High Moon Ch. 18:

Resolve

The streets of Ponyville were in full swing as business open, foals played in the streets, and friends and loved-ones gather to happily enjoy a rather normal day. Perhaps, too normal. For within the darkest of shadows in the busy streets, a hooded unicorn stallion was awaiting orders for his master.

From within the shadows, the unicorn watched in disgust as the citizens went about their business without much care in the world, and blissfully unaware of what is about to come. None of them knew what true strife meant, of the pain of what real lost holds, or even knowing what true fear was.

Oh how naïve they all was, of fear, and of power…real power. And all blame could fall on the one holding the crown in her hands, what a joke. Couldn’t even stop her own sister from being overtaken by her own darkness, allows a being that could split apart reality at the mere snap of his fingers to walk free, or even tell that her own niece have been taken by the changelings.

Well no more, no more will all be naïve of what fear and power is, and no longer will they have somepony ‘protecting’ them from the real world. Once the child is back in his master’s hands, all will be let known to Equestria, and all will turned against the crown.

Saint. The unicorn, Saint, darkly smiled at his master’s call as he knew what it entailed. You may ‘ask’ if anypony have seen our perish child, do be careful, the elements may come after you. Once the connection ended, Saint walked out of the shadow clawing in the alleyways of Ponyville, and lit his horn.

Some of the ponies around town-hall stopped their business, to look over the masked face and his dark robes, but before anyone could question his sudden appearance Stain shot out a blot of pure silver light. The blot of magic impacted the roof of town-hall and completely obliterated the dome piece.

Ponies then started to run for cover, far too ill-prepared to handle the threatening unicorn. “Well,” Saint started, scratching his hands out, and walking further into the street. “Now that I have all of your attentions, maybe you can help me?” Through the holes in his mask, Saint eyed each face in the crowd, and each new cowering face was of pure annoyance to him. “See, I’m looking for a very important filly, and I really need to know if any of you have seen her.”

“Then maybe you should ask a little nicer.” Saint turned around to see a purple teenaged diamond dog wearing blue shorts and white short-sleeved jacket with a design he wasn’t familiar with. “Now let’s start with this,” Dusk started walking closer to the unicorn with small bursts of electricity arcing off his body. “Just who the fuck are you and why do you need this filly?”

Saint started to chuckle a little, marveling the halfbreed’s fearlessness, and his foolishness as well. “Does that really matter mutt, just tell me if you’ve seen an odd looking filly or not.” Dusk flatly stared at Saint, he didn’t need to see the expression on his face to tell that he didn’t have good intention for this lost filly he continues to speak of.

“And if I have seen a filly, what are you going to do then,” Dusk questioned, allowing sparks to violently arch off of his body as he could feel woeful intentions from the unicorn.

Saint remained unimpressed with the small display of Dusk’s dragon heritage. “Then I’ll be tempted to use force.” Saint snapped his fingers, activating a dark spell of his. Soon, multiple copies of the pony started to walk from behind him, each equipped with a short-sword. Dusk soon recognized the spell as the same very few dragons that were, in light words, cursed with shadow-magic. “So I’ll ask again,” Saint started once all of the clones were in place, six in total. “Have you, or have you not seen a filly with an odd magic?”

Dusk sighed, knowing the only way for a pony to dragon magic is either it was given as a gift to them, or they took it by force, and that for this pony to have shadow-magic it must have been by force. “Maybe I have, maybe I haven’t.” Dusk reached for the zipper of his jacket and ripped it off. “Or...you could go look somewhere else.”

The two locked eyes, since that was the only thing on Saint’s face that could be seen, and knew that the other wasn’t going to back down. Dusk had a bad feeling about the pony, the way he was using his magic, it wasn’t natural, and his intentions were not of the good of heart. “Well, this is not part of the job, but it could be fun. Go.” Saint waved his hand towards Dusk, willing two clones to charge at him.

Dusk quickly got ready for the two clones, once they were close enough, he launched an attack through his teleportation. Suddenly, the first clone’s mask caved in while his head violently whipped backward. The second clone didn’t have time to react before Dusk’s fist was embedded deeply in his gut. Dusk again locked eyes with Saint, who still stood in the center of the remaining four clones before releasing a massive discharge into the clone’s body.

Not wasting time to celebrate, Dusk rushed around the desegregating clone, and charged another buildup in lightning in his hands. Saint waved his hand towards the halfbreed, willing the remaining four clones to attack.

Dusk flipped over the lead clone’s blade, delivering the heel of his work boots to the back of its head, and striking down two other clones with the charged volts of lightning in his hands. Right as the third one came to attack him, he again teleported out sight, but soon reappeared behind the clone.

Grabbing the hand that held the blade, Dusk rammed the clone’s body with it’s own weapon, and pushed it to the ground where it desegregated in to black smoke like the others. He turned around to be faced with ten more clones standing at Saint’s side.

“Now, now it does not have to be this way,” Saint started with a fake pleading voice. “Tell me where the child is and this can all end.” Instead of answering, Dusk arched more lightning to his hands, this time forming two swords of pure purple and black electricity were created in his opened palms. Saint let out an exaggerated sigh while his head dropped.

“Kill him.”

All ten clones charged at Dusk, swords at the ready, and full intent of carrying out their kill order. Dusk closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, relaying on his other senses to aid him, and time started to slow.

Each thunderous step from the squad of clones, the horrified gasp from the fearful crowd, and even the crackling of wind from his lightning-blades. Everything slowed to a near still, this was a warrior's final moment of peace before battle, their last moment of being able to breath with serenity, and he enjoyed it.

Once the lead clone was bring down his blade in a downwards strike, Dusk’s eyes snapped opened; blazing with an unrelenting resolve. He sidestepped the black blade to bring his own through the side of the clone’s neck, blasting it with electricity from within, and bringing his other lightning-blade through the another clone’s chest.

Dusk wrenched his hand out of the falling clone, whirling around the blade of a third, and slicing right through it’s body. Then two clones jumped up in the air to being their swords down on Dusk, however didn’t account for him back-flipping, and using his wings to launch himself at them.

With his palms wide opened, Dusk launched a counterattack at the two clones, and pierced their chests. The force of Dusk’s counterattack, knocked the two clones off of the ground as he lightning blades pierced right through their chests, and cooked from the inside by the arcing electricity. Once the clones hit the ground, the remaining five charged at Dusk, but he didn’t move.

Dusk again closed his eyes to take another breath of air, slowing down time once again. All five’s blades were aimed for his neck, inch by inch the black steel started to come closer to the bright purple gem encrusted collar his mother made him.

In a single blink, no more than a half second, each clone’s blade met the ground, and only that. Before any could question, Dusk’s body appeared in front of the circle of clones, and started to walk over to Saint. The group started to try again to attack the halfbreed, but at the first movement from one of them, all five started to seep smoke from various parts of their bodies before completely fading.

With each step the halfbreed took towards Saint, his lightning blades at his sides started to grow in ferocity, and the soft crackling turned into a high-pitched screech; that of a thousand birds. Saint hissed at Dusk and created more clones to attack him, only to met the same faith as the other as Dusk’s movements started to increase in speed.

Forget this, the child isn’t even here. Saint launched several more clones at Dusk to distract him long enough for him to make his escape. However, he didn’t account for the many years Dusk had to focus on one target and one target only, and the wave of seven clones went completely ignored as Dusk shot a bolt of low charged lightning at Saint.

The blot wasn’t meant to kill or even severely injure, it was meant as short of waypoint for Dusk to home in on with his teleportation. After changing the magical-frequency, Dusk bolted straight for Saint, and tore through every clone in his path.

Saint’s escape was cut off by Dusk running both lightning-blades through his back and out the other side. Blood started to seep from the edges of Saint’s mask as arcing electricity flowed freely throughout his body. “Looks like I had more resolve than you,” Dusk said, ripping the blades of pure lightning out of Saint’s body, and ending the massive surge of lightning-magic. He started to walk away but stopped at the sound of Saint’s maniacal laughter. “I don’t see what’s so funny, dragon-hunter.”

“You think you’ve won,” Saint asked in a smug attitude that conflicted the state of which he should be in. “Oh...your strife has only yet to begin.” Dusk looked towards the pony, who should have been dead, or at least unable to move. Saint’s eyes flashed upwards, prompting Dusk to look up as well, but wasn’t quick enough to stop the heavy-metal suit of armor from crashing down in front of him. Dusk was knocked back to the impact of the large suit of armor, landing hard on his shoulder, and barely having time to move away before a sliver fist came down to him.

“You should have back off mutt, if you didn’t know anything about the child, then you shouldn’t have gotten involved.” Once he was able to recover from the roll, Dusk looked up to see that his new opponent was nothing but a moving suite of silver and black armor. “But hey, you want to die, then fine by me. Armamollia, get rid of this mutt.”

Saint’s body faded into a shadowy smoke while the suit’s eyes started shine in a sliver light. The towering monstrosity looked to be some foal’s twisted design, blunt crack spikes coming out of the edge large shoulder plates, small yet noticeable dents in its chest armor were Dusk’s only hope of inflicting any kind of damage on it. Dusk tried to stand up right, however, the efforts and large amounts of magic he used suddenly caught up with him.

Shit, I hope I don’t have to- The halfbreed was pulled out of his thoughts as Armamollia started to charge at him with a speed that didn’t rightfully belong to it. Luckily, Dusk didn’t need magic to outrun the monster’s blunt ironed-clad fists, and jumped over its head when it tried to bring both of them down.

Dusk landed on top of the towering suit’s shoulders and tried to gather whatever magic he had left to added an electrifying shock to each of his fist as he repeatedly slammed them down on Armamollia's head. To any normal living being, the attack would have killed, but Armamollia was the true definition of a walking suit of armor.

Seeing that his attacks weren’t doing anything, Dusk hopped off of Armamollia’s shoulders, and took to the skies to find some other way of attacking. However, his flight was cut short by Armamollia grabbing onto his tail, and throwing him to the ground.

Dusk started to stand, not willing to allow a walking tin-can beat him, but only met a blunt fist to the face. The force of the sudden impact was enough to send flying towards a building. However again, his flight was cut short, but this time it was by somepony saving him in their magical grip.

He slowly opened only to met the faces of the elements of harmony, well most of them anyways. Twilight, who apparently was the one to save him, dropped the field around Dusk letting fall back to the ground. While she tended to Dusk injuries, the remaining elements; Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy turned their elements into their respective weapons.

Dusk looked up with one eye to see that Pinkie Pie had a bright pink and blue hammer connected by a long yellow handle. Rarity’s weapon was a long saber sword, decorated with an ‘elegant’ design. Applejack’s weapon was simply a massive bright orange and red broadsword that looked sharp enough to cut through just about anything. Lastly Fluttershy, a forest-green long bow and arrow. Dusk, along with a large number of citizens of the republics, have heard stories of the element’s powers, but to see it in person was something of a wander itself.

Twilight didn’t waste any time analyzing the situation before she knew what was needed to do. “Pinkie, Applejack keep that thing busy.” The two earth-ponies nodded their heads as they charged at the walking suit. “Fluttershy, give us support. Rarity, find its weak points.”

“T-the dents.” Twilight turned towards Dusk as he again tried to stand on his feet, even against her wishes. “The d-dents in its c-chest armor...cave them in,” he struggled to say, having seen many ships sink because of ill-treatment from their careless owners. “D-do that and...it’ll fall.”

Twilight nodded since it was the best plan she could think of. “Pinkie, Applejack you two heard that?” Twilight turned to see that her friends had already heard the halfbreed’s words and started to attack the small dents in its chest plate.

Pinkie swung her hammer at the dead center of Armamollia’s chest, knocking him off his feet, but only just. Applejack followed up by bring her sword down onto the side of the walking puppet’s shoulder. However, it seemed that their combined attacks had little to no effect no on it, and both where knocked back by it swinging its arm at the both of them to the ground.

Rarity couldn’t stand back any longer as she started to charge at the behemoth of a monster. Unfortunately, the light saber attacks had next to no noticeable damage on the heavy-metal steel comprising Armamollia’s armor. Fluttershy was able to distract it long enough for Rarity to move back from it.

That’s when Pinkie and Applejack were able to get up from the ground to begin a counterattack. Pinkie whirled around on her heel to swing the hammer repeatedly at Armamollia’s chest while Applejack rushed its sides and slashed through the side-armor plates. However, their attacks seemed to only further enrage the titan.

Armamollia grabbed the handle of Pinkie’s hammer, stopping her swinging, and throwing her at Applejack and Rarity. The three mare’s were knocked to the ground while Fluttershy did her best to give support to the others as she was hovering around in the sky, shooting arrows charged with magic from her element.

While her friends did their best against the juggernaut, Twilight was busy healing Dusk, but had difficulties with his draconic-canine anatomy. What made it harder that Dusk refused to sit still to allow Twilight to get a grip on his arcane core. This isn’t going to work. Yet again, Armamollia merely shrugged off the element’s attacks, and managing to throw Pinkie into Fluttershy. They can’t keep going like this. Applejack moved to strike at the armored behemoth but only added to the small starches to its armor.

I’ve got to do something. Again, Dusk forced his body to stand, not hearing any of Twilight’s commands of staying down as Armamollia started to bring a fist down towards Applejack and Rarity. I won’t lose, I can’t lose. Not now, not ever.

Suddenly Dusk snapped open his wings, propelling him straight for the titan's fist, and catching it in his hand. Mere inches from his face. For the third uncounted time today, time slowed to a stop. Dusk’s violent purple eyes locked onto Armamollia’s glowing slivers, anger towards it and himself re-sparked Dusk’s magic as lightning started to spark from his body.

“You won’t beat me.” Rarity and Applejack opened one eye at the dark whisper in his voice. Once they fully opened their eyes, the two mares were given a display of Dusk’s dragon heritage as purple, black, and white bolts of electricity arched off of his body and onto their weapons.

Arches from his magic seemed to have a reaction from their elements, Applejack’s more than Rarity’s, but still somehow reacting to the magic within. Applejack’s broadsword was ripped from her hands as it started to glow in a heated purple aurora, which started to move to Dusk’s arms. Rarity’s saber overcame the same faith as the broadsword, but instead of a purple light, a pure white flowed from the blade and followed along the edges of Dusk’s arms.

The two separate lights fused together to form purple arm gauntlets on Dusk’s arms, leading all the way to his shoulders where they expanded outwards to form large shoulder plates, and pure white engravings along the edges resulting blots of lightning. However Dusk seemed to be the only one to not be paying any attention to the light show going on. “I will not allow you to beat me. There is no way I am going to lose to the likes of you!”

Dusk shoved Armamollia’s fist away from his face and quickly brought down his other fist to the metal puppet’s side armor plates. The force from Dusk’s quick attack caused, not only Armamollia’s side armor to deeply cave in on itself, but also pushed the juggernaut off his feet.

The initial attack was followed by another fist slamming straight into its chest, caving it in as another blow landed on the top right corner of its armored chest plate. Each attack came at a quicker pace than the last, pushing the metal-clad nightmare back with every armored fist from Dusk, and started to crack in various places where the dents started to grow.

Everypony, the elements, and Dusk’s two marefriends watched in slight horror as Dusk’s dragon heritage started to show itself more than just in his magic or wings. His black hair became denser and more close together, as well as becoming sharper to where they started to look liked deadly black spikes.

“Come on, come on, come on!” Even his voice, which was normally smooth and calm, was now loud and roaring like thunder. Each fist he landed on Armamollia caused another dent as well as pushed it back. The suit tried to fight back, grabbing onto Dusk’s right arm with its massive hands, but the move only added more rage to the rolling storm in attacking it. “COME ON!”

A downward strike sent Armamollia into the ground, shattering the hard ground into pieces of flying boulder. However, it didn’t stop there as Dusk reed his right hand back, and dragged it into the ground to impact Armamollia.

The metal puppet was sent flying by the shear force of Dusk’s upward attack, but before it could even get two feet off the ground, Dusk’s hand encased its helm and slammed it back into the ground. Dusk’s hand started to clenched down on the helmet as it acted as Armamollia’s skull. However, the puppet didn’t suffer whatever pain a puppet could as Dusk dragged its body across the ground and throw it into the wall of town-hall.

Before a single speck of dust from the broken wall could fall to the ground, Dusk charged at Armamollia with a fully charged surge of lightning magic screeching in his right hand, and embed it deeply into the walking puppet.

Again, all of Ponyville was filled with the sound of a thousand birds all screaming in disharmony towards each other as Dusk’s armored arm pushed itself further into Armamollia’s body. Pure white, purple, and black arches filled the air around them, heating it to the point a pony would be nearly cooked alive. However, Dusk wasn’t any other pony, he was a diamond dog-dragon halfbreed, and nopony could do the things he did today.

“You know something,” Dusk started while parts of Armamollia’s armor started to twitch from whatever unholy life being drain from it. Sparks of Dusk’s magic flowed from his fist and into Armamollia’s core. “I’ve should be thanking you…” Dusk moved his left hand to his right forearm, his magic becoming more concentrated within Armamollia’s body, and building in power. “You reminded me what it means to never kneel down.”

For one last time, Dusk and the metal monster locked eyes, but he didn’t see it as such. Dusk saw a soul that never got the chance to live, a soul that could have made a huge difference. A poor hatchling, cursed by faith to have such a ghastly magic, and deemed an outcast in their family, could have used this puppet’s soul as a friend, or guardian.

However, all can not work out in the world. “I’m truly sorry for not freeing you from that dragon-hunter. Fulgur clamorem.” Dusk released all of the build up of lightning magic from his right hand and arm, causing massive discharges of purple, white, and black electricity to violently arch within Armamollia body. Massive voltages of electricity seeped from Armamollia’s body arching around over the rest of his metal armor.

The intense purple light from the surge was enough to have everypony covering their eyes before Dusk ended the spell. Visible lines of ashy smoke seeped through the many cracks dents arraying its body, shock marks were easily pointed out on its body, and small sparks did remain arching in the dry heated air.

Dusk pulled his arm out of Armamollia’s chest, causing an ear-piercing sound of twisting metal. Dusk turned to walk away from the non-living puppet, the gauntlets on his arms fading into a purple and white light, and flowing into the purple gem in his collar.

The gem and collar were both transformed from the magic within the two lights. Dusk’s collar, which was originally just brown strap of leather, changed into a pure purple with white tribal décor engraved into the sides forcing the eye to lead to the purple gem with a white core and outline trim.

When Dusk started to take his first step away from the pile of metal, the sudden drain in his magic as well his dragon blood-line forcing its way through, caused him to suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Both Sketchy and Jinx quickly ran over to their lover’s side while everypony else still stood in wide eyed expressions. While Jinx was doing anything she could to get Dusk to open his eyes, Sketchy wiped her head towards the element, and started to question all the stories she heard about the ‘almighty’ power of them.

“Well, what are all you ponies waiting for? Somepony go get a doctor and help us get him to the hospital,” Sketchy order mostly towards the elements than anypony else. Twilight snapped out of her daze and started for the hospital to inform them of Dusk’s arrival with Fluttershy and Pinkie in tow.

Applejack rushed over to help Sketchy lift Dusk’s heavy weight while Jinx and Rarity looked for something to carry the halfbreed. They soon found a abandon cart on wheels that seemed to be big enough for them to use. Dusk was placed on the cart and pulled by an earth-pony stallion that volunteered to help.

Don’t ever quit.

After finally making it to the hospital, Dusk was immediately taken to the intensive care unit for his physical and magical injuries. The news went from bad to worse when the doctor had diagnosed his condition to be a type of magic-fever that most magical cultures go through when they use too much magic in one go.

And it only got worse from there when he said that Ponyville, really, any hospital wasn’t equip with the necessary tools to treat a halfbreed as Equestria had little knowledge of dragon arcane biology.

However as small, and very lucky, ray of hope came when Spike and Wolf suddenly showed up. When the two were questioned about their sudden appearance, Spike said that he and Wolf was digging for gems when they heard a series of explosive sounds coming from Ponyville.

Sketchy explained that Dusk had gotten into a bad fight and was now recovering, or at least trying to recover, but with the lack of knowledge of dragons Equestria had, she wasn’t sure when he’ll come out of it.

After asking where Dusk’s room was, Spike didn’t waste any time bolting straight for the intensive care unit to use his healing water technique. Thankfully, Twilight was able to convince the doctors to allow Spike through so he could perform the technique on Dusk.

Once Spike was in the room, he opened the water-pouch on his side to take a look at what state Dusk was already in, and just what needed attention. Seconds became minutes, minutes became hours for everyone in the room as Spike struggled to keep a grip on his magic long enough so he finish repairing the damaged magical-nerves in Dusk’s body.

“How are we looking Spike,” Wolf asked the drake, if Spike had a reason to be concerned for the half-blood, then he must have some connection to the twins. Spike didn’t answer Wolf’s question as he guided the orb of water over Dusk’s body, tapping it where he could feel pulses of Dusk’s magic against the sensitive stillness in the orb.

As Spike moved from Dusk’s head and down, the halfbreed’s body started to twitch in response as a sign of his slow recovery, but now still wasn’t the time to celebrate. Come on Dusk, you’re stronger than this. Let me see where your magic-nerves are. Spike continued the slow pace down Dusk’s body, periodically tapping the orb, but stopped when a dull-purple flame started to grow on Dusk’s chest. There that’s the dragon’s soul. Hang on Dusk.

Spike took in a slow breath as he carefully moved the orb over the small flame and whirled his hands around the sides of the orb. Soon, the orb started to copy the movement of Spike’s hands, and glowing a bright blue and green.

Dusk took in deep breath as though he has been sleeping while unable to breath, and when he breath out, a small line of gray smoke flow out of Dusk’s mouth, and into the orb of water. Spike waved his hands outwards once all of the smoke had left Dusk’s body, that’s when Dusk’s eyes started to open.

“Done,” Spike said as he moved the orb away from the dying flame on Dusk’s chest but still kept the orb out to study the gob of pitch encased in it.

Dusk strained to sit up from the bed but was stopped by Jinx wrapping her arms around his neck. At first, Dusk’s sense hadn’t fully came back to him as the mare soft sobs went unanswered, but soon he registered her crying. “Jinx...s-stop crying already, I’ve fine aren’t I?”

“No you’re not,” The mare shouted, forgetting that they were in a hospital, and forcing Sketchy to place a soundproof barrier on Dusk’s room. “Dusk, y-you could have…” Jinx didn’t have the strength to finish her sentence, fearing that it could happen if Saint ever returns to Ponyville. Dusk force his arm to move so he hold onto Jinx’s head only serving to make her openly cry into his shoulder.

“Dusk,” Sketchy started in a low and threatening voice that had everyone, including Wolf, fearing her for a moment while Dusk blankly moved his head towards her. “You never think do you?” Even if the question was meant to be a serious one, Dusk still managed to force out a chuckle. “You’re lucky that princess Sparkle and the other elements were able to ‘help’ with beating that tin-can monster.” Applejack was going to question why Sketchy spit out the would ‘help’ the way she did when she continued. “And you’re really lucky that Spike was close by.”

Dusk then looked over to the drake still holding the gray pitch in the orb and started to weakly chuckle. “Spike...you did what you needed?” Spike knew that Dusk wasn’t talking about healing him and slightly nodded his head. “Good, hey you going to do anything with that?”

Spike raised an eyebrow, having no idea what to do with the sickly gray gob floating in the water shear. “What is it?”

“Pars animae, Half-soul. Basically, a small piece of my dragon soul that got overused, and I’m going to need that back.” Dusk reached a hand out towards the orb of water and let out a quick spark towards the gray mass. The quick flash was enough to crystallize the gray pitch and some of the pure water into a small sky-blue crystal.

Dusk reached into what was left of the orb, pulled out the crystal, and tossed it up in the air. Everyone watched as Dusk’s more dragon-like tongue shot out from his mouth to wrap around the crystal and pull it in his mouth.

He moaned in joy as his serrated teeth easily grinded the crystal into dust before swallowing it whole. Dusk could already feel his magic returning back to normal and was really grateful that Spike was of water-magic or he really would be in trouble. “Okay, now I’m better. Thanks for the save everyone.”

“Anytime,” Twilight stated, a little too quick for Sketchy’s liking, but she somehow managed to hold her tongue. “So what was all that about anyway?”

Dusk’s relief expression turned into a much more darker one followed with a thick cloud of smoke from his nose. “Dragon-hunter.” All expected the elements flinched from the sound of the forbidden practice. “There was a unicorn stallion looking for a filly with some kind of odd magic, what ticked me off was the fact that he was a dragon-hunter, and a smug little bastard too.”

“How can that be,” Spike questioned, knowing full and a well about the unholy practice of Equestrian's past of killing every dragon and taking parts of their bodies as trophies, and even sometimes with highly skilled unicorn to be able to steal a dragon’s elemental magic. “Celestia made that forbidden before the Nightmare Rebellion, how can…” Spike slowly stopped when he finally gathered the answer to his question while Dusk pinched the bridge of his nose. “Oh.”

“Yeah, ‘oh,’” Dusk snorted slightly at Spike momentarily empty headedness. “And dragon-hunters aren’t just a problem here. Back in the republics, my sister Verdite is a part of the Nightmare guard, and her and her squad had did a raid on a group of pony dragon-hunters. Let’s just say, she was none too pleased.”

Dusk could only imagine the blind fury on his eldest sister’s face as she could make his magic look like it belonged to a hatchling. Just thinking of seeing the alpha dragoness in a rage forced a shiver down Dusk’s spine at the mere thought. Especially since she had earth elemental-magic and could tear through a building with ease.

“So you have an explanation about this?” Dusk turned towards Sketchy, who was holding onto his collar.

“Is that my collar?” Dusk almost didn’t recognize the gift his mother worked so hard to make him and his sibling when each one reached their tenth birthdays. No matter how much attention to detail is alpha hound mother has, there was no way she could have added the tribal décor, even if it was of ancient diamond dog symbols. The gem alone was enough to make him not believe it was his, no crystal, no matter how rare, has a white outline to it. “What happened to it?”

Dusk took the collar from Sketchy’s hands to further examine it, only to furthered baffle by its new appearance. “Well,” Applejack started, getting Dusk’s attention, and pointing to her element hanging around her neck. “When ya came to save me and Rars from that tin-can’s fist, your magic short of...fused with our elements.”

“What?”

“It is true darling,” Rarity started while Dusk was still trying to wrap his head around the fact. “Some of your sparks flew off into the elements and in returned fused with you magic.” Suddenly, everyone in the room stopped their thinking to look dead at Rarity, and couldn’t believe that she of all ponies had said something that sounded right. “What, it’s the best I could think of.”

Dusk started to chuckle, still too tired to argue with the mare’s thinking, and soon started to see that it was right. “Oh man, mom is going to be pissed,” he laughed, knowing that it wouldn’t be right to keep this secret from his family back in the republics. “Well ain’t this something...I’m an element apparently now. Though, no offense, I don’t think I’ll go under one of ‘the’ elements of harmony.”

“Aww, why not,” Pinkie asked, somewhat more cheerful now that she knows that neither twin was safe with Wolf. “It could be lots of fun. And…” While Pinkie went on listing every little thing that came to her head Dusk started to put on the collar, able to tune the hyperactive mare out, but still had troubles putting on the collar.

Jinx, who had already clam down by this point, helped Dusk with the rather simple task of fitting the strap in the back to the right loop. “Thanks Jinx,” Dusk whispered while Pinkie somehow was giving a slide-show demonstration.

“And in twelve months everybody will had free ice-cream FOREVER!” A collective eye roll over came the group after Pinkie had just finished. “So will you do it?”

“As much as that ‘sounds’ awesome, I’ll have to pass. I don’t think whatever element I got will fit with you guys.” Pinkie shrugged her shoulders, no point in making him join the elements if he didn’t, and started to put up her emergency projector.

Wolf chuckled at the weirdness Spike and Quill had to grow up with, knowing that he wouldn’t be able to take it for as long as they did. “Okay, after…that I think it’s best if me and Spike started to head back.” The elements quickly turned toward the diamond dog and drake pair as they planned to leave out the window. “Half-blood, you be careful. You have far much more to fight for than just your pride.” Jinx quickly nuzzled against Dusk neck, forcing him to understand what Wolf was talking about. “Come on Spike, the others should be expecting us soon.”

“Alright Wolf,” Spike started with a nod before turning toward everyone else. “See all of around, I promise.” Wolf hopped out of the first-story window with Spike close behind. Twilight and the rest of the elements walked over to the window to see both Spike and Wolf on all fours dashing back into Everfree.

“Spike,” Dusk suddenly started, gaining the attention of the entire room. “Drake of no self-gain, Draco non sui quaestus, always looking out for the feelings of others over his own well-being.” Dusk was deeply impressed at how selfless Spike was, willing to stay in a dangerous place like Everfree just so he could grow strong enough to protect everyone, but there was a price to this.

“If he isn’t careful, it’ll kill him one day.”

Author's Notes:

Of which the plot thickens. Hey, guys, wanted to say that I'm sorry for not uploading in a while. I'm still trying to find a nice common-ground between writing ahead and uploading so bare with me. As always, tell me what ya think. It helps me grow as a writer and gives me a few ideas of my own.

-Till next time.