would have the best chance of getting with him.” she said. This drew everypony’s attention.

“HUH?!” they all said. Fluttershy didn’t like the looks she was being given and she tried to hide under herself.

“Oh… m-m-my… I’m flattered, and he is kind of handsome, I guess… but I’m not looking for a relationship, and he’s kind of scary too.” she said.

“Hang on… how could Fluttershy have a better shot with him than all of us?” Rarity demanded.

“Well… thanks to her painfully obvious timid nature, she’s the only mare other than the Princess that he’s been nice to. Though, thinking back, throwing him into that wall may have been a deal breaker.” Barb contemplated.

“You know, I think it was better when you were talking about me under the guise of the party music. At least them I could drown the constant noise out, but now…” Dusk descended the steps, buttoning up his shirt. Barb caught sight of the scar on his chest and shuddered.

“Sorry.” she muttered. Dusk said nothing as he stopped in front of the dragoness with a serious look on his face.

“I’ve got to go and take care of some business. Will you be fine overlooking the celebration’s preparations?” he asked. Barb looked up at him and nodded.

“Count on me.” she replied. Dusk nodded and reached a hand out, brushing it along Barb’s face.

“I’d expect nothing less from my number one assistant.” he said. His actions and words were out of character for him. Barb looked him in the eyes and he seemed to be contemplating something… grave in his head.

“What’s this business you were talking about?” she asked. Dusk flashed a glance at the others.

“Just some advance notice to the princess, that’s all.” he replied. Barb could tell he was lying.

“Dusk… what did you discover?” the dragoness begged. There was hesitation in him for a moment.

“With any luck, you’ll never have to find out. It all depends on how the Princess takes the news.” he let his hand fall from Barb’s face and went to reach for the doorknob. Before he could turn it, he felt a pair of strong hooves grab him and fling him around. He was then slammed against the wall.

“Hold on there, pal! If we’re all in danger, we have a right to know.” Rainbow Dash declared. The other party members yelled their agreement in unison. Dusk sighed, taking a moment to choose his words carefully. In the end that turned out to be a waste of precious time and he just spilled the beans.

“Nightmare Moon is real and she’s going to break free tonight.”

Author's Note

So, here's Chapter 4. Hope you guys like it, I tried to sort of... lengthen it because I found that the chapters in this story aren't as long as most of the other chapters in other stories. So let me know what you think.
EDIT: Also, another pic from SkyBound.

Part 1 - Chapter 5: The Nightmare Begins

“You can’t be serious?” questioned Rarity. Dusk gave off the impression that he was totally serious which made Rarity uneasy. Barb knew better than to question Dusk’s theories relating to legends, though said theories usually opposed the existence of creatures such as ‘Slendermane’, the ‘Loch Neigh Monster’ and the ‘Hound of the Canterville’. But Nightmare Moon was obviously a different story.

“What proof do you have that Nightmare Moon exists?” Dash asked accusingly, believing that this entire thing was a cover story.

“The legend itself explains it all. It’s common knowledge that Princess Celestia once had a sister, yet the history books never identify her disappearance, she wasn’t reported dead nor missing, indicating she was sent somewhere. Then there’s the Princess’ Cutie Mark; while she raises the sun and the moon, only the symbol of the Sun is displayed, indicating that that the long lost sister is the true conduit to the moon. On top of that, there’s a chunk of history taken out between the time of their co-ruling and the Princess’ sudden control over both day and night. Shall I go on?” he enquired. The ponies were rendered speechless, but Barb had one small detail she wished to clarify.

“But Dusk, the Slendermane myth seemed more realistic than the Nightmare moon pony tale.”

“The Slendermane myth had obvious flaws in the evidence. My evidence relating to the lost Princess is solid.” he replied.

“No it isn’t.” Barb argued. “It’s a half-assed theory based on missing historical data and the Princess’mysterious past.” the others looked to Dusk for a retort, which as Barb expected, he had.

“The final piece of evidence will be revealed through Celestia’s reaction to my conclusion. While she has an excellent Poker face when it comes to everything regal and royal, she’s a terrible player when I figure things out.” he replied. Barb sighed in defeat. She knew Dusk was going out on a limb with this theory and he wasn’t going to drop it so easily.

“Alright then. I’ll be here when you return.” she said. Dusk nodded and opened the door. The night breeze reached him and his fur stood on end. He shut the door again and sighed.

“Best grab a coat before I go.” he said, rushing back upstairs. Barb face palmed as Dusk’s sudden retreat back into his room killed the melodramatic moment.

Princess Celestia looked out from the nearest window at the setting moon. The celebration was close to beginning and she needed to get ready. She began to wonder if Dusk would succeed in his assignment. He was known for being as unbearable as Blueblood and twice as rude. She came to the same conclusion she always did; that he had the potential to be better than he was, to grow and become one of the greatest ponies Equestria would ever know.

With her train of thought reaching its climax, she was interrupted by screaming guards flying through the large throne room doors. She was caught off guard. A black figure swept through the room, circling the Alicorn and engulfing her in a cloak of black smoke.

Dusk teleported to the main entrance into the Castle. The guards recognised him almost instantly and waved him in with dismissive looks He got those often. As he made his way towards the throne room, he heard groaning in the distance. Hurrying his pace, he arrived to see the doors bent open, the guards responsible for the groaning struggling to get up and his mentor lying unconscious before a blackened version of the Princess, wearing a helmet that looked terrible on her.

“Oh, this must be the faithful student I’ve heard so much about. Dusk, was it?” a powerful but controlled voice asked, its owner crossing her arms as a sign of passivity towards him. Dusk knew that this black Alicorn, Nightmare Moon, didn’t consider him worth the effort to guard against.

“You should have heard my dear sister calling your name before I knocked her out. Such fond memories I shared with her, but she never sounded or looked so panicked in all the years I knew her.” Nightmare Moon boasted her victory and finished with an evil laugh. Dusk felt a cold chill run through his body and he found himself shivering slightly. He’d never imagined seeing Celestia in the state she was; lying unconscious on the stone floor, her white robes dishevelled. He clenched his fists, struggling to control himself.

“You know, I’ve always wanted to see if a pony would lose their sanity after seeing her knocked down. So, what’s it like to lose it, apprentice?” she goaded. The irises on Dusk’s eyes closed to the point where his pupils were little larger than one of those round sprinkles on fairy bread. As he brought his gaze over to the offending Alicorn, he grinned.

“Sanity? Who the heck is that?” he asked. His horn lit up and a purple haze began to rise around him, the aura like slow moving fire. Nightmare Moon huffed in amusement at his reply and decided to humour him by defending herself. Her own horn lit up, ready for whatever move the apprentice would make.

“Does he really expect us to believe that Nightmare Moon is real, much less coming back tonight of all nights?” Dash asked, circling the small group of ponies who had gathered in the town hall, waiting for the hour all the preparations had been for. Ponyville was bustling with ponies who had travelled from the furthest reaches of Equestria just to attend the Celebration. Barb was at a loss for words as she didn’t know these ponies well enough to convince them of Dusk’s… argument.

“Hold on now, sugarcube. When ya think about it, That stallion ain’t lied to us at all since we met him. When the family’d cornered him into stayin’ for lunch, he accepted, but he’d been expressin’ his dislike from the get go.” Applejack pointed out.

“That’s Dusk. He doesn’t lie, but he’ll tell the truth to an extent. Somehow, he always knows just how much of the truth to omit in order to get what he wants. He wasn’t lying when he told us Nightmare Moon was coming back, but he might not have told us the whole truth, like why it was important, or why it mattered to him. He said just enough to get us to let him out the door.” Barb explained.

“Why that sneaky little–.”Applejack went to say but was cut off as the ceremony began. Mayor Mare stood on the observation balcony where the curtain hiding Princess Celestia was drawn. Two Royal guards were stationed at either side of the balcony. They had been stationed to Ponyville the previous day.

“Fillies and Gentlecolts; We have all gathered here today for the Summer Sun Celebration, which honours Our Princess and symbolises our gratitude to her for raising the sun and the moon. And today is a special occasion as this marks the thousandth year since she began doing so.” the ponies cheered for the princess. “So without further ado, may I present to you all, the mare of the hour: Princess Celestia!” Everypony cheered, except for the group of five and Barb who were hoping things would go as planned.

The curtains parted and everypony gasped in surprise. The Princess wasn’t there. Mayor Mare looked to where everypony was staring and nearly fainted at the lack of a presence. The five ponies and Barb looked worriedly amongst each other.

…One Hour Earlier…

Royal Guards both heard and felt the power struggle within the Throne room. Fearing for their Princess, a large contingency of Guards, including the Captain, Gleaming Shield made track for the throne room. When they arrived, the fight was over, and neither the Princess or her attacker could be found. Gleaming had the unfortunate privelage of finding her younger brother passed out under a small crater shaped like him. His body was covered in blood and his clothes were torn and burned, like the fur on his body. Gleaming Shield knelt down in front of her brother and held him close.

“Get a stretcher here, now!” she commanded. The guard she’d addressed nodded and hurried out of the room. “Dusk, who did this?” she asked rhetorically. She knew he was unconscious and didn’t expect an answer, but to her surprise, he subconsciously replied.

“Nightmare…Moon.” was all he said. A few minutes passed before the stretcher came and Gleaming helped lift her brother onto it and followed him to the medical ward.

…Back in Ponyville…

“This is terrible, what do we do?” Rarity asked, looking to the others. Unfortunately, everypony was at a loss. Even Barb couldn’t figure out where to go from here.

“I wish Dusk were here.” Fluttershy began.

“Well he isn’t.” Dash replied rather harshly. Those two statements gave Barb an idea.

“You’re right. Dusk isn’t here, but his books still are. He’d have used them to come to his conclusion. Come on everypony!” she said. As the five of them were about to depart for the Library, something stirred the other ponies and they were forced to look back. A swirling night sky appeared on the balcony and took form She was black with a light shade of blue armour. A dark purple cape waved behind her and her helmet gave her an even more sinister appearance. In an instant, the legendary Nightmare Moon was made whole, her excess magic taking on the form of thunder and lightning. She met them all with an evil chuckle.

“Ah, it’s good to see you all, my little ponies. It gets so lonely on that old rock. BUT FEAR NOT, YOUR TRUE PRINCESS HAS RETURNED!” her voice took on a louder register and she drowned out the thunder.

“What did you do with the Princess?” one of the ponies in the crowd demanded angrily. Nightmare Moon looked down at him and smirked.

“Returned the favour, so to speak. As she has trapped me on the moon for a thousand years, I’ve now trapped her in the sun.” There was a pregnant pause amongst all the ponies as they assimilated this information into their minds; 'Nightmare Moon was real'. Only six beings thought differently to the herd. 'Dusk was right', they thought.

With Nightmare Moon entranced in her newfound freedom, the five ponies, plus dragoness made their way out of the main hall and headed for the Library. It was a relatively short trek, quite literally next door. A they snuck into the front door, they spotted a dark blue wisp burst through the roof of the Town Hall.

"We have to find a way to stop her. Without the sun, it's only a matter of time before the world tries to restore the balance itself, the weather will control itself just like the Everfree Forest and we'll all be subject to what accounts for an apocalypse these days." Barb stated, skimming through the books on the shelves as she spoke. Everypony chimed in, including Rainbow Dash who had the intent on finding the book, but not reading it.

"How do we know what book to look for?" Dash asked.

"Nightmare moon is fictitious, an old filly tale. Just look for the book titled 'Magical Myths and Tales'." Barb replied. With Everypony looking for the book, it was found within a matter of minutes. Applejack ended up going into Dusk's room, where she saw the book had been dissected and notes had been stuck onto various pages.

"Found it." she called out. The ponies gathered in Dusk's room and circled around Barb who took the book from Applejack to recite it.

"...Using the magic of the Elements of Harmony, she defeated her sister and banished her permanently into the moon... It seems that the Elements of Harmony are the key to preventing Nightmare Moon's plans of an eternal night." Barb said, reading on.

"What are the Elements of Harmony?" Rarity asked.

"The story says they're the most powerful source of magic in Equestria, obviously more Powerful than even the Princess if she had to resort to them in order to seal away Nightmare moon." Barb replied.

"But where are they?" Applejack asked. Barb read onto Dusk's notes. She was a little worried It looked as if he'd gone insane writing words that didn't seem to make sense around the text on post-it notes. But at the very bottom of the text, one note told Barb what she needed to know.

"Dusk's answered that for us. He figured out where the Elements are. According to his note, they're in..."

Part 1 - Chapter 6: Through The Land We Go

"The Everfree Forest."

Dusk awoke with a start. His body suddenly ached all over and he felt like he'd fallen from the highest tower of Canterlot Castle. He felt a coarse but gentle hand touch his arm, followed by the sound of cooing.

"Careful now, Dusk. Your scar opened up. The doctors have done their best, but if you strain yourself, it'll open up again and it'll be beyond what modern science can heal." a familiar voice reached his ears. Slowly opening his eyes, he turned his head to see his sister and Parents beside him.

"Gleam...Nightmare moon, she's real. Celestia's in danger." he croaked out. Gleaming Shield just placed a finger over her brother's lips and shushed him.

"We know. She's made her presence known throughout Equestria. We're conducting a search."

"I know where she is." Dusk replied. Gleaming sighed, wishing that Dusk didn't have to involve himself in such a grave matter. Nevertheless, she had a duty to uphold and any information was greatly needed, regardless of who gave it.

"Where is she, Dusk?" The Captain asked, her despair clear in her voice.

"Leave him alone, Gleaming. Can't you see he's struggling to remain conscious?" Their mother, Twilight Velvet protested.

"More than his consciousness is at stake, Mother. He knows this better than any of us." Gleaming snapped in order to end the conversation and prevent more precious time from being wasted.

"Nightmare Moon will... be with the Elements... of Harmony. She'll be guarding... the one thing that... can send her back... to the moon. The Elements are in... The Everfree Forest." Dusk said between heavy breaths. Gleaming Shield rested her head on the bed beside Dusk.

"That's the last place I wanted to send my guards." she commented. Dusk said nothing in response to that. With a heavy sigh, she rose from her seat and leant over to kiss Dusk on the forehead.

"You did good, little brother. Leave the rest to me." she said, squeezing his hand before leaving him to their parents.

"This is crazy! How are we gonna find this ancient palace in a forest that contains creatures probably capable of eating stone for breakfast?" Rainbow Dash complained as she hovered above the group of ponies. Applejack led the way with Rarity right behind, Pinkie bouncing in the middle, Fluttershy crawling behind and Rainbow Dash bringing up the rear.

"Look, sugarcube. Barb said that the creatures don't go near that place. And they definitely won't now that Nightmare Moon's hauntin' the joint." she replied.

"Okay, then why couldn't Barb come with us?" Dash asked.

"She's still a baby Dragon, Dash; you really wanna be sendin' an infant into the forest?" Applejack retorted. Dash dropped her defensive stance and slumped.

"Oh... No, nevermind." she replied. Fluttershy, who had been quiet ever since Nightmare moon's debut began to speak up.

"I-i-it sure is scary out here. I feel like we're being w-w-watched." she stuttered. The other ponies looked around and to their surprise, glowing eyes were staring at them from all around. As they huddled together in fear, the trees suddenly appeared to form faces. While all the ponies began to let their fear overcome them, they suddenly heard uncontrollable laughter. As they looked over to the source, they saw Pinkie laughing at one of the trees.Rarity was flabbergasted more than anypony else as she thought she had been holding Pinkie during their moment of fear.

"Pinkie, what in Tarnation are you doin'?" Applejack scolded.

"Laughing at the tree, it's so funny!" she said as she giggled madly at the tree. The face on the trunk disappeared from view as if discovering that the shadow on your bedroom wall was just the shadow of a badly shaped tree branch. As proof of her tactic worked, the girls all began to laugh at various trees. The effects were the same. All the trees began to look like distorted versions of regular forest trees.

"I can't believe that actually worked!" Rarity said with astonishment written all over her features. Pinkie giggled in response to this.

"Never underestimate the power of laughter, Rarity. Not only is it super powerful, it's super duper fun!" she began to squeal with joy before bursting out again in laughter. The others settled for a mild chuckle before yet another obstacle sounded in their path.

A Manticore burst through the bushes in a rampage. With the body of a lion and the tail of a Scorpion, this thing was hideous in Rarity's eyes. And she gave what she believed to be the appropriate response.

"FFFFFFU-."

"Dusk, can you hear me?" a voice rang out in Dusk's dream state. He was floating in darkness, completely naked, or as those in Trottingham would say 'Tackle out'. His imaginary eyes cracked open and he looked around. A single bright light, like a dimmed sun floated in front of him.

"I can, Princess." he replied, blinking once. He closed his eyes and took in the warmth the presence of his one true Princess gave off. His dream had assimilated the pain in his body into his dream and he felt it all wash away like dirt in a shower.

"Dusk, you have to hurry. Your friends have gone to face Nightmare moon, but they can't do it without you. You have to be there in order to succeed in your endeavor." Celestia said. Dusk sighed.

"I have no friends. They're a hinderance to my studies." he said. Celestia seemed silent for a moment.

"Dusk, I'm going to tell you something I haven't told anypony before." she said. Dusk raised his head and opened his eyes once again, waiting for her to continue.

"Starswirl the Bearded refused to make any friends, just like you've chosen to do. In the end, he failed me because of that decision he made. I wanted him to progress beyond me, but he failed, and died as a result." she said. Dusk's face was unchanged. If there had been inspiring music playing in the background, it would have turned to a scratched record after Dusk's next words.

"That's a lie, isn't it?" he asked coldly. Celestia sighed.

"Okay, yes it is. But I have big plans for you, Dusk, and they all depend on you making friends. Understand?" she asked. Dusk groaned in annoyance.

"But Friendship is bothersome! There are dates you have to remember, like birthdays. Then you have to find out what they like so you can get them gifts for Hearth's Warming. It's a vicious cycle!" he complained.

"Dusk, if anypony can manage and remember dates, it's you. Please, Dusk. At least do it for the sake of Equestria. You know what'll happen if the land is shrouded in Night forever. Unfortunately, my sister remains ignorant of the consequences." Celestia said.

"I would help if I could, but my scar has been opened up again, thanks to Nightmare." he replied.

"What do you think I've been doing while I was talking with you? I've been healing your body through your dreams. Naturally, I shouldn't be able to do that, given that dreams are my sister's domain, but you're different, Dusk. We're connected." she said.

Dusk huffed at the mention of their connection. "You must have been so disappointed when I hit puberty and didn't have a wet dream about you." he teased. Celestia was silent for a good long moment.

"Little bit, yeah. Then again, you didn't have a wet dream about anypony, so I figured you were just impotent." she retorted.

"There's no such thing as Impotent, it's just laziness." Dusk replied.

"Dusk... Don't try and deviate from the topic at hand. Save your friends, save Equestria. If you don't, I'll never be free." Celestia's light faded to black and Dusk woke up. His body didn't hurt like it had last time and he felt his magical energy restoring itself. His magic burst out in waves as he yelled at the top of his voice. The metal bent in so many places and the wood snapped into little shards. The entire room was being forced away from him, including the bed which had been crushed against the stone floor like a can against an Elephant's foot.

An explosion could be heard from outside Dusk's room and as his parents rushed in to check up on him, they saw that the entire wall had been blown outward, everything squashed to the sides and the state of the bed, but the only thing missing was Dusk himself.

Rainbow Dash struggled to get up. Her sides hurt and her vision was blurry. After having gone through the fairly simple journey to the palace of the Alicorn Sisters, they faced Nightmare Moon herself. The stones had proven themselves about as useful as Rarity's magic against the Nightmare before them.

"Dammit! Why didn't they work? Did we have to say something? Was there an incantation or whatever?" she cried. Applejack was thrown over to beside the angry pegasus, sliding the last few feet.

"A-ah don't know... Sugarcube...*cough*... but we gotta... make do with what we got." She replied as she struggled to get up like her Pegasus Comrade. Applejack looked around the hall. All but Fluttershy had taken a beating, even Pinkie Pie was down for the count. The abnormal Earth Pony was just no match for an Alicorn.

"Can you still fly, Dash?" Applejack whispered. The rainbow pegasus checked her wings and nodded.

"Yeah, what's the plan?" Dash whispered back.

"If you can fly circles around her and git her distracted, I'll run on in and buck her right in the face. With any luck, that'll knock her out cold." both mares nodded as they confirmed their roles in the plan. Dash shot off, making rainbows around Nightmare Moon's field of vision.

"That's very pretty, young pegasus, but it won't be enough to stop me." Nightmare declared. She ducked her head to see under the ring of rainbows and found one of her opponents missing. There was an uneasy sound, then the crashing of the window behind her. It took the Alicorn mere seconds to figure out what had happened. She laughed as the image of Applejack missing her mark entirely entered her mind's eye.

"This is so sad, I almost feel sorry for you all. Nevertheless, my night will reign supreme regardless of your wishes, or excuses." she declared once more.

With glass in her leg, Applejack knew she wouldn't be able to try anything like that again, especially now that the enemy knew the tactic used to distract her.

"Darn it! We need a miracle now!" The cowpony cried out. Nightmare Moon decided to teach Applejack the harshness of reality. Miracles don't happen. With nearly everypony bruised and battered, just one pony remained unharmed, Nightmare excluded. Fluttershy had remained in place, trembling in fear from the get go. The fallen Princess stepped casually toward Fluttershy, intent on making her into an example.

"No, stop!" Applejack cried out, Rainbow Dash went to try and stop Nightmare, but the Alicorn just swatted her away with a burst of magic from her horn.

"I'm going to show you all that Miracles don't happen in the real world. If anypony can save this little mare before I kill her, then I'll be proven wrong, but that doesn't seem likely. The realisation hit them all. Nightmare Moon was going to kill Fluttershy and they were all too badly beaten to even move. They all cried out, pleaded for her to stop, but it was too late, the punch had begun its trajectory...

Suddenly, a burst of purple flaming magic broke through the floor between the fallen Princess and the petrified Pegasus. Following quickly afterward, the body of Dusk shine appeared through the rubble and his fist collided with Nightmare Moon's face, forcing her back and away from Fluttershy. His shirt was missing, leaving only his pants and a bare chest. His scar had been exposed, showing what remained of the damage Nightmare Moon had done to him before. Instead of a single scar running down his ribcage, now another one ran across from it, turning it into a giant 'X' shaped scar.

"Well, well! You're stronger than I gave you credit for, little Stallion." Nightmare goaded.

"It's Dusk!" Fluttershy cried out with absolute relief flooding her voice. Dusk stood ready to kill, his magic burning around him and acting like furious tails, whipping at the air. His eyes burned with a white intensity. The room filled with a single word as Dusk roared like a dragon into the sky, not caring who heard him.

"NIGHTMAAAAAAARE!!!!!!!"

Author's Note

Bring on the THUNDAH!!!!! AHAHAHAHA!!!

And as a Spoiler gift for you all, I'm going to completely change the way the Elements of Harmony act. I'd like to see Sky Bound draw what happens, lol.

Part 1 - Chapter 7: The Friendship Element

With his magic blazing, Nightmare was forced to back off a few steps. Something had made him change within the past few hours. Before, he was weak, but this time, he was a whole new pony. It was as if she were staring at another Alicorn as corrupted as herself. Had she transferred some of her own magic to him by accident? No, she was not so clumsy as to do that.

"Dusk, you came for us!" Rainbow Dash called out. The fiery magic around Dusk dropped like a pilot light going out. The purple Stallion stood where he was, his eyes fixated on his target.

"You idiots took on Nightmare Moon without the Elements of Harmony?" he scolded.

"We had the Elements, but they were useless. We might as well have been throwing stones at a dragon. Now they're destroyed." Dash retorted. Dusk broke eye contact and looked at the crumbling stones at the foot of the ancient throne.

"That's right, my dear, and now the night will forever brandish the sky." Nightmare Moon boasted. Barely an instant passed before she found herself decked in the face.

"Who said you could talk?!" Dusk burst out, knocking Nightmare onto her behind. The Princess was stunned Never had she been struck so recklessly, much less by her own family. Yet this simple Stallion had the gall to even put her beneath him?

"I am the ruler of Equestria! Royalty by blood. You should be the silent one." she protested.

"There can be only one Princess!" Dusk growled.

"Yet I'm the only one available now that my dear sister is stuck in the sun." Nightmare challenged. Dusk growled low and with purpose, his magic slowly billowing like smoke.

"Not quite. There is another; Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Cadence to her friends and family. Celestia's niece and successor." he replied It was Nightmare's turn to growl. Her own magic began to rise and as the stray wisps touched, sparks began to emerge and thunder crackled from between them.

"The Elements of Harmony still exist." Dusk spoke up, getting his 'friends' attention as well as startling Nightmare Moon. "Elements aren't physical things, they are a representation of the physical world around us. It took me a while to figure out what Celestia said to me and why she chose now of all times for me to start making friends. She anticipated Nightmare moon's return, just as I had, but she planned ahead, having all the pieces of the puzzle to begin with." Dusk dropped his aggressive stance and turned around to help Fluttershy up. The timid pegasus took his hand and graciously accepted the lift. Once she was standing on her own two feet, Dusk suddenly teleported over to Applejack. and helped her up.

"I had to figure out what constituted Harmony, what the ingredients were. And I figured it out when I recollected the personalities of these five ponies." He teleported Applejack to Fluttershy's side so the cowpony could lean against her unharmed friend. Dusk repeated the process with each mare, Rarity whom had to be carried.

"You might not think so when you look at them, but these five ponies possess traits relevant to the Elements of Harmony, as such, the Elements themselves live on in them." Dusk said.

"What are you saying?!" Nightmare Moon demanded. Dusk grinned at the Alicorn, making her shudder.

"I'm saying," he used his magic to lift up six shards of the stones representing the Elements of Harmony and floated them over to the party behind him. "That you really would have delayed your defeat considerably had you managed to strike down Fluttershy here. These ponies you've been playing with are conduits for the Elements of Harmony." Dusk began to laugh at Nightmare as she backed away in fright.

"That's not possible! The Elements were physical objects last time My sister used them herself." she protested.

"You really think that something as powerful as these would stick to a single form? I'm disappointed in you, Nightmare Moon. Watch this, I'll prove my point." With a snap of his fingers, the stone shards began to glow different colours and rotate at such a speed that you couldn't tell lump from bump.

"Fluttershy represents the Element of Kindness." Dusk claimed, and immediately, the stone in front of Fluttershy burst with magic and turned into a golden Neck piece with a pink Butterfly crystal in the centre It latched itself to her neck and glowed happily.

"Applejack represents Honesty." Dusk continued, the same thing happened to Applejack, a golden necklace with an apple shaped ruby rested on her orange neck.

"Rainbow Dash has always displayed Loyalty to those she cares for, and as such, represents Loyalty in every sense of the word." A Ruby Lightning bolt adorned Dash's neck.

"Alright!" the Pegasus was the first to comment on her new item.

"Pinkie Pie's was obvious. Though I don't entirely enjoy this one, Sometimes, friends have to make sacrifices for others. Pinkie will undoubtedly do that with a smile every time." A light blue balloon resembled the Element of Laughter and it hung around the pink pony's neck, and bounced up and down as she jumped in place with glee.

"And Rarity represents Generosity. I know this because on my way here, I spotted a sea dragon with an oddly coloured moustache. Upon entering this room, I see now that it was once Rarity's tail." A Violet diamond rested against Rarity's breast and she squealed in delight. Nightmare was on the verge of a panic attack.

"What about the Sixth Element? Nopony knows what that is, and I highly doubt you could possibly know." Nightmare boasted. Dusk just smiled, his magic rising once again.

"Well you'd be wrong again, bitch! While it most certainly was the most difficult part, I didn't actually figure it out until I presented these five with their own Elements."

"WHAT?!" the fallen Princess cried.

"You see, I figured there had to be a reason Celestia sent me of all ponies to fulfil the task of befriending the first five conduits. It occurred to me that there must have been one redeeming trait I possessed that could help me make such friends as these. At first, I thought it was my knowledge of the History of Equestria, but such a thing has no place in Friendships. So what was the one thing I excelled at. And the answer was obvious. I excelled at the one thing that could be used to protect my friends, had I any to begin with. Do you know what that is?" Nightmare Moon shook her head, but the five conduits understood all too well. They cried the last word with joy together.

"MAGIC!!!" The sixth shard burst in a flurry of colours and Dusk got caught in the light. He lifted his head and raised his arms. There was a sound like pure magic rotating around him and it absorbed the billowing residue that escaped his own body.

"Incredible!" Nightmare commented as she covered her eyes from the blinding light. And just as quickly as it had started, the light vanished. All mares, including Nightmare Moon looked upon Dusk with a sense of awe as his Element had been the most drastic. His mane had been slicked back, and had become pointier. His eyes were whiter than sheets and the element itself wrapped around his jaw like a golden exoskeleton, the five pointed star acting like a goatee.

"Woah!" they all said, except for Rainbow Dash who accidentally blurted out another word altogether.

"HOT!" she covered her mouth instantly. the other girls looked at her in surprise. Rainbow Dash was known for not complimenting another pony outside the Wonderbolts.

"I-it doesn't matter how much you changed from those Elements I know how they work after the first time, so they won't be enough to stop me." Nightmare began to challenge, but her voice betrayed her.

"You didn't know that they still existed after you smashed the stones, did you? Besides, the Elements react to the thoughts of their conduits. And you have no idea what we want to do to you for taking Princess Celestia from us. For example. Your sister pitied you at the very last second and instead of killing you, she sent you to the moon. Well, I don't think we'll bother with that. I'm not as emotionally attached to you as your sister was." he threatened. Nightmare began to quiver with fear. But after a few seconds, she regained her composure.

"I'll defeat you regardless!" she cried out. Dusk threw his arms to the side and snapped his fingers. "Girls?" he called. Without a second's hesitation, all five mares shot towards Nightmare Moon, their wounds healed and their senses and abilities enhanced. They left little trails of dust in their wake as they swept past Dusk and bore down on their enemy.

Nightmare took the full force of each of their attacks. Applejack bucked her in the face, Rainbow in the gut. Rarity had her right side, Pinkie her left. Fluttershy even found herself moving in motion with the others, sweeping Nightmare's legs from under her. The princess was sent spinning backwards, halted by her head colliding with the stone floor. There was an audible crack from both the floor and Nightmare's head. She grabbed her skull and screamed in agony, the lump emerging almost instantaneously. The five mares backed off and allowed Dusk to step up to Nightmare with a destructive look in his eyes. Nightmare moon showed genuine horror for the first time in over a thousand years. She knew she was about to die.

"Where's your precious night now, Mare in the Moon?" Dusk teased. His body burst into flames and his entire coat changed from Lavender to cream, his mane and tail became hot flames and his eyes turned redder than the blood seeping onto the stone floor. "Your final hour has arrived!" Dusk declared. The other five Conduits burst into flames themselves and began rotating around Dusk. Their bodies changed shape and soon they merged with him. Another bright light engulfed the room for a few seconds before an entirely new pony emerged. He looked like a white fire spirit, clad in golden armour. The jaw piece was now a King's crown, The Elements of Honesty and Loyalty were gauntlets, Generosity had become a chest piece and Laughter had fused with Kindness to form a golden greatsword. The fire spirit gripped the sword and pointed it down to Nightmare Moon.

"No... Please! Don't kill me! I-I-I'll give everypony the sun back, I'll disappear forever, just please don't kill me!!!" Nightmare Moon cried. The white fire pony thrust his sword and plunged it deep into Nightmare Moon's heart. The point came out the other end. Nightmare Moon's own armour was useless against the blade. She screamed in agony as her body felt like it was being burned from within. The colour faded from her body and before long she was as white as the pony that had stabbed her. Seconds later, Her body burst into millions of pieces and evaporated before hitting the ground.

The white pony removed his sword from where it was and flung it over his fiery shoulder. He stood there, motionless save the flame outlining his body. All was quiet for the next few moments before a cracking sound began to fill the air. The source was from within the fire, and before anypony knew it, the five mares, plus Dusk were sent flying in six different directions.

"That... was... AWESOME!!!" Rainbow Dash cried out, taking to the air and looping around numerous times. Pinkie began to chatter on about what had just happened as if the others hadn't experienced it before. Rarity just admired her diamond element while Fluttershy and Applejack both gave praise to Dusk in their own way, Applejack chose the shoulder punch while Fluttershy chose to murmur the words as loudly as she could bare.

"Seriously, I can't wait to do that again!" Dash commented as she calmed down a notch.

"And you'll undoubtedly get the chance to do so, my little Pony." a voice sounded through the background. Standing there in all her majesty, was Princess Celestia. The five mares bowed down in respect while Dusk just crossed his arms.

"You owe me big time." he said, raising a brow. Celestia chuckled and nodded in response.

"Yes, I suppose I do. But I'm not going to rescind your assignment on making friends, i don't care if you did save Equestria." she replied. Dusk huffed at that.

"I'm beginning to wonder if I was better off with Nightmare Moon." he muttered.

"Well, you'll never know now, will you? The Elements of Harmony can't be used for evil, and Bringing Nightmare moon back would be considered an evil act." Celestia explained.

"Mole." Dusk grumbled, stepping aside to reveal a very small Alicorn filly with a light blue hue and an even lighter blue mane and tail. She was shaking and struggling to rise to her feet. "I assume the opposite is also impossible, We can't vanquish good. Seems there was a remorseful part of your sister buried within the Nightmare after all, Celestia. I was hoping for this." Dusk said. Celestia went wide-eyed.

"You never meant to kill her, you just wanted to get rid of the evil within her heart?" she asked. Dusk smiled.

"You spared your sister when you could have easily destroyed her a thousand years ago. Back then, she would have no regrets, but a thousand years spent to think things over on the moon can lead to a promising harvest. This is the culmination of your Sister's regret over the span of a thousand years. This is what remains of your Sister, Princess." Dusk said. Celestia began to tear up as she laid eyes on her long lost little sister. The blue filly in turn looked at the faces of those she'd just recently tried to kill and her regret grew, giving her power that allowed her to grow. She looked the same age as the Conduits by the time she had finished regretting what she'd done.

"Luna... I understand why you did what you did, and I'm willing to give you another chance. And I beg you take it. It's been so lonely these last thousand years without you. Come home, please?" Celestia said in the sweetest voice anypony had ever heard. Luna's eyes began to water and before she knew it, she was running into her sister's outstretched arms bawling like the filly she was just moments ago.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried out. Celestia shushed her and cooed at her like a mother would their daughter.

"It's alright, all is forgiven." Celestia said gently. Luna suddenly pushed herself out of her sister's embrace.

"Is it though?" she asked, turning her gaze over to the Elements. The five mares all agreed that it was forgiven immediately, talking over each other, Dusk remained quiet, His arms still crossed. All eyes were on him, Luna's pleadingly so. He walked towards the two Princesses and knelt down before Luna. She received a light bonk on the head, nothing painful at all. She looked up at Dusk who looked right back.

"The past is the past, nothing we can do about it now except to forget it ever happened. Welcome home, Princess." he said, standing back up and walking away.

The next day when everypony was well rested, Luna was officially welcomed home by the city of Canterlot. Her regal attire had been returned to her and she wore it on this special occasion. Dusk had taken the opportunity to pack some extra things for the trip to Ponyville, since he was stuck there for the foreseeable future. The other conduits to the Elements of Harmony had been given VIP sleeping quarters, which they enjoyed thoroughly. As the six of them stood before the Princesses, they all knelt down and bowed their heads in respect. Even Dusk wouldn't embarrass his teacher on such an important occasion.

The six ponies were presented with their medals. As Dusk was about to be presented his, Luna interrupted and claimed she wanted to give him his medal herself. Celestia accepted and handed Luna the golden medal. As he knelt before the returned Princess, he lifted his head.

"Princess?" he said, acknowledging her status. Luna smiled and gently placed the medal around his neck. She then leaned in close and kissed him.

"Thank you for saving me." she whispered. Dusk was unsure what to say, so he settled for a courteous nod. The Nobles among the crowd had stopped clapping, hate-filled glares trained on Dusk as in their eyes, he was the one who dared to kiss the Princess.

The six ponies all stood up and turned to the applauding crowd and bowed. That night back in Ponyville, all the ponies partied save Dusk who tried to get in a good read, but found it impossible since it was somepony's stupid idea to have the party at the Library.

"So, Dusk, what's your take on Friendship?" Barb asked, offering him a drink. Dusk took it without tearing his eyes away from the book.

"Friendship is Bothersome. And that's putting it mildly." he said, using his free hand to motion to the party around him. Barb just laughed and sat down beside him.

"Oh, Dusk, just how will you cope with the days to come?"

Author's Note

Well, that's the end of Part 1. I should probably explain some things. The Parts are related to the dual-episodic events that required the use of the Elements of Harmony, however, in between those parts, will be side stories, such as the appearance of Trixie and Zecora, all that jazz. The parts will go up to three which is the Canterlot wedding, but from then on, it's all original. I won't give any more about that away. So until next time, Toodles.

P.S. I'll be introducing Trixie in the Side Story (S.S) to come.

S.S.1: Boastful Pride

Ever calm was Ponyville since the Nightmare moon event. Everypony believed that the nightmare herself was gone for good and would not threaten the peace again. While that was true in a literal sense, technicalities would eventually have a way of screwing around with those plans.

Applejack and the others, sans Dusk had taken to meeting outside in the town square. They'd all become great friends ever since that fateful night and the one thing they shared was the desire to know their Introverted companion just a little better. They devised ways of getting him out of his books and into the social protocol that was gossip. They seemed to forget that Dusk Shine, the one who brought them all together was in fact a stallion. Gossip would be wasted on him, but it seems their determination drove them to learn the hard way.

In the middle of another of their conversations, a cart no bigger than a garden shed pulled up right in the centre of the town square. Some of the ponies gathered around, amazed at how a carriage could have pulled itself. Others wondered what the contents of said carriage were. The five friends joined the ever growing crowd, curious as to its purpose in their peaceful little town. With little time between the carriage's arrival and their own, a flash of smoke wafted from out of thin air. As it cleared, the carriage had been magically set up. This was enough to give awe to some of the younger members of the audience.

Another flash of smoke and a sky blue Unicorn wearing a star and moon spangled cape and pointy hat under her silvery mane and tail appeared, presenting the most confident pose anypony had ever seen. Underneath the cape were deep purple robes with a considerably shortened amount of astral objects imprinted on it. Her entrance gave way to another awed reaction from all except the five ponies.

"Fillies and Gentlecolts! Give a warm round of applause for the Great and Powerful Trixie!!" the blue unicorn called out. As she did so, sparklers and all sorts of fireworks erupted, giving her a flashy entrance.

The Library was quiet as usual, more so now that Ponyville had sampled Dusk Shine's social demeanour. Three books floated in the air in front of the pony in question. Still in his pyjamas, he sipped a cup of coffee as he appeared to stare at the centre book.

Barb had the idea to wear skates on her feet, making her cleaning in sweeping motions. She reached a tray out as Dusk placed his empty mug down at random. Success! The dragoness spread-eagled between a pair of books, finishing with a turn before pushing off into the kitchen.

"Did you see that, Dusk?" Barb asked as she left with a fresh cup of coffee for him.

"You're a regular Jim BuckElroy, Barb." he said, holding out his hand. His eyes never strayed from the books. Barb skated past, manoeuvring the cup into his hand. "Thanks." he said as she passed by. "Mind the Nix collection behind you." he added as he took a sip from his mug. There was a loud thump which signified Barb had heeded his warning too late.

"Oww..." she whined.

"Need help?" Dusk asked, still not distracted from his books.

"You could at least act like you care. I am still a baby after all." she whined. Dusk took another sip of his coffee.

"Of course I care. I just don't bother with mundane things like your little fall there. Such things will help you learn and grow. But until you're an adult and I'm long dead, if anything puts your life in danger, then I'll act accordingly." he replied. Barb stood up from the floor and sat down to remove her skates.

"The only threat to my life is you and this Library." she argued.

"Let's keep it that way then. Neither the Library, nor I have any intention of hurting you, so you're technically safe." he disputed. Barb sighed, her skates in one hand as she rose to her feet.

"I should have signed up for adoption. Maybe then I'd get some proper love instead of excuses for the mundane problems in my life." she mumbled. That elicited a twitch of the eye from Dusk, but Barb failed to notice.

"I'm glad you didn't. You're one of the few in my life that I trust completely." he replied Barb looked at him and smiled.

"And it's words like those that keep me here." she said. As she stepped into the kitchen again, she shed a tear, still smiling. Despite his personality, she'd grown to love Dusk as if she were born into his family. Despite what she'd said earlier, she was glad to have chosen Dusk as her carer.

The door to the Library burst open and an onslaught of ponies erupted through the entrance. Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and a few others entered, all looking for him.

"Dusk, you gotta help us!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed.

"In Equestria, we say 'good morning'." Dusk replied, not taking his eyes off the books.

"There's a unicorn in Ponyville!" Pinkie cried out.

"Is there now? And here I thought I was the only one." Dusk replied sarcastically.

"What Pinkie means is that there's a new one in town." Applejack corrected.

"Again, my answer stays the same." Dusk said.

"What's going on?" Barb asked as she entered the room.

"Mass idiocy, I think." Dusk replied.

"There's a new Unicorn in town claiming to be the most powerful in all of Equestria. She's challenged ponies to try and out-do her, so far nopony's been able to do it. We thought Dusk could put her in her place for us." Rainbow Dash said, ignoring Dusk's comment, mainly because the word idiocy didn't register with her understanding.

"Really? And why's that?" Dusk asked, taking a sip from his mug.

"Well, we remembered Barb saying you were the most powerful Unicorn since Starswirl the Bearded and we figured you could show this silver-maned witch what true power is." Rarity replied, getting all hyped up.

"I see she kicked at least on of your asses." Barb said, pointing to Rarity's mane. The alabaster mare just whimpered in shame.

"Not Fluttershy or me. After These three, we thought it best to leave it to the professionals." Pinkie said, pulling Fluttershy close to her side.

"I don't care for boasting my abilities. Only I need to know how powerful I am." Dusk replied. The girls began to fret.

"Come on, Dusk, we're your friends." Rainbow Dash argued.

"A nightmare that ceases to end." he retorted.

"She's a rotten apple!" Applejack tried.

"Apples are your problem." he replied.

"She's right here." Pinkie said.

"WHAT?!" the others cried out, save Dusk. The showmare, Trixie stepped through the door and around the beaten ponies to face Dusk.

"This is the pony you wanted me to go up against? He's little more than a joke." Trixie scoffed.

"Actually, you'll find a lot of ponies would say I'm not that funny." Dusk commented, magically turning the pages of all three books.

"What are you doing?" Trixie asked. Dusk sighed before responding.

"I'm attempting to increase the default output of my cerebral cortex by putting my peripheral vision into overdrive." he replied. Everypony, including Trixie turned to Barb for an explanation.

"He's trying to expand his learning capacity by reading three books at once, using the corners of his eyes." she explained. The ponies except for Pinkie Pie made sounds of understanding.

"Does that actually work?" Dash asked.

"I'm talking to you lot while doing it aren't I?" Dusk replied as if to prove his point. Everypony searched for something else to say.

"Please, Dusk? We're asking you to defend our honour, which she's damaged." Rarity begged.

"So call a therapist." Dusk responded coldly.

"Girls, if you want him to work with you, you gotta appeal to his likes and dislikes." said Barb, turning to Dusk.

"Dusk, if she claims to be the most powerful pony in Equestria, that means she's putting herself above the Princesses." Barb teased. Dusk paused his reading.

"Claims mean nothing. If they take offense to one such as that, then let them do what these idiots did and challenge her." he said, countering Barb's attack.

"She claims to have conquered an Ursa Major." Fluttershy let out. Dusk's head lifted and he finally turned away from his books, eyeing Trixie and quietly judging her.

"Really?" he asked, closing the books behind him. They made their way back to their appropriate shelves. "What proof do you have that you dealt with such a creature?" he asked. Trixie was stumped.

"My word should be good enough." she replied.

"If a pony's word was all it took, Everypony would be famous for things they said they did and prisons would be made redundant." Dusk replied. Again, Trixie was stumped. A huff of annoyance left Dusk's mouth before he turned away. "Come back when you've got solid evidence to back your claims." he commanded. Feeling embarrassed, Trixie tried to coax Dusk into fighting her, the wrong way. She charged a bolt of magic and shot at him. Dusk was hit squarely in the back. The stallion went forward and collided with the nearest bookshelf. He slid down, his face smacking against each shelf.

"Oh, horseapples." Applejack said, urging the others to step aside for what was to come next.

"That'll piss him off." Dash stated. Trixie felt herself superior to the Librarian which is why she didn't think before acting. Dusk slowly rose to his feet, his mane waving upward as if it were under water. He turned around to face Trixie. That's when she saw the scar on his chest and the bright white eyes.

"Oops." she said as she prepared to defend herself. Dusk growled and leaned forward, his horn becoming the focal point for a big attack that would undoubtedly require a new door and replacement windows. Barb leaped for the kitchen just as a massive purple ball began to grow and rotate. "Um. sorry?" Trixie tried. Dusk just frowned at Trixie before he launched his attack. The ball hit her dead on and as it made contact, it grew larger to the point where it was twice her size. It allowed her form to press into it before exploding like a waterbaloon. The force of the explosion blew out the windows and forced Trixie through the door and out into the streets.

Ponies looked at the grounded unicorn outside and then to the exploded Library.

"Did she go after Dusk?" Carrot Top asked. Derpy just shrugged.

"That was a death sentence waiting to happen." Lyra replied, gently trying to smack the unicorn awake. it was no use, Trixie was out cold.

Dusk emerged a few minutes later, fully clothed, except with his dark grey shirt unbuttoned, showing off his cross-scar. He stopped just short of Trixie and observed the damage. "Didn't think you could withstand the force of an Ursa Major. That was half the strength they put into swatting away what they consider to be pests." he said. "Just as I thought, you're nothing but a fraud." he declared. Behind him, the others were cheering over his victory. Their honour had been saved by their friend. Dusk walked off, leaving the Library and his 'friends' as they were. He felt hungry after expelling that kind of magic at this time of the morning.

Trixie had spent the day packing her things. Humiliated beyond reasoning, she wanted nothing more to do with this town. She didn't want mocking stares as she left, so she decided to cut through the Everfree forest, believing her carriage would protect her.

It was getting late in the evening and she decided to set up camp in a cave. Her spirits were down and her fire was dim. She truly felt nothing could get worse. Unfortunately, she was wrong on so many levels. Her fire, regardless of its weakness had awoken an Ursa. The same kind of Ursa Trixie claimed to have defeated. It went to yawn and Trixie mistook that for an angry roar. She screamed, giving the poor celestial bear an ear ache, then proceeded to throw a burning stick at it, hitting it on the nose. Now the Ursa was pissed. It set its sights on Trixie and roared in real anger. Trixie ran away, leaving her precious carriage behind. Sadly, it was crushed under the Ursa's massive foot, leaving Trixie truly homeless. But that didn't matter as she was about to be dead.

Applejack and Rainbow Dash had gone out to celebrate Dusk's actions regarding the 'rotten apple'. Their pride was in tact and the subject of discussion had left town without a trace. Things were looking good. As Dash went to chug another drink, Applejack spotted Trixie running as fast as she could from something.

"Look on over there, sugarcube. Ain't that the mare we were just talkin' about?" she asked. Dash almost spat her drink out when she saw her. Now she was pissed.

"What's she doing back here? Dusk practically kicked her out." The two mares went to intercept Trixie.

"So, didn't get enough of a beating the last time?" The pegasus asked.

"Ah thought you were gonna git outta here 'fore the day's end." Applejack added. Trixie was out of breath and she tried to warn the two why that was the case, but all she could do was pant like a dog and point to the massive celestial bear behind her. Rainbow Dash and Applejack both screamed in fright at the massive creature closing in on them. They sped out of there, leaving Trixie to fend for herself, which she did by starting to run again.

Dusk was having his appointed date with Fluttershy (by order of Celestia). He'd learned early on that even he couldn't stand upsetting the pegasus and as a result, acted uncharacteristically nice to her. They left the diner with ice cream cones in hand. Dusk had Boysenberry while Fluttershy had Banana.

"I had a nice time, Dusk, thank you." Fluttershy said meekly, proceeding to hide behind her ice cream. Dusk smiled sweetly and nodded.

"So did I. When do you want to make plans for next time?" he asked. Their conversation was interrupted by a speeding blue unicorn who tripped over the victor of the previous match. Dusk caught her and helped her upright.

"I see you're back. What's got your panties in a twist?" Dusk asked. Trixie took a moment to catch her breath. She'd managed to get some good milage on that bear. Dusk offered her some of the apple juice in his bottle, which she took gratefully.

"Left... through... Everfree... Accidentally camped... in an Ursa cave... Pissed it off... Now running. For. My life!" she managed to groan between breaths. She felt like she was about to have a heart attack. Dusk raised a brow in response.

"Fluttershy, are Ursas in your repertoire of animals to... persuade?" Dusk asked. Fluttershy shook her head, shying away behind her ice cream. Dusk sighed, looking into the distance where the Ursa was approaching.

"Please! You've got to help me. You're the only one here with a chance at defeating an Ursa Major." Trixie begged, grabbing hold of his shirt. Dusk growled and shoved her off, knocking her to the ground.

"That may be true, but I see no reason why I should help you. You're a liar and a cheat with no real ambition. As far as I'm concerned, the Ursa would be doing the world a favor by eating you." he said. Trixie couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Nopony would be so cruel as to suggest she was a waste of life. Tears filled her eyes and she stood to her feet. Thinking it over, she realised that Dusk was right. She was alone and unloved. She looked back out to the Ursa pursuing her and made a split second decision.

Without another word, she decided to face the ursa alone. She was prepared to die, but she wanted to at least give fighting it a shot. Upon seeing Trixie, the Ursa burst into a rage and began to charge. Trixie stood completely still, building up the courage. Her horn lit up and she pointed it at the Ursa. She tried to create a ball like Dusk had used on her and had succeeded to a degree. Seeing this made Dusk's brow rise.

Trixie took her best shot and fired. As it collided with the Ursa, there was a massive explosion. The creature roared in defiance as it was sent flying back into the Everfree. Trixie was surprised to learn that her attack worked. What she didn't know was that another attack more powerful than her own hid behind her own. She was speechless, but managed a surprised gasp. She fell to her knees and began to laugh hysterically.

Fluttershy smiled at Dusk and kissed him on the cheek. "That was very kind of you, Dusk." she said. Dusk looked at her with a slight smile.

"I have no idea what you mean. She took it out all on her own." he replied. Fluttershy giggled and leaned into him.

"Of course." she said.

Ponies gathered around the battlefield and spotted Trixie in a state of awe. They all began to wonder what had happened. Who had vanquished that Ursa? Was it Trixie? Was it somepony else? Applejack and Rainbow Dash approached Trixie and stood over her.

"I guess you'll be going now." Dash said. Trixie looked up at her with a confused look planted on her face.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Ya'll still lied to us and disgraced us. Proving you actually took down an Ursa Major ain't enough for us to forgive you." said Applejack.

"So go back to wherever it is you came from." Dash ordered. Trixie recalled the fate of her carriage and what that meant.

"But, I don't have a home anymore The Ursa smashed my caravan. I'm homeless." she said.

"That ain't our problem." Applejack replied coldly. Dusk sighed and looked to Fluttershy who was looking at him hopefully. He knew she wanted him to do something for her. Wasn't saving her life enough? Sighing one more time, Dusk stepped forward after having Fluttershy hold his ice cream.

"Alright, that's enough you two. She's been through a lot, even if that was just an Ursa Minor." Dusk said. Trixie looked up at him in disbelief.

"Minor?!"

"Come on, Dusk. Do you really think she deserves our pity after what she did? She made me dizzy for the first time, she made Applejack develop a bondage fobia, she turned Rarity's mane and tail swampy green and she literally shot you in the back." Dash argued. Dusk blinked for a few seconds.

"Wait, she turned Rarity's mane and tail green?" he asked, a grin reaching his lips. He then began to burst out in laughter. The image that brought up sent Dusk to the ground, gripping his sides. The girls just growled at him. He was impossible to deal with.

After a minute of laughing harder than he had in ages, Dusk managed to stand up and brush himself off. He looked to Trixie and offered his hand. "Listen, I saw you beat the Ursa. You tried to use the same trick I used on you after you'd seen it once. You showed the potential to become a great Unicorn." he said. Trixie took his hand, but only used it to get to her knees. She then bowed down before Dusk.

"Please, teach me?" she begged. Everypony was taken aback. Especially Dusk. He wasn't sure how to respond. "I'll do everything you say without question, I'll devote myself to your teachings, I'll... I'll... I'll sleep with you if that's what it costs." she declared.

"Good luck. You'd have a better chance of getting away with murder." Dash grumbled.

"That won't be necessary. There's a spare room in the Library. If you promise to help Barb with the maintenance, I'll teach you what i can, when I can; providing you devote yourself to my teachings." Dusk offered. Trixie grinned and bowed even lower.

"Thank you.. Master!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, Celestia, some really sick shit's going to happen in that Library." Lyra whispered to Derpy.

"I don't think Dusk goes in for that stuff." the wall-eyed pegasus replied.

"That's the sick part." Lyra groaned.

"Dusk, you can't be serious. This mare has humiliated us and you're offering to train her?" Rainbow Dash protested.

"Unlike you, I'm not willing to let something as idiotic as dizziness and getting hog-tied stop me from being the better pony. I could hold a grudge over the fact that she shot me in the back, but I'm bigger than that. I'd have thought you two would be as well. Right now, if you two really were my friends, I'd be ashamed to call you as such." Dusk snapped at the pair. Both the pegasus and Earth pony withdrew their objections and were humiliated for the second time that day.

Dear Princess Celestia,

Some ponies are born to have friends, others make friends as they progress, and then like me, there are those who have friends thrust upon... nevermind. I made a new friend of sorts, per your orders. Her name is Trixie Lulamoon. Once a Fake showmare, she is now my student in magics. While my other friends are apprehensive about allowing her to remain unpunished for humiliating them, I feel that perhaps they are the ones who need to learn about friendship from time to time. In short, it can take a bad situation to bring ponies together, but it can always come at a cost, however temporary.

Your ever loyal student,
Dusk Shine.

P.S Tell Luna to stop sending me those love poems. While I appreciate the fuel for the fire, Barb gets sick very easily. Plus, they're awful. Don't let her read this or she'll send me to the moon. Let her know I appreciate her feelings, but explain to her why I can't return them... at least not yet.

Author's Note

So, this is side-story 1 (S.S.1). I'd planned to do it in progressive Chapters like the Nightmare Moon thing, but I just couldn't stop. Anywho... I hope you like it. I forget what Trixie wears under the cape, I think it was robes styled after her trademark hat and cape.

And for future notice (because I can't be bothered writing it into the story) Applejack wears clothes like this, Rainbow Dash like this, Rarity like this, Fluttershy like this, Pinkie is like this, Gleaming Shield, Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Chrysalis, Trixie and finally Dusk

S.S.2: Carnivorous Instincts - Part 1

Carnivore; a world-renowned word for 'meat eater', a word inspiring fear in the hearts of the ponies in Equestria. A carnivore is said to have little intelligence, but what they lack in the brain department, they make up for in hunting and capturing their prey. Sadly, there is one race known to Equestria and its inhabitants that possesses the same intellect as any pony. These are the Gryphons.

A vastly powerful race easily twice the size of a pony and ten times as ferocious. Due to their carnivorous nature, they grew to be somewhat short-tempered and prideful. Few know that their Pride is their greatest weakness, if exploited correctly.

"Come on, Dusk, I want you to meet my friend, Gilda. I told her all about how cool you were for an egghead." Rainbow Dash whined as she tried to drag the studious Unicorn by the tail from his Library.

"Egghead or not, I doubt your friend would be interested in a non-flyer, judging by the personality required to put up with you. Besides, I've no interest in making more friends than I have to I can barely stand the six I already have, one of which lives with me and Barb." he replied, flicking her off. Dash groaned and crossed her arms in annoyance, sitting in the comfy chair She tried to think of a way to move him, to convince him to meet her.

"Your brain hurting yet?" Dusk asked.

"It's been ten seconds." she replied.

"...And?"

"See, this is why I hate Stallions!" Rainbow Dash cried out in frustration.

"Damn, I owe Gleaming ten bits." Dusk said aloud.

"What?" Dash asked.

"I bet my sister ten bits that you were straight. Clearly, I was wrong and she was right. I should have known, she's got that keen 'gay-dar' thing going on." he replied. Rainbow Dash backed up in her seat.

"Woah! Woah! I am not gay! I'm straighter than a Rainbow." the pegasus tried to defend.

"Dash... you do know that rainbows have been associated with the gay community for a few decades, right? Given that like gays, they're colourful and... bent." Dusk said. Dash remained still, trying hard to think of a face-saving way out of the situation she'd wound up in.

"Your sister's gay?" she asked with slight shock in her voice. Dusk just huffed and snapped his book shut. He turned to the pegasus and leaned forward, resting his hands on the arms of her chair, effectively pinning her down.

"You got a problem with that?" he asked. Dash was quick to shake her head. "Good. Now kindly piss off, I've got a Doctor coming in to see me for some check-ups." he said. Dash's ears perked up at the mention of the word Doctor.

"Doctor? Is something wrong?" she asked. Dusk leaned away from the seat and sighed.

"It's nothing you need to worry about, just some routine check-ups on my scar, that's all." he replied. Dash seemed to relax. It was obvious to Dusk that even though he was downright mean to his friends, they still cared for him. What bothered him was why they cared. Why did they intrude upon his life and care about him? He just couldn't understand.

"So long as you're not dying." Dash spoke up.

"If I start coughing at random, then you can worry." he replied, clearing his throat afterward.

"Will you meet Gilda afterward?" she pleaded, giving Dusk her version of the puppy dog eyes. Dusk groaned and wiped his face with his hand, but eventually gave in to pressure. Dash was excited to say the least.

With the issue of Gilda out of the way, Dusk sat down in his chair and rubbed his eyes. He'd been growing tired quite a bit lately, even though he'd had plenty of sleep. He returned to his book and waited for the Doctor. An hour passed before the Doctor showed up with his medical tools in a black case.

"Doctor, come in. Have a seat." Dusk said, motioning towards the seat Dash had been in. Said doctor closed the door behind him and limped to the chair. Dusk heard the clanking of numerous tools in the bag. This was going to be one long examination.

"So this Dusk guy's an Egghead, yet you think he's cool?" Gilda asked, looking down to Rainbow Dash who casually cantered beside her friend.

"Yeah, I mean he's kind of an ass and he reads like, a lot... But when he does something cool, it's damn cool! Seriously, he took on Nightmare Moon alone and survived. Nightmare. Moon! I don't have to tell you how much trouble she was." Dash replied. Gilda raised a claw.

"Woah, back down girl, before you talk your way into his ass. Sounds to me like my old friend has gotten soft in the years." Gilda teased. Rainbow Dash viewed those words as a challenge and found herself unable to back down.

"I ain't soft! I'll show you how hard I am by kicking your ass in a race." she challenged. Gilda grinned behind her beak and chuckled.

"Well, alright then. Show me what you got!"

"No, that's not it either. I keep telling you: 'Moustache', not fricken beard." Barb said as she pointed ferociously towards the statue of a pony. Trixie groaned in annoyance and tried again. The stone beard disappeared from the statue and a goatee replaced it. Barb would have pulled her hair out if she had any.

"For the love of...VISUALISE the moustache and then enchant the stone." she yelled. The blue unicorn was beginning to get down in the dumps. It had been close to an hour and she couldn't even perform a solid transfiguration spell on an inanimate object. Displacement magic wasn't her strong suit. But that was the point of the exercise Dusk had set her for the day.

"Alright, let's try something else, think of a beard, and maybe we'll get a moustache." Barb said. Trixie visualised the beard she wanted and her horn began to glow. Suddenly, something sped past her, brushing her nose. The mare gave a startled yelp and accidentally lost her hold on the magic she'd built up. The spell ricocheted off the statue and struck Barb. The little dragon went to the ground. For a moment, Trixie was nervous, but as her foot twitched, she began to bark in amusement.

"Hah! Teach you to yell at me-why do you have balls now?" Barb looked down and started.

"Holy crap, you turned me into a dude! I didn't even know that was possible!" the young dragon paused for a moment. "Why did Rarity just pop into my head?"

"Doctor, I don't think this is it. Ponyville wasn't here a hundred years ago, it's still a fairly new town." Derpy commented, looking quizzically (or as much so as she could) at the town. A hazel coloured stallion with a green tie and a frazzled mane exited a blue box with windows near the top.

"I said ninety years ago from our last timezone. If I'm correct, we're actually back in the Ponyville you know and love. Though you said you loved the Crystal Ponyville in a billion-billion years." the Doctor said.

"Oh, right. So why are we back here?" Derpy asked.

"I thought you might wanna bring your daughter on the next trip, We're going to the Jeltarus, a planet made entirely of jelly, well with cake islands. I think you'll like Muffina." Before another word was said, Derpy shot off back home to grab her daughter. The Doctor just chuckled and turned around to observe his blue box.

"Even you like Jeltarus, don't you old girl?" Another sound of flying pegasi alerted the Doctor of another presence, when he turned around, he spotted a rainbow right in front of him. "Ooh, that's very clever. How's that work, then?" he asked himself as he pulled out a metal device with a blue tip. It made a whirring sound as he drew it along the path of the rainbow.

"Looks like you've still got it, Dash." said Gilda, clawing through the cloud she stood on. Dash just did a loop in the air, her cocky smile present at all times.

"Of course! I'm the fastest flyer in Equestria, and don't you forget it." she boasted. Gilda just chuckled and threw the cloud fragment at her.

"Don't let it go to your head. Somepony will come along in the next generation and they'll beat your records, perhaps it'll be a gryphon." she teased. Dash just scoffed.

"Doesn't matter, I'll still be a legend, especially when I become a Wonderbolt. That's my dream, ever since I was a little foal."

"Yeah, yeah. You've told me that a hundred times over back in flight school. C'mon, I wanna meet this Dusk guy you're so into." Gilda hopped off the cloud and began to freefall. Dash was close behind.

"I'm not into him. I just find him cool, despite the fact that he's an egghead." Dash defended. The gryphon just chuckled, spreading her wings and angling at a casual pace.

"You're a terrible liar, Dash. You obviously like him, or do you actually believe that you don't?" she teased again.

Dash was confused. True, she considered him cooler than most ponies she knew, but his attitude left something to be desired. "I don't like him. If anything I find him to be an ass. And I kinda wanna prove myself to him. I told him I could clear the skies in ten second flat, he pointed out it took me eleven. Since then, I've wanted to prove myself, like I said." she said, flying right next to Gilda so she could hear.

"Sounds like a strict coach. He'd be perfect for you, Dash." replied the gryphon.

"For the last time, I don't like him!" Dash growled. Gilda just laughed over the wind and began her descent towards the Library. As the pair went towards the door, they saw a doctor emerge.

"... sorry to say, Dusk, but it seems like that kind of problem can't fix itself. You'll have to find a way.. I recommend looking as soon as possible. Perhaps the Princesses will know. I wish I had better news." he said, stepping out into the porch. Dusk followed with his shirt undone, showing off the cross-scar on his chest.

"Thank you for letting me know, doctor. If anything, I consider this to be more of an embarrassment than anything else." the unicorn replied. The doctor just nodded quietly and tipped his hat before departing. "Goodbye, doctor." he said before closing the door. Dash and Gilda landed from the balcony to the porch.

"What was that all about?" said Gilda. Dash looked at the door with worrying eyes.

"I don't know." she said. Noticing Dash's concern, Gilda took her hand out from her jeans pocket and patted the pegasus' back.

"I see it takes a Gryphon for you to actually use the door instead of making holes in the walls." a voice said from above. Dusk had leaned over the balcony the girls had hidden on before and had heard every word.

"So you're the famous Dusk Shine, Dash's been tellin' me about?" Gilda spoke up.

"What are the chances of there being two Dusk Shine's in one small town?" Dusk replied, curling his finger for them to enter the Library. As he left the balcony to go inside, Gilda looked to Dash.

"You're right, he is an ass." she said. Dash just chuckled and followed her in, closing the door afterward.

"Dusk, this is Gilda, my best friend from 'Flight School'." Dash introduced Gilda to Dusk.

"I figured. It's odd that a Gryphon would choose an Equestrian flight school. Are you part of the exchange?" he asked. Gilda pocketed her hands and shrugged.

"Yeah, someone had to look good there." she replied, showing a laid back attitude. She'd planned to impress Dusk, but he had a pokerface that would make a painting jealous.

"I see why Dash thinks very highly of you." he said, crossing his arms.

"So, how'd you get the scar?" Gilda asked. Dash gulped as she knew where this was going to go. She'd forgotten to tell Gilda never to mention the scar. She gave Dusk an apologetic look before realising that his angry look was directed at her and not Gilda. Clearly, he knew this line of questioning was her fault too.

"Doing something dangerous?" he replied flatly. The room went colder, to Dash anyway.

"Fall on a table stand or something?" the Gryphon asked.

"Or something." he replied.

"Gilda, it would be best not to mention the scars." Dash said, giving Dusk the chance to button up his shirt.

"Why?" she asked.

"Because Big Macintosh, one of my friend's brothers who's like, twice as big as you, is still recovering from the hospital treatment after last month." Dash replied.

"So he's strong?" the gryphon asked. Rainbow Dash just facepalmed and groaned into her hand.

"Yes, he's strong. He fought with the Captain of the Royal guard on a daily basis before he came here." she replied. It was then that she remembered what the doctor had said before. "By the way, Dusk. Is there something wrong with your health? The doctor seemed pretty... sympathetic." she asked. Dusk's eye twitched slightly.

"Scar related problem. Say no more on the matter." he threatened. Dash raised her hands in submission.

"Alright, alright. I know better than to mess with you. You're clearly in a bad mood, so we'll just be going now. I'll come by later to check up on you. Remember we've got that playdate thing tonight." she said, pushing Gilda towards the door.

"Playdate, huh?" Gilda began to tease.

"I told you, I don't like him, it's a Royal decree that he has to make friends and me and my friends have been tasked to try and make that happen." she replied. Dusk closed the door behind them and sighed.

"Thanks for captioning my nightmare." he groaned. Looking at his archive, he began to take out the books relating to magical suppressants. He had some work to do.

Author's Note

I figured you guys would want to have a taste of the Gilda story soon, so I've decided to wrap this up in two parts. This is part 1. Part 2 might come out tomorrow... or later today given the time.

ALSO

Closest thing I could find to Gilda's clothes:

S.S.2: Carnivorous Instincts - Part 2

Left to her own devices, Gilda decided to take a little stroll downtown. And oh, was she a naughty little pigeon. Fluttershy was a victim of verbal abuse and Pinkie Pie, the pony everyone loved (with the obvious Lavender exception), had been downright bullied. The entire town was in an uproar about it. With Rainbow Dash nowhere in sight, it was the town's word against her oldest friend's, and Dash's Loyalties could be called into question in a situation like this.

Everypony who cared gathered in the town hall to discuss the situation.

"We have to do something about her, she's terrorising the town. We'd chase her off if she wasn't an exchange student." said Carrot-top. Some of the ponies agreed with her, muttering a chorus of concurrence.

"It's not as simple as that, she's Rainbow Dash's friend." Derpy argued. Among those that had agreed before, some of them mumbled their resignation at that fact.

"Being a friend of one of the town's heroes is no excuse for her behavior. She has to go!" Lyra countered. More ponies voiced their agreement.

"And how do we expect to get rid of her? We're not exactly the Royal guard, and she's no reindeer." challenged Cheerilee. There was a pregnant pause as everypony considered their options.

"What about Dusk Shine?" a random pony asked. The others looked to Cheerilee for a response.

"Dusk may be a dead end. Gilda's actions aren't affecting his own work or life, so he'll have no reason to fix our problem unless it's one he shares." the Plum teacher replied, putting hand to chin in deep thought.

"There's no harm in asking him." said Carrot-top.

"Please, after a conversation with that stallion, you end up leaving the Library feeling worse than you did when you went in. I asked him to help me with some of the Stallion designs and after he declined, I felt like I needed a cold shower." Rarity argued, waving her hand around as if to dismiss the very notion.

"I'll ask him. He's less likely to say no to me. If that's okay with everypony." Fluttershy piped up. Everypony looked at her, making the shy mare feel very uncomfortable.

Fluttershy knocked timidly on the door. It was barely audible for a wolf to hear, yet somehow, Dusk had heard it. When Fluttershy saw him at the door, he looked a little frazzled to say the least. He was panting, sweating; his mane was all over the place.

"Fluttershy.... what's up?" he asked, out of breath.

"Um.. have I come at a bad time?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yes, but I don't see a better one on the horizon... come in." As he opened the door, Fluttershy was assaulted with the smell of perspiration.

"Have you been working out?" she asked as she sniffed the air, wrinkling her nose at the result. Dusk closed the door and coughed.

"Yeah, kind of. It's a new routine I'm working on. I'm trying to keep all areas of my mind active. That includes the physical, inquisitive and the arcane aspects of the... neo-cortex. So, what can I help you with?" he asked, unusually chipper.

"Um... well that is if you don't mind, Gilda, the Gryphon has been hurting everypony's feelings, as well as their livelihoods. Everypony knows that you're the one to come to if there's trouble beyond our ability to fix." she began. Dusk raised a brow as she poke.

"Not sure I... like that." he said, panting still.

"I'm sorry." she commented.

"Not your fault... so you want me to... what, scold a Gryphon?" he asked.

"Well, Applejack said something else, but I'm not comfortable saying those words." she replied. Before more words could emerge between the two, Trixie entered with a gardening mask and a scented spray can, spraying the room.

"Honestly Master, you really need to find a new exercise regime. It smells like sex in here, and believe me, I've had my fair share of sexual encounters. I was even raped a few times, and it felt great." she boasted. Dusk just stared at her.

"For Celestia's sake, Trixie, Nopony wants to rape you!" Barb asked as she entered from the kitchen, holding a hand towel to her mouth.

"What an awful thing to say!" Trixie commented. Fluttershy was beyond confused. She looked to Dusk for clarification.

"Well I suppose I could use one of your exercise regimes. I always enjoy doing a round of nothing." Dusk said, taking Fluttershy by the arm and leading her up to his room. Fluttershy couldn't get out of that situation with Dusk quick enough.

"Um... what was that all about?" she asked.

"I have no idea. Ever since I turned Barb back into a female dragon the two have been... well you saw for yourself... gayer than my sister, that's for sure." he said.

"You think there's something there?" she asked.

"I hope so. Then Trixie can deal with Barb's snoring. I've had to replace several bed sheets in the last three months because she keeps sending them to Celestia in her sleep." he said.

"That's terrible!" Fluttershy commented.

"Yes, and the bitch never sends them back. Keeps saying Luna steals them for her collection." he grumbled. Fluttershy put a hand to her mouth in surprise.

"Oh, my." she uttered.

"I mean what would Luna want with a collection of my bedsheets?" Dusk asked. Fluttershy raised a brow. Did Dusk really not see what Fluttershy saw? "Anyway, about Gilda," he began. Fluttershy brought her attention to the conversation at hand.

"Will you help?" she asked.

"I'm afraid I can't." he replied. That was not the answer Fluttershy wanted to hear. Her ears drooped slightly.

"Oh."

"You see, this is a personal matter between Gilda and Rainbow Dash. With the touchy relationship between Gryphons and Ponies, it's highly likely that even Rainbow Dash would consider the fact that you would all try to get rid of her by inventing lies. Then Its your word against her's. My input would undoubtedly just help Dash sway over to Gilda's side even more."

"So what should we do?" Fluttershy asked.

"Find Rainbow Dash and plan to have her see how horrible Gilda really is. Then let her decide for herself who to back." he replied.

"But nopony can find Rainbow Dash anywhere." she complained.

"She's bucking clouds for the weather company right now."

"Oh." she said sheepishly. "Hold on, how would you know that?"

"I memorised her weekly schedule. By the way, you've got five minutes before your Angel bunny starts storming the market looking for his Lunch." he replied, looking at his watch. Fluttershy gasped and rushed for the door.

"Okay, thank you Dusk, I'll see you later!" she called as she ran down the stairs and out the Library.

"Right... time to crack Pi." he said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them in anticipation.

Author's Note

This is the end of the chapter and the Gilda side-story. You all should know what happens, it's pretty much the canon ending, only Pinkie's party was a plan to make Gilda look bad in front of Rainbow Dash. All the while, Dusk couldn't care less.

'Til next time folks!

S.S.3: The Sonic Rainboom

Rainbow Dash reached the peak of the atmosphere. Her breath was short and her lungs were hurting No pegasus had been this high up before, but she needed to do this. Sucking in as much air as she could, she dove down towards the ground at full speed, her wings flapping as fast as she could take them. They burned with the excessive force she was putting into each flap. She stuck out her hands towards the front, trying to cut down on wind resistance. The ground was coming up fast and she had to bank before she got too close.

She got too close. She couldn't bank hard enough and she crashed right into Dusk Shine who had taken the time to relax and watch her practice her grandest trick yet. Unfortunately, she hadn't been able to perform the trick since she was a filly. The cloud of dirt that surrounded the two was as large as the Library. Dash thought she'd killed the Unicorn when she felt his magic beneath her. She looked down to see him lying on his back with his hands in his pockets. He looked like a fallen statue of himself. He stared at the pegasus suspended in the air by the protective bubble he'd placed around himself at the last second.

"Heheh, sorry Dusk." she said, grinning sheepishly as he just stared back at her with the same grouchy expression on his face. The bubble popped and she came down the last few feet right on top of him.

"You need to bank sooner. Don't wait until the last second. If you don't hit the sound barrier a thousand feet above the ground, then you're in the red. There's no point in getting it a few feet from the ground because it'll be the last thing you ever do. You have to think things through, Dash. The Wonderbolts plan ahead, which is what makes them so astonishing... in some ponies' eyes anyway." he said, shoving her off. Dash sighed and placed her hands against her face.

"I've been at this for weeks and I haven't even come close to doing it. I need this to work if I'm going to impress the Wonderbolts!" she complained.

"Dash, the Sonic Rainboom is a form of Magic unique to you. Forcing the technique only makes it harder to do. You have to let it come out when you genuinely need it." he said.

"I do genuinely need it!" she argued.

"For what purpose?" he asked.

"To impress the Wonderbolts and become that much closer to obtaining my dream." she replied.

"Not good enough." he replied. Dash just slumped in the dirt.

"Then what else is there? What's more powerful than my dream?" she asked.

"Quite a bit, actually. Dreams are fragile things and break easily given the right amount of pressure. Sometimes, when you achieve your dream, it's not what you expected it to be." he replied. Dash sensed Dusk had spoken from experience.

"Did you ever have a dream?" she asked.

"Several in fact Just last night, I dreamt I was Barb having another one of her little tiffs." he replied Dash frowned at the unicorn as he made light of the situation. "Then I awoke to the sound of what I thought was the high pitched screeching of a gaggle of school fillies, but was actually them arguing. It was then I realised I'd dreamt of the argument they were having. So it was more of a nightmare now that I think about it." he said, snapping his fingers. The remnants of the dirt cloud around them blew away from the source of the snap.

"I meant di-."

"I know full well what you meant, Dash; and I'm not inclined to tell you just because you're so willing to share your dream to every pony you see for the first time. If you want to know about a dream, go ask that Scootaloo kid, she looks to you like I look to solitude; as a goal." he said, crossing his arms. Dash got up from the ground and brushed herself off.

"Dusk, I'm worried. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for me to make an impression. Not only that, but the Princesses will be there, and I don't want to fail in front of them of all ponies. Even you should be able to understand that?" she was on the verge of begging for help in her own way. Dusk raised a brow at this.

"Is there anything you want more than being a Wonderbolt?" he asked Dash shook her head. "Fine, then what would you do if you had to choose between your dream, and your friends?" he asked. Dash was stunned.

"Why would I have to choose? Why should I have to choose?" she demanded. Dusk sighed and looked towards his Library window where he saw Barb and Trixie watching the entire argument. He called out to them.

"This is how lesbians should act!" he said, motioning to Dash. "Like strong independent mares who question the unfair things in life. Not Hoity Toity and a mirror!" he added, motioning to the pair.

"Why do you keep placing me in the lesbian category?" Dash complained.

"It's the hair, Dash I can't help it! If the Gay Pride committee found out about you, they'd string you up to a pole and wave you around like a flag." he said, resting his head on his hand. Dash stared at him in confusion.

"God, I hope that's not a euphemism." she said.

"For the stallions, no..." he began. "For the mares... bring protection, just in case." he replied.

"Dusk, was that the doctor I just saw leaving the Library?" Trixie asked as she stepped through the doorway with Barb.

"Yes it was." he replied simply, leaning back into his chair, holding his forehead.

"Is something wrong?" Barb asked.

"No, nothing. I just gave some blood, is all." he replied, showing the bandage on his wrist.

"Don't they usually draw blood from the arm?" Trixie asked.

"Yes, but they couldn't find a vein, and they couldn't get any blood from the left side, my body was being stingy." he said, resting his head back.

"Can I get you something to eat?" asked Barb as she headed for the kitchen.

"Please. Something fatty too, I'd eat a chicken if I could digest it." he said. Trixie followed Barb into the kitchen.

"Something's not right. I've noticed since he moved to Ponyville that his condition has gradually been diminishing. He's not as... strong-minded as he used to be." said Barb.

"I thought it was just me, but you're right. He seems more... Irritable yet less aggressive than before." Trixie replied, showing Barb that she was worried.

"Well we can't confront him about it. He'll never tell under pain of death. We have to wait until he's ready to tell us." said Barb, sighing as she placed a hay sandwich on a plate for Dusk. "Take that out to him would you? I'm going to do another round." she said, handing Trixie the plate. Trixie took it and brought it out to Dusk, but he was already gone.

Cloudsdale stadium was bustling with ponies as competitors and guests alike prepared for the amazing shows they would undoubtedly see this day. Dusk had given Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity and Pinkie Pie the opportunity to watch their friend's performance from the sidelines using the cloud-walking spell, a spell unknown to most unicorns. The five sat on the front lines, watching and waiting for Rainbow Dash to emerge.

"It's strange, I could have sworn she was number two." Rarity began. "Yet twelve have already passed us by. We're up to number thirteen now." she said.

"Rarity, do any of our eyes look cloudy at all?" Dusk asked. Rarity examined her friends' eyes.

"No."

"That's because we're not blind. Rainbow Dash was supposed to be number two, but she's obviously been switching the numbers around, trying to buy time in order to hype herself up." Dusk said, leaning back in his seat. With Rarity shamed, the five sat back and watched the show with differing levels of excitement. Pinkie found each performance more entertaining than the other, Fluttershy watched with quiet enjoyment, Rarity marvelled at the beautiful displays of technique and precision. Applejack silently praised each performer, commenting on a select few stunts that caught her attention. Dusk as one could imagine, crossed one leg over the other, grabbed Applejack's hat and placed it over his head to block out the sunlight as he went to have a quick nap. While Applejack was displeased at the notion of having her hat away from her head during the day, she'd caught on to Dusk's failing condition in the way that he'd cast his spell. Usually, he'd snap his fingers and channel the magic through them, but he seemed sore that morning and used his horn instead.

"This one's gotta be Rainbow Dash, there were only sixteen contestants." Rarity piped up.

"Obviously. She's too proud to lose her nerve." Dusk murmured under Applejack's hat. Sure enough, the rainbow maned pegasus emerged with false determination Those that didn't know her personally would never have known that she had a tinge of self-doubt in her heart. With great speed and ease, she managed to make it through the first few obstacles perfectly, but the last one broke that record. She crashed into a cloud, earning gasps from the audience. Dusk lifted the brim of AJ's hat to look at the now hyperventilating pegasus.

Rainbow Dash didn't know what to do next. her entire routine had been stumped by that last obstacle. Without thinking, she began to rise towards the sun. She flapped as hard as she could. She didn't want to be seen by anypony at that moment. Her resolve was absolute. She'd ignore Dusk's advice about safety. If she didn't impress the Wonderbolts with the Sonic Rainboom, then she had no reason to go on.

Dusk sensed something in Rainbow that drove him to action. He stood up from his seat and passed Applejack her hat back.

"Dusk, what are you doing?" Pinkie asked as the lavender stallion turned around to face his comrades.

"A leap of faith." he replied before pushing out from the edge of the cloud. The girls screamed as their friend just leaped onto the stadium and fell towards the ground. Dusk had his back to the ground. He looked up at the sun. Rainbow Dash was still climbing. He then saw the Wonderbolts leaping into action. They were about to catch him when he called out to them.

"NO!" he yelled. Spitfire and the others looked confused, even behind those goggles. "It's alright. S'all part of the act." he assured them. As the wonderbolts broke off from their rescue attempt, Dusk reached out to Rainbow Dash through his magic.

"Rainbow Dash."

Dash heard her friend's voice ring through her head, a soft and calm voice that didn't seem to belong to Dusk at all. She looked back down to see Dusk was absent from his seat and the other girls looking down towards the ground. She realised what had happened. She abandoned her performance and shot straight down towards the ground. She was going fast, faster than she thought she would have. Within a matter of seconds, she'd reached the stadium. Her friends and the other ponies watching were a blur as their eyes followed her down towards the ground. She saw the Wonderbolts ascent back to the stadium. Why they hadn't bothered to save him, she didn't know. She'd ask Dusk about that afterward.

She quickly began to wonder if she'd even be able to ask Dusk anything after she saw how far she was from him. She straightened her body, stretching every muscle she could. She could feel the wind pushing against her hands, forcing her back, but she endured. Her friend was in danger. She was mere meters away from him. He held out his hand, pointing a finger towards her. As she saw it, her entire world went black and she couldn't even feel herself moving, she couldn't see herself falling.

"Do you want to use the Sonic Rainboom?" Dusk's voice echoed through her mind as if they were in a hall.

"I do!" she called out. Dusk's form, frozen in time suddenly shot towards her, his finger touching her outstretched hand.

"To impress the Wonderbolts, or to save your friend?" his voice echoed in response. Dash then understood the question Dusk had asked the previous day. She'd thought that she had to choose between being a Wonderbolt and losing her friends, or being a friend and losing her dream. But it wasn't that. It was simply a matter of why she needed the Rainboom, for the flashy show that impressed the Wonderbolts, or for the speed required to catch her friend and save his life.

"I want to save my friend, I need to save my friend. I wouldn't be who I am without my friends, and you... you give me the freedom to learn the things I need to know to be a better pony as well as flyer." she said. Dusk nodded, his frozen form receding back to its previous place.

"Your dream requires a level of loyalty which you will learn alongside me, Rainbow Dash. You are loyal, but that is not enough. You need to understand that Dreams can be made as easily as a snap of the fingers, but Friends are unique. There may be similarities, but there will never be another pony like you or me, or Pinkie Pie, or Rarity, Fluttershy or Applejack." Dash began to break out of the darkness which held the two and she could feel the wind again. It was as if Dusk had pulled them out of time and space to have this conversation and they were slowly seeping back into reality. Dash's resolve was stronger than ever. She'd do the Sonic Rainboom or die trying, all in order to save her friend who had faith in her.

Dusk smiled as he saw the air begin to bend around Rainbow Dash. He reached both arms out to her as if to say 'come on, you'll succeed with me'. The air began to give and give and give. The space around Dash warped slightly and with a thunderous sound and a flurry of colour, she burst through the sound barrier. A circular wave of colour radiated outward in rainbow that stunned all who saw it.

As they were quickly approaching the ground, Dash grabbed hold of Dusk in a tight embrace and began to arc upward. She could feel him holding her in return. She admitted, it felt nice to have him embracing her.

"Well done." she heard him say over the sound of the air rushing past. She smiled as she squeezed Dusk tightly and flew back up towards the stadium. She went past it and flew directly over, creating a strong rainbow overhead for all to see.

That night, Rainbow Dash returned home after a day spent with her idols, the Wonderbolts. She was practically swooning through the door like a lovestruck filly. She'd had the best day. But it had to come to an end, as all good things did. She lit the lantern in her living room and turned around to see Dusk sitting in a cloud chair with one leg crossed over the other and his hands clasped together. Dash was startled to say the least.

"Geez, Dusk. What the hell?" she asked, not entirely disturbed by the fact that he'd broken into her home.

"Forgive me, I don't want to seem like a stalker or anything," he began.

"Too late there, pal." Dash chimed in. Dusk smirked and sighed in amusement.

"I'm here for two reasons, primarily to avoid Barb and Trixie as I think they're worried about my latest doctor's appointment even though I specifically said I was just getting a blood test." he said. Dash chuckled and placed her new scarf (a gift from Spitfire) on her coat rack beside her Winter Wrap-up vest.

"And the second?" she asked.

Dusk took the liberty of uncrossing his legs and standing up, closing the distance between them as he spoke. "While there's no doubt in my mind that you're overly proud of your achievement, given your upbringing, I doubt you've had many an encounter where somepony else was proud of you. So the other reason I came was to tell you how Proud I am of you and what you've achieved." he said. Dash was stunned. Dusk never took pride in anything or anyone. Even his apprentice's achievements were met with little more than an approving nod or statement. This was a big deal for Rainbow Dash. She looked up at him.

"You're... proud of me?" she asked, her throat beginning to lock.

"Yes." Dusk replied simply. Rainbow Dash placed her hand to her mouth as she felt tears of joy welling up. Dusk was right when he noted very few had ever been proud of her. The last pony to do so had been her father before he died.

"I'd best be going now." he said, heading for the door. As he opened it, without a thought, Dash grabbed Dusk's arm and pulled him back. Dusk was ever so elegantly flung around where he stopped to meet Rainbow Dash's lips with his own. He was stunned for a moment, but as he felt her need for this, he reciprocated and pulled her closer. Dash shut the door before the two of them began to move into the next room, Dash's bedroom.

Dash was gently thrown onto her back on the bed, stripped down to her underwear with shirtless Dusk kneeling over her on all fours. Both of them were breathing heavily in anticipation for the following event. Just as Dash thought her day couldn't get any better, than her night brought along a thrilling climax. She could see a faint glint of red in both of Dusk's eyes as he eyed her like a predator eyed its prey. She called him on it.

"Your eyes... there's a hunger to them. They don't belong to Dusk Shine." she said. Dusk just reached down and kissed her one more time.

"I don't plan on acting like Dusk Shine tonight." he said, reaching one hand down to her bra. He ripped it off like an animal and Dash grinned in response. She hadn't realised until this moment that she'd wanted this to happen ever since she'd met him. He was a bad boy, of that there was no doubt.

"Can I expect some strange sexy magic stuff to happen?" she asked. Dusk grinned at her.

"If you're lucky, I'll give you the horn." he mused. Dash just barked a single laugh before she felt Dusk's fingers tracing the edge of her panties.

"Have you ever done this before?" she asked him.

"A few times. The mares in the Royal guard had a habit of... convincing me to spend the night with them." he replied. Dash was thankful that he told her the truth.

"Well then maybe you can show me how it's done?" she teased, taking his hand and making him pull away at her final garment.

Dusk looked down at the naked cerulean virgin beneath him. At that moment, he didn't care about friendship or his work. He just wanted Dash all to himself. He surrendered to his baser instincts and shut off his brain. He felt himself throbbing for release as Rainbow Dash locked her eyes to his own and pulled at his zipper. His penis fell through the slit in his underwear and jeans and smacked Dash's belly. She began to shiver with anticipation as she felt it harden and slide down to position itself before her heated nethers.

"I'm ready." she said. Dusk's eyes glowed with anticipation as like a battering ram, his head struck Dash's hot, tight and welcoming sex. Like a foal with a present, he tore into her without a moment's hesitation. Dash was in pain, but it felt so good. She wanted more from him. She wrapped her legs around him and pulled him further in, ignoring the pain that his length brought her. Dusk didn't hold back. He pushed himself in as far as he could go and Dash couldn't help but scream in pain as his head pushed through her cervix. She could feel herself bleeding, but it only served to slick his member and her insides, allowing for easier access, and the sounds made turned them both on more and more.

After twenty minutes, they were still at it. Dusk had used his magic to sprout a pair or arms from his shoulders to suspend him above Dash while his real hands were being used to rub Dash's Breasts. But Still she wanted more, she needed more. She was going to get all she could out of what was easily the best day of her life. She took one of Dusk's hands and proceeded to suck on his index finger. Shen she thought it was wet enough, she then brought his hand down to where he was pleasing her and rested his fingertip against her anus.

Dusk knew where this was going and he didn't hesitate to comply with her demand. Dash couldn't help but moan positive feedback as she was penetrated and pleasured entirely. A further ten minutes on and Dusk decided to show her how good he was with magic. He used it to twist his tail around until it was as solid as his penis. Using his magic to guide said tail, he added more magic to open a path through Dash's anus. She screamed in delight as the tough hair did wonders Dusk's fingers just couldn't.

"Oh, Dusk, I'm gonna cum, I'm gonna cum!" she started to say. Dusk abandoned all else but the use of his penis as he picked up the pace and intensity with which he moved. Dash threw her arms out to the sides and dug into the cloud as she felt herself approaching the climax. With another burst of magic, Dusk found himself filling Dash's womb at the same time She'd reached her orgasm. Dash stifled a scream as she felt her partner fill her up. The sensation was beyond words for the both of them. Dash felt as though she'd lost her stomach freefalling for the first time, whereas Dusk felt as though all his problems had been evacuated through his penis along with the semen.

The two of them stayed where they were for a moment, panting. Their minds were numb. It felt too good to pull out, but they knew it would feel even better when he did. Reluctantly, Dusk slid his tired member out of Dash's deflowered sex. The release felt fantastic. A pool of white flowed out from inside of her and it was a sight to behold. Against Dash's fur, it was like watching a new kind of birth of a cloud in the blue sky. The white cloud of ejaculate became diluted as Dash's blood turned it pink.

"Thank you." Dash said with heavy eyes. The animalistic glint in Dusk's eyes had vanished and he was his old self again. He leaned down and kissed Dash before using his magic to isolate the semen and remove it from the bed. He then grabbed Dash's covers and tucked her in. By then, she was out like a light.

Dusk stood over her with a ball of bloody semen hovering in his magic aura. With a quick spell, he teleported the ball over the Eastern lake. He then leant over Dash again, placed a hand over her head, brushing back her mane and pressed his lips to hers. She kissed him back in her sleep and moaned happily. He reluctantly broke the kiss and smiled.

"You're welcome." His timing was perfect. His cloud-walking spell wore off a single second after he'd spoken and he fell through the cloud. He only fell a few feet before he teleported himself back to his Library, landing with a slightly loud thud in the middle of the living room. Barb and Trixie had huddled by the fire in a romantic setting when Dusk had arrived.

"Shit!" the pair let out as they spun around to confront the intruder. Dusk looked at them giving him evil glares.

"There's the look of a pair of lesibans. Angry at every male that passes by." Dusk said before casually wandering off to his bedroom to sleep.

"Night girls." he called out. Barb and Trixie were left to wonder just what the hell had happened.

Author's Note

I had this song in mind when I wrote this chapter.

Note: The underlined phrase: I'll give you the horn. Is a joke. The Horn is an old British term for an Erection.

S.S.4: The Golden Apple

Dash banged repeatedly on the doors of the Library, her frustration showing in the weakening of the hinges. Barb hurried over to the door to let the frantic Pegasus in. Without a word, Dash zoomed up to Dusk's room and slammed the door shut. Curious, the pair, Barb and Trixie ventured upstairs to investigate the matter As soon as they opened the door, Dash kicked it shut.

"Go away guys, private business!" Dash said through the door.

"But Dash, you can't just-"

"I said PISS OFF!!" she screamed back at them. The pair were unsure what to do. Trixie turned to her draconian partner.

"Must be that time of the month." she said, defending their integrity. Barb agreed wholeheartedly and went with Trixie downstairs to finish off breakfast.

Dash listened through the door to make sure they were out of earshot. When she was certain they weren't being listened in on, she turned to Dusk who sat up from his bed and looked at her.

"Okay, so Dusk, I gotta know, did you tell anypony about last night?" she demanded.

"Dash, I just woke up. Thank you very much by the way." he replied sarcastically. Dash's ears folded back slightly. She didn't think this far ahead.

"Look, Dusk, while I admit that last night was... the best night of my life, I'm not ready to tell the others about it." she said.

"Fair enough." he replied. Dash took a big sigh of relief and fell to her knees.

"Thank you." she said, looking him in the eyes afterward. "Also, I have to know," she began again. Dusk raised a brow in response, waiting for the question to come. "What was it to you?" she asked.

"I don't understand the question." he said.

"I mean, what was last night to you? Where does that put us in our relationship? Are we still friends, or are we something more? Are we lovers, are we an item not made public yet?" she asked. Dusk understood where she was going with this line of questioning. While he had the answer in his head, he found it difficult to say. He then began to wonder exactly what the answer was as he lost his grip on it.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know. How about we meet half way?" he suggested. Dash seemed confused but went for a shot in the dark.

"You mean like friends with benefits?" she asked. Dusk nodded.

"Exactly. To tell you the truth, I needed last night more than anything. The stress has been building up ever since I moved here and last night made for an excellent... release. Until we sort it out, it would be best to call it a mutually beneficial arrangement between two friends." he said. Dash didn't get most of that, but she understood that the situation could work for the both of them for the time being.

"What if one of us wants to take it further?" she asked. Dusk pondered the thought.

"It can't go any further until we've both decided to do so. I need some time to think things through." he said. Dash realises she was pushing the issue and decided to back down for the time being.

"I understand. But please, don't let last night ruin our friendship. I'd rather have that with you than nothing at all." she said before leaving the room. Dusk considered her words carefully. He knew that he cared about Rainbow Dash, especially after last night, but something was stopping him.

He didn't want to bother thinking about it so early in the morning and decided to store it in his mind for later. As he went to get out of bed, he felt a slight rumbling under foot. Curious, he rushed to get his clothes on and hurried downstairs, Trixie and Barb met him before he got to the door.

"Either of you have an idea as to what that is?" he asked.

"No, you?"

"No."

The three of them hurried out of the Library and saw everypony scurrying for their homes. Dusk spotted Derpy flying overhead.

"Derpy, what's happening?" he called out. Derpy, being the pony she was, found herself focused on the pony that had addressed her and began to bank towards him. The inevitable happened and she crashed into Dusk, knocking him back into the Library where she landed on top of him, lips locked. Dusk took a second to process the situation and quickly shoved her off.

"I ask again," he said as he wiped his mouth clean of the saliva exchanged between them.

"It's a stampede. The cows are rampaging." she said, seeming to forget that she'd just kissed him. Dusk rushed to the doorway and pulled the dragon and her partner inside, slamming the door shut afterward with a kick of his foot.

Applejack ran alongside the cows, her dog Winona rallying them on the other side. Together, the pony and the dog worked towards changing the stampede's trajectory. It worked just in the nick of time.

After a small discussion with the cows, regarding their promise not to stampede towards Ponyville again, Applejack entered the small town receiving praise from everypony.

"Well Done, Applejack. It's acts like those that kick those Elitist Nobles in the ego regarding Unicorn Superiority." Dusk said as he stepped out of the Library.

"Thanks Dusk. Ah'll admit, it does me proud ta think Ah've proven nobility wrong, but Ah can't afford to spend too much time and energy controllin' stampedes." she replied.

"Oh? Why's that? I know your orchard comes first, but you and your brother usually get it done by Lunch." he enquired.

"That's just it. Big Macintosh hurt his back yesterday and Ah'm takin' over buckin' the whole orchard until he gets better. It's gonna take up most of mah time." she replied.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. If you want, I could pay for Mac to have a spa day. Rarity tells me that Aloe and Lotus have a therapeutic section for strained muscles and workplace injuries." he said. Applejack smiled at Dusk but shook her head.

"Thanks anyway sugarcube, but the Apple family ain't ever taken charity from anypony. Ah suppose you could always ask Big Mac, but Ah'm pretty sure he'll give ya the same answer." she replied. Dusk shrugged.

"I'll take your word for it. But are you sure you can take on the entire field?" he asked. Applejack became defensive at the drop of a dime.

"Are ya sayin' Ah can't do mah job?" she asked very quietly.

"Everypony has limits Applejack, and that's a massive orchard. To my recollection, you've never tended the whole thing before, Big Mac's always been there to help." he replied.

"Ah can handle it!" she challenged.

"There's a fine line between Pride and Stubbornness, Applejack. Tending an orchard that size without rest is foolish even by your standards. It'll tire you out quickly and will begin to affect your social life. It's a potential hazard to your friends." he warned.

"And what would y'all know about friends? You've done nothin' but complain about our efforts to try and help you learn. Don't go talkin' ta me about friendship. If Celestia hadn't ordered it, none of us would have cared enough ta even get ta know ya." she snapped. There was a pregnant pause in the air between them as they looked at each other. One expressionless save the red glint in his eyes and the other horrified at what she'd just said.

"D-Dusk... Ah'm sorry, Ah didn't mean-."

"I'd offer to help you out with the Orchard myself, but I have to go to Canterlot for the week in order to get some... information regarding a personal issue. And something tells me your pride would prevent me from helping you anyway." he said. As he turned to leave, the two of them heard a hissing sound from underfoot. Applejack looked down to see a snake about to bite her leg, but a violet aura caught the python and lifted it up into the air. With great force, the snake was unable to bend at as far as Dusk had forced it to and its neck snapped. The reptile fell to the ground at her feet, void of any life it had before.

"I don't waste my time when learning. I don't fail my assignments to the Princess and above all else, I don't disappoint those I care about. Consider that last one while I'm gone." he said, leaving her standing where she was. The ponies that had gone to congratulate her on shifting the stampede decided that after that argument, they'd missed their chance. Winona walked up to Applejack and whined sympathetically at her. Applejack looked at her dog and smiled at her.

"Mah mouth's runnin' without me, Winny. Ah may have just lost a friend, and failed the Princess all in one day." she said.

Luna greeted her sister's Student at the front gates to the castle. She'd not seen him since her reintroduction back into society. As such, she could not contain herself.

"Princess Luna, I-Oof!" Dusk was knocked to the ground in an unceremonious fashion. Luna dove for the poor unicorn and managed to harpoon him to the ground.
"Dusk!" she exclaimed, failing to hide her excitement. Dusk was winded and thus appeared unconscious. "OH NO, WE KILLED HIM! DO NOT GO TOWARDS THE LIGHT DUSK SHINE, STAY WITH US!" she began to yell at the peak of her voice, shaking him madly. Dusk could say nothing as his lungs struggled to work under the force of the tackle as well as the constant movement they were suffering. His face turned blue as his head was shaken free of blood. With what little sense of reasoning he had left, he reached a hand to Luna and rested it on her outstretched arm, making her stop her assault.

"Oh, you're alive! Thank goodness. I don't know what I would have done if you'd died." she began to cry into his shirt. Dusk could only manage a groan, which was what he'd been aiming at. He was annoyed.

--Half an hour later--

"Princess, while I appreciate your enthusiasm towards my visit, I'm actually here to see Princess Celestia. I have a rather personal matter I need to discuss with her." Dusk said as he brushed himself off.

"A pity, we would have very much liked to have spent some time with thee. Unfortunately, your visit has been in vain, Dusk Shine. Our sister is not presently in Equestria, she is away negotiating a potential break in the treaty between two rival nations. We do not know when she will be back." said the princess.

"Shit!" Dusk blurted out, throwing his head forward to look ahead. Luna ignored his verbal indecency and continued on as if he'd said nothing.

"Perhaps we could be of some assistance, things could not have changed so much in a thousand years." she offered.

"You'd think so. But I'm afraid that only your sister can help, and no offense, Princess, but she's been at this a lot longer and she'd undoubtedly have the advice I need." he argued.

"Sometimes a fresh but outdated perspective is what's needed, Dusk Shine. The Old ways are always the best ways, tradition breeds happiness." she countered. Her words drove Dusk to surrender to her.

"It's a rather private matter, can we talk about it somewhere secluded?" he asked. Luna nodded and led him to the Throne room. Guards were stationed at strategic points around the room, but were dismissed by the lunar princess.

"Now, what is your trouble, Dusk Shine?" the alicorn asked, taking a seat at her throne. Dusk stood before her, looking for the right words.

"It's a matter of... romantic interest." he began, earning the perked ear of his admirer.

"Oh? And who is this pony you've taken a fancy to? she asked, beginning to look for the slightest hint that she was the subject of his romantic feelings.

"That's the problem, Princess. I don't know." he replied. Luna was slightly confused by his choice of words.

"Some elaboration is required, my friend." she said.

"Well... Over the past few months, I've been developing my friendships with those in Ponyville, and I consider the other Hosts of the Elements of Harmony to be the best friends I ever had, sans Barb of course, she's like a sister to me." he began.

"Yes, and where are you going with this friendship talk, Dusk Shine?" she asked.

"Last night, after Rainbow Dash won the young flyers competition that you and Princess Celestia attended, I visited her home to congratulate her personally."

"Yes, you were her coach prior to the event, if I'm not mistaken. Go on." she said.

"Well, I didn't factor in her past history with others and as I mentioned how proud I was of her, we... entered into a physical relationship." he concluded.

Luna's ears dropped like anchors. "Oh... I see." she said, looking and sounding greatly disappointed. "So you're i-in love with R-r-rainbow Dash then?" she asked. At this point it was just going to be torture for the heart-broken princess.

"That's just it; I don't know. For whatever reason, I don't feel more strongly about her than I do the others. And I was wondering if it was possible for one to be in love with multiple ponies." he said Luna's eyes began to water and she didn't bother hiding them.
"Princess, is something wrong?" Dusk enquired, finally noticing his friend's pain. Luna clutched at her heart with one hand, and cupped her mouth with the other. As Dusk went to kneel down before the Princess to see if she was alright, she threw herself at him, trapping him in her arms and quieting him with her lips. Dusk was stunned as Princess Luna poured her passion towards him into the kiss. He had to admit, it felt nice. An Alicorn's lips were so different to a Pegasus'. Dash's had been rough and unwavering, just like her personality. Luna's however brought on the sense of true love and devotion. Her lips were soft, but powerful, just like her.

As Dusk closed his eyes to allow the sudden invasion of privacy, an image flashed in his mind that brought him back to reality. He quickly pushed the Princess back, startling her into letting him go. While Luna was hurt and dumbstruck, her eyes widened at the taller figure standing right behind her love.

"S-sister..." Luna let out, her veins going cold at the extremely angry look displayed on the Solar Princess' usually expressionless face.

"Dusk, your auditorium, immediately." Celestia said with absolutely bone-chilling and ball-shrivelling calmness. Dusk complied, though not for the reasons Luna would have had she been asked to go somewhere.

--A minute later--

Celestia closed the door behind her and locked it, sealing Dusk and herself in the student's old room/study.

"What happened, how long did you kiss her for?" Celestia began her interrogation, bearing down on the unfaltering Unicorn.

"Nothing happened, she kissed me, and it only lasted a few seconds before I realised what was going on and shoved her away. Don't worry, Luna's not in any danger. The same cannot be said for my friends." Celestia's eyes went wide as her mind ventured to the worst possible scenario.

The following day, Ponyville was growing sicker and sicker thanks to the cupcakes Pinkie had made with the questionable aid of Applejack who was looking worse for wear due to her unending assault on her orchard. Half of Ponyville had been bed-ridden, including some foals and fillies. Even Pinkie herself had gone to the hospital to get checked on She was greener than Barb's frills.

With the absence of Dusk Shine, it fell to Trixie to come up with a magical based cure.

"Haven't you found anything yet?" Barb asked, wiping the forehead of a sick pony.

"Don't rush me, you cheating slut." Trixie called back.

"I was not cheating! Saying that I was 'more than happy to help' to another mare does not constitute cheating. In case you haven't noticed, I've an occupation as an Assistant, and in the Absence of Dusk, I'm left with idle hands Goodness knows I can't help you because you don't do anything." Barb argued.

"I do plenty." Trixie retorted.

"Name one thing you've done aside from this. You can't because you've done nothing!" Barb snapped. Trixie just looked at her partner, snapped the book shut and made her way for the exit.

"I'm just going to do nothing outside!" she said, trying to hold back the blubbering, but ultimately failed. Barb just sighed and looked to the patient she was helping.

"I never know when I'm going too far... But I'm oh so glad when I do." she said. The pony being treated just stared at the dragoness.

"You two need therapy." he commented.

While Ponyville tried its best to recover from the disaster, Applejack had just bucked her last tree. By now she looked crazier than Rarity would if she'd been told her designs sucked. Her mane and tail both were dishevelled to the point where their respective hair ties had gone missing somewhere in the Applefield. Even her usually solid Stetson had slumped as a physical symbolisation of how tired she was.

"A-Ah did it? Ah did it! WHOO~WEE! I bucked the entire Apple field!!!" she began to cheer as loud as she could.

"Nnnope." the voice of her brother startled her, and the word cut her off short of using a Pinkie Cannon. Big Mac pointed her sister to the other half of the field and her jaw hit the ground.

"B-but the... Ah just... y-you... Aw crap!" she stuttered, falling on her back in exhaustion.

--7 hours later--

Applejack woke up to find the stars glimmering through the loose boards in her family's barn. She'd slept the remainder of the day away. She felt the straw beneath her body and feared the worst. She'd been relieved of her responsibility.

"Oh no!" she said, beginning to sit up. She stopped as she saw the other half of the field's apples in dozens of apple buckets before her. What surprised her the most was how Dusk sat on the edge of one, his head resting on his hand which rested on his knee. He'd been watching her sleep. She hoped to Celestia that she hadn't said anything while she was out.

"You know, you and Rainbow Dash snore exactly the same way. It took me a while to figure out that the sound was her relaxing on a cloud, given the fact that it always came from somewhere different every day. But imagine my surprise when I see you passed out like you'd taken a coconut to the head, and that same sound, albeit with a different tone, comes out of your mouth." he said Applejack couldn't help but blush. She always hated the fact that she snored, but nopony knew that.

What's yer point?" she asked slightly defensively.

"No point, just making idle conversation; that's what friends do, right?" he asked. Applejack never thought a smile could be frightening, but a smile from Dusk was like seeing a Cheshire grin in the Everfree forest.

"Did you buck all these apples?" she asked. Dusk snapped his fingers and an apple floated into his hand. He took a bite from it and took a few moments to chew it and swallow.

"I picked them. There was a lot of science that went into the process. I made a mental map of where they all were and just pulled with my magic. I may have missed one or two, but they'll just be a little surprise for the CMC tomorrow. They wanted to go forest hunting, but I convinced them to try orchard hunting first, you know, the basics. To answer your question, yes, I did all this for you. I believe that's also what friends do." he said.

"So... we're cool?" she asked. Dusk tossed the apple to her which she caught without thinking. The apple zapped her, one of Dusk's magical charges surging through her body.

"We're cool." he said, smiling again. "But as for the rest of Ponyville... I suggest you board up your room for the next few weeks. Don't worry though, you've still got a couple of days until the mass sickness wears off."

"Oh no!" she said, hanging her head. Dusk just chuckled, unnerving Applejack for the second time in under a minute.

"Don't worry. I'll make them see reason. After all, the pros outweigh the cons when it comes to you." he said. Applejack blushed red and she wished now more than ever that she had her Stetson with her.

"W-where's mah hat?" she asked, stuttering slightly.

"At home, being washed. You wore it and yourself out Looked more like a hood when I picked it up." he replied.

"Thank ya, Dusk... for everything. And Ah'm sorry for what Ah said to ya yesterday, Ah didn't mean it." she said.

"You meant every word, Applejack. You're the host of the Element of Honesty, you always speak your heart."

"And look where that got me." she argued.

"It got you some shut-eye, the orchard is next to empty, and you have somepony standing before you who wants to be your friend. So tell me honestly, how do you feel about me?" he said.

Applejack looked up at him and stared into his Amethyst eyes. She knew exactly how she felt, but she couldn't put it into words. She tried for the closest thing to it and found what she was looking for. With a deep breath, she looked him straight in the eye and...

Author's Note

And... cut! That's a wrap, everypony. This cliffhanger will make everyone want to kill me but they know they can't because then they'll never find out what happens.

For those of you who are pulling your manes out because I cut off the cool part regarding Dusk and Celestia's conversation, don't fret, that's up next, it was just a sneak peek. Also, thanks to Tatsurou and Dragonblaze for giving me an idea in regards to Dusk's personality.

S.S.5: Crimson Amethyst

Luna greeted her sister's Student at the front gates to the castle. She'd not seen him since her reintroduction back into society. As such, she could not contain herself.

"Princess Luna, I-Oof!" Dusk was knocked to the ground in an unceremonious fashion. Luna dove for the poor unicorn and managed to harpoon him to the ground.

"Dusk!" she exclaimed, failing to hide her excitement. Dusk was winded and thus appeared unconscious. "OH NO, WE KILLED HIM! DO NOT GO TOWARDS THE LIGHT DUSK SHINE, STAY WITH US!" she began to yell at the peak of her voice, shaking him madly. Dusk could say nothing as his lungs struggled to work under the force of the tackle as well as the constant movement they were suffering. His face turned blue as his head was shaken free of blood. With what little sense of reasoning he had left, he reached a hand to Luna and rested it on her outstretched arm, making her stop her assault.