Axle watched in wonderment as a dragon flew far above the world beneath his hooves, the distant shape of the beast unmistakable in the fading evening light, Celestia's setting sun casting long shadows across the wide open field behind the manor at the mill, the sky a vibrant orange.
Sat next to Axle was Limb Trimmer, the two of them on a small balcony at the back of the manor's upper floor, accessed through a door in the master bedroom. The balcony overlooked the field in the back, the river and the stone bridge spanning it a short distance away. The balcony was just big enough for the two of them, but to Axle, that was more than enough.
"We don't see dragons much often around here" Trimmer said, his own gaze following the magnificent creature as it quickly soared over and away, soon becoming not much more than a fading speck as it disappeared from sight, heading north. "I find them to be very interesting and awe-inspiring."
Axle nodded in agreement, his head turned back to idly watch the setting sun. "Can't say that I disagree with ya on that one" he said. "I remember the first time I saw a dragon; I was scared outta my mind. Just about jumped outta my skin and ran so fast I thought I was flyin'."
"If you could fly, it'd be easier for a dragon to catch you" Trimmer replied with a snicker. "Though that sounds like it was a sight to see. When was this?"
"When I was a colt. It was in Vanhoover, where we grew up, and tha dragon was just sittin' on a hill just outside town. But I swear to Celestia, it looked at me and grinned, and tha sight'a all them teeth 'bout killed me on their own" Axle said, waving his hoof animatedly, prompting Trimmer to giggle at his antics. Axle huffed at Trimmer's amusement. "if ya'll had seen 'im, you would'a run, too."
"Who's to say I didn't, when I saw my first dragon?" Trimmer stated as he put his hoof back down, having brought it up in a half-hearted attempted to hide his amusement. "I was only ten, and I wandered to the other side of the forest behind the manor. There are beautiful, rolling hills back there, and even a small mountain. I was just looking out at the hills when, all of a sudden, this dragon comes flying out of a cave in the mountain, coming straight for me. I turned tail and ran so fast into the forest, one could've sworn I left a dust cloud in the shape of me where I had been standing. As I ran, the dragon flew directly over the forest, directly over me. His belly must've been scraping the tree tops, he was so low. When I reached the other side, he was gone. Probably just wanted to scare me. Dragons are devious like that."
"I suppose they are. Perhaps that's what the first one I saw was trying to do; scare me. Since then, I've seen less than ten in my entire life. Princess Twilight's claimed to have seen hundreds, and says there's thousands in the southern badlands, but I wouldn't know. Don't think I want to be in a place where there's hundreds of dragons around" Axle declared.
"Did you know she lives with a baby dragon, and knows the current dragon lord? Allegedly, she's even friends with a changeling. She gets around, it seems" Trimmer said.
"I'd say she's mighty crazy if she pals around with dragons and changelin's, but hey, guess she knows what she's doin'" Axle replied.
"I should hope so. She's the Princess of friendship, after all. If anypony could find a way to make friends with a Changeling no less, it'd be her. Though, I'm sure she read a book on how to do it, first."
The two shared a laugh before falling quiet, content to just watch the sunset on the old balcony. Internally, though, Axle wasn't sure where to go from there. He knew he was attracted to Trimmer, but he didn't know if Trimmer would be receptive. What was more, even if Trimmer did reciprocate, would the feelings be genuine, or would be they a result of his anguish and pain? Axle didn't want to feel like he was taking advantage of the young Unicorn in his vulnerable emotional state.
Just take it slow. If there's a connection, let him make it. Let him go at his own pace.
"Tell me, Axle; how did you and your brother get in to trains in the first place? I know working on them is both your special talents, but how did that come to be?" Trimmer asked.
Oh, that's an easy topic. "Well we grew up in Vanhoover, as ya'll know. There was a rail yard not very far from our apartment, and my brother and I would go there almost every day after school to watch the trains. One day we actually snuck in to the yard to see the train up close, and we went up into tha control cabin. Ya'll can probably imagine what happened next" Axle explained, a sheepish smile spreading across his face. "We accidentally started up tha engine and tha train started movin', inching down the tracks and quickly gaining speed. Thank Celestia the emergency brake was so clearly labelled, otherwise we woulda rode that train all the way to Ponyville."
"Goodness, I'm sure that was exciting. That's when your marks appeared?" Trimmer asked.
"'Exciting'? I guess that's one way'a puttin' it. But yeah, that's when we got our marks. Dad wasn't sure whether to throw us a cute-ceañera or throw us in a dungeon for tha rest of our lives. When we came'a age that's when we signed up for tha Royal Rail Service. Been with 'em ever since!" Axle exclaimed.
Trimmer smiled. "Well, I'm happy to hear everything worked out so well. How long have you two been with the RRS?"
"'Bout ten years now. This whole running out of coal debacle is the first bit of trouble we've run in to in all our years'a service" Axle said. "What about you and your brother? I'm sure gettin' your marks was every bit as interestin' as ours was."
"Oh, certainly not. We grew up on the mill, helping with the daily tasks and chores every Saturday. Since everything gets done in the morning, school saved us from working the mill, except on Saturdays. We had a week off school one year, and Willow and I went out early one morning before our parents awoke to see if we could fell a tree ourselves. It took us forever to saw through that tree, but we finally got it down. Only then we had no way of bringing it back to the mill. We were still out there, trying to figure out what to do, when daddy came out looking for us. Turns out the tree we felled was the one he and mom had shared their first kiss under, and goodness was he upset. Told us to carry that tree all the way back to the mill and split it, all by ourselves. There was no way we could've lifted that tree, so we limbed it as best we could and dragged it out into the field. Once there, we turned it and started rolling it, bucking with our hindlegs, which only moved it a few feet each time. Took us nearly two hours to get it to the mill, but we did it. That's when we got our marks" Trimmer explained.
"Ya'll did that all by yourselves? Sweet Celestia, I bet that was exhaustin'" Axle commented.
"It was. I've never been more sore in my life."
"I bet!" Axle exclaimed, the two falling silent once again, Axle falling into his thoughts again. Smart, a bookworm, cute, what more could I ask for? He's perfect."
As troubled as Trimmer was, Axle knew there was nothing he'd change about the lithe buck, and there was no changing how he felt. He'd fallen head over hooves for him.
"When mother... Daddy was almost as broken up as I was. He tried to console us as best he could, but even he couldn't hold back the tears" Trimmer suddenly said. "It hurt. It hurt us all. I've never known a pain greater, than that which afflicted my heart."
"Not to sound like a broken record, but you can get through this, Trimmer. You can heal this pain" Axle stated, reaching over and putting a hoof on Trimmer's back, a comforting smile on his face.
Trimmer smiled and nodded. "With help. From friends, family... And somepony else. Somepony more...special."
This is it.
"How do you mean?" Axle asked, already aware of the Unicorn's meaning, but wanting to hear it for himself. To bring to life what he had been wishing for ever since he'd laid eyes on the young stallion, even if it had taken him a few days to realize it; he wanted Trimmer, and Trimmer wanted him.
"I... I don't..." Trimmer stuttered, choking up.
"It's OK, Trimmer. I'll help ya."
Trimmer looked away, his eyes tearing up again. "A-Are you sure? It's going to be hard... It'll be harder than when it actually happened, all those years ago. The pain... It'll be too much to bear. It wouldn't be fair to you to shoulder it with me."
"It's what ponies do. What anypony would do. What I'll do."
Fresh tears fell to the smooth stone of the balcony below, Trimmer's head hung, his eyes squeezed shut. Axle reached out and took the Unicorn's hoof into his own, tenderly holding it. Trimmer looked up at him, his lip quivering, his head a whirlwind of emotions. Hope, confusion, sorrow.
"I... I hadn't dared to hope... I didn't think...that... That you'd feel the way I do..."
"I do, and I won't leave your side. I'll be with you, every step of the way" Axle assured him. Trimmer's expression contorted as he began sobbing again, and he threw himself into Axle, wrapping his hooves around him, holding him tightly. Axle returned the embrace in earnest, stroking the troubled pony's back to soothe him.
"I-- I... I lo-- I lov--"
"Shhhh, it's OK, Trimmer. I love you, too."
As he stared into the horizon, the last rays of Celestia's setting sun vanishing, giving way to Luna's moon, Axle smiled forlornly, his mind focused on Trimmer. Even as he had said it, as the words had left his mouth, there had been no doubt, and no hesitation. It was the truth, as clear as day.
He loved Trimmer, and would never let him go.