Chapter 2

Golden Oaks Library, Ponyville

Dusk Shine awoke while smacking his dry lips. He had nearly pulled an all-nighter reading some Neighponese manga and had not bothered sleeping in his bed, but had fallen asleep at his desk. One of the local unicorns, Lyra Heartstrings, had gotten him hooked on all things related to Neighponese anime and manga. She too was heartily obsessed with them which constantly bothered her marefriend, Bon-Bon. The series he was reading had something to do with a mare and a female griffon falling in love. Supposedly they were from two warring nations, so it was your typical forbidden romance. Secretly Dusk loved the series…and of course Spike teased him about it constantly.

As Dusk moved his fore-hoof towards his mouth to stifle a yawn, he brushed up against a half-eaten bag of cheese puffs. He also very nearly knocked over a can of Red Pegasus. Grumbling, Dusk slowly made his way up to the second floor to take a much needed shower. He trotted down the stairs into the kitchen once he was done showering, levitating a towel around his neck.

“SPIIIKEE!!! Get your scaly rear-end in here. I need some coffee!”

Spike appeared after a about minute. “Geez dude, you don’t have to yell. You wouldn’t be so tired if you didn’t spend all night reading manga.”

Dusk snorted. “I’m a grown stallion and I can spend my nights however I want… mister number one assistant.”

“If you say so Dusk. I wanted some coffee anyway; it’ll be ready in a jiff. Hey, I bet you were reading those mushy love stories weren’t you?”

Dusk blushed. “So what if I was? What business is it of YOURS?”

Spike grinned. “Oh nothing, you’re just starting to sound like Rarity. You realize how much she likes those mushy romance novels. Next thing ya know she’ll be knocking on the door wanting to talk about them.”

In a fairly credible Rarity impression Spike said: “Darling you simply must read this new book I bought! Stallion on stallion love is so passionate, so forbidden, so…FABOULOUS!”

Dusk couldn’t help but giggle. “That was pretty good Spike. She totally would say that. Still, she and I don’t really have that much in common and…well she can get really whiney sometimes to be honest.”

“Yeah no kidding, I mean she’s pretty I guess but not as lovely as…Fluttershy.”

“Ugh Spike you really need to get over that crush of yours. I’m not even sure that Shy likes stallions, let alone drakes.”

Spike scoffed. “You’re just jealous cause she’s so hot. Besides, I’m not the only one with a crush.”

Dusk’s left ear began to twitch. “Celestia damn you Spike, you promised never to speak of this!”

“You so have the hots for Cheerilee. I mean at least Fluttershy is our age, but sheesh Cheerilee is like ten years older than you dude.”

Dusk groaned. “Don’t remind me. I swear Spike, I’m gonna do it this year. I’m going to confess to her, if it’s the last thing I do!”

“You always say that. Well whatever…good luck even trying.”

Before Spike could say anymore, he felt a familiar burning sensation in his stomach. With a loud belch a scroll appeared before them.

Dusk arched his eyebrow. “Why would Princess Celestia be sending me a letter so early in the morning?”

Spike shrugged. “No clue dude, but whatever it’s about it must be important.”

My Most Faithful Student,

A situation has arisen and I find myself in need of your assistance. Know that the task I am about to give you is an extremely difficult one and as such I wish you not to think ill of me afterwards. I made a mistake not addressing some of my…biological urges. As a result an experimental spell was cast upon me and it produced some unforeseen consequences. These consequences have essentially given me a new “sister”. Your task is to teach this new “sister” of mine the magic of friendship. She will be arriving around noon today to stay at the library. Don’t worry about bits, I’ve sent an extra stipend to take care of her expenses.

Sincerely, P.C.

PS: I’m really sorry for burdening you with this Dusk. If I could have done things differently, I would have.

After reading the letter Dusk was speechless. He had so many questions. Who was this mysterious “sister” the princess was talking about? It certainly couldn’t be Luna; he had known her for years. What was this magical procedure she was referring to? Dusk had a feeling that he would need to have a nice, long chat with the Princess in the near future. In any case, how bad could this be? Celestia was one of the kindest, most gentle mares he knew. She was practically a second mother to him. Luna could be a bit eccentric and hotheaded sometimes, but she wasn’t so bad once you got to know her. Why then, did he feel icy dread in the pit of his stomach?

The rest of the morning was uneventful; as Dusk and Spike tried the best they could to clean the library for their new guest. Dusk was usually a very clean, very organized stallion but last night’s manga binge was the exception. Once they had everything sparkly clean Dusk realized something. He didn’t have a guest bedroom. With a growing sense of urgency he got out an old, but mostly clean mattress from the closet and set it down in the basement. He just happened to find some spare bed sheets and pillows as well. Dusk hoped that would be enough. Perhaps later he would go to the store and buy some new ones. Hay with the new stipend he was getting he could even afford to buy himself some of those luxurious silk sheets Rarity was always talking about. Before he knew it, there was a knock at the door.

Dusk opened the door, noticing two guards and a cloaked pony. “Oh hello, what can I do for Equestria’s finest today?”

“Greetings sir, we were instructed to escort Princess Celestia’s VIP to this location. Furthermore, the princess gave this bag of bits saying they were for ‘certain expenses’ pertaining to her VIP. If you don’t have any questions, we’ll make our way back to Canterlot.”

“Thank you ermm…I didn’t quite catch your name.”

“Never gave it sir. The name’s Sturdy Buckler, sergeant first class.”

Dusk shook his hoof. “Again thank you Sergeant Buckler. I do have quite a few questions, but I suspect that you probably don’t know the answers to any of them.”

The sergeant saluted and waved his right wing towards the other guard. Within seconds they were both airborne and on their way to Canterlot. The mysterious cloaked pony slowly cantered towards the door without saying a word. The only thing that set this pony apart from any other was that he or…she seemed to be quite a bit larger than the average pony. Dusk put on his friendliest smile.

“Hello, my name is Dusk Shine. Please come inside, make yourself at home. Well…of course you would since this is going to BE your home for the foreseeable future.”

The pony giggled, it sounded extremely feminine. “Come inside hmm, well how very forward of you. I’m afraid I can’t do that without some very naughty gender swapping spells.”

Dusk coughed awkwardly. “WHAT? I-I didn’t mean like that!”

Molestia threw off her cloak and gave Dusk a shit-eating grin. “Oh I know you didn’t, dear. You’re just sooooo easy to tease. Since you introduced yourself, it would be rude if I did not return it in kind. My name is Molestia, but I prefer Molly.”

Dusk felt like his brain was shorting out. He swore he could smell something burning. When the princess said sister, she hadn’t mentioned how very much alike this mare…no alicorn was in resemblance to her. She looked exactly like Celestia, except her coat was a bit duller and her mane was a purplish color. At this point poor Dusk was nearly hyperventilating.

“M-molestia? That’s…an unusual name.”

The alicorn winked. “Not really, I think it’s rather appropriate. The library looks spotless; did you by chance clean it recently?”

“Oh…yeah Spike and I did this morning. You know most ponies wouldn’t have even noticed.”

“I noticed, because I’m a fan of cleaning things you see. Perhaps I could help clean some dirty things around here.”

“Sure, Spike and I wouldn’t mind the help. But I couldn’t ask you to do that so soon. Follow me, I’ll show you where you’re going to be sleeping.”

Molly pouted. “Sleeping? What fun is that? When I use a bed, that’s one of the last things I do.”

A blush crept up Dusk’s neck. “Hehehe…really? I like to read in bed sometimes.”

“SO DO I!”

Dusk’s eyes sparkled. “That’s awesome! What kind of books do you like to read?”

“Hmm that depends on my mood, I suppose. If I feel all hot and bothered I usually stick with Playcolt, you know strictly for clopping. I do like a good juicy erotic novella; the best have whips and chains of course.”

“Playcolt is good but…WAIT A MINUTE! I meant normal books, not stuff you umm…want to clop to.”

Molestia rolled on the floor laughing like a demented banshee.

“I know dear. I meant what I said but this is just too easy. It’s going to be so much fun living here.”

Dusk rolled his eyes. “Yeah fun until I die of a heart attack…”

Molly stared at the modest mattress. “This shall do for the moment being. Tell me Dusk, have you ever lived with a mare before?”

“Not really. It’s pretty much been me and Spike for the last few years.”

“Ah…that’s what I thought.”

“What? It seems like you know something that I don’t. What aren’t you telling me?”

Molly clicked her tongue. “Oh nothing. For somepony who has so many female friends, you act like a nervous school-filly during her kiss while you’re around me.”

Dusk gritted his teeth. “How exactly am I supposed to act? You look exactly like the mare, whom I practically consider family! Tell me that this situation isn’t strange.”

“The situation isn’t strange, my dear little sunshine. Tia is not related to you. The association is entirely made up, fabricated no doubt due to her kind and loving nature and you utter dedication to her. I am my own mare, though loath am I to admit that I was once part of her.”

“H-hold on…what do you mean ‘once part of her’?”

Molly sniffed. “She always liked her secrets…or being so vague to the point of being secretive. I take it that her letter was not very helpful in explaining the situation?”

“It wasn’t. All she mentioned was a spell and something about having a new sister.”

“I was afraid of this. She let her embarrassment over this whole incident cloud her better judgment. I was born because she refused to take care of a perfectly natural problem. She didn’t want to clop or fuck anypony to take care of her heat, so in her addled mind she thought some crazy spell could prevent it.”

Dusk frowned. “Now it makes sense. I had no idea she would go that far…”

“Indeed, well what’s done is done. I feel as though I’m some unruly, unwanted child being sent off to guard school to change my ways. Tia and Luna even squabbled about what to do with me when I had been teleported into Luna’s room. I even heard Lulu say I was some ‘unholy abomination’ as if both of them completely resented my very existence! I held my tongue only to prove them wrong, to show them I was capable of being rational.”

For the first time since she arrived Dusk felt a hint of pity well up in his chest for the dejected alicorn. This whole mess was a lot more complicated than he had initially realized. Maybe Molestia just needed a friend, somepony to make her feel like she was wanted. Before he came to Ponyville, Dusk had never realized just how lonely he was…and how important his friends were to him now. He sighed mentally and gingerly patted Molly on the back.

“Moles-Molly for what it’s worth I’m sorry about this whole mess. I promise I’ll do my best to teach you about friendship, hay maybe you can meet a few more friends along the way. Now how about we get some lunch, I bet that’ll make you feel better.”

“Yes, that sounds wonderful. Hunger makes everypony a bit cranky.”

Dusk smiled. “Good, now then how about I take you to Sugarcube Corner?”

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Sugarcube Corner, Ponyville

Pinkie Pie was darting around the kitchen trying to make sure that today’s batch of blueberry muffins would turn out perfectly. Mrs. Cake was busy looking after Pumpkin and Pound, while Mr. Cake was waiting on customers. The Cakes normally only served breakfast fare, but Pinkie had the brilliant idea that they should stay open for lunch. Mr. Cake agreed and began serving items such as sandwiches and savory pastries. It was a complete success, but it meant that the store was far more busy than ever so the Cakes had to take shifts manning the store. They were both thankful to have their very own pink-hued hurricane to take care of most of the baking.

Mr. Cake was humming to himself, when he noticed the doorbell ring. In walked a happy looking Dusk Shine and…Princess Celestia? Something was off about her…the color of her mane and coat were different. Mr. Cake shrugged; after all it wasn’t his business if the Princess of Equestria wanted to color her coat and mane. Not that it was a very flattering color combination.

Dusk waved to Mr. Cake. “Hey Mr. Cake, do you mind if we order some lunch?”

“Why sure Dusk, just tell me what you want and I’ll have it out in a jiffy.”

“Hmm I think I’ll stick with the daffodil sandwich and a side of prench fries.”

Mr. Cake nodded. “And what will you be having your highness?”

Molly scratched her chin in thought. “I believe I’ll just have what Dusk is having.”

“Ehh…are you sure? I mean that’s rather plain food for a princess. Not to be rude your majesty.”

“I’m sure. Sometimes even a princess craves the simpler things in life.”

“Oh, ok then. It should only take about ten minutes.”

Dusk motioned his hoof towards a table in the middle of the shop, where both he and Molestia sat on their haunches sipping glasses of orange juice.

Molestia whispered into Dusk’s ear. “Mr. Cake thinks I’m Tia. This could prove to be quite…amusing.”

“Well obviously he wouldn’t know who you really are. Just don’t get carried away, I don’t want to have the guards escort you out of here.”

Pinkie Pie trotted over to the table and set their food in front of them. She smiled at Dusk, but gave Molestia a strange look. Pinkie scratched her mane and then immediately began to have a seizure. Acting upon pure instinct, Dusk levitated a loaf of crusty Prench bread into the pink mare’s mouth so she wouldn’t bite her tongue off. Thankfully her fit only lasted a few more seconds. When she got back up her eyes were a bit glazed over, but then she became her normally bubbly self.

“Pinkie oh thank Celestia! Are you ok?”

“I am now Dusky. Hmm let’s see…itchy mane and super-duper seizure. Yep! That means there’s a new princess, I’m sure of it!”

“Uhh Pinkie what are you talking about?”

Pinkie bounced up and down. “My Pinkie sense silly!”

“You know I still don’t understand it that well…”

“It’s simple. If my mane itches and I have a massive seizure, it means there’s a new princess in town I have yet to meet. Gosh Dusky, I thought everypony knew that!”

“Yeah…silly me how could I forget?”

“I KNOW RIGHT. It’s ok Dusky everypony forgets things sometimes. *Gasp* Hiya new princess my name is Pinkie Pie, what’s your name?”

“Pinkie Pie hmm, well my name is Molestia. You may call me Molly, dear.”

“Oh oh I like that name! But you aren’t a fish are you? No…that can’t be right.”

Molestia grinned. “No, I assure you that I am 100% alicorn. Pinkie could you come over here for a second, I have a question that needs answering.”

“Sure Molly what do you want to…”

Before Pinkie could finish her sentence, Molestia grabbed her by the mane planted a deep kiss straight into her mouth. To Molestia’s surprise, Pinkie moaned slightly. Pinkie eagerly used her tongue to wrestle Molestia’s. The dull white alicorn was enjoying this but; sadly she needed air so with a wet pop she separated from Pinkie’s mouth.

Molestia smacked her lips. “Hmm yummy, just as I thought. Tastes like sugar.”

Despite being pink, Pinkie noticeably blushed. “I’m glad I could answer your…question. Dusky I like this one. She’s fun! Sorry I gotta cut this short but I have some more stuff to bake. See ya later!”

Dusk Shine sat at the table with his mouth hanging open.

“Well I know exactly who to call if I need to smile…that’s for sure. Go on Dusk, eat up. We can’t have you wasting away into dust; it’s not healthy for a stallion your age to skip meals. Could you be a darling and fetch me that bottle of mustard over there?”

Dusk bit his lip. “I…can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I’d rather not say.”

Molestia chuckled. “A secret huh? I bet I can guess why. S-o-m-e-p-o-n-y got excited didn’t they?”

Dusk Shine blushed furiously. “M-m maybe…b-but that’s none of your business!”

“Oh my little sunshine, it’s only natural for a stallion to get excited seeing me make out with another mare. Why I’d be offended if you weren’t. Hmm…if you want I could take of your problem.”

“NO! N-not in public. Not here. That would be wrong and immoral and w-what if somepony saw us? And…I don’t really know you all that well. It’s embarrassing.”

Molestia took a peek under the table. “OH MY! Well, it seems your problem isn’t quite so little.”

Dusk quickly shoved his hooves under the table in a vain attempt to cover up. “S-shut up, don’t say that so loud.”

“Very well dear, I won’t do anything if you’re not willing. Just know that my offer stands. Now, if you don’t mind I’m going to enjoy the rest of this delicious sandwich.”

Dusk let out a groan of frustration and slowly chewed on his prench fries. He was happy to see Mrs. Cake trot over to the table with Pumpkin and Pound in tow; it would serve as a distraction from…his problem.

Mrs. Cake greeted them with a slight bow. “Why hello there Dusk, your majesty. I take it your lunch is to your liking?”

Molestia smiled. “Yes it is thank you. Oh your foals are sooo adorable. They must be Pound and Pumpkin right?”

“You betcha. I love them both to bits.”

“I’m sure you do, despite their dubious sire.”

“I’m sorry your highness, I didn’t quite catch that.”

“Nothing, dear I was just agreeing that you seem to cherish them. I bet Mr. Cake is so proud to have such handsome foals to call his own.”

Mrs. Cake laughed nervously. “Of course, he was overjoyed during the delivery.”

“Yes I can almost picture the look of joy on his face. Well, it was nice meeting you Mrs. Cake have a pleasant day. Oh and give your foals a hug for me.”

Molestia continued to finish her prench fries wondering if Mr. Cake was incredibly dense or incredibly devoted and forgiving. Yes, he was a bit lacking in the looks department but the love he showed to his wife was unquestionable. She sighed, that was their problem to sort out.