My Dearest Dusk

by CrackedInkWell

Chapter 14

Solaris came up on deck, carrying in his aura two plates of the pasta and a bowl of still-warm sliced bread. He noticed the light was already dimming and his sense of time told him that sunset wasn’t too long from now. His attention, however, was on Dusk, who was looking at the horizon, at the sky in its darkening blues, violets, light blue, orange, and tinted reds among the clouds.

“Quite lovely, isn’t it?” This got the younger Prince’s attention. Solaris smiled as he approached the table with the food. “Personally, I’ve always loved sunsets. I’ve looked at them all my life and I’ve never once grown tired of seeing them.”

“Do you think you’re going to lower the sun now?” Dusk asked out of curiosity.

“Hm… Not quite yet. I still have some time until I turn the evening over to Artie.” The white alicorn looked up after he put the plates and bread bowl on the table. “Here, allow me.” His horn lit up and, one by one illuminated the glass lanterns overhead the deck. Dusk looked up as well, as the lanterns lit up like newborn stars over his head.

“Much better,” said Solaris approvingly, taking his seat once more. “Now let’s eat.”

“Thank you.” With that, Dusk started eating the pasta. After taking some in his mouth, he quickly concluded that the noodles were cooked perfectly, the sauce was creamy, and the carrots and broccoli were crunchy. “That’s good,” he told him. “It’s really good.”

Solaris took a bit out of his. “I agree,” he said after swallowing some of it. “I need to remind myself to thank the chefs below. This is the kind of pasta that any stallion’s mother would approve of.”

The two of them took a few moments to enjoy the meal in front of them until Dusk had a question pop into his head. “Solaris?”

“Hm?”

“I was wondering about this airship we’re on. Is this yours, or somepony else’s? This doesn’t quite match some of your tastes.”

“Ah,” the elder alicorn put down his fork, “you’re right actually. Technically, this isn’t mine. And you’re right that this ship is a bit too… flamboyant for my tastes. But it does have a functioning kitchen, though.”

“But if it isn’t yours, whose is it?”

Solaris grinned. “Bluebelle’s – or at least, one of hers anyway since she has five of these in various sizes. This is the smallest of the ships she owns, but again, it has a functioning kitchen. But don’t worry, I’m just borrowing it for tonight. And yes, she knows that I’ve borrowed it, only she doesn’t know what for.”

“Oh, okay,” Dusk looked back at his plate. “For a moment, I kinda wondered if it was stolen.”

“Why Dusk Shine, I’m shocked,” Solaris mocked with a hoof over his heart. “I would steal an airship? What would make you say that? All I’ve done was play a few practical jokes, like putting on a disguising spell to make me look like a changeling so I could give the maids a heart attack, or adding some hot sauce to Crescendo’s tea, or that time I ‘accidentally’ put itching powder into Bluebelle’s dress. What makes you think I would borrow without permission?”

Dusk blinked. “You disguised yourself as a changeling once?”

The Sun Prince chuckled. “Oh yes, but it was only that one time, though. And it was because Ms. Feather Duster took her job way too seriously. So, I thought I give her a scare to wake her up.” He laughed as he added. “All I did was ask her if she could come up and bring me some spices for my tea. She entered my room to find me going about my business but looking like a changeling. Ha! Her reaction, oh, it was just so hard not to laugh.”

Dusk couldn’t help but laugh, too. “Oh, you can be so evil at times.”

“I know.” Both of them continued to laugh for a moment until the humor subsided.

After they paused for a moment, Dusk spoke up. “Hey, Solaris, could you do something for me?”

Solaris’s ears perked up. “Of course, what is it?”

Here, the lilac Prince unfolded a wing and, with his magic, took out a scroll that he had been carrying, giving it to the elder alicorn. “Could you read this to me? It’s one of the letters that you… uh, accidently sent. This is the only one that I haven’t read, and I was somewhat hoping that you would read this aloud to me.”

The Sun Prince blinked before taking the letter into his own magic. After he unfolded it, he quickly scanned it to remember which one it was. His ears folded back and a faded blush appeared on his cheeks. “I don’t know,” he stated. “Do you really want me to read this?”

“Hey, even after reading eight of those nine surviving letters, I think it’s pretty clear that you had things you wanted to say to me but couldn’t. So I thought, ‘how about I give him the chance to actually tell me by reading the one letter I haven’t read’. In all honesty,” Dusk looked down at the table, trying to hide a blush of his own, “I’m actually looking forward in what it might say. So, would you please read it to me?”

“Well… alright then.” Solaris took a quick drink from his glass before clearing his throat. “Alright then. My Dearest Dusk Shine,

“Spring has once again come to Canterlot, but I’m afraid that this is the first time that you will not be here. As of now, it’s been almost a year since you’ve moved to Ponyville. I could probably guess by now that you’re taking some part in the tradition of Winter Wrap-Up. I think that it’ll be interesting to hear from you what your thoughts on the practice are, considering that you’ve been looking forward to having some sort of role in it.

“While you help with getting rid of the snow, Canterlot is still at work clearing its snow and awakening the animals that took shelter in the city. From outside of my window, I can see the gardeners are still at work planting new flowers for the upcoming, warmer months. All done by magic, of course, but I can’t wait to see what your take of Ponyville’s is since you told me that they never use magic to change the seasons.

“As the city is making way for spring and welcoming the green, I, in the meantime still miss you. Somehow, the season of new beginnings looks dull and muted. All the colors of flowers and the leaves on the trees seem gray to my sight. The warm air is cold to my coat, and even the clear skies don’t help me cheer up without you.

“I’m not sure where to begin in how much I miss you, my beloved. Even when I try to keep myself as busy as possible, without you, I’m struggling to see what the point of doing all this work is. Because to me, spring doesn’t start when the calendar says so, nor does it happen when the Sun gives nature its warmth. To me, spring begins when I see you smile. The flowers of gardens never bloom until your laughter echoes in my ears, and real warmth is felt in my frozen home whenever I hear you call my name.

“Please don’t forget to visit me soon, or invite me over to your home. Your letters help, but I still miss seeing you.

“Forever yours,

“Forever mine,

"Forever us…” Solaris trailed off.

Dusk meditated for a moment, taking in what was said. “So, you really do miss me sometimes?”

His old mentor folded his ears back. “Every so often.”

“Tell me something,” the younger Prince leaned forward. “All those letters you’ve written, were you writing them to me every day?”

Solaris nodded. “Ever since I realized my feelings for you, I got into the habit of writing you one every night before I went to sleep. Dusk… I really did want to show you those letters, but when Philharmonic sent them, without knowing if you would be ready or not, I panicked and tried to destroy them before you knew my greatest secret. I’ve been so careful since… well… I’d let my feelings get me into trouble before. I was once blackmailed because I told a certain stallion that I’d loved him, but he saw it as an opportunity to get what he wanted until he died.”

Dusk was taken aback at this, “You were blackmailed?”

Sighing, he answered, “Only once, but it was enough to be extra cautious when it came to matters of the heart. Since I didn’t know what your… orientation was, I had to hold it all back until I was absolutely sure. In hindsight, I believe I have underestimated your trust in me, and for that, I apologize.”

“You’re forgiven. I’m still trying to figure this out myself.”

Solaris nodded. “I understand.” He turned to the sky, taking notice of the sun on the horizon. “Would you please excuse me?” Dusk told him to go ahead and watched the elder Prince get up and walk to the railing of the airship to lower the sun. The younger alicorn also took notice that the Manehattan skyline was coming up to them as well.

Comments

[PrinceCelestia]

Holy celestia above do you know how to paint vivid picture in my head with your words, you're doing a amazing job!

[CrackedInkWell]

6277401 Two things: firstly thank you for pointing that out, those have already been fixed.

And secondly...

Warning: The following story contains a rule 63 or gender-swap of Twilight and Celestia, which means this story will be a m/m romance. Also, this story is currently unedited. So if you don't like either of those or both, you know where the exit button is. Or if you want to help edit this, please PM me to volunteer.

Why is it that even though I tried to warn you guys at the very start, that you seem surprised when you found out that it's unedited?

[Llyander]

6277804 I never said I was surprised by it. I was well aware of that fact going in, but at the same time you have a great story here that's being damaged by lousy grammar and spelling. There's plenty of folks here who offer their help editing stories, heck there's groups dedicated to it, so what's stopping you having this story tidied up?

In fact, I'd be happy to help you with it if you can't find anyone willing to do it on the site. It would genuinely be my pleasure.

[CrackedInkWell]

6278566 I don't know if you'll understand this, if fact, I wouldn't blame you if don't get my reasoning, so I'll say this once and then give it up.

It's not that I don't want this thing to be edited. I do want this thing to make it easier for some folks to read. However, the only thing that's been stopping me, are the editors themselves. When I started posting stories on this site for the first time a little over a year ago, for a while, no editor would come near me because of the content I ask to be edited. Which is where I developed a weird philosophy: That if your story is interesting enough, you don't go to the editors, the editors will come to you. As stupid as it sounds, it has worked for me. I just keep writing until someone comes along to volunteer that's willing to work with me through patience, an open mind, and is loyal to edit to the end.

So for you, I'm not discouraging you to find me an editor. I say that if you want to find someone to volunteer, I say try to go for it. Just make sure you let them know to PM me so I could talk with them first.