//------------------------------// // 1- How it starts // Story: Through Dusk's Eyes // by TheRedBirdWhoTypes //------------------------------// In the end. After all that heat, the passion, the drive and desperate kisses with hooves and magic that pulled the two of them closer until there was no choice but to pull apart for air- it would be silent. As the session ends, Nightmare Moon - Equestria's first ever empress - would give him one last squeeze before simply dropping and turning to her side. Her eyes, bright and blown wide, would hide before her eyelashes before her face followed soon after by nuzzling deep into her lavish pillows. Her voice, one that chanted his name as if it were vows and prayers to a god- to him just a few minutes ago, would say nothing for the rest of the night. All that was left was Dusk to see her wings, a pair that he knew was so much warmer and softer than the blanket it laid under. What just happened were a series of events that happened like a routine every time Dusk Shine took Nightmare Moon to bed and just like always, tonight was no different.  The lowly unicorn had already done his job and simply didn't exist after doing so.  So, was it really his fault for him to glare at the form next to him like every night before this one?  He never really meant for things to turn out this way. He had enough bits to sustain himself now, he didn't didn't continue. He didn't need this mare and from the way Moon treated him, it was rather obvious that she didn't need him either.  But even then- Even then; every time her letters would poof in front of him, he'd read. Every time she went and wrote words of how she was so so lonely without her dear Orpheus, he'd come running and every time, it'd end with him stuck in her sheets and a burning feeling in his chest. Every time, he'd hoped- Tartarus, you could say he wished and prayed for even a word, a look to be sent his way once everything was done. Anything to have hinted that it meant something. How could it not? Not when she's nuzzling up to him after a session, her wings holding him like he was her world and her eyes- Faust… her eyes. Looking at him like he mattered, like he was something. Something to her. Then once she regained her senses, the space that was practically nonexistent between them grew wide and he was left feeling like nothing even happened. Dusk grimaced at that thought, his brows furrowing as he glared at the Royal. Moon simply continued to sleep beside him, so unaware of just how vulnerable she is right now. She was tired, as she always was after a session and he knows just how easily it'd be for him to manifest a knife right now and plunge it right into her throat. But he doesn't do that. Instead he closes his eyes and sighs. When he opens again, anger laced with violence is long gone, instead replaced by a look of longing. He shouldn’t have let himself get so invested. He shouldn’t keep answering her calls. He shouldn’t keep waiting for something that would never happen. After all, this wasn't a fairytale. He is no royal guard that could bag a royal like his family would've wanted. Instead he's a scrounger, a thief who fucks ponies over to survive. It just so happens that the newest Empress was one of those Ponies. Dusk knows that he should get up and leave, walk right those stupid ostentatiou double doors with as much as he could and never come back. Anything to clear his mind of this horrible, beautiful and oh so torturous mare. He knows that he should hate her for putting him through all this. But, just like always. He did none of those things.  Instead, he pulled away, slow and practiced as his horn glowed with magic. It wasn't bright, he made sure of it and it pinged around the desk beside the bed with a purpose. The familiar weight of his lighter was akin to an old friend and Dusk rose from the bed, making sure to not wake his… Lover? Partner? Business transactor? He didn't know. The floor was as unforgiving as the world and he winced at how cold it was, a sharp noise escaping. His head snapped back towards the place he just escaped and when it showed no movement, no showcase of arousal; Dusk couldn't shake the strange feeling of disappointment that pooled at his stomach. It wasn't so hard to step past Armor pieces that lay scattered along the floor, especially considering that it isn't his first time swiftly moving and scuttling to not be heard. A disgruntled look formed when Dusk found his pile. His cloak, the one that helps him blend in the night, was torn. The middle piece, the one that keeps it together, was ripped right off, probably because Nightmare Moon is one impatient whorse whenever she's in the mood. He scowled even more when the string that came with the middle piece was tangled with the cloak of her highness. He rolled his eyes at that and quickly untangled the two before throwing his own cloak over him, a much needed item in these cold nights. Now knowing that he wouldn't be shivering the moment he stepped outside, Dusk slipped out the balcony doors, making sure to keep it open just a crack because he did not want to be locked in once again. He felt a bit bad for letting the chill in, Moon had silk sheets, while very pretty did a shitty job in holding heat. Surprisingly, tonight's night was rather quiet. For a castle in Everfree, none of the usual monsters were loud. It was so calm that the light summoning of his cigarette or the lighting of it was practically deafening.   A drag of it brought a familiar taste of ash and his lungs ached as smoke came in like a pleasant friend, soothing it with its presence, its attention. In that moment, all that existed was simply that. Dusk Shine with a lit cigarette in his maw, warmth pooling in his body like a hug against the cold and the very rare stillness of Everfree  Then, softer than any stray wind, so much more tender than a chaste kiss of somepony who loves him, Nightmare Moon spoke that one word that Dusk Shine had craved more than anything else in this night driven world.  “Stay.” How could he say no to that?