My Dearest Dusk

by CrackedInkWell

Chapter 7

Pop!

In a flash, Dusk Shine reappeared in the library. Looking around to find the mess he made was not only tidied up, but he noticed that his old friend wasn’t in sight.

“Uh… Harpsy?”

“Took ya long enough,” the alicorn jumped as he heard the voice from behind. Quickly turning around, he found a smiling mint green stallion. “Hey Dusk, how’s it been?”

“Harpsy?”

“Yep!” the unicorn pulled him into a crushing hug, “Long time, little see, how’ve you been doing now?”

“For starters,” Dusk choked, “mind letting me get some air?”

“Oh,” Harpsy let go of the Prince, “heh, sorry about that. Guess it’s been a little too long since I’ve last seen ya.”

“It’s okay I suppose,” the Prince said, getting his breath back. “By the way, when was the last time that we’ve talked?”

Harpsy put a hoof to his chin, “Don’t know… I guess it must have been sometime before you moved here. Hold on, now I remember. It was about two months before you moved in here as well. I tell you Dusk, there were times that I have seen ya running everywhere and I wanted to have a chat with ya, but either you were too busy or I was occupied with…” the mint green unicorn trailed off when he noticed his friend’s expression had fallen. “Hey, you okay?”

Dusk shook his head, “Not really. I’ve just realized that I’ve pretty much abandoned you as a friend. And I haven’t even given a second thought about saying something for so long. Harpsy, I’m so sorry.”

“Aw, don’t beat yourself up,” Harpsy put a hoof around the alicorn. “The guys back in Canterlot already know that you tend to be distant, so this isn’t much of a surprise. But hey, I’m not really holding it against ya or anything. You’ve always busy or whatever when Solaris wanted ya to study for something.”

The Royal Scholar nodded his head, “Yeah, I guess so. But still, I still feel bad for neglecting you.”

“Again, you’re fine,” Harpsy waved a hoof. “So, how are things going for ya? Like the new castle?”

“I’m… still getting used to it.”

“Ah,” the unicorn nodded, “and what about your friends here in Ponyville?”

“We’re trying to keep ourselves busy. But I think that’s enough about me. What about you? What have you been doing since you moved here?”

“Well,” Harpsy replied, “except for studying my field of interest, I’m a street musician, just getting by to help pay the rent that I and Bar Bar are sharing.”

Now Dusk was curious. “Bar Bar? You mean that one guy that’s always competing with Barry when it comes to sweets?”

“Yeah, he’s the one that’s making candy.” The unicorn smiled as he added, “He became my best friend when I first moved in. He’s a sweet guy to be around and sees some potential in my music and all. I mean, what can I say, he’s kind, fun to talk to, and he can cook up a mean cinnamon candy.”

“That’s good to hear,” Dusk nodded, “So, has anything else important happened lately?”

Harpy's eyes light up, “Oh! I nearly forgot I’ve found my special somepony here.”

“Oh, congratulations Harpsy,” Dusk shook his hoof, “Glad to hear it, who’s the mare?”

His old friend blinked, “Mare?”

“Yeah, who is she?”

“Uh… Dusk,” Harpsy said, “I think I’ve already told ya guys that I’m gay right?”

Dusk blinked, “Huh?”

“I’ll take that as you haven’t,” he answered, “So I guess you probably weren’t there or weren’t paying attention, since, heck, you’ve always had a book in your face when I told the guys. So… Dusk, I’m gay.” Harpsy let out a wave. “Hello.”

“Whoa,” Dusk said, “I’d… I’d never really thought that you were.”

“Let me guess, I don’t have a lisp, I’m not overly obsessed with fashion like Elusive on a wedding suit, and I don’t let hoof go limp while I talk?” Harpsy shrugged, “Yeah, I’m a bit too weird to fit into a stereotype. Even the very few other gay ponies that I’ve ever met found me a too odd to be around.”

“Really?”

“Uh-huh, all because of what I study.”

Dusk tilted his head, “And… what do you study?”

“Well,” Harpsy sat on his hunches, “It’s a very particular field in cryptozoology.”

“But what is it?”

“Have you by any chance ever heard a creature called the human?”

Dusk froze but his friend went on, “There are only very few bits and pieces from what I could find, but they’re bipedal creatures that walk on their hind legs like birds. And from the few sources I could gather, they are known to be incredibly intelligent, and they have these-”

“Hey Harpsy,” the Prince interrupted, “can we get back on topic?”

“Oh, what?”

“About your uh… special somepony?”

“Ah, right. Anyway, I’ve found my special somepony since the time I’ve moved here. We started to go steady about three months ago.”

“Okay, so who is he?”

Harpsy laughed, “Didn’t I already tell you? Bar Bar is my special somepony.”

“Hold on, I thought you said that he’s your best friend?”

“He is,” he told him. “I guess that when your friend that you trust so much is your coltfriend, who’s to say that I can’t call him my ultimate best friend?”

Dusk suddenly got an idea, “Hey Harpsy, since you’re here, I was wondering if you could help me out for a bit?”

“Of course, shoot.”

“Okay, before I ask some advice, I must know, how well can you keep a secret?”

The unicorn raised an eyebrow, “Pretty good I guess. Why?”

“I have a bit of a social problem that I need some help figuring out. And considering what I’ve just learned about you, I think you’d be the ideal pony to help.”

“Help? Help with…” then Harpsy looked surprised. “Oh! Wait… Dusk, are you gay too?”

“W-What?” Dusk shifted his eyes, “N-No that’s not what I’m getting at. This is something completely different.”

His friend raised an eyebrow, “Like what?”

“Okay, Harpsy,” he looked in the unicorn’s eye and said, “The following conversation never happened, got it?”

“Yeah, yeah, so what is it?”

“Solaris is in love with me.”

There was a moment of silence, Dusk could see that the mint unicorn was processing what he just heard. “Okay,” he said finally, “I did not see that coming at all.”

“Neither did I,” Dusk muttered.

“I mean… wow… you must be the luckiest guy I’ve ever meet. I didn’t know that he’s gay.”

“Well, that’s the thing,” Prince Shine explained. “He doesn’t know that I know about that fact yet.” His friend asked if he could explain that, “Unlike you, he’s not as open about it. In fact, I didn’t have a clue until this morning when through some accident that I received the love letters he’d written for me. Solaris even came by and destroyed most of the letters before I got the chance to read them.”

“So wait, how do you know they were love letters if you hadn’t read them?” Harpsy questioned.

“You can thank Spines for that. She was able to save nine of them that she picked at random. And as I’ve read them, I’ve begun to see him in a completely different light. I’ve already read five of those nine letters so far and… Harpsy, I don’t know what to do. I really don’t have any idea how to approach this at all.”

“What are ya talking about,” the green unicorn raised both of his hooves in the air, “you just found out that Solaris, the Solar Prince of Equestria, has told you that he really likes you. If I were you, I’d feel honored, if not flattered that something like this was to happen to me.”

“For you, of course, but for me it’s different,” Dusk explained. “After all, this is somepony that I looked up to. I’ve always considered him to be my first, real friend that I’ve trusted since I was little. He’s always been my favorite teacher, somepony that I could always turn to when I wasn’t sure of something. But now… I don’t know what to think or feel.”

“Dusk,” Harpsy said, “I want you to look at me in the eye and tell me something.”

“What’s that?” he asked, looking into his friend’s golden eyes.

“Do you feel the same way for him as he does for you?”

“I… I don’t know,” he confessed. “I really don’t know. I mean, sure there are several things about him that I do admire about him. Yet at the same time, I don’t know if I would like him romantically since I’ve never dated stallions before, nor do I know if I could overcome seeing him as anything other than what I was brought up to see him as. And to top it all off, I’ve delved into something that clearly wasn’t meant for me to see. I’ve read the most personal letters to have ever come from him and now I worry if I’ve betrayed his trust.”

Harpsy closed his eyes and thought for a moment, “Alright,” he said at last, “Dusk, speaking from one friend to another, if you really want my advice, go talk to him. For his benefit and yours. You know, before I even had the courage to ask Bar Bar out, I’d developed crushes which all led to outright rejection or developed a relationship that didn’t last long. So the one thing I could say is to go and tell him what you’ve told me. Just don’t be afraid to speak your mind. And you know what, it may get awkward, you two may not want to speak to each other for weeks, but you’ll both learn where your new boundaries will be and just move forward.”

Dusk took in what his old friend had said, reflecting in his straightforward counsel. Smiling, the Prince said to him, “Thanks Harpsy, I think I know what to do now.”

Comments

[Lord Solaris]

chapter after chapter your good

[Commissar Dwarf]

6248345 Cause it's not a clopfic.