10 YEARS LATER

Dusk Shine fluttered his wings impatiently as he considered the wide array of options before him. Over the noise of the bustling marketplace he could barely think, but he had to. Everything depended on it, depended on his choice... which flowers would be best?

They looked nice but that wasn’t enough. Dusk was so well versed in all things horticultural that with a mere glance to each sheared bud he could pinpoint the precise date at which each flower had become efflorescent. That wasn’t enough either. He always made that mistake. Knowledge was alone not enough to determine the correct option. He had, after many minutes of staring, just considered creating a bushel with each individual blossom. They were all pretty, but the aromas would overpower one another and none would stand clear. That also didn’t take into account how guilty he would have felt for taking the easy option. He felt confounded, and it constantly gnawed at him. This dilemma was a merely a single question away from being rectified, yet it alluded him, persistently. He wished that he had asked her rather than relying on his deductive skills. It turned out, he wasn’t much of a detective.

“You a botanist, sir?” the surprisingly gruff unicorn stallion asked him, brows knitted as he leant on the counter. He had been observing the purple alicorn for quite some time now. The alicorn prince had stood unmoved from his spot since he arrived, looking at his menagerie of blossoms.

Dusk, broken from his stupor, could only look at the merchant with a gormless expression. “W-what?”

“Hows about a gardener?” he further probed, before he reared his head back slightly in a humoured manner, looking at the unicorn sideways. “You’re not one of them eco-philes are you?”

Dusk blinked at the sagely green stallion, regaining some coherency. “Uh, n-no? At least, I don’t think so,” he smiled sheepishly, eyeing the flowers once more with a queer eye before looking back at the green pony. “When I became the Prince of friendship, Solaris... Lord Solaris,” he corrected, his familiarly with the alicorn leaving him negligent of late, “gave me a bunch of titles. I admit, I didn’t look at all of them. I think I own a patch of land somewhere near Trottingham. But I don’t think ‘royal botanist’ was one of my given duties as a Prince.”

The green stallion gave a breathy chuckle, adjusting to lean on his other hoof. “It’s just that you’ve been staring at my stock for so long one would think you were making a life and death decision,” he remarked with a humoured voice, his gaze eventually turning coy. “That, or you’re picking out flowers for a mare. Heh. One in the same if you ask me.”

Dusk’s purple cheeks turned crimson, and he released a nervous chuckle as he looked around himself. “How could you tell?”

He shrugged before leaning even further forwards, taking on a sagely disposition. “Prince or no, you’re not the first stallion to come to my stall, looking clueless and afraid of making the right choice. There’s nothing more elusive than the heart of a mare. It requires a lot of prodding and reading to truly understand it.”

“And how well do you understand it?” Dusk asked, intrigued by the stallion’s candour.

“Barely!” he replied, loudly, before laughing boisterously, unabashed to passing eyes. It took half a minute for his laughter to die down, the stallion wiping a tear from his eye as he took on serious visage. “How pretty is she?”

Dusk blinked, blushing. “W-well I-I’d say-”

“Come on, don’t be shy with me. None but my ears will hear,” he encouraged.

Dusk nodded, raising his chin as he took a breath. “The prettiest.”

“Really now? You sound certain about that. Prettier than all the mares in Equestria?”

“Yes,” he reaffirmed, giving a singular nod.

“Prettier than all the mares in the world, pony or otherwise?”

“Yes!” he replied, resolute and firm.

“Prettier than my wife?” the stallion proposed, eyes squinted.

“Definitely!” he answered with a smile, which immediately turned into a grimace. “Oh...”

The neutral expression the merchant wore broke, becoming a large grin as he gave the Prince a nod. “Atta boy,” he lauded, and would have gave the purple stallion a good natured nudge if he could reach – and if he wasn’t worried that the act would be perceived as 'monarchal assault' from onlookers. The seller’s horn became enveloped in a blue light as he picked up some flowers from his stock, some crimson, some so bright they bordered on pink, creating a bushel. “From the look of ya, I’d guess she’d like some poppies. Typically a soldier’s flower, I know, but still pretty to look at, and the-”

Dusk only half-listened as the stallion trailed off, explaining each bud in rambling detail. He kept an eye out for perusing eyes, hoping not to spot a familiar face as he awaited for his bushel. Ten years and not once had he needed to explain himself. Ten years and not once had someone come close to finding out. Admittedly, things had become more difficult as he got older, and as his importance as a figure grew, yet he remained scrupulous about keeping this whole affair a secret. Something simple, such as purchasing a bushel of flowers for his beloved, were avoided for the sake of his privacy. However, the date was special, and necessitated the risk in his eyes. Fortunately, he appeared safe from familiar, prying eyes. Half a minute past and he was dragged out of his reverie by the bushel being suddenly thrust toward him.

Dusk took the bushel into his own purple aura, bringing them close to his face and inhaling the scent deeply – surprisingly sweet. When he pulled away, he looked to the stallion with a raised brow. “Why did you pick red?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Which is weird, because I know a lot,” he chuckled. “I saw your purple coat, and red popped into my head. Hmm. Mix red with white and you get purple. Is the mare you’re feelin’ sweet with have a white coat?”

Dusk forced a neutral expression. “Uh, no."

“Really? Huh,” he curled his lip and gave a thoughtful rub over his chin, shrugging. “I guess we’ll never know.”

“Haha, right,” Dusk replied with forced smile as he placed the flowers across his back. As he unfurled his wing to pick out some bits from his satchel, he saw the stallion shake his head. “What?”

“No charge,” the stallion answered, his lip curled.

Dusk’s brows met as he looked at the stallion quizzically. “Why?”

He shrugged. “I’ve always had a soft spot for fools in love,” he chuckled.

“Um, thanks!” Dusk replied, smiling, although he gave the stallion a squinted look. “But if you ask me, that doesn’t seem like a good way to run your business.”

He scoffed, and pushed from the counter. “You sound like my wife! Now run along, Prince. Before they wilt.”

Dusk nodded, departing from the stall with a light chuckle, his small smile and overall good mood lasted for all of but a few seconds.

“Dusk?”

Heck.

Five faces, ten eyes, seven mane colours. The rest of the elements, all conveniently in the market place, all conveniently happened upon him simultaneously. Damn convenient. Or inconvenient, in his particular context.

What a dilemma.

“H-hey guys, what are you all doing here?” Dusk asked, jittery.

“And what are you doing with flowers?” Rainbow Blitz asked, staring at Dusk with a flippant smile.

“What he means, darling,” Elusive stepped forwards with a languid step, tossing Blitz a firm look before giving Dusk a soft one, “is that it is a little surprising to see you of all ponies making such a… intimate purchase.”

“Wow, that was much better, Elusive,” Applejack scoffed, the broad stallion rolled his eyes as he stepped forwards, suddenly adorning a coy grin; leaning forwards with raised brow. “So what’s her name?”

“O-or his name,” Butterscotch added, tentatively, shrinking behind Applejack as soon as he finished speaking.

Dusk suddenly looked to his side, seeing Bubble Berry with his muzzle deep in the bushel of flowers, inhaling deeply before pulling back with a dumb, dreamy smile on his face. “Smells like love!” he announced, before his smile turned lecherous, waggling his eyebrows to Dusk specifically. “And lust... wheee!” he exploded happily, hopping around the alicorn, his expression empty; even if he was screaming on the inside. “Dusk’s in love, Dusk’s in love, Dusk’s in lo-”

Dusk grabbed the pink stallion mid bounce, lips pulled back into a grimace as he looked around him, catching eyes with some raised brow ponies; his grimace turning into an apologetic smile. “Please be quiet,” Dusk said with a strained voice through his teeth and false smile, dropping the stallion back onto his hooves as he continued to assuage passers-by with his smile.

“I must admit, I am a tad curious about who has you smitten – prying in your private life aside,” Elusive added with a flick of his hoof and a charming smile, his thin veneer of remorse was undercut by the blatant burning of curious desire on his face. A gossiper feeds on gossip.

Dusk sighed. They were his friends but it no-less made them carrions when it came to his private life. Fortunately there was always a villain or life lesson to act as distraction for them. A day to be saved, a personal issue, as well as other duties and obligations. And, ordinarily, he was happy to help, engage with them. He was a social butterfly, a true believer in the power of friendship. But, in the very specific window which allowed it, they pried on this particular issue. He fed them vague non-answers, not even giving a clear indication on what his actual preferences were. Anything to keep them from seeking answers. But alas, curiosity was the strongest tether for knowledge, something which Dusk was intimately familiar with.

May as well throw them a morsel.

“It’s a mare,” he answered flatly.

Stares. Silence, a quiet which overpowered the noise of the market square...

“Nice going, bro!” Blitz boisterously praised, coming forwards just to deliver a soft punch to the alicorn’s shoulder – who could only smile awkwardly at the cerulean stallion’s coy grin.

“Looks like you owe me ten bits, partner,” AJ smacked the pegasus on his back.

“Don’t remind me,” Blitz replied drily.

“I knew I was being smart by pulling out of that bet,” Elusive added smugly, pa before looking to Dusk with a large grin. “So tell me: what’s her name? And please, don’t spare the details, darling,” Elusive implored, inching closer with a raised brow.

Dusk felt like he was being encroached on from all sides, and with a forceful gait, he stepped forwards; parting his friends with his wings as he hurried away. “I have someplace to be, so please-”

“You can’t be so secretive, Dusk,” Berry said, matching Dusk’s hastened gait with ease. “There’s so much we need to know! What’s her birthday?! What’s her favourite muffin flavour? Does she even like muffins?!” he ended with a loud, shocked gasp, hopping from the ground before suddenly breaking off in a gallop. Off to fetch some samples from the store Dusk mused, but his place as ear chewer was very quickly occupied by another.

“So... is she hot?” Blitz asked, something which didn’t surprise Dusk in the slightest, and ensured that his chag- was very much -agrin.

Dusk grumbled. “Yes,” he answered. The train station wasn’t very far off now. Just a block or two. If he kept his current pace he could escape his friends and their questions.

Elusive poked his head forwards ahead of Blitz, looking at the pegasus sideways. “Don’t be so uncouth, Blitz, this is his marefriend you’re talking about. I’m sure she’s beautiful,” Elusive corrected, trying to smooth out Blitz’s abrasiveness. Although, right after, that same curious glint appeared in his eye from before. “So how long have you known her? Personally I always thought that the only way to earn your love would be years of wearing down. It’s why I initially proposed Barb – but Butterscotch shot that down. The two of you are practically siblings, and once he proposed that I-”

“You’re going off on a tangent, Lucie,” AJ interceded, walking on the adjacent side of the alicorn.

“Stop calling me that!” Elusive shot back at the orange stallion, clearly vexed.

“I’ve known her for years. Next!” Dusk answered. Not too far now.

“What’s she look like?” AJ asked.

“She looks nice,” Dusk answered quickly and vaguely. “Next.”

“Hey, that don’t answer-”

“Is this heartthrob of yours good in bed, Dusk?” Blitz smirked, smile positively lecherous. “Maybe that’s why you were keeping her a secret from the rest of us. Worried that after getting one look at me she’d-”

“Hey!” Dusk snapped, frowning.

“You’re not fooling anyone, Blitz,” Elusive chided, coming to Dusk’s defence.

“W-what are you t-talking about?” Blitz feigned ignorance, although his flapping jaw and unsteady words were as solid

“Butterscotch told us about the posters. We have known for a long time but we’ve been patiently awaiting thereafter for you to come out yourself... that was three years ago," he spoke pedantically, rolling his eyes.

“I… But… You see…” he stammered, red in the face, angry and embarrassed. He looked to Butterscotch with a glare and frown. “Scotch!”

“Is s-she kind?” Butterscotch asked, voice soft but audible. He ignored the cyan stallion’s glare, his mouth slightly ajar as he awaited the answer.

The gentle tone of voice caught Dusk pleasantly off guard. He looked to the Butterscotch with the faintest of curls on his lip, and gave a curt nod. “Yes. She’s the kindest mare I’ve ever known.”

“And you love her?”

Dusk looked ahead, the train station within view. He slowed his gait somewhat, contemplatively smiling. He looked at Butterscotch. “I do. Always have. And I think I always will.”

“Wow. Sounds like the real deal, Dusk. Ah’m happy for ya,” Applejack said sincerely, smiling. “Can’t believe we’ve never met her. If I didn’t know any better, ah’d say you were married,” Applejack chuckled, before leaning his head back slightly, “you ain’t married, are ya?”

“No,” Dusk laughed, shaking his head.

Blitz huffed, looking downcast, yet he still offered a pleased look to Dusk. “So how’d the two of you, ya know… become a unit?”

Dusk gave a bashful simper. “I was an idiot.”

Elusive incredulous scoff. “You, an idiot? You must elaborate my dear, I find that quite hard to believe.”

“We were both stupid, to be fair. I mean, the way it happened, you’d think it was a comedy or something… although, some would probably think it was a horror, depending on who you’d ask,” Dusk explained without really explaining anything at all.

“Details, darling, details!” Elusive pleaded, wearing an excessively large frown.

“Another time,” Dusk dismissed with a disarming smirk, stopping at the edge of the station, taking a breath. He then turned to face his friends, his lip tugged slightly at the corner. “So… now you know.”

“That we do,” Elusive affirmed, wearing an apologetic simper. “Sorry we had to find out like this. Maybe I can make it up to you? I know of a wonderful little eatery in Canterlot which is highly particular about the clientèle it serves. I may be able to pull some strings-”

“He’s a Prince, Elusive,” Blitz commented in a flat voice.

“Oh, right,” the tailor blushed.

Blitz smirked at the ivory unicorn and looked to Dusk, wearing a humbled little smile. “I hope you’re happy with this squeeze of yours, Dusk.”

“Thanks Blitz,” he gave the rainbow stallion a nod, and then shared a glance with Elusive, “and I appreciate the offer, I do. But we’re a little more, lets say... ‘private’, with our dates.”

“I understand, dear. Admittedly, I was hoping that arranging such a thing would allow me to catch a peek of your love, but… all in good time,” Elusive smiled coyly, no maliciousness behind it. “But when you do return, I implore you to tell me all about it – and spare no detail! One can only be entertained by small-town gossip for so long.”

Dusk smirked, and gave the ivory unicorn a singular nod. “I will.” Dusk then looked to Butterscotch, who simply gave the alicorn a small warm smile, and Dusk returned it. He then started to turn. “I’ll see you guys in-”

“Now hold on for just a minute,” AJ stepped forwards, a pondering expression hidden momentarily under his hat, scratching his chin. “Before ya go, lover colt, answer us this: why d’ya like her? I’m sure everypony here is thinkin’ it. What the heck kinda mare must she be to get you all… flower-buyie, never mind keepin’ her all secretive from us. It sounds like you got yourself a heck of a mare, yet we’ve never seen her, not once. Why is that?”

Dusk looked away from AJ and his expectant friends with pursed lips. “It’s complicated. Very complicated,” he gave them a knowing smirk, almost weary-eyed and sad in his expression. The softness at which he spoke prompted them all to take a half-step towards him, concern on their faces. Dusk wanted to disarm them. “She’s caring. Beautiful. And I don’t think I’d ever love anypony as much as I do for her. She… she knows me on a level that nopony else could come even close to,” he explained with a genuine adoration that had them enthralled, envious even. “She’s gentle when she needs to be, always keeps composed, cares for those she holds close. She’s tender, but also strong-”

Blitz smirked. “Even stronger then, Gleaming?” he asked pointedly.

Dusk blinked, a tinge of pink on his cheeks. “Uh, I-I’d say they’re about equal.”

“Wow, what a mare,” Elusive muttered, looking away. “I should really put myself out there...” he muttered, before looking to Blitz suavely. “Interested?”

Blitz went wide-eyed, reeling away. “W-what? No!”

The unicorn shrugged. “Meh. Your loss. Maybe I should consider Barb instead. She’s been smitten with me for as long as I remember.”

Blitz seemed offended by this. “What? Am I not worth fighting for?!”

“Well, I didn’t say that...” Elusive intoned, giving the pegasus a smarmy grin.

“But you implied it!”

“That answers that,” Applejack smirked, ignoring the skirmish to his side. “Well, what’re you waitin’ for? Ah can’t believe we’re keepin’ ya away from such a fine sounding mare, Dusk. Go on, git!” Applejack gestured the alicorn to shoo with a playful grin

“Will do, AJ. Thanks for being so understanding. All of you,” he gave a respectful nod and turned from his friends, who could not see the relieved smile on his lips.

As the rest of his friends waved him off, as he got onto the train, Bubble Berry suddenly came forwards to stand besides them; the handle to a basket of muffins in his maw. “Whersh Duushk?” he asked, looking around frantically, before dropping the basket on the ground. “I got the muffins!” he announced, patting with a wide beam of a smile.

“Gone,” Butterscotch informed, wearing a sorry smile.

Berry deflated, falling to his haunches; his lips circled into an upside down ‘U’. “Aww...”

“Don’t worry, Bear. There’s always next time,” he offered, consoling the saddened pink stallion.

The stallion brightened up, hopping back up to his hooves he looked off excitedly at the train as it left. “I can bring an even bigger basket!”

“That’s the spirit, Pinky,” Applejack chuckled, before setting his sights back on the train, watching it cough out white plumes of smoke… until he furrowed his brows and craned his neck at the bickering pegasus and unicorn. “Wait a minute, wait a minute!”

Blitz and Elusive ceased their arguing, focusing their eyes on the orange stallion. “What?” they said in unicorn.

“If yer a colt cuddler, why’d ya always make passes at mah sister?” Applejack asked, the question like a dagger to Blitz’s neck.

“I had to keep up the illusion somehow,” Blitz answered, giving a uncomfortable shrug.

“But why her specifically,” Applejack leaned towards him, scowling.

Blitz awkwardly shuffled on the spot, looking anywhere that wasn’t Applejack. “She’s big, muscled, has a strong jaw and short mane. It was… it was easy… to… to pretend.” he finished meekly, trying to step away from Applejack’s

“Answer me this,” Applejack growled, bearing teeth as he pressed his head into Rainbow’s. “Is it just your wings that are hollow, or is it your jaw too?”

“Meep,” he squeaked, looking to Elusive. “Lucie. Help.”

“Hmm. Big Mac. She’s a cute little thing isn’t she? A bit large, but that just means there’s more to love,” he muttered.

“You’re next!” Applejack barked to the purple maned stallion, rearing his hoof back for a punch on the rainbow headed pony.

Elusive froze, hoof on his chin. “Y-yes sir.”

“Maybe she’d like fudge!” Berry pondered loudly aloud, ignorant to the brawl going on besides him...

Off at Canterlot, on the train to Manehatten take the transfer to Fillydelphia and finally, take the ferry to Trottingham pier. By the time Dusk reached the city, thick black lines underlined his eyes and his movements were sluggish with fatigue; the starry sky of Artemis painted across the firmament. It was good. He didn’t want garner any unnecessary attention. He earned a few second glances of familiarity from night time walkers, but that had more to do with the fact he was an alicorn rather than an element of harmony. Trottingham was at the far-edges of Equestria, and few had even heard of Dusk Shine never mind know what he looked like. It was liberating in a way. Dusk Shine was famous as an element, but when he was elevated to alicornhood, that popularity and recognition exploded into something very hard to deal with. It made certain excursions and particular... liaisons, difficult. However, Dusk wasn’t some all-star celebrity drained by the hardships of fame. His need for secrecy was an act of necessity, for, and he came to learn something not too long after he committed unflinchingly to mare her held sole affection for.

It was illegal.

He reached his destination after thirty minutes. A discreet hotel. His horn began to flow purple as he pushed open the front door, coming into the dimly lit and arguably cosy lobby – even if it was a little clandestine considering the context it was framed in. The fact it was it was also called ‘A Discreet Hotel’ contributed to that.

The receptionist gave him a half-interested nod, reading a magazine of sorts under candlelight, too disinterested to offer the alicorn more than a second glance. Aside from Dusk and his love, the receptionist was the only pony in the world who knew who Dusk was going to see. Fortunately for her, keeping the secret of a consort and prince meant that she was paid handsomely for her discretion. As the stallion passed her, a singular flower was placed upon the pages of her magazine – a bright red poppy – and her perfectly straight mouth curled slightly at the corners before resuming its natural straightness… that’s why he was the Prince of friendship.

Dusk ascended the stairway, wearing a comfortable smile, his horn covered in shimmering light as he held the bushel of flowers in front of him. He found her room. Number eight. He knocked on to no particular rhythm, no secret knock.

It could have only been him.

Click.

He felt his breath escape him, as it always did.

“Dusk,” Gleaming greeted, her body taking a step forwards on reaction, coming closer to the alicorn stallion as her cheeks flushed.

“Gleaming,” the stallion was similarly taken, lessening the space between them.

A lot was different from the time they but teen and child. Dusk was taller, but not by much. Apart from the wings and longer horn, he only looked like a larger version of his coltish self. Gleaming was similar, miraculously, her youthful beauty preserved. Her mane was longer, the blue of it dulled somewhat into her twenties, but her coat remained bright and full of life; her cerulean eyes were alike Celestial Ocean - deep and immensely beautiful. She had a small scar curved under her jaw. It was a miracle when Dusk thought on it, considering her myriad scrapes with the changelings, Umbra and her early life as a guard in Canterlot.

“I missed you,” Dusk admitted, before presenting the ensemble of red flowers to her; her sights didn’t leave him. “I got you flowers- mmph!”

Gleaming abruptly launched her lips towards him, smashing them together as her tongue pushed forwards past the stallion’s lips and teeth. She was always terse. Dusk barely had time to defend himself from her tongue’s assault, wrestling back with the wiggling muscle, coiling his own tongue with hers as they began to cradle each other’s cheek. Their lips smacked with lewd wet sounds, the occasional moan, the sounds of an impatient passion. But after a few moments, the kiss quietened down, and Dusk felt his quickened heartbeat slow.

They both broke the kiss after a while, offering each other tender looks before they nuzzled into each other’s cheeks, enjoying the serenity of each other’s company a while longer, before Gleaming spoke up. “Flowers? What the occasion?” she asked, quietly.

“Does the occasion have to be special to give you flowers?” Dusk replied smoothly.

“I guess not,” Gleaming’s lip curled into a delighted simper, her voice quiet. She pulled away from her brother’s caress, taking his hoof into her own. “Want to come in?”

“Yeah...” Dusk confirmed, being tugged along by Gleaming’s hoof, placing the bouquet onto a chair by the door, closing the door behind him with a gentle nudge of his hind leg.

The room was alright for what it was. A retreat, a secret love den Moonlight shone in through the balcony window, which added to the ambience provided by the few candles dotted around.

“How’ve you been?” Gleaming asked, continuing to hold her brother’s hoof, stopping at the bedside.

“A little hectic. Becoming an alicorn is, well, as crazy as you’d expect,” Dusk answered, grinning a little awkwardly, rustling his wings to accentuate his point. “Took me a while to get used to these things.

Gleaming looked him up and down, flirtatious gaze on him.“You’re quite small for an alicorn. Did it perhaps make something else grow larger,” she leaned towards him, a sensual and coy grin on her muzzle.

Dusk blushed, his mouth opening and closing. “I-I don’t know. I didn’t measure.”

“I could do it for you...” she offered, growling lustily as she prepared to lock lips, pressing her free hoof against his chest.

Suddenly, the alicorn’s face went serious. He pulled away slightly from her kiss, his brows knitted. “How… how’s Bolero,” he asked softly, a tincture of guilt in his voice.

Gleaming stopped, similarly pulling her head back. She looked away, ashamed, lips pursed in thinking. “I don’t want to talk about him,” Gleaming replied after little while, sharing a melancholic look with her sibling. “Why did you ask?”

Dusk nodded, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “I just wanted you to know I’m not pretending. I realise we can never truly be together.”

Gleaming let go of Dusk’s hoof, stepping away with a wince, eyes wetting with tears. “Where is this coming from?”

Dusk sniffed, tightening his lips and inhaling slightly through his nostrils. “Bolero told me something the last time we met. It felt… wrong. I smiled all the while, tried to match his excitement and be happy for him. But I couldn’t. Not when I knew what it meant for us,” Dusk explained vaguely, his expression contorted into a mixture of pain and mourning, forcing a weak smile finally. “He wants to have a foal.”

A breath escaped Gleaming’s mouth, and she rescinded on the gap she made between them. “What?”

“He wants to have a kid, Gleaming. He loves you so much you know. You come up into every conversation in some way or another,” Dusk elaborated, wistful. “I’ve always felt guilty for loving you. I kept trying to push you away so let you live your life without having to live in secrecy. I wanted you to date Bolero-”

“To help keep us a secret,” Gleaming interrupted, taking his hoof in her own again. “Don’t you think I feel guilty too, Dusk? I have two stallions who love me more than anything else in this world, and I’m constantly betraying them with every second I continue to love them both.”

Dusk sniffled, his features scrunching up as he tried to remain strong. “You’ve always wanted a foal, Gleaming. And I don’t want to get in the way of your life,” he squeezed her hoof. “And you’re right. I brought the flowers for a reason. Its been ten years you know. To this day.”

“Since we-”

“Yes,” he gave a sad smirk. “It probably wasn’t the best way for a young colt to learn about sex, but I don’t regret any of it,” he continued, grabbing her other hoof and giving them both an affectionate tug. “Ten years is long enough, Gleaming. We have to-”

Gleaming kissed him, pulling away with a frown. “Don’t say it. I don’t want to hear it, Dusk,” Gleaming lightly shook her head, voice firm. “You cannot stop me from loving you. From seeing you. Never.”

“T-then… then I don’t know what to do,” Dusk replied, being pulled into his sister’s embrace.

“Then don’t do anything, Dusk. Not yet. Let’s just enjoy this time together,” she spoke softly, partig from the hug as she pulled him up with her onto the bed.

The two laid atop the covers. Dusk pulled her towards him, the mare resting her head against the nape of his neck. A while passed, and he soon felt her hoof lower down his chest, until it was pressing into his stomach.

“Do you want to-”

“No,” he answered quietly, softly grabbing her hoof before it go lower. “I just want to have you in my hooves.”

There was quiet. Gleaming nuzzled into her brother’s neck, whist his chin rested atop her head, just shy of her horn. Dusk thereafter believed that silence would linger well into the night, until sleep grabbed them both. But there was a stir in the night. A question ringing out in the dark, when the candles had died.

“Do you still love me, Dusk. Truly.”

“I do.”

“Do you love me as much today as you did yesterday?”

“Yes,” Dusk answered, tightening his grasp about his sibling, his consciousness half-sleeping. “But not as much as much as I will tomorrow...”

For it grew stronger every day.

Author's Note

And we're done.
Bonus chapters are a given. 240 likes was my personal goal to write a full-blown sequel, since I have a bunch of other fics I have to get to. If it got that much attention I'd feel pretty obligated to do one. So... hint hint.

Anyway, thanks for reading. I'm glad you were patient.