The Family Cygnet

Dinner was bizarre. That was the only way Shining could describe it. Twilight and him were on a ‘Date’, but there were some obvious limitations. They couldn’t have gone out in public. Twilight didn’t want to use the castle, as she didn’t want Starlight catching her.

Their parents were out, shopping for new furniture for the burnt kitchen, so Twilight and Shining were having their ‘Date’ in their parents’ sitting room. There was a small batch of flowers on the coffee table, and a half bottle of wine for them to share, as Twilight didn’t want things getting “out of hoof” again. She’d also brought a salad and some appetizers that she’d borrowed from the castle kitchen.

Shining looked at the table, then at his sister. “This is weird, Twilight.”

She grabbed a tiny sandwich and leaned back in the couch next to him, sliding a little closer than he was used to. “Oh yeah. Super weird.”

“Huh,” was all he said.

“So, I just went ahead and did the paperwork for you today. Like I offered to do when I found it.”

Shining sighed. “You really didn’t have to do that. You don’t owe me any favors.”

She shrugged. “It took me two minutes and forty two seconds. It would have taken you at least three hours. I already knew all the references, and I file them on occasion for my guard. There’s even an official protocol in place where my signature counts as theirs for paperwork like this, since the guard just “enacts the princess’s will”.”

“Hey! I was never your guard. I’ve guarded Princess Celestia and Cadance. And Luna—but only that one time she needed an armed escort when she was attacking light posts for being foul heathen beasts.”

Twilight nibbled on her sandwich. “You served at the leisure of the crown. I happen to be the crown at the moment. That’s all.”

He groaned. “Please tell me you didn’t sign me up for magical experiments when I die.”

“Of course I did. I’m going to stuff you and mount you like the rest of them. I’ll keep you in my personal collection of friends.”

He shook his head. “Fun as that sounds, Cadance has the first dibs on stuffing me when I pass. She wants to use me to scare all of Flurry’s future boyfriends. For the next several centuries.”

“Sometimes I don’t know why I helped her hook up with you.”

Shining rolled his eyes in disbelief. “You didn’t even know we were getting married. I wooed her with my mellifluous voice when you were a foal.”

Twilight seemed offended. “No! I really helped her! I came up with the four point plan, I had a diagram, and I even put together a full presentation on why you were the optimal choice for her.”

“That sounds… far too much like you to be a lie.”

“It’s not!” She shoved the sandwich into her mouth, looking at him with a somewhat angry side eye.

“Why’d you do it? Assuming you had a crush on me?”

“Oh stars did I. I still do.” Twilight was blushing, her eyes lingering on the disastrous array of snacks on the table. “But I was practical. I was too small, and Cadance was a princess. You deserved to be happy, not alone. She was far and away the best you were going to do, and she wanted you! I just had to help you realize that you wanted her too. I was always… thinking about you.”

Hearing her say that made Shining’s chest feel warm, and he smiled. Cadance had never admitted Twilight’s interference. “Thanks, Twily. You’re a star, you know that?”

“Yeah. A star taxidermist.” She snorted.

“You don’t really know any taxidermy, right?” He chuckled, wondering if he should have one of the sloppy sandwiches from the kitchen table.

Twilight sighed, almost dissapointed. “Not a bit. But I have plenty of time to learn.”

Now that was an interesting thought. Shining felt a strange tightness in his chest. His sister would live forever. Like his wife. And his daughter. How would they remember him in a hundred years? In two hundred? A thousand? More? He suddenly felt very lonely, even as he watched her fake disappointment. He’d asked Cadance this question when they were dating. It was time to ask Twilight. “What’s it like? Not living life like you’re on a timer?”

She stilled, then quietly took a bite of her sandwich. She chewed for a moment, breathed deeply through her nose, and swallowed. Her voice was somber. “I am, though. Not the same timers as everypony else, but I will go through changes. Ultimately, I might live long enough to die of old age. That would be a very, very long time from now, though.”

He sighed. It was close enough to Cadance’s answer, and just as vague. “I just don’t get why Cadance is in such a hurry. She has an eternity to experiment with other ponies once I’m gone. Why now?”

Twilight glared at him, staring at him strangely. “It’s not about her. It’s about you. You’re the timer.”

Shining blinked in surprise.

Twilight continued. “She wants to explore other mares with you. She wants you to do the same, to live your life to the fullest so you have no regrets when it is finally over.”

“I hadn’t thought about it quite like that.”

Twilight frowned in concentration as she tried to find the right words. “She loves you—a lot. Enough to… really hurt you, if that makes any sense at all.”

“Not exactly. How would you know what she’s feeling?”

Twilight’s frown curved into a sad smile. “Because I feel the same way. I love you just as much, and I want you to be as happy as possible for as long as possible.”

Shining frowned back. He was somewhere between flattered and offended. “I… appreciate your… concern, but me living my best life is not me having sex with a bunch of mares. I don’t want that. I don’t know why Cadance thinks I want that. I need consistency.”

Twilight shifted closer on the seat, her coat brushing up against his. “It doesn’t have to be a bunch of nameless mares. Maybe just a… few close ones?”

He sighed, feeling ignored. He didn’t understand Twilight. He didn’t understand Cadance. They didn't understand him. “We talked about this. I don’t care about any of this. I’m a swan, remember? I need romance. Doesn’t this bother you? If you, like-like me, then shouldn’t you be jealous or something?”

Twilight slipped a wing around his back, and pulled him close. The contact was strangely warm and comforting, but also oddly possessive. “Oh, I am. Insanely so.” She squeezed him with her wing. “But that doesn’t matter. I’m used to being jealous. I’m always jealous. I think it’s just my normal state. I understand, appreciate, and even encourage you to have any mares you can. You’re my brother. You deserve the world.”

“But I don’t want the world! I want Cadance. I’ve been pretty clear about that. To everypony.” He didn’t fight out of the wing hug. She was surprisingly strong, and it wasn’t meant to be malicious.

Her voice was quiet, and she put a hoof on his leg. Her touch tingled. “What about me? Last night you said you might.”

Shining blushed. He had said something like that. Her touch was warm and tingly. What was happening? “You… are complicated.”

She smiled warmly, and trailed her hoof up his leg to his abdomen. “It doesn’t have to be complicated. You might think you’re a swan, but think I’m a duck. No weird feelings. No weird emotions. No lying about what I want. No obligations. Just… me.”

Shining was feeling warm. She was serious. She’d been serious, but now she was serious. He recognized the timbre in her voice, the slow, swirling movements. They were things Cadance did when she wanted him. The visual of his sister, wings spread and smiling ran through his head. It was an image he wasn’t ready for. He stuttered, surprised with himself. “You… You’re still my sister. We already have a bunch of weird emotions.”

Twilight trailed her hoof higher, to his chest. And put her head on his shoulder, leaning into the embrace in a whole new way. “And I wouldn’t have it any other way. I love you. You love me. We both know that. But that’s irrespective to what I’m talking about.”

Shining shifted slightly away. This was too much too fast. He gently grabbed her hoof in his and moved it away. She lifted her head out of the intimate position. The wing stayed, though. Neither of them moved it.

He shivered. He was considering it. Thinking about the possibility like it was real. “Maybe it’s not, though. Will it come with new feelings? What happens then? I don’t want things to change with you. You’re my closest friend, and know me better than anypony. Maybe even Cadance. You even help me build optimized O&O characters. She won’t touch that side of my life. I don’t want us to have some dark secret that makes us uncomfortable when we meet. I need you to be… you. Just my sister. My LSBFF.”

Twilight looked sad and frowned. “You can’t keep things the same forever, Shining. Change is inevitable. Either you make the changes, or they make you.”

He glared at her. “I don’t want any of these changes! Why is everypony pushing this so hard? Plenty of stallions marry one mare and stay faithful until they die. That’s what I want.”

She tilted her head, perfectly calm. “So you don’t want me?”

He looked at her—really looked. Her eyes were gorgeous. Purple and twinkling, he never realized how deep they were. He could see how thoughtful she was. “Not like that, Twilight. At least, I don’t think I do.”

“Hmm… Maybe this wouldn’t work then.” She didn’t seem upset. If anything, she seemed contemplative.

“That’s what I’ve been saying,” Shining mumbled awkwardly

Her eyes glinted, and she slid back next to him. She was warmer than he remembered. “But maybe it will. Aren’t you even slightly curious?”

“Twilight… please.” Why was she still doing this? She’d always been stubborn. Every once in a while she latched onto an idea; holding on to it and never letting it go until she’d been proven right or wrong. It was a trait that he usually found endearing, but found frustrating when it had to do with him. It looked like this had become one of those.

She spoke softly, but held him firmly. “Please BBBFF, for a moment humor me. I know you don’t want to just duck fuck any mare. I know that. You know I know that. Give me a chance to really explain and just listen and imagine for a few seconds. I know you have a great imagination. Pretend it’s one of our role playing games, and visualize it a bit further than you are.” She whispered, almost sadly, “Please try for me?”

Shining huffed, frustrated by her closeness and her pleading tone. He couldn’t say no, and she was just asking him to think about it. “Fine. What’s it look like to you?”

Twilight pressed into his neck, her snout making him tingle as she spoke. “You and me snuggling. Reading rule books for tabletop games together. Painting armies. Calculating odds for different character builds… We’d spend much more time together, and I’d enjoy being part of your hobbies again. Like when we were young. Cadance wouldn’t mind. She’s made that clear. I’d visit more. You wouldn’t need to send me to a guest room. It wouldn’t be a secret, not to the ponies who mattered.”

Shining swallowed as she wrapped a hoof around him as well. Physically, it was like she was a spider, slowly cocooning him for later. Mentally, he did miss how close they used to be. She had been his best friend, and best game buddy. Twilight always immediately understood the rule books for the myriad of games he liked to play. She’d been eager to go through the books, and loved to talk about them with him. He missed that. And Cadance hated it. She detested the games, and only shook her head in amusement when she caught him perusing one of the books, let alone playing one of the scenarios.

Twilight fully turned toward him, draping her legs over his. “I don’t want fancy dates, or expensive gifts. Just you and I, some wine, and some dice. You’d get your romance, and I’d actually enjoy the experience.”

She was wrapped around him now, fully and closely hugging him. Not tight, but firm. Enough that it was more intimate than any hug he’d gotten from her before, but not quite anything scandalous. Just very, very close. It was kind of nice. He realized her hooves were trembling, and he felt slightly ashamed. This was a big risk on her part. Obviously she was nervous, even if she was hiding it.

She was still his awkward little sister. She played a smooth operator right then, but that was because she’d read ahead and practiced. The thought jarred him. Of course she had. She probably had practiced this little speech all day, rehearsing and taking notes on it until she thought she was as sexy as she needed to be. But underneath it all, she was more terrified than she could possibly let on. He finally hugged her back, silently reassuring her that he still loved her. That everything was okay.

Twilight froze when he did it, but only for a second. The trembling in her hooves stilled, and she seemed to relax comfortably into him as a hidden tension melted from her arms. Her whole body shivered in the same way a wire does when you finally cut it. Her voice wasn’t low anymore, but it was quiet—perhaps even wishful. “I’d get the affection that I’m missing so bad it hurts. It would mostly be this. Just closeness.”

Shining gave her a light squeeze, feeling her press her body to his. It didn’t feel wrong. She loved him, and he loved her. But this was still just platonic. “I… this is nice. But it wouldn’t just be this, would it?”

She crossed a line, surprising him. A warm kiss was pressed into his neck. Her tongue soaked into his skin, reminding him that it was more than a friendly peck. There was intent in that kiss, a heady and honest desire. The warmth spread through him, and he bit his lip. He didn’t stop her. He didn’t chastise her. He didn’t even relax their embrace.

Did he want this? Really want this? She did. He could feel it in his neck as another long, far too warm kiss left him feeling strangely breathless.

Twilight slid her tongue off his neck to whisper into his ear. “It’s really not much more, is it? Just a long, very close hug every once in a while. A little something intimate and domestic to tame a wild duck. Not every day, not all the time, but yes. There would be more. Please, Shining. You’ll get your fancy romance, and I’ll get my needs… filled. We both win.”

He stared at her, really stared. She wasn’t looking at his face, instead keeping herself buried in his neck and mane, but he could see down her back. Her tail was swishing. Her body was pressed into his. She was beautiful. Cadance wanted this. Twilight wanted this. He… shivered at the surprisingly inviting and obscene thought.

Twilight tried again, “You’re not really a swan, and I’m not really a duck. We’re not wild animals, Shining. We’re ponies, and we’re far, far more complicated. It’s okay to be two, three, or more things. I’ll love you no matter what.”

He swallowed. He did want this. “It doesn’t feel wrong, I guess.”

Twilight squeezed him. It was nice. “That’s because it isn’t, Shining. It’s not even difficult. We could just agree to it right now and send Cadance a missive that this is happening. We can and should keep it completely above board with her. She would be happy for you. For us. But it does take courage. A willingness to explore and to risk things. I know you have courage.”

He swallowed. There were so many things that could go wrong. “Maybe. You are making an all too convincing argument. What if things go bad? I could lose you. I could lose Cadance. Even Flurry might decide that she’s disgusted with me. With us.”

Twilight made an oddly happy noise into his neck. “I’ll always be your sister. That won’t change. And Cadance will always love you. She can’t help it. As for Flurry, well, she doesn’t need to know right away. We could ease her in. I’m already her fun aunt. I’d just be a more present fun aunt. She’ll be fine.”

Shining let go of the hug, and slowly peeled her away from him, the cool air suddenly separating them reminding him of how close they just were. Twilight didn’t fight him, but she was silent and unreadable while he did it.

He flashed her a slight smile. “I… need to think about this.”

“But that’s not a ‘No’?” Her voice was hopeful.

He blinked, and then smiled wider than he expected to. “It’s not, surprisingly. Not at all.”

Twilight’s impassive face broke into a wide grin as well, joy visibly coursing through her. “Yes! I followed all the steps in ‘Convincing arguments for dubious activities, Volume 4’ and it worked!”

He shook his head and chuckled. “You’re a nerd.”

She chuckled back. “A nerd you love.”

His answer was as easy as it always would be. “I do.”