A/N And so here we are again. I need to come up with something to say here on a regular basis. So, once again for your reading enjoyment, may I present, The Rising of the Dawn. - Aeterna
"So... dad. What are you doing here?" Pinkie Pie asked in a subdued voice. "It's been a while."
"Pinkemina... I've been looking for you. I went to that place you work at in Ponyville, but my cousin told me that you had left, coming here for this festival."
"And? You didn't come here just to see me, dad. You haven't seen me in years. What is it?" The pink pony's voice had a definite edge to it.
"It's... your mother. She's sick. She wants to see you before... before..." The old pony's voice trailed off.
Pinkie Pie's face softened at the revelation her father sprung on her. She looked him in the eye and said, "Ok, then. I just need to take care of some things."
"So what do you think Twilight and Dusk are doing?" Rainbow Dash asked Rarity.
"I don't know; I hardly know the stallion," Rarity answered irritably. Rainbow had asked variations of the same question for nearly ten minutes.
"Maybe they're going to the petting zoo. Oh! If they are, then maybe we shouldn't go there," Fluttershy spoke up, her voice clearly anxious.
"Don't be a silly filly, Fluttershy. Dusk is pretty cool. I've worked with him a few times," Rainbow Dash said.
"If you're worked with him before, why don't you know what he'd be doing? Actually, how much do you know about him?" Rarity asked, a small frown adorning her face.
"Well, we're both advisors to Princess Luna, but you already knew that," Rainbow Dash said proudly. "Let's see, Dusk is Luna's magic advisor, so that makes him pretty much like how Twilight is to Celestia."
"He's that important!" Rarity gasped. "I thought he was just some minor advisor or an aide! I didn't realize that he was that high up!" The white unicorn seemed to be on the verge of fainting.
"Uh... Rarity?" Fluttershy whispered.
"Maybe he could put in a good word for me with the princess. I'm sure if both of you did, she could help me with my career..."
"Don't you already have a clothing line in Fillydelphia or something?" Rainbow Dash inquired while raising an eyebrow.
Rarity just continued on, oblivious to her two friends. "I'm sure that Princess Luna would give me access to some of those fabulous moonbeams if two of her advisors vouched for me!"
"Rarity?" Both of the pegasi were staring intently at the fashionista who seemed to have worked herself into a daydream.
"Maybe she would even wear some of my dresses! Could you imagine? A princess wearing my dresses! The things it could do to my career!"
"Rarity!" Fluttershy's voice was loud enough to break her out of her daydream stupor.
"Oh, thank you Fluttershy. I guess I got a little carried away there, didn't I?" Rarity apologized, looking quite flushed.
"Uh, Rarity? I think Luna already has a clothing designer," Rainbow Dash said.
Rarity looked very downtrodden at that revelation.
"Ok. So all we have to do is get a ring on that moving bottle?" Twilight asked that booth-keeper, gesturing towards a bottle floating in a pool of water.
"That's right," the earth pony responded.
"And the ring can't touch any of those hanging wires?" Dusk asked, raising his hoof to point at said wires.
"That's correct!" the vendor said happily.
"And we're allowed to use magic, but only to move the ring?" Twilight said suspiciously, eyeing the thin metal hoops.
"Yes sirree! Entry is two bits, winner gets one of these exquisitely made stuffed animals!" Lined around the stall were stuffed toys of varying shapes; dragons, birds, and bears were among them.
Dusk narrowed his eyes at the floating bottle. It was bobbing and spinning in the shallow pool. He glanced at the ceiling of the booth, where dozens of wires hung, most of which were nearly touching the water.
"I'll have a go," Twilight said, laying down two bits. The vendor quickly moved them away and placed down three hoops.
"One ring gets a prize, get all three for a bonus!" he said excitedly.
Twilight cast a passing glance at the rings, then levitated one, examining it closely. Then, she quickly began moving it through the swaying wires, stopping just short of the bottle. The ring was vertical and almost there, but a wire had swung between the two. She waited patiently until the wire had moved away, then nimbly dropped the hoop on the bottle.
She glanced at the last two rings, then lifted both with her magic. At once, they flew into the cluster of wires, one following the other. However, in the course of doing so, the first touched a wire, causing a chain reaction. The wires began to move haphazardly, making Twilight lose her concentration, allowing her final ring to touch a wire.
"Too bad, my dear mare! Do, however, pick up a prize!" The vendor cheerfully said. Twilight frowned slightly, but did pick up a stuffed dragon.
"I'll have a go," Dusk said.
"Very well, that'll be two bits," the game owner said. In response, Dusk laid down the bits. The vendor took them away and put down three rings. "You know the rules, and good luck!"
Dusk simply smiled and grabbed all three rings. He carefully stacked them onto each other. Once satisfied, he moved them as one into the tangled mess of wires. The rings moved as one, narrowly darting past wires, nearly touching the water of the pool. Finally, with deft movements, they slid onto the bottle.
The vendor's mouth at this point was wide open; he was clearly flabbergasted. As far as he could recall, no one had ever gotten all three rings before, definitely not all at once!
"Ahem?"
The vendor looked at Dusk and Twilight.
"I believe you said there was a special prize?"
The vendor wordlessly took out a small voucher from beneath the counter and slid it to the two unicorns.
"Why, thank you, good sir," Dusk said, before he and Twilight walked away. As soon as the two were out of earshot of the dumb-struck salesman, they began laughing.
As night began to fall, Twilight and Dusk met up with Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash outside the tower containing Twilight's rooms. Rarity had returned with several bags of what was presumably cloth and other clothing supplies, while Fluttershy had none other than Philomena the Phoenix perched on her back.
Twilight and Dusk both looked bewildered at the appearance of Princess Celestia's pet, to which Fluttershy said that it had appeared with a note from the princess asking her to watch over the regal bird for a few days.
Rainbow Dash said that she had that night's weather patrol to do and that she would try to get back early. With that, she flew off in the direction of Cloudsdale.
Rarity and Fluttershy headed up to the rooms, leaving Twilight and Dusk alone outside the tower.
"So..." Dusk began.
"I had fun today," Twilight said quickly. Gesturing to the stuffed dragon toy, she continued. "I also liked it when you made that guys face go 'bleh!'"
Dusk chuckled at the thought. "Yeah, that was funny, wasn't it?'
"Yeah... speaking of which, what was that voucher for?" At this, Dusk stiffened before removing the ticket from the saddlebag he wore. He floated it to Twilight.
"A one-week trip around Equestria! Visiting all sorts of places like Neighjing, Prance, and Spurta! Why'd you hide this?" Dusk gestured for her to keep reading.
"For two... oh. OH!" The two unicorns made eye contact before both blushed furiously. "Oh, uh..."
"It's fine, it's just a stupid trip..." Dusk trailed off.
"And you wanted to know..."
"... Yeah."
"Um, I'll think about it. I mean, I'm busy, you're busy," Twilight began talking.
"Exactly. Neither of us could probably go. Too much work to do."
"Yeah... but Dusk?"
"Yes?"
"If we had the time," Twilight said. "I would like to go."
Dusk stared silently at Twilight before smiling.
"Well then, good night, Dusk." Twilight turned to enter the tower.
"Twilight?" She stopped and turned, only to stop again as she felt a kiss on her cheek.
"I had fun today, too. Good night, Twilight."
Twilight Sparkle stood there for a good minute before coming to her senses. She walked up the stairs to her apartment, a smile across her face.
A/N And so we have another chapter. Now then, a quick question. Who thinks that all of this is a big set up? And by set up, I mean something big and scary and nast happening. Well, if you're thinking that, you're paranoid. Seriously, you are. But just remember, paranoia can save your life.
I am currently working on another story as well; it's called 'The Followers of the Banished.' I would adivse you all to be on the lookout for that one. Its a collaboration between me and five other writers.
Any questions or concerns over this story? You can address them to me be REVIEWING! PLEASE DO SO! - Aeterna