My little Pony: The Unexpected Love Life of Dusk Shine, spin-off mini series

      Featuring: Late Night Terrors - “The pony with no face”

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It was about 10 pm -  Mr and Ms. Sparkle had turned in for the night tucking in their sons for a good night’s rest. Shining Armor, the elder sibling and aspiring royal guard, slept soundly in his room; however, the same cannot be said for the younger Dusk Shine. He lay awake in his bed, unable to sleep, for a creature of the dark which had come from the pony-net has been haunting him for the past few nights.

A monster called… “Slendermane.”

“N-now now Dusk...,” the little colt said to himself as he cowered behind his blanket (which he affectionately referred to as his “force field”).  

“You're a b-big colt now.... y-y-you're too old to believe in stupid stories from the ponynet… Heh heh... Even though they're really scary...and talk all ‘bout horrible....flesh eating, gut wrenching, FACE-TEARING MONSTERS *eep!*” He hardly finished his train of thought as he ducked under his sheets.

Though shaken and very much afraid, he managed enough courage to peek out of from under his "force field". After not seeing anypony or anything there, he breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed a bit.

But suddenly…!

There was a rapping on the bedroom window. Shocked, Dusk turned to look towards the sudden noise, expecting to see a terror of the night. No, it wasn’t Nightmare Moon, it was…!

A raven, pecking at the glass.

“Celestia-dang it, nature -  I don't have time for your Edgar Neighlen Poe moments…” he growled under his breath.

Having enough of these late-night scares and coincidental raven shenanigans, the young colt breathed in deep, sat straight up and said to himself:

“You know what? I AM a big colt now! I ain't afraid of no ghost!...Err,  I mean Slendermane!”

He threw back his covers and hopped out of bed. Head held high, he walked towards his closet.

“Big colts aren't afraid, and I'm gonna prove to myself AND the pony-net that Slendermane isn't real!” he said out loud… but not loud enough to wake any of his sleeping family members.

He walked over to his closet. It’s door was slightly ajar, giving Dusk a little glimpse of the pitch black that waited inside. Peering into the blackness, our intrepid hero is suddenly overcome with doubt.

“B-but what if... h-he's real...? What if I open this... He's gonna...”

He quickly shook his little head and stomped, "NO! This scary business is going to end RIGHT! HERE!"

He gripped the handle with his magic and flung it, open only to see...!

-to be continued-

At this very moment!

*Ahem*

Dusk Shine flung his closet doors wide open, only to see nothing but his Star Swirl the Bearded costume on a hanger and some pieces of formal attire (vests, dress shirts, and the odd bow tie. Yes – bow ties are cool).

And with that, Dusk breathed out fully, finally relaxed. His stiff muscles loosened and he sat down with a thump. He has a good laugh at himself and what he had been doing for the past few hours.

“Hahaha, Oh Dusk, you silly colt!,” he said to himself. “You and your wild imagination. You should’ve known better than to believe silly stories on the pony-net!” he laughed followed by a hearty yawn. He was tired now staying up for so long.

He slowly walked up to his bed, finality in his steps, and spotted his doll, Ms. Smarty Pants, on the floor. He levitated her right beside him and gave her a big hug. “See Ms. Smarty? I told you Slendermane wasn’t real.” And with a last soft giggle, he rested his head back onto his pillow, said good night to his beloved doll and slowly closed his tired eyes.

Slowly falling asleep, Dusk Shine surrendered to his dream world - where pink fluffy unicorns danced on rainbows, where he knew the secrets of the universe, where he was right beside Celestia, his mentor, wearing his very own “Dusk Shine, The Magnanimous” robes(having been appointed the only other unicorn as strong in magic as Starswirl the Bearded, if not stronger). It was heaven for Dusk and everything was hunky-dory.

Unfortunately for Celestia’s protégé, however – his reverie would be broken by a soft tug at the foot of the bed…