Laying in the dark, the morning after Dash’s birthday, Dusk felt the pressure of Rarity’s head on his chest, and the gentle, repetitive pressure of her calm breathing as she slept. As quietly as he could manage, Dusk lifted his hand and began to stroke his fingers through her silky hair. Relishing in the calm void, Dusk avoided touching his magic, avoided reaching out, and reminded himself of the shallow scar running nearly the length of his horn.

The soft sound of Barb’s knuckles rapping upon his bedroom door pulled the stallion from his muted doze. Drawing a blanket across Rarity’s bare back, Dusk spoke up, just loud enough to be heard by the dragoness' keen ears. "I am up, Barb. You can come in, but Rarity is still asleep."

The sound of the latch turning was heard, and the door sliding open was done with great care. Barb had already discovered the rough nature of Rarity when awoken too early in the morning. Yet today, for some reason that sharp line of dawn sunlight cut through Dusk's calm center, destroying the peaceful void he had been suspended in. Roaring back as harshly as the day before, the pain was disorienting.

None the wiser, Barb crossed the room and stepped up to Dusk’s side of the bed, looking worriedly up at the bare-chested stallion. "You’re up? Sorry, it's just that you never sleep in this late, so I was kinda worried..."

Lifting a hand, Dusk cupped the dragoness' head, curving his nails in to scratch through her spines and over her scales. The rough and leathery texture of her hide was distracting, but the soothing pressure helped a little. Keeping his voice to a low whisper, Dusk offered her a smile. "It is okay, Barb. I was just enjoying the quiet of the predawn. If you haven't already made something, I will be down in ten, fifteen minutes. But first, a shower."

Quietly trilling at Dusk's scratching fingers affectionate attention, the tiny dragoness gave him a nod, smiling warmly up at him. "I'll chill a few grapefruit for you two."

The dragoness turned away and scampered out the door, the meaning of her words not sinking in, until Dusk felt Rarity’s hand slide under the blankets and stroke across his ribcage, her voice a soft mumble. "With a name like Dusk, I never expected you to be a morning person. Now you're forcing me to adapt."

Laughing gently at her pouty lip, Dusk leaned in, and planted a firm kiss to cover the trembling mare’s pouting mouth with his own. As they relaxed in one another’s arms for a minute, the soft stroke of Rarity’s finger drifted the course of his horn. "Dusk, I know this is probably a bad time, but I was wondering if you could do me a favor?"

As the stallion peeked up, Rarity’s soft touch continued, avoiding too much pressure on his horn while still keeping up contact. A soothing trick if done well. Leaning in against her bare frame, Dusk gave her a nod. "Go ahead, if it's within my power, I'll do it."

Grinning widely up to him, Rarity leaned in, and gave his cheek a soft kiss. Releasing a quiet sigh against his face she lowered her head to rest on his chest again. "Sweetie Belle's teacher, Miss Cheerilee, asked me to give a basic course on magic for the school foals. Nothing fancy, but not exactly my... er... speed? So to speak. With the way you handle your magic, I just thought-"

Dusk gave her a nod, his eyes brimming with sudden inspiration. "Teach? A class of foals? I would love to!" He paused, squinting at her for a moment. "Are you sure Cheerilee won't mind?"

Laughing, Rarity gently smacked his chest. "Are you kidding? She said she would have asked you, but was worried about troubling you. Now... about that shower."

Dusk shut the book and settled it back down upon the desk, looking over the classroom, offering them all a smile. “Now, as many of you may know, every clan has their own magic. In the earth pony’s, it manifests as incredible strength, stamina, and an innate connection with the land. Great earth ponies can farm a desert, like the new town of Appaloosa, where a clan of earth pony farmers are making a orchard from nothing but sand and their own dedication.” It was monday afternoon, but Dusk had prepared quickly for this thrilling little task.

Clicking the button on the slide projector, Dusk allowed the foals a good look at the pictures from a recent update on the town’s situation given to Princess Celestia. Giving them twenty seconds or so to admire the dull valley with its two natural springs, Dusk advanced to the next slide, revealing the view of the valley today, with a small grove of apple trees growing around each spring. “Most earth ponys don’t even fully understand this magic, it simply bleeds from them as they work the land, bringing life to the unlivable. Next,” Dusk called out, clicking the button again, revealing a slide of Ponyville’s weather team dealing with storm clouds that had strayed out from the Everfree Forest. “This is a sight you all probably remember. One of your fellow school colts took this picture of Rainbow Dash and her weather team last week, fending off a storm. Manipulating the weather is a far more active job than the earth pony’s growing power, but in exchange, the pegasus clan can also stand on clouds, and brew up a storm if needed. All very impressive, right?”

Allowing the next few slides of different examples of the pegasus to stay on screen for a minute all together, Dusk looked over the kids, most of whom were occupied by the show. The fact that Scootaloo cried out a muffled ‘Its Rainbow Dash!’ when he clicked through the slides made him laugh a little himself; how could he resist? Moving on, Dusk brought up the next slide, not shocked by the gasp given by the foals in the room. “Now before we continue with the three clans of Equestria, let’s talk about the so-called ‘lost’ clans. First is the Zebra.” The slide on the screen had been a long debate with Miss Cheerilee, in the end, Dusk had convinced her the ‘traditional cultural dress’ may be revealing, but anything else would be a lie. A proud Zebra mare stood in the long sivanna grass, wind blowing her hair and her long tan skirt, hanging between her legs past her knees and wrapping a thin band around her hips. A matching thin bra wrap covered her breasts, with her long wild hair hanging down half over her eyes and blowing in the wind.

“Unlike the other ‘lost’ clans, the zebra are still a powerful, thriving population. However, after the Windigo migration, they found a new homeland far to the west in a much warmer climate. Their magic is an interesting middle ground between the flexible and adaptable powers of the unicorn clan, and the nature magic of the earth clan. They can touch any plant and know its use in medicine instantly. Almost all of our major advancements in drugs and health care have come thanks to the rediscovery of the lost zebra tribes.”

The rich sound of the projector slipping slides again, this time the confused sounds from the students were far louder, and a lot more shocked. The new slide was of the last living pair of crystal pony’s, an elderly brother and sister pair who had gone childless, probably a side effect of so many years of inbreeding. Even as old as they were, their odd crystal sheen was as plain as day, almost acting like a tiny mirror like reflection to the light sources in the room. “This pair was the last of a line of the only extinct tribe, the crystal ponies. Their magic is complex and misunderstood, but in truth, each member of their tribe acted as a power source for their Queen, who channeled the empire’s magic through a relic known as the Crystal Heart. Sadly, just as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna discovered their powerful magic, the Queen of the Crystal Empire was betrayed and murdered by her son, and in a battle with The Princesses, the empire as a whole was wiped out from the world, when the dark lord refused to give a single inch of ground.” Shaking his head, Dusk offered a sigh, his fingers clicking over to the last slide for this presentation.

The photo of Silken Flight and Princess Luna had been snapped by that same keen colt, and Dusk was now sure he knew the kid would have his cutie mark any day now when he realized his talent for photography. “And thus, we arrive at the last of the ‘lost’ clans. The bat pegasi are considered near-extinct, but as the night time counterpart of pegasus ponies, the bat pegasi have a keen echo sense in addition to weather magic. They are slower flyers than their daytime kin, but make up for it with this extra sense. Short of a silence spell, it is impossible to sneak around a bat pony, their senses are that sharp.”

Clicking over to one extra slide he had included, Dusk raised his voice with soft respect. The image of both Princesses standing together in full regalia had only been printed in the last few weeks, but already it was making the rounds among more religious families. “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were the only Alicorns in Equestrias history, until the birth of Princess Cadence. It was argued for years that she was simply a mutation, with the combination of a pegasus’ wings, and a unicorn’s horn. At one time, there were even rumors that she had been born a pegasus, who was tormented by a mare by the name of Prismia, inundated by the sin of envy, who used her as an experiment in recreating an Alicorn’s immortality. But as she matured and found her talent, she also proved she has a earth pony’s strength. With all doubt removed, Princess Cadence proves that the Alicorn’s might someday become a tribe of their own, but for now, the three Princesses are alone in our world.”

The sound of a few of the more religious foal’s in the room whispering prayers to the princess as Dusk shut off the projector. Stepping up to stand before the class while Cheerilee turned the lights on again, Dusk looked across the class. “Now, I skipped over my own people, because our magic is the most controllable, while also being the most dependent of our cutie marks. For example, here in town we have people like Rarity, whose talent lies in a keen fashion sense, yet her magic allows her some skill with most light, telekinesis, and energy spells. Sadly, other’s are not so strong, and magic that doesn’t directly relate to their cutie mark are beyond their capacity.”

As Dusk paused for a moment to let this concept sink in, one of the fillies lifted her hand, Sweetie Belle’s voice quiet and worried. “And what about your talent, Dusk? Cause Rarity says there isn’t any magic you can’t use, even her gem-finding spell.”

Laughing a little, Dusk pulled open his shirt’s collar a little, revealing his own cutie mark on the curve of his throat. “My cutie mark represents my connection to magic, Sweetie Belle. Rather than be limited by any one focus, my magic allows me to learn and expand on any magic I’ve seen. But it’s exhausting to cast a spell without really knowing how it works. Copying dragon magic that Barb uses every day without even thinking nearly put me into a coma.”

Another filly, one Dusk didn’t recognize with gray hair raised her hand, answering him in a polite, serious tone. “And what if a mare’s talent is copying someone else’s magic? Would that be as draining as yours?”

Shocked at the insightful concept, Dusk shook his head, but smiled to the mare. “Never heard of such a talent, but I’m sure it would be disorienting. Think of it: the endless compulsion to do things that come naturally to others, yet not something you have any interest in.”

Dusk smiled down to Sweetie Belle, offering the filly his hand to hold as they walked out of the school. Grinning brightly up at him, the filly gripped his hand and stood tall, walking at his side while offering him a beaming smile. “Dusk… Rarity told me about your horn. Does it really hurt that badly? She says its giving you trouble with your magic…” The girls voice trailed off as she realized she might be pushing things a little too far, blushing and looking down. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be insensitive.”

Dusk winced as he realized just how much his trauma must be effecting Rarity, for her to talk to her little sister so frankly about the matter. Scooping down and lifting the filly up, Dusk settled her on his shoulder, supporting her in place with a hand on her back. “It’s getting better, Sweetie Belle. Don’t get too worried, I have found that small magic, like what I had you practise in class today, doesn’t bother me. I think I just need a few weeks off, things have simply been crazy as of late.”

Relaxing in his arms, and resting against his head, Sweetie Belle couldn’t help but lift a finger and stroke the scar on his horn, gasping at how deep the scar really ran. “Okay, Dusk… But if it starts hurting again a bunch more, tell me. Momma showed me how to apply oil to sooth grandpa’s horn pain.”

Laughing gently, Dusk nodded, holding out his free hand to the young filly to shake. “Alright, Sweetie, we have a deal.” The rising noise of a crowd in town square picked up Dusk’s attention. Turning to walk towards the gathering crowd, he grinned to the filly. “Let’s stop and see what is going on here before heading home. I’m sure Rarity will understand.” When she returned his grin and nod, Dusk turned into the center of town.

“Who will be next? Whose talent will the Great and Powerful Trixie outdo? For 25 bits, you to can challenge Trixie’s powerful magic, her fabulous ability has never been suppressed by any rival!” Dusk froze on the far edge of the town square, his grip on Sweetie Belle’s knees tightened in shock. Standing proud upon the stage was a mare he hadn’t seen since she had challenged her master’s exam just after the last Winter Wrap Up.

Frozen in shock, Dusk could only quietly mumble to himself, watching as some random mare took to the stage set up in town square, handing over a small sack of bits to the unicorn. “Beatrix…?”

Sweetie Belle fell silent herself as she realized something was bothering Dusk, looking back and forth between the stallion whose shoulders she sat on, and the mare upon the stage. “Dusk… is something wro-” The sudden whoosh of wind pulled the filly’s attention back to the stage, to witness the show that had so many of the townsponies fascinated. Downdraft had performed her rapid backflip and landing, with the accompanying blast of wind with the power of her impact. Already, everypony was laughing and cheering, all attention turned to the showmare on the stage, everyone wondering how she could replicate a pegasus’ talent.

Scoffing, the mare threw her long hair over her shoulder, and stood up to her full height. Holding her arms out at shoulder level, the glow of pale magenta magic poured out and formed into wispy wings, intangible yet finely detailed, with feathers shifting slightly in the breeze. In three swift flicks of her ‘wings’, she shot into the air, spiraling in place and then backflipping, before shooting down to the stage once more. The burst of wind from her impact nearly blew Downdraft from the stage, and a dozen mares in the crowd lost their hats. Even as the magically created wings dissipated, the clapping started up again, the roar of the crowd, impressed by such a show of skill, was deafening.

Sweetie Belle was shocked, her fingers shifting to grip on Dusk’s hair for to help balance her while she leaned forward, shaking her head. “That magic, Dusk! It was strong! Like when Nightmare Moon was attacking the guards, right? How’d she do that??!”

Dusk’s eyes were no longer on the stage, they had picked up the movement of two mares he knew from school. Two mares who shouldn’t be here, together. Who shouldn’t have even known one another. The fact that Minuette was carrying a longbow strapped over her shoulders as she crossed behind the distracted crowd was even more worrying. “Sweetie Belle, hold on tight. We need to go. Now.”

Her eyes wide, the filly looked around, trying to spot what had the stallion so worried, her eyes shot wide while she shivered, sensing his fear. “But… why Dusk? What’s going on?”

Shaking his head and turning, Dusk moved as fast as he could while still holding the filly balanced upon his shoulders. He had no time to put her down, and couldn’t dare risk leaving Rarity’s little sister behind, not when two mares suddenly appeared from thin air, moving through the crowd wielding weapons. Not when Beatrix had just cast a spell in seconds that he knew he couldn’t have copied without ten minutes of serious preparation.

Halfway across the open town square, Lyra suddenly froze, tackled Minuette and thrust her into the tight alleyway between two business buildings. A hand over the other mare’s mouth, she shook her head, whispering into her ear. “That shockwave. It blew off our shadow spell. Who knows who might have seen us. Set up here.” She paused, looking back over her shoulder at the mare on the stage, shaking her head. “Do you have your ring?”

Minuette stopped her attempt to argue over the situation and pulled the horn ring from her cloak’s pocket, letting the older mare see it for a moment. Pocketing it again, she took Lyra’s words seriously, pulling her longbow from her shoulder and quickly re-stringing the bow. Using Lyra’s body and the narrow alleyway for cover, she pulled off her cloak, using two daggers to pin it to the wall of the store at her side. The dozen wooden arrows hidden in the cloak had no bolts attached, and with deft hands, Minuette drew one arrow, gripping it in her teeth. Flexing her arms and cracking her neck, she stood on her tiptoes, looking over Lyra’s shoulder to get a sense of their distance from the stage and the crowd that was in the way. Still speaking quietly despite the roar of the crowd, she kept her mind blank. “About forty, forty-three meters? Crowd of say, a hundred and ninety or so?”

Lyra leaned forward, extending her arms to lift her cloak to form a better shield for Minuette’s actions, while also letting her peer around the town center, answering back only a little louder. “Make it forty-seven if you’re staying back that far. And probably closer to two-hundred-and-four total.” Pulling her hands back into her cloak, she drew three more horn rings free, sliding one down her own green horn. As the metal came into contact with her horn, the mare had to rest her weight for a moment against the wall of the building, panting for breath. Looking back up at her assistant, she leveled a glare. “We have no clue how far her power extends. If I fail and you have to engage her, put on the horn ring. It’s disorienting, but it should keep her from using your powers, or reading you.” Forcing herself to stand up again, Lyra stepped to the mouth of the alleyway again, palming the two spare horn rings and focusing her glare across the crowded square, she took one step forward, while dropping her cloak on the dirt behind her. “When I get to the edge of the stage, take your shot. I doubt you’ll get a second.”

Trixie turned, smiling as the new mare stepped up onto the stage. Waving as some of her friends cheered, Rarity blew them a playful kiss before stepping up to Trixie’s side. “Darling! You’ve done fantastically already. I really do think you should come meet my stallion, he will simply love to get to know how you manage such magic! His name is-”

Laughing, Trixie shook her head, “Trixie could care less about some bumbling backwater stallio-” Suddenly cutting herself off, Trixie’s eyes went wide and she stepped up to Rarity, gripping the older mare by the shoulders while her voice went frantic. “He is here? At the school? We need to see him! N-” The sound of a bowstring twanging with the violent release of a single arrow split the air in the square. At nearly the same time, a tall unicorn mare leapt to the stage in a single bound, charging across the planks from the other side. Trixie’s grip on Rarity’s body never faltered, instead, in the moments between the arrow being loosed from its bow, and its impact with a suddenly erected magenta version of Shining Armor’s shield spell, she had pulled the older mare closer to her body, almost hugging her close.

Attempting silence wasn’t needed, as Lyra was far from a subtle sight, dressed in mithril-studded leather armor, she rushed across the stage, attempting to close the gap as fast as she might manage. Even then, she was too slow. Trixie turned, and, dropping the shield spell, she lifted a foot, slamming it violently down upon the stage between them. The rumble of wood was followed with a violent splintering sound, collapsing the wood under the charging spy’s feet and sending her sprawling flat on her face. Scrambling to stand up, the sound of a second twang split the now-silent air, followed almost instantly by a third and fourth. This time, Trixie needed no preparation, the orb of a shield spell was replaced by a flat shield that shifted flawlessly into place, blocking every shot from the distant alleyway.

Lyra was scrambling to her feet, the horn rings popped around her fingers to give her hands nearly full range of motion. Twin daggers drawn from her hip-sheaths, she leapt back onto the stage, her voice crying out an order. “In the name of Princess Celestia, let the mare go and stand down, Infinite Witch. We have orders to take you peacefully if possible, but if you continue to resist-”

Laughing now, while blood ran freely from her nose, Trixie drew the magenta shield spell from it’s duty of blocking bolts, throwing it through the air with a lazy sweep of her hand. Moving swiftly, the flattened circle of magic slammed into Lyra’s chest, collapsing around her wrists and ankles. Finding herself unable to move, Lyra’s eyes went wide, her head shaking in fear. “How!??”

“Hmph, did you REALLY think such a pitiful means of attack could reach Trixie? Don’t make her laugh!” The sudden noise of the crowd being forced apart behind her wasn’t enough to make Trixie look back over her shoulder, instead a second flattened version of the shield spell suddenly formed right in front of Minuette’s path to the stage, collapsing over her wrists and ankles as well, dropping her flat on her face. “Trixie didn’t want this.” The mare began, her mood dropping as she continued. “She had a plan. It was a good one too! Why couldn’t you just be quiet and let her talk to the stallion!?” Near weeping, Trixie finally let go of Rarity, a violent cough into her balled fist was matched with a momentary glow of the spells restraining both spies. Turning to glare at Rarity, rather than them, she crossed arms over her chest, squeezing her own ribs while refusing to unball her fists. “Where is the stallion? We must find him.”

Dusk kicked open the library door. He knew he should have gone back, but he couldn’t, not with Sweetie Belle cradled in his arms. He had been forced to stop long enough to do that much, the filly was too heavy to run full out while carrying her on his shoulders. “BARB! LETTER! NOW!” settling the filly down and locking his door behind him, Dusk frantically looked around for a moment, before casting his magic out, and ripping a bookshelf from the hallway wall, throwing it against the door. Before his reactive use of magic dawned on him, the pain shot through his horn, dropping him to his knees. Blind and swimming in the pain, Dusk panted for breath, struggling to prop his body up on his open palms while the world around him slipped in and out of focus, often lingering in that darkness for several seconds at a time.

It was the weight of a damp cloth wrapped around his horn that finally dulled the pain enough to focus again. Looking up, he realized that the filly had cradled his head in her lap and was holding Barb’s soaked dish cloth to his horn. She was even saying something… no not saying, singing, but in his delirious state, Dusk could hardly make out the words.

The sound of footsteps roaring down the steps revealed Barb, and the bottle of black pain medication. She didn’t bother finding the cotton swabs, instead thrusting his horn into the bottle directly. Only as the black goo soaked into his horn, did his hearing return, and the roaring pain dulled into background noise. “-as all that noise from town center, Sweetie Belle??”

Before the filly could answer, Dusk slipped his hands around her hips, pushing her to stand up. “Go to the basement, lock the door, and stay there until Rarity comes. Quickly, I can’t risk you getting hurt.”

Shocked, and looking back over her shoulder, Sweetie did as instructed, hesitatingly looking back over her shoulder several times. As the latch fell into place, Dusk gripped Barb’s apron, pulling the dragoness down to his eye level. “Letter to the princess. Why are Luna’s agents attacking Beatrix? Why is Beatrix in Ponyville? Why is Lyra in town? Why!?” The sound of a second explosive wave of magic might have been silent to any other pony, but as the distant fight continued, Dusk could feel every sudden flare-up of magic. As if every unicorn in Ponyville were casting the same spell at the same time, and channeling it all together. The excessive flow drew even at his magic, leaving him light-headed as he curled his knees up against his chest, attempting to dry the pain-wracked, heavy tears from his cheeks.

Dusk felt the magic calm, and yet felt no reassurance from that. Drawing his body up, while supporting the drooling bottle of black ooze with one hand, he forced himself to step up, and walk up the staircase, leaning his body’s full weight upon the railing. With sticky black goo running down his forehead and across his cheeks, Dusk staggered to his balcony. Looking across Ponyville, he could sense it, a powerful presence was moving across town, heading directly towards him. No choices left, Dusk summoned up his magic, licking black goo from his lips, while panting for breath. He had never seen Armor try a shield spell this large, but he had to try. He had to protect Barb and Sweetie Belle.

Rainbow Dash froze in mid-sentence, turning from her father to stare back towards Ponyville. “Wha-?”

Blitz shook his head, placing his coffee cup on the table between them. “What? Is something wrong?”

Bolting to her feet and rushing to the window, Dash threw it open, staring out in the direction of her new home. “Didn’t you feel that? It was magic. Like… Like when Dusk and Shining Armor were using their shield spells. I… I think I’m needed back in Ponyville, dad…”

The worrying manner of his daughter’s behavior instantly set Blitz’s nerves on edge. Stepping to her side and shutting the window, he gripped her shoulders, leveling his gaze on her. “If your dinner is going to be interrupted, I’m coming with you.” When she started to offer him protests, the stallion shook his head. “You might be an important woman now, but you’re still my little girl. I won’t let you go into danger, alone and blind.”

Blushing at his words, Dash gave him a nod, moving to collect her things before rushing to the door, already flexing out her wings while her nerves burned at this brief delay. When Blitz returned, she realized why he had taken so long. Carrying two light lances, he offered her the thinner, longer mithril weapon. “Your mother’s. Yours now. The Wonderbolts are not always a display team. You know how to use it? Properly?”

Awed, Dash slowly nodded to him, accepting the featherweight lance and adjusting to its balance. “It’s been a few months… but I think I can adjust. But Dad, mithril lances? Is THIS where you spent all your retirement money?”

The stallion gave her a shrug, his voice soft. “After your mo-” He paused swallowing back his own pain. “After the doctors couldn’t do anything more for her, the ‘bolts gave me our lances as a retirement gift. Now let’s go, your town’s in trouble, right?”

Due to it’s wandering nature, Cloudsdale often drifted close to Canterlot, yet even from here, high in the sky over the capital, the sudden flare-up of magic in Ponyville was visible to the naked eye. Flares mixed brilliant magenta and pale raspberry tainted the night’s sky in the east, in contrast to the setting sun in the west. A shiver of fear rippled down Dash’s spine as she felt that familiar magic a few seconds later. “Yes, something is very wrong.”

Author's Notes:

Going for shorter parts this time to get the story out faster! Thanks to Flamers, Frankie, ShadowThunder, and my new idea man, Barry C.

As always, feedback is appreciated!