//------------------------------//
// Chapter 24 - The most beautiful smile 
// Story: Dusk Shine in pursuit of Happiness II 
// by bigsnusnu 
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The most beautiful smile

Dusk Shine was standing in front of his teacher with a slightly nervous look. The day before, Celestia had told him that she wanted to talk to him after the national dessert competition ended. However, after Pinkie Pie fled, Dusk chose to go after her and return to Ponyville with Pinkie. For this reason, Dusk had taken the train early that morning to return to Canterlot to apologize to his teacher.

Upon reaching the castle, Dusk Shine notified the guards of his arrival. However, unlike so many other times when Celestia received him immediately, the princess’s personal secretary, Raven Inkwell, indicated that he would have to wait his turn for an audience like any other pony. Dusk immediately thought that this was Princess Celestia's way of punishing him for leaving without warning the day before, which made him nervous while waiting for his turn.

After a long wait, Dusk was announced to enter the main hall. Princess Celestia, along with her sister, Princess Luna, sat elegantly on their thrones, just as they always received all those who requested audiences with them.

"Princess, I... wanted to apologize for not going to the meeting we agreed to yesterday." Dusk said after a small bow. After all, even if she was his teacher, Celestia was still a princess, and it hadn't been right to give her such a slight. “Yesterday, my marefri- er, my friend Pinkie Pie had a problem and she came back to Ponyville. So I decided to accompany her." Dusk added, becoming even more nervous realizing that he still wasn't sure if he could call Pinkie Pie his marefriend, after what happened the day before. They hadn’t spoken again after returning to Ponyville, and perhaps she didn’t see Dusk as her coltfriend.

"Well, the law says that offending a royal princess is a serious crime." Celestia said with a very serious look. "One that is punishable by exile to Tartarus!"

"Sister!" Luna interrupted, looking annoyed at her older sister.

“Pffft! Luna, I was just teasing!  Relax!" Celestia said, covering her mouth with a small laugh. Since all that act had been to annoy Dusk, but of course, her sister didn't have the same sense of humor as her. Then Celestia looked at Dusk again and smiled tenderly. "Dusk, there is no reason to apologize. When a friend needs you, you should go to her. I'm glad you followed your heart. In fact… it's something that relieves me.” Celestia added, with a slightly nervous smile. Something that didn’t go unnoticed by Dusk.

“That relieves you? What do you mean?” Dusk asked.

Celestia slightly diverted her slightly strained gaze, concentrating her gaze on Dusk 's flank. 

"Dusk, have you felt any change in you recently? I mean apart from your cutie mark.” Celestia finally asked, looking back seriously at Dusk.

“Well… Now that you mention it, there is something. Or at least I think so." Dusk replied with an insecure look. “When I found out about my cutie mark, I spent days with Spike, using my magic in different ways in different experiments to try and figure out what caused the change in my cutie mark. However, nothing I tried worked..." At that moment, Dusk raised his hoof and surrounded it with a bit of his magic. "It was then that I thought: It's not normal that I've done dozens of magic experiments for days, and I haven't suffered magic exhaustion."

"You say that your amount of magical mana increased?" Celestia asked very curiously.

"I think so, but I'm not sure, since it's not like I knew what my limit was before I exhausted myself." Dusk said, scratching his head in confusion. “It’s something very light, and my power as such has not increased. But I think my magic reserve did increase a bit.”

“Hmm, that makes sense. In my more than a thousand years of ruling Equestria, I only know of one case where a pony changed their cutie mark. And in that case, a change in that pony's magic also occurred. Although the change in her magic was much more radical and dangerous.” Celestia said with a thoughtful look.

“Did you already know of a similar case!?” Dusk gasped then lowering his head thoughtfully, talking more to himself than to the princesses. "So my case is rare, but not unique... But... what happened to that pony?"

"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Celestia said with a sad smile and looked to her side.

Following Celestia's gaze, Dusk was confused for a few seconds to see that Celestia was looking at her younger sister. All while Luna kept her gaze down, looking sadly at the floor. Without being able to look Dusk in the eye.

Dusk 's eyes widened when he understood what his teacher was saying and saw Luna’s sad look.

"Nightmare Moon..." Dusk whispered in surprise.

As Celestia said, Dusk remembered seeing the cutie mark of Nightmare Moon, which had a very similar, almost identical, shape to Luna's when she got rid of Nightmare Moon's evil spirit. However, despite being similar, both cutie mark were of different colors. Nightmare Moon's cutie mark had been a teal crescent moon on a purple background; while Luna's was a white crescent moon on a black background.

All that conversation was something that Luna knew that Dusk and Celestia would have at some point. That was why she decided to attend that hearing with Dusk. However, despite knowing that Dusk would look at her with that look of fear when he remembered Nightmare Moon, Luna likewise felt guilt and pain when she saw that the colt of her dreams remembered her worst moment, the worst of her.

"So... That means my cutie mark... that I..." Dusk said with a slight tremor in his voice, imagining that he could turn evil, just like Nightmare Moon.

"Not necessarily." Celestia said, making an old scroll appear in front of her. “I did a little research in my private library. And it seems that in his time, Starswirl also found a pony that had a change in their cutie mark.” Celestia added, opening the scroll and showing it to Dusk.

“This… This scroll was written by Starswirl the Bearded!?” Dusk said with huge, astonished eyes. He took the scroll as carefully as possible, as if it were the most sacred thing in the world. For her part, Celestia simply smiled seeing her beloved student with that childlike look of wonder.

“Although he doesn't mention any name, nor what happened to that pony, Starswirl mentions that that pony changed their cutie mark, but didn’t turn evil. On the contrary, that pony changed their attitude and straightened its path for the better, whatever it was." Celestia continued speaking, while Dusk gawked at the old scroll. "As you know, cutie marks are a very old and powerful magic. Not even I, with my alicorn magic, can completely alter one. That's why Starswirl had a theory that there were two factors necessary to upset a cutie mark. First, there must be a powerful source of external magic. One strong enough to overcome the magic of a cutie mark. And second, the pony that experiences that powerful magic must undergo a great emotional change at that precise moment. Something strong enough to upset the sentiment or ideal that forged the original cutie mark.”

Celestia was silent for a few seconds. Dusk lowered the scroll and looked at his teacher, who now looked at him seriously, straight in the eyes.

"Dusk, have you suffered from any emotional shock recently? Anything that has altered your personality in any way?” Celestia asked.  Luna bowed her head and squeezed her eyes shut.

It was not necessary for her sister to say it, Luna knew perfectly well what was going through Celestia's mind. Her sister was afraid that Dusk would suffer the same transformation that had filled her with anger and had transformed her into Nightmare Moon.

"Well, yeah… I mean, the whole wedding was an emotional roller coaster." Dusk finally answered with a nervous smile. "I was kidnapped, I watched my brother nearly get killed, I faced off against an evil and powerful shapeshifter, used the power of love and friendship to save the kingdom, and of course, my marefriend broke up with me."

"You aren’t Applejack's coltfriend anymore!?" Luna almost screamed. The lunar alicorn realized her outburst and quickly lowered her head in embarrassment.

"My informants were right. The marriage with Applejack would only last a month!" Luna thought happily, trying to hide a smile on her face that was beginning to grow. Dusk was single again!

For her part, Celestia looked curiously at Luna, thinking of a crazy idea to see her sister so excited just because she found out that Dusk ended their courtship. Such a crazy idea that Celestia immediately discarded it and returned to focus on Dusk Shine.

“If Starswirl's theory is correct, any one of those strong emotions could have triggered the emotional shift required to change your cutie mark. Which leaves us with the second factor, the external source of magic that affected you. And just like your emotions, I think I also have several options. Four to be specific.” Celestia said, levitating a golden dagger that Dusk immediately recognized. It was the golden dagger with which Chrysalis stabbed Shining Armor and almost stabbed him too. “This dagger was made from an ancient necklace, one that had been steeped in a well of dark magic for many years. Furthermore, this dagger also stabbed me during the wedding.  So, it had some of my blood on it… This may be one of the external sources of magic that affected you. In fact, I have a theory that the blood on this dagger saved Shining from dying instantly after being stabbed." 

"I don't think that dagger affected me... I never felt a magic coming from it." Dusk said, looking at that dagger with fear, since it brought back very bad memories. Celestia then put the dagger away and made a second item appear: the crushed crown of Chrysalis.

“This crown held much of Chrysalis’s power. During the wedding, it fell and you destroyed it." Celestia said, slightly narrowing her eyes and looking carefully at Dusk.

"Yes... I was the one who crushed it..." Dusk said with a scared look. Remembering that unlike the dagger, he did feel the dark magic emanating from that crown. And something he hadn't told anyone was that he thought he heard a gloomy scream, almost a laugh, when he destroyed it. “No… I don't want to imagine that such a dark magic would have changed my cutie mark!” Dusk said fearfully.

"It's one of the options, but dark magic wasn't the only thing that touched your heart that day." Celestia said. Deciding to quickly continue with the other two options, seeing the frightened look of his student. “The third powerful magic that could affect you that day, was Cadance and Shining's love magic. A magical burst of pure and unique love. One that you were even able to partially imitate with your friends to finally defeat Chrysalis.”

"Partially?" Dusk asked confused.

"Dusk, Cadance is an alicorn princess. There is a strong magical lineage running through her veins, that is where her power came from. But in the case of you and your friends, despite using love as fuel, I think that the magic you used came from another source... from the fourth option that I think could have affected your cutie mark.” Celestia said, looking at Dusk with a small smile. Since she knew that her student was smart enough to guess what she was thinking.

"The magic of friendship... Or rather, the Elements of Harmony." Dusk said, finishing saying what Celestia wanted. “Do you think it was my and my friends' connection to the Elements of Harmony that affected my cutie mark?”

"It's one of the theories." Celestia agreed. “In one of your letters you indicated that you had already managed to partially use the magic of friendship without carrying the Elements of Harmony. If you hadn't said so beforehand, I'd say it's impossible. After all, how could you connect to the magic of the Elements of Harmony without having them with you?" Celestia added, staring at Dusk. Since again she wanted her student to discover for himself what she was thinking.

Dusk looked thoughtful until his eyes widened and he looked at his cutie mark.

"My cutie mark… Do you think it has a connection to the Tree of Harmony!?” He asked, remembering the star engraved on the Tree of Harmony. "Do you think that's why my cutie mark changed?

"It could be, although I'm not sure yet." Celestia smiled softly. “As I told you, there are several theories, some better than others. The only thing I hope is that the change in your stars is something positive for you, and for all of us." 

Dusk lowered his head and gave an uneasy look. When he had arrived at the castle, he thought that his wise teacher would have the answer to the change in his cutie mark. But the truth was that now he had more questions than answers, and that made him nervous.

"The Princess doesn't want to say it, but I think she wants me to understand that it’ll be in me that this change that affects me is for better or for worse..." Dusk thought, hoping that if there really was a connection between his cutie mark and the Tree of Harmony, it was a good thing. Then Dusk opened his eyes wide when he remembered something. "It's true, I didn't just come here to ask about the change in my cutie mark. There is something very important that I don't know yet and maybe it’s also related to my cutie mark. Something very important that I should know… about the origin of my family.”

Dusk looked up and opened his mouth to speak. However, he was unable to do so, as a magical scroll suddenly appeared in front of Celestia.

"Is that a letter from Spike?" Dusk asked, immediately recognizing the seal on the scroll.

“Indeed…” Celestia said, quickly opening and reading the letter. Then she gave it to Dusk with a big smile. "It’s for you."

Dusk Shine took the letter in surprise and read it. Spike wrote without much detail that Pinkie Pie needed his help, and asked if he could get back from his meeting with the princess as soon as possible.

"Why now!? Couldn't Pinkie wait for me to finish my meeting with the Princesses?" Dusk thought restlessly. Then he suddenly closed his eyes and smiled. “Let go of something that really matters to me, or help a friend? Heh! The answer is obvious.”

“Sorry Princesses, something important came up. I must return to Ponyville at once." Dusk said with a big smile and a quick bow before quickly leaving the main hall.

"Uh!? Oh! W-Wait..." Luna stammered as Dusk left, wanting to stop the lavender colt to talk to him a little more. However, Luna quickly realized that it wouldn’t be well seen by her sister if she stopped Dusk for no reason, and she bit her tongue so as not to stop Dusk while he was leaving.

"I hope Celestia hasn't noticed how clumsy I acted..." Luna thought uneasily, looking at Celestia out of the corner of her eye. To her surprise, Luna discovered that Celestia hadn't noticed her outburst. The only thing Celestia did was look with a worried look at the crushed crown that Chrysalis had lost. 

"You’re doing it again." Luna said, looking annoyed at her sister. “You’re hiding something from me. Sister, you promised that you would not hide anything from me anymore.” 

"I'm not hiding anything from you, Luna." Celestia replied, still looking at the crushed crown. "It's just that I always try to think of all the possibilities when faced with a strange fact that I don't understand."

Luna stared at the crown her sister was holding and guessed what Celestia must be thinking.

“You mean the crown. When we fought Chrysalis, I felt it." Luna said with an uneasy look. "Her crown had a very dark magic, but after Dusk crushed it, that magic disappeared."

“Did you recognize that magic?” Celestia asked, narrowing her eyes slightly. Meanwhile, Luna opened her eyes with surprise and looked away.

"Yes... That darkness... It looked like my magic, when I was Nightmare Moon." Luna answered with a sad look.

"When we were just fillies, Starswirl found two items of powerful dark magic: the ancient crown of King Orion and a book.  The same book that released the magic that transformed you into Nightmare Moon. He locked both items in a chest, hoping no one would ever open it." Celestia said with a worried look. “Do you know why Starswirl kept those items, knowing that they were so dangerous?” 

“To study them?” Luna guessed, remembering that his former teacher was very fond of researching all kinds of magic.

“Starswirl loved to learn all kinds of things, he even created black magic spells himself. However, he knew how dangerous those two objects were.” Celestia said, looking back at the crown with a worried look. “He kept them…because he couldn’t destroy them.”

"What!? But then, how was it that Dusk was able to crush the crown?" Luna asked, surprised and confused.

“Luna… Do you know how many fillies Starswirl had as students besides us?” Celestia asked, looking at her sister, who was left confused by the sudden change of topic. "None. Starswirl made an exception for us. He taught us magic as fillies, because he knew our alicorn magic needed control. Otherwise, our own power could destroy us."

"Wait a minute!" Luna yelled as she finally understood where her sister wanted to go. "Do you think that the increase in Dusk Shine's magic is dangerous!?”

“I don't want to think that. But it’s not normal that he was able to destroy the crown. A crown that neither Starswirl nor I could destroy." Celestia said with a worried look. “Maybe I'm thinking about it too much. Perhaps over the years, being sunk in that dark pit from which Chrysalis was born, the crown lost its power. But… I must always think of all the possibilities.”

"But even if Dusk had a sudden burst of magic, that's good." Luna said nervously. “You said it yourself, his link to the Tree of Harmony was able to provide him with magic to destroy the dark magic of the crown. It's good magic!"

“Luna, there is no such thing as good or bad magic. A light can blind, and darkness can hide you from evil. It’s the ponies who decide how to use it." Celestia said, taking a deep breath.

"Maybe I'm thinking too much, but so many years taking care of my beloved ponies have made me too cautious." Celestia thought, fearing for the future of her beloved student. "I can't stop thinking if everything that has happened in the last year is just a coincidence or is it part of something bigger and darker that I can't see..." Celestia thought, remembering how impressed she was years ago, when she first saw Dusk Shine’s cutie mark and the power he unleashed that day.

"I don't know what fate has in store for us, but I know that Dusk Shine will be involved in some way." Celestia finally added, looking at her sister with concern.





Back in Ponyville, Dusk hurried to get off the train to go to the library as soon as possible. After all, if Spike had written her a letter, it was because Pinkie Pie really must be in trouble. However, as soon as Dusk got out of the train, he almost collided head-on with Mr. and Mrs. Cake, who had waited attentively in front of the train door to see who was getting off.

"Dusk, dearie!” The pudgy mare exclaimed and pulled the surprised colt into a big hug.

“We were afraid that you wouldn’t be able to arrive on time. Or even worse, that our letter hadn’t reached you.” Mr. Cake said with a very tired face, sighing with relief while his wife continued to hug Dusk.

"What? Wait... did you ask Spike to send that letter to the Princess?" Dusk asked once Mrs. Cake released him from her tight hug.

“We’re sorry to have interrupted your meeting with the Princess, but…we were desperate!!” Mr. Cake sighed and squeezed his own face at the memory of what they had been through since last night.

“We have been looking for help all morning, but everyone is busy.” Mrs. Cake said, also with a pained look.

"Help to…?" Dusk asked, worried to see the tired and exhausted faces of Mr. and Mrs. Cake, thinking that a great evil must be weighing down that happy couple.

At that moment, Mr. and Mrs. Cake looked worried and then both turned to look at Dusk.

“We need a babysitter!!” Mr. and Mrs. Cake said at the same time.  Dusk simply raised an eyebrow in confusion. Why would they have gone to the extreme of sending a letter to Princess Celestia herself for something like that?

“After our cake won the dessert competition in Canterlot, the mayor of Manehattan himself hired us for an important reception he is having in his city today.” Mr. Cake began to better explain the situation so that Dusk understood their great dilemma. "It's the most important job we've ever had, so we must go."

"The problem is that somepony has to take care of our little babies until we return." Mrs. Cake said. "We asked all the ponies in the town, but no one had time to take care of them today."

"I see..." Dusk hummed. For a moment he almost forgot that Mr. and Mrs. Cake had recently been parents, and now he understood their great concern. It was then that the weight of what Mr. and Mrs. Cake were really asking of him fell on Dusk. “Wait, you want ME to babysit!? Is there no one else available!?” Dusk said with terror, thinking that taking care of two babies only one month old was too much responsibility! “There must be someone else! Fluttershy, Cheerilee, Applejack…”

“They were our first choices, but they were all busy.” Mr. Cake said sadly. "We asked everyone in town and no one was available... Well... No one except... Pinkie Pie." The lanky stallion looked away.

"Pinkie Pie? That's great! Surely, she is a better babysitter option than me.” Dusk said nervously, wanting by all means to avoid the task.

"Dearie... We love Pinkie Pie, but..." Mrs. Cake trailed, looking at Dusk with concern. 

"What's wrong with Pinkie Pie?" Dusk thought, beginning to imagine the pink pony taking care of two babies. Then Dusk imagined Pinkie Pie juggling a chainsaw and two babies in the air at the same time. He then went on to picture Pinkie Pie emptying a sack of candy into the babies' mouths, filling them with sugar and driving them crazy. “No! Pinkie Pie would never do that... right...” Dusk thought somewhat insecurely.

"Before we came here, we left Pinkie Pie taking care of the babies, but... we really wish someone a little more responsible could... help her with that." Mr. Cake said nervously.

“Pinkie is the most loving pony in the world, but taking care of two babies is a huge responsibility. She always plays with them, but taking care of them is something else entirely, and we're not sure if she can handle all the responsibility alone." Mrs. Cake said, looking at Dusk with a pleading look. "Please, Dusk. Could you help her?"

The train's whistle blew, announcing its upcoming departure for Manehattan. Then Mr. and Mrs. Cake stared at Dusk with pleading looks, waiting for his answer. The colt lowered his head as he contemplated his answer.

"I will." Dusk sighed in resignation. Then he looked up again to see Mr. and Mrs. Cake, and was surprised to see that they were no longer in front of him.

Dusk looked around and saw that Mr. and Mrs. Cake were already on board the train, saying goodbye from the window, with huge smiles of relief as the train began its journey.

"What the hay did I get myself into..." Dusk thought, watching the train depart, having a bad feeling imagining himself taking care of two little foals.

While Dusk was walking towards Sugarcube Corner, recalled his days as a young colt when Cadance was his babysitter. He hadn't been a bad colt and that he always listened to Cadance. Little by little thinking that maybe the same thing would happen with the baby Cakes, and that all the fear of taking care of foals was only in his imagination. He eventually reached the bakery with a renewed hope and opened the door, ready to have a nice afternoon with two calm and cuddly baby ponies.

As soon as Dusk opened the door to the bakery, a spoonful of baby food crashed into his face while his ears shuddered as he heard the crying of two infants filling the room. After removing the food from his face, Dusk saw that at the end of the main hall was Pinkie Pie with a scared look, trying to calm down two small babies sitting in their chairs to feed them.

"Now’s your chance, no one has seen you yet… Run away!"Dusk thought, terrified from the ultrasonic cries of babies. No way he could stand spending a whole afternoon listening to those cries.  However, the colt’s fight-or flight response melted away with he saw how stressed the pink mare looked.  He needed to do his best to help his beloved Pinkie Pie. 

"H-Hi Pinkie..." Dusk said as he entered the home.

"Dusk!? W-What are you doing here?" Pinkie Pie whirled around with a shocked face.

The first thing that caught Dusk 's attention when Pinkie Pie turned around was that she was wearing a fake piggy nose for some reason. However, his gaze quickly diverted to the two foals, since it was the first time Dusk had seen them. He was surprised to see that one of the babies was a unicorn filly with yellow fur and orange mane; and the other a pegasus colt with white fur and brown mane.

"A unicorn and a pegasus?" Dusk thought with an amused smile. "If I were Mr. Cake, I would definitely take a magical paternity test.” Although the truth was that both babies had several facial features that made it undeniable that Mr. Cake was their real father.

"Pinkie, you look exhausted." Dusk said, noticing the small dark circles that the pink pony had under her eyes.

"Uh? Oh yeah! It's just that I stayed up all night." Pinkie Pie replied with a nervous smile. “Last night Mr. Cake told me that if they didn't find a babysitter in the morning, they would let me look after the babies. So I spent the whole night thinking about all the new games I would teach little Pound and Pumpkin Cake!” Pinkie Pie added, pointing to the baby pegasus and the baby unicorn respectively. Then a spoonful of baby food flew out and hit Pinkie 's face as she kept smiling, pointing at the babies. "But... It didn't turn out like I thought it would, hehe..." Pinkie Pie giggled nervously, her face stained with baby food.

"I see... I guess Mr. and Mrs. Cake were right." Dusk smiled when he saw Pinkie grinned despite the mess the babies were causing.

"What are you talking about?" Pinkie Pie asked as she wiped her face.

"It's just that Mr. and Mrs. Cake told me that it could be very difficult to take care of two babies alone, so they asked if I could come help you." Dusk explained. “I honestly don't know if I'll be of much help, but I'll do my best to be with you and help you in any way I can.” Dusk added with a big smile.

Despite the fact that Dusk smiled, Pinkie Pie simply stared at him with an expressionless look, while many thoughts went through her head. Then she gave an annoyed look and began to push Dusk out of the bakery, to Dusk's complete surprise.

"P -Pinkie, what's wrong!?" Dusk asked.

“I don't need your help or anyone else's to take care of the foals.” Pinkie Pie growled as she continued to push Dusk.

While being pushed, Dusk thought about the reasons why Pinkie Pie had reacted in such a way. And it was then that Dusk lowered his head and gave a sad look.

"This... Is it because of what happened in the dessert competition?" Dusk asked sadly, just when Pinkie had pushed him almost to the door. At that moment, the mare immediately stopped pushing Dusk.

"What? No! That's not why I want you to go!" Pinkie Pie flustered. “I want you to go because I want to show Mr. and Mrs. Cake that I can take care of the babies myself. I want to earn their trust to be their babysitter!”

After a few seconds of silence, Dusk shyly looked at Pinkie Pie.

"Pinkie... Are you still mad at me for what happened in Canterlot?" Dusk asked. And then it was Pinkie Pie's turn to be silent for a few seconds and looked away awkwardly.

"Dusk, I'm not mad at you." Pinkie Pie said nervously, not being able to look Dusk in the eye. "It's just... It's complicated." 

At that moment both ponies stayed with their heads bowed in a long and uncomfortable silence. A silence that made them both lose themselves in their own tangled thoughts while their feelings confused them even more. 

"Wait, how is it so quiet?" Dusk and Pinkie Pie thought at the same time. Why weren’t the foals crying anymore?! They both turned to look at the other end of the room, and their faces went pale and expressionless when they saw that there were only two empty baby chairs there.

“WHERE ARE THE BABIES!?” Dusk and Pinkie Pie hysterically yelled in unison.

Dusk and Pinkie quickly ran to the baby chairs and began to search all around the main hall, completely terrified that it only took one oversight to send both babies to disappear. Then they both raised their ears when they heard little baby giggles coming from the kitchen.

Both ponies immediately ran to the kitchen and saw all the cabinets.  The foals were no doubt hiding in one of them!

"I wanted to play hide and seek with them, but not like this!" Pinkie Pie said screamed as she opened the lower kitchen cabinets one by one. “I thought taking care of them would be easier since I always play with them. But now I stop looking at them for a moment and they disappear!”

"Calm down, we heard their giggles from here, so we know that they’re here somewhere." Dusk said as he opened another section of lower cabinets. He levitated a knife, which was completely covered with a rubber on its edge. "It seems that Mr. and Mrs. Cake protected everything dangerous here, so they must be fine."

"Still, they picked the worst time to play hide and seek!" Pinkie Pie said in frustration. “Since Mr. and Mrs. Cake left, they haven’t stopped crying. I did everything to calm them down, but nothing worked… I even did my best piggy dance for them! My best act!"

"Oh... So that's why you have a piggy nose." Dusk said as he continued looking for the babies. “Hehe, that’s so you. I remember when at the party for one of Apple Bloom's friends, you did the piggy dance and you gave sweets to the foals… You always do a dance to cheer others up.” Dusk said, smiling tenderly as he remembered dancing to Pinkie with that piggy nose.

Pinkie Pie stopped her search and touched her nose. Only then did she realize that she was still wearing the pig nose that she used for her dance. She had been wearing it all this time! Even during that tense moment that she and Dusk had had seconds before! That made Pinkie Pie blush deeply, and she took her nose off.

"I hope this time you didn't give the babies candy after they saw your piggy dance." Dusk said as he continued looking for the babies in the cabinets. He wasn’t looking at Pinkie Pie, who had stopped her search, looking embarrassed at Dusk. “If you gave them too much sugar, we can never get them to sleep.”

“I… I already know that…” Pinkie Pie whispered in embarrassment, remembering that she had just offered sweets to the babies until Mrs. Cake warned her not to give them so much sugar. Then she looked at the piggy nose that was on her hoof and gave a very sad look.

"I can take care of some foals, right?" Pinkie Pie thought sadly. "I'm being too childish! I don't want Dusk to think that I'm irresponsible! I can be a trustworthy mare like Applejack too!" Pinkie Pie thought, determined that that day she would show Dusk that she could be responsible and be worthy of his love!

Suddenly Pinkie Pie and Dusk raised their heads when they heard a childish giggle coming from one of the upper cabinets. The mare hurried over to that cabinet to open it. As she did so, she breathed a huge sigh of relief to see that both babies were there. They were entirely stuffed with baby food, playing with a bag of flour and in amusement that Pinkie Pie had found them.

"How did they get up there?" Dusk thought with surprise to see that the babies were in one of the upper cabinets in the kitchen.

"They’re okay! You don't know how scared I was …” Pinkie Pie smiled, taking both babies down from the cabinet. Then she looked at Dusk out of the corner of her eye and saw that he had a confused look. In that instant, Pinkie Pie realized that she had to be more responsible and gave the foals a serious look. “You two shouldn't have run off like that! You’re very bad babies.” Pinkie Pie scolded the two.

Pound and Pumpkin were unprepared for the scolding and started to cry again. Something that made Dusk cover one ear and Pinkie Pie put on a nervous look, since she didn't want the babies to cry, but she also wanted Dusk to see that she could be serious if the situation required it.

"Shhhh, don’t cry! I didn't want to scare you..." Pinkie Pie consoled the two.  She thought about making one of her silly faces, but she didn’t want to look too immature in front of her crush.

As Pinkie Pie debated with herself what to do, the bag of flour that was in the top cabinet where the babies had been, slipped and landed directly on Pinkie Pie's head, causing the kitchen to be filled with a cloud of white dust.

After the flour dispersed, Dusk saw how Pinkie Pie and the babies had turned completely white from all the flour falling on them. That finally got the infants to start laughing again. The ridiculous sight couldn’t help but make Dusk laugh out loud. 

As everyone laughed, Pinkie Pie simply giggled. Happy that the babies stopped crying but feeling embarrassed to see that Dusk saw her completely covered in flour. A small part of her was glad that the white of the flour prevented Dusk from seeing how embarrassed and blushing she really was.

"No! This is bad!" Pinkie Pie realized. "It’s never bothered me that Dusk sees me being myself, but just for today, I want him to see that I am more than a mare who likes to joke. I’m a mare that can also be serious and responsible!"

After tidying up the mess they had left in the kitchen a bit, they all went to the bathroom on the second floor together to bathe the babies. There, Pinkie Pie was in charge of setting up the bathtub, since it was not the first time she had bathed the Cake babies.  She made sure to add in lots of bubbles and their favorite toys before jumping into the tub with the foals so that she could wash off the flour on her too. 

"Hehe! This is sooo fun! Right?" Pinkie Pie said with a huge smile after removing all the flour from her mane. She put on a bubble beard to make the babies laugh, which always worked.

While the babies laughed at the antics of their funny 'Auntie Pinkie', the pink pony suddenly stopped smiling as she remembered something important. She had gotten carried away! Dusk was still there in the bathroom!! Pinkie Pie quickly took off her bubble beard and looked Dusk. There, she saw that Dusk wasn't even looking at her. For some reason, the lavender stallion had averted his gaze to the floor and had a disgusted look on his face. Then, he turned around and left the bathroom, leaving Pinkie Pie with a devastated look and her heart clenched.

"Of course… He must feel so bitter when he realizes that he traded the mature Applejack for the silly Pinkie Pie…" Pinkie Pie thought, slightly lowering her head in the water as a tear fell from one of her eyes. "He doesn't want to be my coltfriend… I'm too childish for him to take me seriously…"

After finishing bathing and drying the babies, Pinkie Pie came out of the bathroom and took the babies to her room. There, Dusk Shine had gone before her and had taken advantage of ordering all the toys that the babies had left lying around their room.

"Oh! Guess you took some time to make sure you were squeaky clean, huh?" Dusk said with a big smile as he finished putting the last toy in a trunk.

“Yeah… I had to make sure the babies got completely clean after all the flour that fell on them.” Pinkie Pie replied with a nervous smile. She was glad to see that Dusk was still there, but instantly felt depressed at the thought that he was still there just because Mr. and Mrs. Cake had asked him to.

Pinkie Pie walked over to the babies' crib, and put both foals to bed together, wrapping them up with some blankets. Which the babies immediately snapped out of and began to move and play in the crib.

“I thought that they would get sleepy after a bath. But it seems that their energy never runs out." Dusk mused as he looked at the pair.

“That's how babies are… Yawn…. Always full of energy." Pinkie Pie yawned tiredly.

At that moment, Dusk remembered that Pinkie had not slept all night, and it seemed curious to him to see for the first time a pony, or in this case two, that had more energy than the always restless Pinkie Pie.

“If you want, you can go rest. I can take care of the babies until they fall asleep.” Dusk said to Pinkie with a small loving smile. For her part, the pink pony looked at Dusk and then looked away. 

“I think… it’s best if you leave now. I can take care of the babies myself.” Pinkie Pie said. Making it increasingly difficult for her to hide her sad look.

"But... I can still help." Dusk said with disappointment.

“I knew it… She doesn't want me to be around her. She's still upset with me...” Dusk thought sadly.

"Dusk... I appreciate all your help, but I really want to do this alone." Pinkie Pie stared at Dusk with a pleading look. “Trust me, I can do it. I want everyone to see that I'm also a trustworthy pony. Especially… Mr. and Mrs. Cake.” Pinkie Pie added, hesitating in that last sentence, since what she really thought was: 'Especially you.'

Dusk sadly lowered his head and accepted that Pinkie didn't want him by her side. After that, Dusk said goodbye to Pinkie and the babies and left Sugarcube Corner.

Once on the streets, Dusk walked slowly while he kept thinking about everything that had happened in the bakery. For some reason, there was something bothering him. He had a strange feeling that he had forgotten something. It was then that Dusk stopped dead when he realized what it was: Pinkie Pie's smile.

Since Applejack had made him see that Pinkie Pie 's biggest and most tender smile was the one she put on when he was alone with her, Dusk couldn't get that out of his head. And now, they had been together for quite a while, but Pinkie Pie had never put on that smile. The smile that Dusk missed seeing the most.

“I don't just want to see it. I need it! I need to see that smile on Pinkie Pie again!” Dusk thought, opening his eyes wide at that revelation. He not only needed to see that Pinkie Pie smile to know that she was truly happy, but also because he himself needed that peace and joy that radiated from Pinkie when she was truly happy.

Without wasting time, Dusk turned around and went back to Sugarcube Corner. Once inside, he quietly went up to the second floor, not wanting to wake the foals if they had fallen asleep.

Upon arriving in front of the room, the door was ajar, so Dusk was able to stick out part of his head to see carefully if the babies had already fallen asleep. In doing so, the colt saw that Pound and Pumpkin were still awake, in fact, with even more energy than before, since they bit and slobbered on the hooves that Pinkie Pie had on the cradle to rock it. Paradoxically, the one who seemed to be about to fall asleep was precisely Pinkie Pie. Who had rested her head on the cradle, while weakly singing a lullaby. Her eyes were half open, giving the feeling that they would close at any moment. Staring at the babies, so sleepy, she didn't even realize that Dusk had returned and was now looking at her from the door.

“Yawn... I… I don't know any more bedtime songs…” Pinkie Pie said with a yawn and weakly rocked the cradle.

“Is it legal to use a sleep spell to put a baby to sleep?” Dusk mused, wondering if he could use that 'probably illegal' little trick to help Pinkie Pie without her noticing.

At that moment the little Pumpkin approached Pinkie's head in the crib and began to suck her nose. While little Pound Cake began to hit Pinkie's mane with one of his toys. For her part, Pinkie Pie seemed to finally resign herself and simply smiled weakly as the babies did their thing with her.

"I wonder what babies dream about..." Pinkie Pie said weakly, as it seemed that her eyes closed more with each second, struggling not to fall asleep. “Would you like to know what my dream is?” Pinkie added,with a small tired smile.

“I already know the answer… It’s to have the biggest party in the world! She told me so herself.” Dusk thought as he continued listening from the door, remembering a time when he and his friends met for breakfast and talked about their dreams. “I remember that it all started because Rainbow Dash said that her dream was to be a part of the Wonderbolts. Rarity then said that her dream was to own a boutique in Canterlot. Later I said that my dream was to become an Archmage one day. Applejack said that her dream was to keep her family together and grow her family's farm... I remember it took a lot, but we finally got Fluttershy to tell us that her dream was to build an animal sanctuary. And finally, Pinkie Pie said..." At that moment Dusk opened his eyes with surprise as he remembered well what happened that day. “Wait… Pinkie Pie wasn't the one who told us her dream. We were the ones who immediately guessed what Pinkie Pie would say before she even said it. She... She just said yes, that we had guessed, that that was her dream...” Dusk thought, surprised to realize that small detail that he had overlooked all this time.

“My dream is… to be a mother.” Pinkie Pie blushed, a little embarrassed to say her secret out loud, even if it was only to a few babies. Dusk Shine was shocked by the confession. "I'm embarrassed to admit it, because it's not as big a dream as my friends', but… I think it's something I've always wanted in my future." Pinkie Pie added, looking tenderly at the two babies in front of her. Pumpkin slobbered her hoof and Pound Cake hit her on the head with a toy. "Although I suppose that after knowing how difficult it is to take care of a baby, maybe I’ll reconsider, hehe!”

For a second, seeing Pinkie Pie's tender and sad smile as the sweet pink pony opened her heart, both babies stopped what they were doing, looked at Pinkie Pie and hugged her face. Pinkie's pure and transparent feelings reached the hearts of the little babies. For her part, Pinkie Pie widened her eyes at such a gesture. Then she smiled, closed her eyes and hugged both foals while shedding a small tear.

"It's a silly dream... Besides, I'd never achieve it... How could I even dream of such a thing if... the stallion I love doesn't even truly want to be with me..." Pinkie Pie said, speaking haltingly. Beginning to drift off to sleep as she closed her eyes and felt the soft warmth of the babies hugging her face. "Dusk thinks I'm angry with him... But what I feel isn't anger, it's fear... Fear of not being like Applejack... Fear that he feels sorry for me... Fear of... that he doesn't love me... that... that's... zzzzzz…” Pinkie Pie continued to mutter, venting her true feelings as she fell asleep.

Dusk Shine was shocked to hear Pinkie's true feelings. He knew that he had been wrong to eavesdrop on Pinkie, but it had helped him finally realize the fear that Pinkie Pie felt.

For days, Dusk had regretted being in his situation, having ended his relationship with Applejack. During that process, he was also aware that Applejack must be going through something similar. But after they both got over it, it never occurred to Dusk that their relationship had affected not only the two of them, but also their friends. Especially Pinkie Pie after he recklessly asked to be her coltfriend out of the blue.

After meditating for a second, Dusk closed his eyes and remembered all the moments he had with Pinkie Pie. Times when she had always been one of his friends who had made it clearer that she liked him. A feeling that Pinkie had not forgotten, even though Dusk was Applejack's coltfriend. A feeling that Dusk had now begun to rekindle in him when he discovered how he missed her beautiful smile.

While his head was filled with the memories of all the happy moments that he and Pinkie had spent together, Dusk raised his head and looked tenderly at Pinkie Pie while she was sleeping. He felt an enormous urge to run to her and hug her.

"Do you think I don't want to be with you?" Dusk whispered from the door, blushing a little at how cute Pinkie Pie looked when she was sleeping. "Don't be silly, of course I-" At that moment Dusk fell silent and opened his eyes wide with fear.

“Wait a second! Pinkie Pie is sleeping alone…Where are the babies!?” Dusk yelled in his mind, terrified. Slowly opening the bedroom door and looking around scared. Not finding the Cake babies anywhere.

Dusk suddenly heard a small giggle above him and slowly raised his head and his mouth opened almost until it dropped when he saw that the babies were flying over him. Pound Cake flapped his wings rapidly while his sister Pumpkin flew after him using her unicorn magic to float. Both foals slowly flew over Dusk's head and went out the door into the corridor. While Dusk, with the speed at which they were going, it would have been easy for him to catch them. However, the colt was far too shellshocked by the revelation that he could only follow the two with his eyes.

“That's how they both got to the top cabinets in the kitchen!” Dusk thought, finally coming out of his shock. “They're only one month old and they can already fly and use magic!? Are they geniuses or are all foals this unpredictable!?”

Realizing that he had to attract the babies before bringing them down, Dusk entered the room and took some of their toys. Then Dusk prepared to leave quickly, but before doing so, he took a look at Pinkie Pie, who was still sleeping peacefully and resting her head on the crib.

Dusk Shine put on a cute smile, walked over to Pinkie Pie and put a blanket over her body to keep her warm. Even though she wanted to be the babysitter, it was only fair that she rest for a moment after staying up all night. Then, giving Pinkie one last look, Dusk slowly approached and tenderly kissed her cheek. A gesture that made Pinkie smile weakly and mutter something unintelligible.

Dusk blush and smile too seeing that now the sweet and tender pink pony was smiling in her dreams. Then he left the room with a renewed spirit, levitating some toys while accepting his next challenge: babysitting.

As soon as Dusk left the room, his renewed spirit fell from the clouds and crashed to the ground. In just a few seconds without supervision, the babies were no longer in the hallway, and what was worse, they had left a mess in the hallway, throwing everything in their path. It was as if a small hurricane had passed through there.

"I think... I'm starting to hate foals..." Dusk murmured in fear. He thought that it would probably be a while before he’d be able to stand ten meters from a foal in the near future.





Pinkie Pie was having a recurring dream where she was happily jumping into a field of giant cupcakes. The mare was jumping on a big blueberry cupcake like a trampoline, looking around, happy to see that all her friends were there too, jumping and laughing with her. However, someone was missing, and Pinkie looked around until she finally found who was missing next to her.

"Dusk! Come jump with us!" Pinkie Pie said with a big smile as she continued to jump on the cupcake.  Dusk Shine was standing on the ground with his back to her. He looked back and glared at Pinkie with a look of disgust.

“Pinkie, grow up. You're just a childish mare. Who would want to be near you?” The Dusk from the dream said and started to away from Pinkie.

"Huh?" Pinkie Pie said, very surprised and hurt. Then, as she kept jumping, she looked at her own hooves and saw that they were much smaller now. She had become a young filly just like in her youth.

As fear and confusion began to take over Pinkie. The laughter of her friends began to be heard around her. They were pointing at her and mocking her for being just a little filly. A filly who would never find love.

"No..." Pinkie Pie cowered and covered her face with her hooves.

Suddenly the teasing and giggling died down as Pinkie felt something soft and warm touch her cheek. Pinkie opened her eyes and saw that now a smiling Dusk Shine was by her side. She was an adult pony again and was no longer in a field of cupcakes, but in a beautiful field of roses.

"Don't be ridiculous, Pinkie." The Dusk from the dream said.  “How could I ever leave somepony as wonderful as you?”

Pinkie Pie smiled again and her dream returned to being one full of happiness as they normally were. Dreams of parties, cupcakes, smiles, friends and her beloved Dusk, filling herself with happiness until she finally woke up.

Pinkie Pie slowly woke up, stretched her hooves and lifting her head from the Cake babies' cradle. Smiling after the happy and revitalizing dream she had. Then she touched her cheek, where the Dusk from her dream had kissed her, and she put a sad smile.

"It was just a dream..." Pinkie sighed, still touching her cheek. Then her eyes widened and she looked quickly towards the crib. "Where are the babies!?" Pinkie Pie yelled in terror. She realized that she had fallen asleep trying to put them to sleep.

Looking around the room, Pinkie Pie saw that the door was open, so she quickly ran into the hallway. After searching every room on the second floor, Pinkie ran for the stairs in fright. 

Pinkie almost had a heart attack seeing all the mess that was there. It was as if a tornado had thrown everything on the floor.

"Sorry, I swear I'll clean up this mess." Dusk Shine suddenly said from one side of the room, getting a little nervous to see that Pinkie Pie looked surprised at all the mess that was there.  Pinkie felt her heart calm down when she saw the foals next to him.

"What are you doing here? I thought you left." Pinkie Pie asked, approaching where Dusk and the babies were. “And how did you let this happen? You are a fan of order!” Pinkie Pie said in surprise, pointing to the messy room. Something that would be typical of her, that she was always very disorderly, but that was a strange behavior for Dusk, who remained calm in all of the disorder.

“Yeah, well… When you fell asleep, I took care of Pound and Pumpkin so you could rest.” Dusk scratched his head in embarrassment. “The first hour was difficult. I didn't think two babies could cause so much chaos. But I finally found a way to calm them down." 

Taking a good look at the foals, Pinkie Pie saw that they were both still doing what they always did, with the difference that now they did it with musical instruments. Pound Cake, who always hit things, was now hitting the floor with a rattle; while Pumpkin, who always bit things, now bit a small tambourine, making it sound while shaking her head.

“I couldn't get them to stop hitting and biting things, so I thought they could help me with my song.” Dusk said, looking at the babies with amusement. Satisfied that he finally managed to calm them down.

"What song?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"Oh, right!" Dusk said, opening his eyes wide when he remembered something important. Then he used his magic to play a record on the store's record player. "It's not the same melody, but it sounds similar, hehe." Dusk said, blushing and putting on a nervous smile.

As the record played, a soft melody began to play. The music became more lively and joyful in a few seconds. At that moment, Dusk began to sing:

~ What do I feel? I’d like to know ~ What is this emotion? That I can't contain~

~ Her gaze makes me smile, her lips make me dream ~ Her kisses make me feel, and my soul can’t stop trembling ~

~ Oooh! Uh-oh! ~ What will it be? ~ Oooh! Uh-oh! ~ What will it be? ~

While Dusk sang, he stared at Pinkie Pie with his cheeks blushed. Not because he was ashamed of what he sang, but because he knew he wasn't as good a singer as Pinkie, besides not being as good a dancer as her.

For their part, the Cake babies beat and moved their musical instruments. Obviously without understanding the rhythm of the song at such a young age but trying in their own way to be part of the show that Dusk was dedicating to Pinkie Pie. While the pink mare simply stared stunned at that strange but tender show, listening carefully to each word of Dusk's song:

~ With a small gesture we met ~ With a look we liked each other ~ With a hug we loved each other ~ With a kiss we fell in love. ~

~ What do I feel? I’d like to know ~ What is this emotion? That I can't contain~

~ At last I have your friendship, but now I'm looking for more ~ This is the truth, and I’ll never deny it ~

~ A feeling that reaches the stars ~ An emotion that surpasses the above ~ I would like to be your knight for today ~ And that when you hear it, don’t feel fear ~

~ What do I feel? I'll say it with courage ~ What is this emotion? This is called LOVE ~

Dusk pointed his hoof at Pinkie Pie and gave a wide, nervous smile at the end of the song. He waited for how Pinkie would react. For their part, the Cake babies continued to make noises with the rattle and tambourine, as if they hadn't known the song was over.

"Song’s over, you two." Dusk said, turning around nervously to look at the babies. Since all the noise they made broke all the romantic atmosphere that he had sought to have. However, seeing that the foals didn't pay attention to him, Dusk looked nervously at Pinkie Pie. "I'm sorry, now that I understand that you can soothe babies by sharing your feelings, I can't get them to stop making noise with their instruments."

“Share your feelings?” Pinkie Pie asked, still somewhat dazed after hearing Dusk's song.

"Yeah... When I came back here and saw you chatting with the foals, I realized that they understand feelings more than words." Dusk said, remembering when the babies had hugged Pinkie Pie. Then looking with a tender smile at Pinkie as he remembered his first meeting in Ponyville with her. “When we first met, you made the whole town sing a 'heart song' for me. So I thought if I could get the babies to understand what I'm feeling through a song, they'd calm down a bit.”

Pinkie Pie blushed a little and looked down nervously. For a moment, she was embarrassed to discover that Dusk had heard what she said to Pound and Pumpkin. How much did he hear!? But more importantly, Dusk had said that he managed to calm the babies down by sharing his feelings in that song. If his true feelings were in those lyrics… He was confessing his love!? Was that the feeling that Dusk really wanted to share with her?

"That song... It was the one I sang for you at the Grand Galloping Gala." Pinkie Pie blushed and looked nervously at Dusk. "You...You really remember all the lyrics?" 

"Of course. That moment was so sweet and funny! It still amazes me to this day that you could convince all those Canterlot snobs to sing.” Dusk smiled, then looking tenderly at Pinkie Pie. "I could never forget something so beautiful."

Pinkie Pie lowered her head and felt a warm feeling fill her heart. Then she raised her head and put on a huge and tender smile. A special smile that she only had for the stallion she loved. A smile that she hadn't used in over a month because she could only use it when her heart felt true love.

"That is... You don't know how I missed that smile..." Dusk whispered, also putting on a warm and serene smile. At that moment, Dusk gave a thoughtful look. He walked over to Pinkie and touched her with his hoof. 

" Pinkie, I… I'm still not sure how love works." Dusk said, looking nervously at Pinkie. “Before I was Applejack's coltfriend, I thought my feelings of love for her wouldn't change, but they did. During that month, they became stronger and more intense. And now that we're not dating anymore, I'm not sure where those feelings will go. Maybe that intensity will lessen over time, maybe it will stay the same, I don't know. But what I do know... is that love can decrease in intensity, but I’ll never forget it." 

“Oh…I…I get it.” Pinkie Pie said, sadly lowering her head, thinking that Dusk was telling her that he still loved Applejack.

"No, Pinkie. What I'm trying to say is that what happens to me now also happened to me when I was with Applejack, but with you! You and the others were never completely far from my heart while I was with Applejack." Dusk said, staring at Pinkie so that she would look at him again. “I cannot erase or control my feelings, and all of you already have a place in my heart, and that place will never go away. Only now I realize that even though I was with Applejack with all my heart, I always missed that beautiful smile of yours that you only keep for me. Now that it's just the two of us, I want to be with you. I want to keep seeing that smile. I want my love for you to grow too and now it's my turn to show you what I feel for you… Pinkie, I promise that as long as I'm your coltfriend, I won't forget my friends, but I also promise that as your coltfriend I'll only be with you, and my heart will only be yours.” Dusk added, with his cheeks blushed and a determined look. He wanted with all his being to learn more about true love, this time, together with the funniest and most loving pony in the world.

Pinkie blushed at the intense stare that the colt gave her and her eyes sparkle at Dusk's declaration of love. This time it was what she wanted. She had always wanted Dusk to truly open her heart, and now she felt it. These were Dusk's true feelings for her. He really wanted to be with her! It didn't matter that Applejack didn't disappear from Dusk's heart, after all, she was also in Pinkie's heart! She also loved her friends! And for Dusk to admit that he would never forget his friends, it only made Pinkie remember that this was one of the reasons why she loved Dusk so much.

As hope began to grow in Pinkie's heart, a thorn of doubt caused that hope to slow down for a second.

"Dusk... Do you really want to be with me?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Before, when I bathed the foals... You... You made a disgusted face when you looked at me.”

"Huh?" Dusk asked, until he suddenly raised his head and made the same disgusted face that he had made in the bathroom.

"Yes! That face!" Pinkie Pie said, until she suddenly wrinkled her nose and gave the same disgusted look that Dusk had. “Yuck! What is that smell?” Pinkie said, covering her nose. Until finally her eyes widened when she recognized the smell.





"That's why I made that face in the bathroom." Dusk said with his nose wrinkled from the bad smell and pointed at the two little babies. "When you bathed them, I smelled the babies' dirty diapers."

Pinkie Pie stared at him in disbelief for a few seconds. Then she covered her mouth with her puffed out cheeks. Until finally she couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! That’s what that was?! Hahaha!" Pinkie Pie said, falling to the floor with laughter, realizing that all of Dusk's dislike for her had only been in her imagination. "So you do like me?! Do you really want to be with me?!" Pinkie Pie asked, forcing herself to speak while laughing.

"Don't be silly." Dusk said with a tender smile. "Of course, I-" Before Dusk could finish speaking, Pinkie Pie threw herself on him with so much momentum that they both fell to the floor. and gave him a huge kiss on the mouth to shut him up. 





Dusk fell on his back with Pinkie Pie on top of him, still kissing him. After falling, Pinkie raised her head and they both looked at each other. Dusk was blushed, surprised, but more than anything, happy to see Pinkie Pie so happy.  He was also excited after being kissed by his beloved Pinkie. As Pinkie, she smiled coquettishly at Dusk, and then slowly lowered her head. This time to give Dusk a slower and more passionate kiss. Something that the lavender stallion received with great pleasure.

For a few seconds, they both smooched on the floor, enjoying each other's lips, knowing that from that precise moment both had accepted each other as coltfriend and marefriend. And that could have lasted much longer if it hadn't been because in the middle of the kiss, Pinkie Pie began to laugh, releasing Dusk's lips and making a vain effort to avoid laughing.

"I-Is something wrong?" Dusk asked, scared that maybe Pinkie had stopped kissing him because he had bad breath or was a bad kisser.

"Hahaha! N-No… Hahaha! It's nothing… Hehehe! It's… It's just…” Pinkie Pie replied, trying to control herself to stop laughing. "It's just, I'm too happy!" The mare said with a renewed new smile that she had never had before. A smile earned after she truly felt like the happiest pony in the world. Finally being with the stallion she loved so much.

Seeing Pinkie's beautiful smile, Dusk blushed even more when he realized how cute Pinkie Pie was. And then he started laughing too. Realizing that from now on, he was the coltfriend of the funniest and happiest mare in Equestria.

After they both laughed, both staying on the floor, with Dusk on his back and Pinkie Pie leaning on him; was that they both finally calmed down a bit and looked at each other lovingly. Both eager to continue their round of kisses. However, all of that romantic atmosphere suddenly evaporated as they both wrinkled their noses and made disgusting faces.

The Cake babies came crawling towards the two laughing ponies. And of course, Dusk and Pinkie Pie immediately smelt of dirty diapers again, which they almost forgot because they felt so happy to start their new courtship.

"Ugh, I have to changing babies’ diapers." Dusk said and tried to get up. Which was a bit difficult to do, since Pinkie Pie grabbed onto his neck and wouldn't let go.

"Dusk, will you still love me even if I never let go of you?" Pinkie Pie asked with a sweet smile. 

“How many times do I have to say it? Don't be silly." Dusk smiled, looking closely at Pinkie's face. Feeling like he couldn't help but smile every time he saw Pinkie's beautiful lovesick smile.

Pinkie Pie laughed tenderly and finally let go of Dusk's neck.

"Stay here, I'll change the babies." Pinkie said, approaching the babies and winking at Dusk. "Remember, I'm their babysitter, hehe."

Dusk watched while Pinkie Pie was changing the babies' diapers. He enjoyed seeing his marefriend grinning from ear to ear, even though she was changing dirty diapers.

Throughout that afternoon, the foals had been restless, and Pinkie Pie had been very tired and very scared by Dusk. But now, for the first time, Dusk could see Pinkie Pie smiling happily while the two babies calmly enjoyed her care. It was a beautiful image that Dusk wanted to keep very well in his memory.

"Pinkie Pie would be a great mother..." Dusk thought when he saw them, remembering Pinkie's dream. “Maybe I…wouldn't be a bad father.”. The lavander stallion imagined him, Pinkie and a little foal together. After taking care of the Cake babies, taking care of a baby was exhausting, but also, very rewarding and fun.

At that moment, Dusk opened his eyes wide when he realized what he was imagining. Then he shook his head, completely blushed.

“What am I thinking!? That will NEVER happen!” Dusk thought nervously. At that moment, Pinkie Pie saw that he was restless for some reason, and from the center of the room, she gave him a big and loving smile. Something that made Dusk calm down, but blush even more. "Maybe... It's hasty to say 'never'..." Dusk blushed. For the first time in his life, he seriously thought about being a parent one day.

After changing the babies, Pinkie Pie was eager to return to Dusk. However, the babies clamored for attention, wanting to be pampered by their beloved 'Auntie Pinkie'. So Pinkie Pie couldn't do more than sigh, smile, and put her wishes aside in order to make those little bundles of joy happy. Then Pinkie Pie put her piggy nose back on and did her crazy fun dance. One that the foals cheered and really enjoyed this time.

While dancing, playing, and making crazy faces, Pinkie Pie always saved a couple of seconds to look at her beloved Dusk and give him a tender, big smile. One that Dusk found more beautiful every time he saw her, even with the piggy nose that his marefriend used.

"That's my marefriend..." Dusk thought as he watched Pinkie's crazy and fun dance. With his heart full of happiness and love. “The happiest and sweetest pony in the world… She is my marefriend.” Dusk thought, smiling incredulously, as if he still couldn't believe how lucky he was. Happy just thinking about having that beautiful pink pony by his side, kissing and hugging him.

End of chapter 24