Chapter 2:

Protective Twilight

Several years have passed since Flash and Twilight's foal was born. One day, the young Alicorn Colt ran out of the castle and looked out into the landscape with an excited smile on his face.

"Wow!" He said in amazement, looking out into the land of Equestria.

Soon, the colt began to scamper down the Castle Of Harmony only to be stopped by his mother, Twilight Sparkle.

"Whoa there!" Twilight said, grabbing her son gently with her magic and placing him down.

The colt giggled and tries to get away from his mother as Twilight grabbed her son with her hoof.

"Where do you think you're going in such a hurry?" She asked as the colt tries to get past his mother.

"Mom! Let go," The Colt giggled, trying to get free from his mothers' grasp as Twilight placed her son down at her hoof.

"Now I just want you to be careful." Twilight said as she noticed her son was fooling around with a butterfly instead of listening.

So Twilight stepped on her son's tail gently and said, "Dusk are you listening? Accidents can happen. You could easily get….."

"Hurt or stepped on or even get lost," Dusk finished for his mother.

"And remember, I want you to stay in sight of the Castle at all times…" Twilight reminded him of another one of her rules.

"At all times. I know, Mom. And if I see any strangers, don't talk to them. Come straight home," Dusk finished for his mother again, it's a habit he has for he has heard the speeches Twilight made so many times that he couldn't help but copy her.

"Okay, okay, so can I go now? Pleeeeeaaaaaasssssee?" Dusk asked, giving his mother the classic baby eyes and smile.

"Very funny, Dusk." Twilight giggled, her son's impatience reminded her of herself when she was young.

"Mind your mother, son." Flash chuckled, walking over to join them and looking at his son.

"Yes, Dad," Dusk replied, smiling shyly.

"And make sure to stay away from the Outlands." Twilight continued.

"Your mother's right, Dusk. There's nothing there but a bunch of backstabbing, murderous, outsiders," Cadance said, walking up to Dusk and sitting next to him.

"Cadance is right, you can't turn your back on them," Twilight agreed with a hint of hate in her voice.

"Really? How come?" Dusk asked, now interested in their conversation about the Outsiders.

"Nevermind. Just along now, son." Twilight said, dismissing the topic.

"But, Mom, I…" Dusk tried to say but Twilight cuts him off.

"You'll understand, someday. Go on," Twilight said with a motherly smile.

"Mom…" Dusk said, playfully rolling his eyes and rubbing against his mother's foreleg in an affectionate way before bounding off down the Castle Of Harmony.

"And stay on the path I marked for you!" Twilight called out to him.

Flash chuckled, "Twilight, do you know who he reminds me of, hmmm?"

"Huh? What? Who, Flash?" Twilight asked, turning to her husband wanting to know who their son reminds him of.

"He's just like you when you were young," Flash replied, nuzzling his queen/wife.

"Exactly, Flash. Do you realize the danger we've gotten ourselves in?" Twilight said, reminding Flash how they got themselves in trouble in the Dragon Graveyard during their childhood.

Flash then pinned her on the ground and corrected, "You mean the dangers you put us in,".

The two adult Alicorns shared a romantic nuzzle as Twilight looked at her husband with a blushed smile and Flash returned it with a smile of his own.

"He'll be fine," Flash assured her as he got off her and headed back inside the Castle.

Twilight got up and thought about what Flash said. But then an idea came to her as she turned to her friends and said, "Hey, girls. Come over here,".

"Good Morning, Our Same Old Twilight," Rarity greeted as she and the others approached Twilight.

"I want you girls to keep a close eye on Dusk. You know he's bound to run off," Twilight instructed.

"Don't worry, Twilight. We're on him like Balloons stuck to Pinkie's tail," Rainbow Dash assured.

"Hey!" Pinkie said, feeling rather offended.

"It's just an expression, Pinkie, live with it," Applejack quickly corrected her.

"Girls, I'm counting on you. Danger could be lurking behind every rock," Twilight said to her friends as she heads off.

The Mane 5 looked around for any signs of danger before heading off to keep a watchful eye on Dusk. Though since Twilight knew how they could be, you'd think she would have asked Celestia or Luna to watch Dusk.