Deactivated

No Time for names! Get up and get ready for the day! It's a big old world out there, no time for lying in bed. Move it!!!

Dusk walked alongside the others, glancing at them every now and then. He never trusted anypony, least of all guards and those of the Blood. He glanced at his traveling companions again, thinking on each of them. The guard, the Nightingale, he could see an attack coming from him. Of course, he would only do that if he was ordered to. Silvan, an Imperial family member, he could attack, he probably had some kind of weapon on him, despite the lack of a weapon to see. He turned his glances to the next pony in line. Soul Slasher, he could, maybe even would, attack, in fact, attack would most likely come from that one. Dusk kept in mind that, when they made camp, he should bed down as far from him as possible. The last one he glanced at, the gravedigger, Gallows, the least likely one to attack him, yet he didn’t put it past the pony. Dusk looked back to the mountain coming up in front of them. He never put anything past anypony. The higher they went, the colder it got. Despite that, Dusk was sweating from the trek. He glanced at the other ponies, envious of their stamina. He hated it, he hated the cold, he hated walking, he hated envying others, and he hated it when others had an advantage over him. He sighed with relive when they stopped in a clearing near sunset, falling to the ground in his exhaustion. He accepted the bracelet that Silvan offered him without question, but he waited to put it on till after one of the others did first. The bracelet spread warmth through him, starting from the leg that it was on and spreading from there. After a few minutes letting his body rest and warm up, he stood back up. He removed his saddlebags and set them down on the spot he intended to sleep on. It was a short distance away from the others, yet still in the clearing. He pulled out a blanket and a bedroll, setting them down in the same spot. Once his sleeping arrangements were complete, he picked up his pickhammer and walked over to join the others around the fire. He sat down with his hooves folded underneath himself. He set the pickhammer down in front of himself, studying it in the dying sunlight and flickering fire. "...it is so nice to look at the stars...back in Ashen Gate, all the city's lights made the sky completely black. This was something I had missed, all those years ago..." Dusk lifted his head to glance at the Nightingale, then kept looking at the pickhammer. He had never cared for looking at the stars. Whenever he looked at them, all he saw was a bunch of lights in the sky, nothing fantastic about them. He preferred finding beauty in more earth bound things, like gold, or gems, or the weapon in front of him. "So...what are your dreams? Any hopes for the future you'd like to share? Please don't say that you haven't got a dream...because I don't like liars." Dusk didn’t lift his head this time, he simply listened as the others spoke their dreams first. He sniffed at Gallows dream and made no sound over Soul’s. He waited to see if the others had anything more to say. In the pause, Soul got up and stormed out of the camp. Dusk looked after him, then turned back to the pickhammer. “I dream of finding power” he told it,” that way nopony will be able to say I’m weak, ever again. Hmph, I’d like to find knowledge, too, that would be nice, and maybe some place where I can live in peace, nopony to bother me, especially the Blood.” As he spoke, he reached out and started stroking the weapon, seemingly oblivious to the other ponies around the fire.

“Don’t call me master. I am no one’s master but my own, and I wouldn’t even use the term then. Dusk is my name, and that is what you, or anypony else will call me” he had a slight edge on his voice. He had never liked the word 'master'. “Now, yes, one-hundred gold marks sound fantastic. Quite generous, actually, especially considering where you came from” he said blandly. He eyed the guard when he grunted, then turned his attention back to Silvan. “We just keep heading along this path, for now. I trust you will decide when we stop to make camp, and when we get up?” he asked Silvan.

Once again, Dusk found himself smiling at nothing, his hoof held out to, nothing. He brought his hoof down and started after the others, his smile replaced with a frown. He tilted his head slightly towards the head of the pickhammer. “Hmph, you see that? I’m the one who’s supposed to get them up this mountain, and they don’t even look at me. How can I even be sure this lot will even pay me when we’re done? They’ll probably get to the top of the mountain, and then gramps there, or maybe that Soul Slush guy, will crack me on the head, and leave me to freeze to death. No doubt that’s the little imperial’s plan. They’ll expect me to do all kinds of work, and when it comes time for them to pay, they’ll order my head cut off. Well, we’ll show them” he swore, and only then did he realize he had caught up to, and was currently walking right next to, Silvan and his Nightingale. Dusk turned his head and grinned at the pair, acting like nothing had happened. “Well, I guess this is the start of our journey up the mountain. I hope you brought lots of warm clothes and blankets, it’ll get pretty cold as we go further up” he said conversationally. “Now, before we get too far up the mountain, I’d like to discuss a little thing that’s been itching the back of my skull. Payment. How much of your gold are you willing to part with, oh great, imperial majesty?” he started with a business like voice, and ended in a mocking tone.

Dusk jabbed a hoof at Silvan. “Hah! I knew it! I knew you were one of the Blood.” Dusk’s face now bore a wide grin of triumph. He let his hoof fall back to the ground and his smile grew only slightly smaller. “Now, you wish me to keep my tongue in check? My words, they offend you? Well, get used to it, I change for no one” as he spoke, his smile faded, and his voice turned flat. “Now, most of the things I heard about you are rumors, and since I’ll be traveling with you, mayhaps you can prove otherwise” he sounded doubtful, “And understand, I’ll go as far as you pay me to, not one step further, not one step less.” Once he finished with the prince, he turned to the other ponies who had shown up. “So, our dirty, smelly friend has arrived, and the other one who I didn’t even know about” he smiled at both of them, holding out his hoof to them. “I’m Dusk Umbrosa Verenae” he said to them.

“Be more careful, you say? The Tower of Midnight, you say? I could care less, but if I’m making you uncomfortable, gramps, fine” he shrugged, then took another swig from his mug. “So, you need a guide to the top of the mountain, eh? Alright, I’ll see what I can do to help” he finished off with another swig of mead. He set his drink back down and smiled at the others around his table. In short order, he was smiling at nopony, the others having left the inn for some reason or another. He let the smile slide off his face. Talking about the Blood had put him in a bad mood. Slugging the last of his mead, he placed his hat back on his head, left the mug, and walked out of the inn himself. He looked up and down the street. “I’ve got nothing better to do” he whispered to himself, and started off in a random direction. He passed run down shops, old houses that might have had paint on them once, and many ponies with downcast eyes. Dusk ignored them to the best of his abilities, which was rather hard since they were everywhere. Finally tired of the outside of the town, he ducked into a shop. Without any sign of ever being painted, the shop inside was about as gray as the outside. The shop owner looked bored, leaning against the counter next to the cash register. The shop was apparently selling tools, shovels, hoes, rakes, axes, and more, most of it old and rusty. The shop owner glanced at Dusk, then continued his bored observation of the wall across from him. Dusk started glancing at the barrels containing the tools, glancing at this and that, not really intending to buy anything. After nearly walking around the entire room, he stopped at one of the barrels. There was a shovel, a rake, and something that looked like a pickaxe with a hammer opposite of the pick. The hammer was a dark bronze color, and the pick was colored grey, merging together and seeming to be one solid piece. The pick/hammer head was attached to a dark wood handle. He pulled it out, admiring the item. The base of the hammer was wrapped in nearly black leather, with a metal socket the same bronze color as the hammer head, supposedly to hold an ornament of some kind, although it was empty now. “Well, well, what are you doing here, my beauty?” Dusk said to the pickhammer. He tucked it under the strap of his saddle bag and looked back in the barrel. Digging deep down into it, he found a chain, which, once he pulled it out, turned out to be a pair of chains connected to shackles. He hefted these in one hoof, and started thinking. With a smile, he took the chains with shackles, and the pickhammer, and went over to the shop owner. He placed the items on the counter, startling the owner out of a sleep he had entered, and said “How much?” The shop owner stared at Dusk for a second, then shook himself and looked at the items. “Oh, um, a silver mark for all of it, I suppose.” Dusk bit his lip, but dug out the coin anyway. He handed it to the owner, who pulled the lever on the register and deposited the coin into the device. Dusk gathered up the chains and shackles, stuffed them into his saddlebag, and placed the pickhammer through the belt on the other saddlebag. He stepped back out into the street, smiling his normal smile. After a few hours of wondering the town, looking at this and that, trying to earn a coin when possible, and pretty much doing nothing until noon, he walked out of the town on the road leading to the mountains. His coin pouch was disappointingly lighter. He had stopped at a blacksmith and had paid to have the chains on the shackles lengthened by a yard or so. With most of his money gone, he was looking forward to getting this job over with, hoping to refill his money pouch as soon as possible. Spotting the merchant and the younger pony, He smiled and trotted over to them. “Hello gramps, and the young one, ready to start this trek up the mountain?” he said in a cheerful voice. His head flopped to the side for a second, and he seemed to be listening to something. When he righted his head, he was chuckling. “Heh, oh, by the way, where is you dirty, smelly friend?” he asked the pair.

Dusk smiled as he waited for the pony that he thought was a guard to finish. He shifted a bit at the mention of his family, but quickly returned to his smile. Once he finished speaking, Dusk took a sip of mead, then spoke himself. “Please, I’m master to no one, and you can call me Dusk. Umbrosa Verenae is more of a… title, if you will. As for understanding of the Ancient Dialect, I did have a rather good schooling as I grew up” he finished by taking another sip of mead. Before he could continue on though, the guard/merchant pony started speaking again. Dusk took another sip of mead as he listened, still smiling at the pony. “A guide, you say? Well, I might be able to help you.” He said. As Dusk went to take another sip, a bit longer than the others, another pony came over and joined them. It was the one he thought was of the blood. He turned his eyes on the new pony and smiled. “Actually, I came over thinking you were of the Blood. I thought I might offer my services to the young lord. But, as your grandfather has told me, you are not of the Blood, which is fine by me. They can all burn in The Pit of Nightmares for all I care. Lousy bunch of snobs, Imperial family is the worst of them all” as he spoke his words became more heated, and his smile turning into a glare. Taking a swig from his mead, he went on. “Peh, Imperial family. You know, I heard that one prince, Silvorn, or something like that, killed his father and brother. No doubt he wants the throne. They say he’s exiled, but I bet his sister simply found out that he did it, and that she was next, so he ran. Not that I’d morn her death, or the other two, but it just goes to show how bad they can get. That Silvin guy sounds like he was going to be a real greedy one, probably would have taxed all of the money he could out of us.” By the end, Dusk was glaring as hard as possible. After a moment, he realized this, and quickly changed it back to a smile, blushing slightly with embarrassment . “Er, um, of course, that has nothing to do with what we’re doing here. Hey, I forgot to ask, what are your names, anyway?” he said, gesturing to everypony at the table. “Silvan, that was the little fools name” he whispered to himself.

Dusk gave a halfhearted wave as the mare left, not even taking his eyes off the booth and its occupants. As he watched, they were joined by a third pony, one with a lot of dirt in his mane, a commoner, most likely. If he hadn’t been watching so closely, he probably would have missed the note that was flipped onto the table as the mare who had served him passed them. “So, working with them are we, my pretty lass?” he whispered to himself. He kept watching them, taking small sips from his mug every now and then, not really tasting the mead. Fairly soon after the note had slipped onto the table, one of the three, the one Dusk thought was of the Blood, stood and left for the kitchens, soon followed by the pretty waitress. That left the guard and the commoner. Time to make his move. Getting in good with these two would make it easier with the Blood pony. While Dusk really didn’t like the Blood, low or high, he still knew where the most money could be found. Standing, placing his saddlebags back on, he started moving towards the booth. Walking up awkwardly on three legs, the mug still held in his foreleg, he smiled at the two sitting ponies. Placing his mug down on the table, and just remembering to right his head, he looked at first one, then the other. “Hello gents,” he said, settling his gaze on the guard, “The names Dusk. Dusk Umbrosa Verenae.” As he spoke he slipped his hat off and placed it next to his mug, ruffling his short, black hair with his free hoof. “I couldn’t help but notice that you travel in the company of one of the blood,” it took effort not to make the word sound like a curse ,”and was wondering if there might be any services I could perform for you or your… fine young companion?” Finishing his introduction, and sweating on the inside with the effort of self control, he smiled at the guard, waiting for a response.

Dusk smiled at the mare as she stopped at his table, tilting his head to the other side. “Why yes, I did order the mead, thank you” he said politely. “Now, does it cost extra for having it delivered by a pretty mare?” he asked her, his smile widening slightly. He certainly hoped it didn’t, he was short on cash already. He couldn’t afford to give a mare any of his coin just because she was pretty. He needed to find a way to make some money soon, or he wouldn’t have any left. Before she could answer though, Dusk was distracted by another pony coming down the stairs at the back of the inn, two ponies, in fact. While they had nothing to immediately separate them from the other ponies of the town, something about them set them apart. He pictured the first pony in his mind, painting his hooves green and blue. Yes, that one was probably of the blood. In fact, put some beads in his mane, and he could pull off being in the Imperial family, though why soft royalty would be so far from luxury was beyond him. The second one looked like a guard, his muscles, the way he moved, he could be little else. Dusk’s eyes followed the pair, while his head still faced the mare with his drink, the smile still on his face. “Thanks” he said absently, reaching out and taking his mug from the tray and pushing the silver mark towards her. With drink in hoof, he turned his full attention to the pair. He watched them as they sat at a booth, taking occasional sips of mead.

Dusk walked along the road, a wide brimmed, grey hat on his head, shading his eyes from the morning light. He also wore a thick, grey traveling cloak, oiled to keep rain off. He had his head tilted to the side and his ears twitched every now and then, as if he were listening to, or for, something. He also had a pair of saddlebags on his back, underneath his cloak. One of the bags had food in it, along with a water canteen attached to the outside of it. The other bag had his personal items in it, a bag of coins, a few small books, and some other things. No other pony was visible on the road, in front of, or behind him. Dusk didn’t much care; he had never really been that social. Dusk’s destination, apparently, was a town at the base of a mountain, the Howling Mountain, if he recalled. As he neared the town, he righted his head. For some reason, other ponies found it disturbing with him walking around with his head tilted. While he didn’t really care what others thought, he still needed to make a little money, and disturbing possible employers wasn’t a good way to get said money. As he walked through the town, he studied the buildings and early risers. He came to a conclusion after a single street. The town had seen better days, its residents too. Not his problem though. After some random wandering through the town, he stopped next to an inn and went inside. He sat down at the first table he saw and pulled off his saddle bags with a sigh of relive. He reached into one of his saddle bags and pulled out his money pouch. He dug out a silver mark, the second to last one he had, and placed it on the table as the innkeeper walked over. “I’ll take a pint of mead” he said before the innkeeper could speak. The innkeeper himself shut his mouth and walked off, giving a surly look in Dusk’s direction. He started tapping his hoof on the table edge as he waited, tilting his head to the side again. (ooc: hope it's okay that I skipped to mornning)

Name: Dusk the Twisted Sex: Male Age: Stallion Species: unicorn *Nationality: Coltara **Organization: none ***Social class: Commoner Eye color: grey Coat color: dull bronze Mane/tail: Black Physique: Slightly smaller than most regular ponies. Cutie mark/Destiny mark: A silver cog, with a scalpel in the center of it, and electricity arcing between them. After several years of studying medicine and mechanical science, as well as secretly learning magic on his own, it appeared on his chest. Origin/Residence: he was born in a small village of little importance beyond farming crops. After his magical abilities were discovered, ran for his life. He is currently living on his own, wandering the world in hopes of finding more power. Occupation: occasionally a surgeon, sometimes a mechanic, constantly a lawbreaker. Personality: He is greedy, paranoid, selfish, power hungry, and can be cold when needed. His attitude changes according to the class of the pony he is talking to. A commoner, he’ll be kind and happy, as long as any work he does he is paid for. To any of the Blood, low or high, he will either act as an equal, or treat them mockingly, even insultingly. Family: He has two older brothers, and his mother and father still live in his old village as far as he knows. He no longer maintains any contact with them, and grows uncomfortable when asked any question about them. Back story: He was born into a small village, his family already consisting of two older brothers, his mother, and his father. His Father was the town surgeon, healing the sick and wounded, while his brothers were training to become soldiers in the EVA. His mother was a housewife who wanted to get higher up in class, becoming a Low Blood. She always hoped that one of her sons would achieve greatness in the EVA, thus letting them become part of the Low Blood. Unfortunately, Dusk was born a runt, stopping him from joining the army. His mother saw him as useless, and spent little if any time with him. His father, however, found something else for Dusk to do. When he started school, his father started teaching him his own trade, medicine and surgery. Having grown up with two brothers who spent most of their time practicing fighting and building muscles, with a mother who would look at him and shake her head, he was captivated by both school and his father’s teachings. He quickly learned how to read, and soon after that, to write. He learned quickly, staying at the top of his class as the years went by. Unfortunately, every rose has its thorn. The other ponies in his class would often pick on him since he was smaller and weaker than they. He spent most of his time alone, or helping his father. One day, while he was reading a book beneath a tree in the schoolyard, he found himself surrounded by several thugs/fellow school ponies. They started off as they normally did, insulting him, laughing at him. He responded as he always did, huddling against the tree and reading his book with his nose jammed in it. One of the thugs grew tired of simply jeering at him, and grabbed his book away from him. This was the first time any of them had taken something of his, at least, in his presence. Staring up at the thug in shock, he watched helplessly as the thug dangled the book in front of him and laughed at his feeble attempts to get it back. As it went on longer, Dusk started to feel angrier and angrier. Falling down on the ground, panting as much from anger as from exhaustion, he glared at the thugs as they laughed at him. When one of them snatched the book from his fellow and reached for a page as though to tear it up, something finally snapped in Dusk. Having spent most of his life with books as his only source of comfort, aside from his father, he couldn’t bear to watch one get mutilated. He knew that using magic was dangerous, but right now he could care less. In a rage, he took hold of the magic and lashed out at the thug with it. His horn glowed and small bolts of electricity arced across it. He didn’t know what he did, but the results were similar to a large hoof hitting the thug in the stomach. The thug doubled over and fell on his side, with his fellows looking at him in shocked silence. Dusk would have stopped to gape with them, but with the book on the ground and no one looking at him, he took his chance and ran. After that, it took several weeks before any of the other ponies would even look at him. He could have cared less. That small moment of magic was like the sweetest honey he had ever had, mixed with fowl water from a swamp. Yet that wasn’t the best part for him. For a moment, he had had more power than any of the other ponies surrounding him. That single fact was enough for Dusk to try and learn more about using magic. Several more years past, filled with study of surgery, science, and magic. He learned anything he could about magic, whether on his own or from ancient books and tales. He made certain that nopony knew what he was doing, fearing what would happen to him if the Blood discovered. It wasn’t easy, knowing what he could do. He spent even more of his time alone now, either in his room, or outside the village. The only time he spent with his father was during surgeries. The first few years of magic study and use seemed to have no affect on him. But, nearing his last few years of school, he started to notice strange things. He would sometimes hear sounds, seeming to be far off and distant, like water or sometimes falling rocks. Occasionally he would even hear faint voices, so quiet that he could only make out every tenth word. This added to his being solitary. He would sometimes just stop, and tilt his head, as if listening to something. He would even do this while talking to others. In his last year of school it got even worse. He would sometimes start laughing for no reason, and then keep going as if nothing had happened. Other ponies avoided him as much as possible now, even the ones who had tormented him so often before. He didn’t care he only cared about learning more about magic. He had learned so much in those years, yet he knew there was more he could learn. So much more. As graduation day came closer, he started wondering what he would do after he graduated. He was top of his class in mechanical science and surgery. But his mind was set on one path now. Magic and the power that came with it. He had seen how everypony stopped picking on him after he started studying and practicing magic. He saw how others became uncomfortable around him. He knew it was because they could sense just how powerful he was now. And he wanted more power. He knew he could do it, he had heard tales of unicorns in the old days, having powers unparalleled by others. The idea of gaining such power consumed him. Unfortunately, other ponies at his school had started to suspect what he was doing. Seeing how strange he was acting, spending hours outside of the village. Some of them went to the Low Blood, telling them about him and what they suspected he was doing. It wasn’t long before they sent a Sul’jin with Rahmane, and a few soldiers to his house. Coming to his room, they tried opening it, found it locked, then forced their way in. The soldiers walked in to find a confused Dusk, his horn glowing and a nearby bunsen burner lighting itself and floating three feet off the ground. Dusk’s confusion turned to shock and fear when he saw the Sul’jin and her Rahmane. He knew what was going to happen to him now, execution. The guards fanned out and the Rahmane and Sul’jin went straight towards him. As the pair got closer, Dusk huddled down on the floor, whimpering in fear. “So, this is the one that we had to bring a Sul’jin for. He doesn’t look so tough” one of the guards said. Dusk’s whimpers stopped. His eyes swept across the surrounding four ponies. He noted everything about the room. Then, with a deep breath, he let the magic flow through him, that sweet, vile honey. His horn glowed and the bunsen burner that had fallen on its side suddenly let loose a large flame, engulfing the hoof of the soldier standing next to it. He turned his attention to the Sul’jin and Rahmane. The Rahmane’s horn was glowing too now, and the Sul’jin was pointing at Dusk and shouting something. She didn’t finish it though, He wouldn’t let her. The glow around his horn brightened and electricity arced from it to connect with the center of the collar. The pair connected to the Soulshackle gave a convulsion as the electricity coursed through them. Once they fell to the floor, unconscious or dead, Dusk didn’t care, He turned his attention to the last soldier. The soldier was reaching for his sword. Dusk didn’t bother with him, he simply leaped over the pair on the floor and ran. He didn’t stop running until the village was out of sight. It was only then that he realized, standing there slathered in sweat and panting, that his destiny mark had appeared. He simply stared at his chest, watching as it went up and down. “What could have caused you?” he asked the picture on his chest. He thought back to the short battle, if it could be called that, in his room. He started laughing. Something like that, pretty much destroying his whole future, could also show him his future. “Alright” he chuckled, “I guess I need a new name. How about… Dusk, Dusk the Twisted Umbrosa Verenae. Dusk for short”.

I see more questions, huzzah! First off, I'm attempting fan fiction, but it's kinda slow. I have something I'm working on, I'm just waiting for my partner to finish the art for it. That should answer your question, Fermata. Second question, yes, I do like cake, Rosewind, lemon cake most of all.

Well, uh, bugmaster, not to offend you or anything, but I'm deathly afraid of bugs.

Well, thanks. Only a few people call me important. Also, it's nice to meet a fellow gamer.

I see a question, from Star Swirl the Bearded no less. I like a variety of games, but I don't have a single favorite. Some of the ones I enjoy playing the most would be Halo, Fallout, Fable, Skyrim, WOW, Red Dead Redemption, and Minecraft. That is the short list. And a fine hello to everyone else who has taken time from more important things to come over and say hello to me.

I go off to play a little Minecraft, and when I come back, people have actually acknowledged I exist!

Hail one and all, I am Dusk, and I'm incredibly nervous right now. I hope you folks all like me, and I’m hoping I’ll like you all right back. So… um… hi. *waves* One more thing, I like to answer questions and explain things, so ask me anything you like, I’ll do my best to answer.