Ask Dusk Haven

[Dusk Haven]

9 hours ago, liujiadong said:

Cellina stepped forward and said, "Hello, Princess. May I politely ask what your hobbies are?"

Hello. Please, Dusk is fine. My hobbies, you ask? Well, immortality is long, and if you don't keep the mind busy, insanity is sure to follow. I've picked up many hobbies, but the ones I like the most are cooking, watching the leaves change in fall, writing and reading, and Luna introduced me to "Gaming," which is quite fun, actually, but I still prefer my books. I'm always open to new suggestions. Do you have any @liujiadong. May I know your name?

[liujiadong 1,611]

20 minutes ago, Dusk Haven said:

Hello. Please, Dusk is fine. My hobbies, you ask? Well, immortality is long, and if you don't keep the mind busy, insanity is sure to follow. I've picked up many hobbies, but the ones I like the most are cooking, watching the leaves change in fall, writing and reading, and Luna introduced me to "Gaming," which is quite fun, actually, but I still prefer my books. I'm always open to new suggestions. Do you have any @liujiadong. May I know your name?

I'm Cellina.Nice to meet u. love writing songs and singing them. I'm a singer, and I also love writing. Additionally, I have a deep affection for nature.

[Skylight Scintillate 2,189]

On 2025-10-06 at 2:02 AM, Dusk Haven said:

She's such a delightful pony. I wish everypony had the great honor of meeting her and calling her a friend.

Aww that sounds really nice!

On 2025-10-06 at 2:02 AM, Dusk Haven said:

We share a great friendship, with common interests in books, science, and magic.

Ooh interesting! What kind of science and magic are you most interested in? 

[Dusk Haven 295]

15 hours ago, liujiadong said:

I'm Cellina.Nice to meet u. love writing songs and singing them. I'm a singer, and I also love writing. Additionally, I have a deep affection for nature.

That sounds so wonderful!  You and I would get along excellently. Music has always been a window into the soul of ponies. I'm also a writer. I'm currently writing my memoir on Fimfiction. What kind of songs and literature do you enjoy writing the most?

[Dusk Haven 295]

My specialty is Glamour magic. I had to continually enhance and evolve the spell to remain hidden over a thousand-year period. I didn't want to confuse the ponies with another Alicorn walking about. Celestia and Luna set up a sound system. I would have thrown that system into disarray just because of how I was born. Eventually, I earned my place among them and, at the request of the ponies I had helped, was made a Princess, but even then, I usually bowed to what Celestia decided. But I digress. I am also very fond of Healing magic, potions, elixirs, and sigils.

Science, well, I'm a student of all sciences, but I think chemistry and Engineering are my favorites, unless you count "magic theory" as a science. If you do, that's also at the top. The magic of Harmony and balance is nearly endless, and the study of it has been a passion of mine for two thousand years now.

What about you?

[Skylight Scintillate 2,189]

On 2025-10-08 at 3:44 AM, Dusk Haven said:

My specialty is Glamour magic.

That sounds interesting. What is glamour magic?

On 2025-10-08 at 3:44 AM, Dusk Haven said:

I had to continually enhance and evolve the spell to remain hidden over a thousand-year period.

Was there ever a moment where other ponies suspected that you were an alicorn before you became a princess? 

On 2025-10-08 at 3:44 AM, Dusk Haven said:

Eventually, I earned my place among them and, at the request of the ponies I had helped, was made a Princess

Ooh, any 

On 2025-10-08 at 3:44 AM, Dusk Haven said:

But I digress. I am also very fond of Healing magic, potions, elixirs, and sigils.

Would that be similar to what Zecora does? Are there any particularly notable potions, elixirs or digits that you really like?

On 2025-10-08 at 3:44 AM, Dusk Haven said:

The magic of Harmony and balance is nearly endless, and the study of it has been a passion of mine for two thousand years now.

What about you?

Ooh cool! I’m Skylight, and I’m also an alicorn (sometimes). For sciences, I’m interested in biology, geography, and engineering. For magic, I’m really interested in the magic that Twilight Sparkle does.

[Dusk Haven]

9 hours ago, Skylight Scintillate said:

That sounds interesting. What is glamour magic?

Glamour magic is the magical art of disguise. You make yourself either look like other ponies or modify yourself to cover or enhance other features. I used it to cover my wings. Think changling magic.

 

9 hours ago, Skylight Scintillate said:

Was there ever a moment where other ponies suspected that you were an alicorn before you became a princess? 

Once in a rare while, about fifteen hundred years ago, a gifted Unicorn might give pause, but I was never discovered until I had no choice but to do it myself in a life-or-death situation.

 

9 hours ago, Skylight Scintillate said:

Would that be similar to what Zecora does? Are there any particularly notable potions, elixirs or digits that you really like?

Good instincts! Yes, it's precisely what Zecora does. In fact, some of my best potions came from her culture. I'm comfortable in an apothecary shop and can hold my own, concocting various elixirs, but Zecora's pony tribes made it into an art. I think that gets lost a lot with a few other Alicorns. They forget to learn from other pony races and cultures.

 

9 hours ago, Skylight Scintillate said:

Ooh cool! I’m Skylight, and I’m also an alicorn (sometimes). For sciences, I’m interested in biology, geography, and engineering. For magic, I’m really interested in the magic that Twilight Sparkle does.

Nice to meet you, Skylight! Yes, Twilight has taught me a few spells and different ways to look at a harmonic focus adjustment in pyrotechnics. I was one of her several teachers in Celestia's school. I disguised myself as a Unicorn named Autumn Reed to teach. I taught Advanced Strategic Spellwork and Ethical Engagement. She is quick-thinking, thinks out of the box, and her raw power was impressive, frighteningly so, when she was younger. She's pioneered advanced arcana and the study of magical matrices considerably in her short life. That comes from a master spell caster. She's a wise one to want to learn from.

I'm curious about your story. Could you explain how it came to pass that you are an Alicorn only some of the time? I'm very interested to find out!

[Skylight Scintillate 2,189]

21 hours ago, Dusk Haven said:

Glamour magic is the magical art of disguise. You make yourself either look like other ponies or modify yourself to cover or enhance other features. I used it to cover my wings. Think changling magic.

Have you ever used it to disguise yourself as another pony? Or use it to completely change your appearance? Also, if you have been around for much longer than most ponies, do other ponies suspect anything relating to that? 

21 hours ago, Dusk Haven said:

Yes, it's precisely what Zecora does. In fact, some of my best potions came from her culture. I'm comfortable in an apothecary shop and can hold my own, concocting various elixirs, but Zecora's pony tribes made it into an art. I think that gets lost a lot with a few other Alicorns. They forget to learn from other pony races and cultures.

It sounds like you spent quite a lot of time with other pony races and cultures? If so, what were your experiences like? Anything particularly notable? 

21 hours ago, Dusk Haven said:

I was one of her several teachers in Celestia's school. I disguised myself as a Unicorn named Autumn Reed to teach. I taught Advanced Strategic Spellwork and Ethical Engagement.

What was it like teaching at Celestia's school? Any particularly notable experiences? Was there anything Twilight did that surprised you? 

22 hours ago, Dusk Haven said:

I'm curious about your story. Could you explain how it came to pass that you are an Alicorn only some of the time? I'm very interested to find out!

I ascended to becoming an alicorn like Twilight. Before that, I was a unicorn.

OOC: My Little Pony G4 doesn't really specify how magic works, so I haven't really thought out the details of how my character's ascention would have worked.

Also, I notice that we seem to be quite interested in each other's characters. If it's ok to ask, would you be interested in potentially doing an RP involving you, Skylight, and alicorn Twilight?

[Dusk Haven]

8 hours ago, Skylight Scintillate said:

Have you ever used it to disguise yourself as another pony? Or use it to completely change your appearance? Also, if you have been around for much longer than most ponies, do other ponies suspect anything relating to that? 

I try to enforce a moral code in relation to my glamour magic. I won't imitate another pony alive or dead, but I created an entirely new look for the few times I had no choice but to interact with ponies who might know me. I would point to Autumn Reed as a good example.

To your second point, traveling by hoof takes a long time, and the world is large. I rarely visited the same village twice in a pony's lifetime.

8 hours ago, Skylight Scintillate said:

It sounds like you spent quite a lot of time with other pony races and cultures? If so, what were your experiences like? Anything particularly notable?

The further you get away from the city, the more culture changes you experience. Ponies out that way aren't used to help from the capital. Communication in those days was slow. So they learned to fend for themselves. It's why I chose to stay in those outer rim places. I could help more. All the races I encountered had one thing in common. They all wanted Harmony. What that looked like varied sometimes, but generally, we all had that in common. I remember learning how to cook several delightful dishes from the ponies just north of Galloping Gorge.

9 hours ago, Skylight Scintillate said:

What was it like teaching at Celestia's school? Any particularly notable experiences? Was there anything Twilight did that surprised you? 

It was an honor to teach there. So many talented and gifted ponies came through on the regular. I learned from them how to stay young at heart, and I taught them how to survive in the world with Magic and wits. Twilight, oh dear Twilight, I remember when she was a young thing, maybe 7 or 8, she tried to make a tiny whisp for Nightmare Night. Instead, it shot into the sky and exploded into sparks. Her poor mane was frizzled, and there was a small bit of smoke coming from the tip of her horn. She put too much fear into the spell. She was afraid of failure, and that time, she did. She learned that night to pour calm and love into spells like these. She conjured it fine after that. The delight on her face was precious.

 

9 hours ago, Skylight Scintillate said:

I ascended to becoming an alicorn like Twilight. Before that, I was a unicorn.

Earning your Alicorn status is better than being born into it, in my opinion. When you are given it, there is a lot of time figuring yourself out, your duty to the world, and how far you can go without becoming a tyrant or disrupting Harmony or the Balance itself. Not all naturally born Alicorns are good, like Opaline. When you earn it, you've refined those skills, so you get the power when you mostly have an idea what to do with it. You don't have to wrestle with your own identity. That's just my opinion, though

 

9 hours ago, Skylight Scintillate said:

Also, I notice that we seem to be quite interested in each other's characters. If it's ok to ask, would you be interested in potentially doing an RP involving you, Skylight, and alicorn Twilight?

Sounds Fun!. 

[Skylight Scintillate 2,189]

16 hours ago, Dusk Haven said:

They all wanted Harmony. What that looked like varied sometimes, but generally, we all had that in common.

That is interesting. It sounds like that is something that unites everyone in Equestria? Is this in some way related to the Elements of Harmony? Given that the Mane Six are the wielders of the Elements of Harmony, how did that impact things in the places you visited? 

16 hours ago, Dusk Haven said:

She learned that night to pour calm and love into spells like these. She conjured it fine after that. The delight on her face was precious.

Oh my gosh, that sounds amazing!

[Dusk Haven 295]

3 hours ago, Skylight Scintillate said:

That is interesting. It sounds like that is something that unites everyone in Equestria? Is this in some way related to the Elements of Harmony? Given that the Mane Six are the wielders of the Elements of Harmony, how did that impact things in the places you visited?

Twilight and her friends are the living embodiments of the Elements. When Harmony needs a voice, they become it. When Harmony drifts too far from Balance, they act for the good of every creature in Equestria.

But Harmony isn’t theirs alone. It’s in the soil, in the air we breathe, in the space between every heartbeat. It exists everywhere life touches. I’ve kept Balance for over two thousand years. It’s not the same as Harmony — but they need each other to survive. And in all that time, I’ve seen far more ponies, yaks, Kirin, and the like choosing to live in love and community than to war against one another. That’s what gives me faith.

3 hours ago, Skylight Scintillate said:

Oh my gosh, that sounds amazing!

It was. Those were good years.

[Dawnshine Wonder 3,976]

If my OC in my MLP fanfic were to have a spirit animal, could it be a Phoenix named Blitz Eagle? granting powers of both super speed and pyrokinesis? not as fast as Rainbow Dash obviously, but I don't know if it helps their world for my OC to be physically weak either, if I'm a liability, then I cannot help but wonder if that that would put them at greater risk. To put friends at risk, even unintentionally, would be unacceptable for me.

The powers could be conditional, and remain with Dawnshine Wonder at the time of the character's cutie mark was earned, provided my OC does not abuse these powers. They could be taken away by Luna or Celestia any time, as a punishment or if my OC became a hazard to themself through reckless behavior. Furthermore these powers could only be called upon if my OC is focused, if held back by fear or if my OC is distracted, the powers fail, making dealing with villains like Tirek or Chrysalis more challenging.

I don't know how your glamour magic would work in your fan fiction, but they do need an explanation otherwise they can make the story too confusing and less plausible to fans.

My spirit animal based powers could be explained to only work in Equestria, in the human world, magic does not work because it is not considered a magical realm.

I don't know how Dusk Haven would be written in your fan fiction, because my one tells a story where some sentient beings get reincarnated into Equestria for the purposes of spiritual growth and wisdom.

 

 

[Dusk Haven 295]

32 minutes ago, Dawnshine Wonder said:

If my OC in my MLP fanfic were to have a spirit animal, could it be a Phoenix named Blitz Eagle? granting powers of both super speed and pyrokinesis? not as fast as Rainbow Dash obviously, but I don't know if it helps their world for my OC to be physically weak either, if I'm a liability, then I cannot help but wonder if that that would put them at greater risk. To put friends at risk, even unintentionally, would be unacceptable for me.

I don't see why not. It just has to make sense in your world building. There are plenty of ponies who are weak in body, but strong of will and mind. Thats the true strength. I can't see your OC being a liability at all.

 

34 minutes ago, Dawnshine Wonder said:

I don't know how your glamour magic would work in your fan fiction, but they do need an explanation otherwise they can make the story too confusing and less plausible to fans.

In the beginning, I used an enchanted cloak I made that only hid my wings and magical aura. I looked and sounded just like I did without it. When I had to retreat from public life so Luna could return from her banishment, I made an entirely new glamour that was far more advanced, with a different look and all. I established the rules for glamour magic in some of my very first chapters, so everypony knew the rules of the world they were about to enter.

 

37 minutes ago, Dawnshine Wonder said:

I don't know how Dusk Haven would be written in your fan fiction, because my one tells a story where some sentient beings get reincarnated into Equestria for the purposes of spiritual growth and wisdom.

I'm written as a tragic character, because I am. I get tired of being the protector instead of the protected every now and then.

[Dawnshine Wonder 3,976]

23 minutes ago, Dusk Haven said:

I don't see why not. It just has to make sense in your world building. There are plenty of ponies who are weak in body, but strong of will and mind. Thats the true strength. I can't see your OC being a liability at all.

I agree, like with your OC, I don't want to make my OC overpowered, besides I admitted I'm not the warrior type, I am not going to depict myself as a warrior because if I did that, it would be ego driven, not authentic. That's not what friendships are about and power would not be the reason I'd like this wish to come true, to be in their fictional world. If any magical duty got granted to me, it would be their discretion and only if Luna or Celestia felt my OC earned the right. I would not be expecting it and I'd be just as happy if my imaginary persona had no magical power at all.

 

29 minutes ago, Dusk Haven said:

In the beginning, I used an enchanted cloak I made that only hid my wings and magical aura. I looked and sounded just like I did without it. When I had to retreat from public life so Luna could return from her banishment, I made an entirely new glamour that was far more advanced, with a different look and all. I established the rules for glamour magic in some of my very first chapters, so everypony knew the rules of the world they were about to enter.

I see, so your OC had those magical powers from the beginning. It can be assumed that your powers would become more advanced over time, as you learned to control them, that plot you're going for makes sense. Glamour magic, what its purpose is, and why it exists at all, is of course up to you as this is your own fan fiction.And yes, establishing rules is important for story telling.

As for Luna's banishment, it's similar with my AU, Luna in this timeline was still trapped within the moon at the time my OC got reborn into Equestria, and wasn't until late adolescence that my OC would meet up with her, and learn of having a past life. Future Luna was the one who authoritized souls being transmigrated into that world, being a gatekeeper of her own jurisdiction in the Bardo, it was some time until she communicated with her past self and informed her of who Dawnshine Wonder was. This unfolds into a Nightmare Night scene where Pinkie Pie jokes about my OC being a zombie, my OC returns humour by saying Luna is a necromancer.

With my OC with the Blitz Eagle idea, the powers are different, they are only activated at the moment of receiving the cutie mark, before that, the spirit animal existed but remained inactive and unknown. This symbolizes two things, self discovery, and when or if the power does get activated, my OCs true intentions are shown, what my OC chooses to do with those powers, will determine if my OC truly deserved to be there or not.

 

The choices we make in life, do matter, the same applies if you and I were in their fictional world. I never had a right to be there, this is just a fan fiction based on some wish which would never come true, sadly. But even then, being sent there in the first place would be a privilege, if granted entry, there would be caveats and rules of do's and don'ts. And humbly requesting to be nurtured with their ideals and their social norms would be a given if this were to happen at all.

[Dusk Haven 295]

3 minutes ago, Dawnshine Wonder said:

f any magical duty got granted to me, it would be their discretion and only if Luna or Celestia felt my OC earned the right. I would not be expecting it and I'd be just as happy if my imaginary persona had no magical power at all.

I hear this. Those in power should not seek it for power's sake. They accept it to serve. I did not magically appoint myself "Princess". The ponies decided that's what they want me to be.

 

7 minutes ago, Dawnshine Wonder said:

ith my OC with the Blitz Eagle idea, the powers are different, they are only activated at the moment of receiving the cutie mark, before that, the spirit animal existed but remained inactive and unknown. This symbolizes two things, self discovery, and when or if the power does get activated, my OCs true intentions are shown, what my OC chooses to do with those powers, will determine if my OC truly deserved to be there or not.

I can't wait for you to create this world. I hope you will let me see it someday. You are always welcome in mine.

[Dawnshine Wonder 3,976]

3 minutes ago, Dusk Haven said:

I hear this. Those in power should not seek it for power's sake. They accept it to serve. I did not magically appoint myself "Princess". The ponies decided that's what they want me to be.

This, 100%. It's what I love about MLP FIM. Princess is not just a title given by birthright, it is earned, and despite the controversies kicked up about Alicorn Twilight Sparkle, I thought it was obvious from the start during the School of Gifted Unicorns arc, that Twilight Sparkle was implied to be Celestia's successor, perhaps even Alicorn someday.

and like you don't appoint yourself any authority figure, I don't do it with my own character. I think doing so would raise red flags, and put our characters in a bad light.

9 minutes ago, Dusk Haven said:

I can't wait for you to create this world. I hope you will let me see it someday. You are always welcome in mine.

I may get it done someday, who knows, thank you for the support.

I don't know how I am going to handle the fear arc for my OC. When my character finally ends up in an accidental encounter with Queen Chrysalis. After some thinking it back and forth, unfortunately, Chrysalis is the type to exploit phobias and things like that, things which she would consider a weakness to exploit and try to manipulate others.

For the purposes of character growth, and a test of loyalty to Equestria, I've decided for my OC to retain one thing from their past life, emetophobia, which I do have in real life as a human.

I think Chrysalis would exploit this if she were real, and as scary or frightening as this fictional scenario would be, for me, I think it matters, I don't want this adventure in Equestria to be too easy, without tribulations, a test of friendship would not work, in my opinion, and it becomes a matter of narcissistic escapism, I don't want that, to a point, how we respond to hardships in life is a true test of character. The test goes something like this, my OC maintaining their loyalty to Equestria and its population even when threatened.

This could evolve into a situation where Princess Luna from that timeline, uses a controlled form of dream based exposure therapy, to help my OC overcome their phobia to barf. My OC does not wish to be a liability and potentially put friends at risk, so after Luna asks this of my OC, my OC agrees to it.