//------------------------------// // Love's Victory // Story: Return to Society // by Silent Sir 224 //------------------------------// The sound of ringing filled the room, Dusk sat up to find that the sunrise was approaching and that the train to Ponyville was leaving soon. Rarity got up and turned off the source of the ringing, a very annoying alarm clock on the other side of the room. "Good morning Dusk, did you sleep well last night?" Rarity asked. "Uh, yeah I slept fine," Dusk responded, "you?" "Well enough, it took me longer than expected to get everything packed up last night." Rarity answered, I offered to help, looks like I should have pushed the matter a little. "Sorry, I should have tried to help you last night, I didn't know you were up late getting everything packed," Dusk admitted, Rarity simply laughed softly. "You're starting to sound like Fluttershy dear, I told you that I would get everything packed and to go to bed, besides I can sleep on the train." Dusk was a little shocked by the statement, wow, I guess I am, she will get a laugh out of that. "Speaking of which, should we be departing?" The sky was growing brighter, and their train was to leave soon. The bellhop that assisted the day before wasn't there to carry everything, so the two divided the luggage with Dusk taking the larger amount. The climb down the ivory stairs was a little strenuous but Dusk couldn't complain, the exercise helped him focus his thoughts, how do I even begin to explain this to Fluttershy? Will this ruin our relationship? Her friendship with Rarity? The questions started compounding in his mind and before he knew, the two had arrived at the station, Steel Runner standing outside the engine car. "Ah, Dusk so good to see you this morning, how was your stay in Canterlot?" Steel definitely remembered Dusk's name and face. "Nothing short of eventful, the crew need an extra set of hooves this morning Mr. Runner?" The offer caused Steel to smile. "Definitely not from around here my friend, if you want we could sure use the help this morning, especially since Ms. Rarity has arrived and with that pile on your back." He gestured to the large number of bags sitting on top of Dusk, Dusk replied with a nod and turned to the cargo car. Again, the work took a lot less time than if Dusk hadn't helped, he walked into the car third from the caboose to find Rarity sitting in the same spot as when they left Ponyville. "I assume you were lending a hoof again," she was not the least bit surprised. "Yes, always a good way to start the morning, waking up with a little work just gets me ready for the rest of my day." And today, I really need to be ready for Fluttershy, I'm just terrified about what her response will be. Dusk sat down across from her, staring out the window to see the scenery of a world breaking free from the shroud of night. Rarity moved to the seat next to him, he wasn't thrilled about the idea but didn't feel his opinion needed to be voiced at this moment. There was a piercing whistle followed by the train lurching forward to depart, the landscape had an orange light cast upon it. The view was enjoyable but he felt bad Rarity couldn't see it as well as himself, Dusk turned to see that Rarity had fallen asleep and was using his shoulder as a pillow. Unfortunately, getting any sleep was impossible for him, the constant worries and fears had clung to his thoughts and was helpless to silence them. A large bump snapped him from his thoughts and caused Rarity to fall into his lap, still completely unconscious and it made Dusk fell even more uncomfortable. But, he wasn't going to wake her up, she had been up half the night and let him sleep, she deserved the same courtesy. The countless hours strung together in an endless span, the landscape's constant change being the only thing to distract Dusk from his thoughts. The only benefit of these thoughts was that it helped him figure out the best way to convey the situation, without completely distressing Fluttershy. The station was coming into view and his plan was finalized, first, have Rarity talk to Twilight, she might know a way to help this situation and head to the inn in case Fluttershy is there and drop off my luggage, if necessary go to the cottage, it can't be too direct but she must know by the end of the day! The train gave a final lurch before coming to a complete stop, Rarity awoke much like upon their arrival in Canterlot, realizing that she had been using him as a pillow, and quickly apologizing. "So very sorry, why didn't you wake me up and have me move?" Her question was given a simple reply. "You let me sleep last night and deprived yourself of sleep in order to do so, it was the least I could do in return," he stood up as he answered. Upon standing the blood deprived leg that Rarity was sleeping on gave him a jolt of pins and needles through the entire limb, prompting him to wait a moment before heading outside. Steel Runner was standing at the station, the cars were already emptied and the passengers were following suit, Dusk approached him. "Hello again Mr. Runner, I see I was a little late for the unpacking, sorry for not lending a hoof this time," Dusk felt a little bad, he always wanted to help out again. "Dusk, don't worry about that I'm just glad that some pony actually even offered to help, did you enjoy the ride?" Dusk pondered the question for a moment. "To be perfectly honest, not really, not because of the actually ride but... unfortunate circumstances arose while in Canterlot," Dusk wasn't going to lie, especially to a pony of such character. "Oh, sorry to hear that my friend, maybe next time will be more pleasant," Dusk couldn't help but feel happiness when he heard Steel say 'friend.' The word had a power that was still foreign to him, but he felt the understanding of it would come with adequate time. "Hopefully so good sir, I look forward to seeing you again until then good day to you." "To you as well." The two waved goodbye before Dusk made his way to the large pile of Rarity's luggage, which was being lifted up by it's owner's magic. "Dusk, how are we going to tell Fluttershy? Do you have a plan?" Rarity sought comfort in his answer, and he did his best to give her some. "I was thinking about it on the train, taking this on with her together might be too much, you should go talk to Twilight, she seems most prepared to help support Fluttershy if she needs it. I hope she won't but giving her friends a bit of warning and an explanation is a good preparation in case it gets to that point. Meanwhile, I will be talking to Fluttershy in private, to explain the situation and do my best to keep her from going into a panic about this. "You should wait for Fluttershy to confront you about it, when she's ready, now I am no expert on any of this but I feel this is the most logical way to go about it. If someone says that you should do something else, take their suggestion under consideration and act on your own accord. I will come either relay a message to you through our friends or come talk to you directly after I finish talking to Fluttershy, which response depends on her reaction and her wishes, okay?" The lengthy explanation took a few moments to sink in, she gave him a nod and took her luggage into town, while Dusk took the saddle bag on his back and headed for his temporary home. The walk there was pushing him to the edge of madness considering all of the possible ways that it could go with his love. He walked into the lobby seeing the receptionist with her usual cup of tea, "ah good to see you have returned in good condition, did you enjoy your trip?" The receptionist had certainly become more friendly than on his first night, "yes thank you for asking, did you give the key to that pegasus?" "Oh, yes she received it not too long ago today, she was very happy when she got it," the receptionist smiled as Dusk nodded and went up to his room. He saw that there was something on the door handle, it was a framed picture of some woodland creatures, a very telltale sign that his key was already being put to good use. He opened the door and immediately noticed two things, the decor giving the room more of a home atmosphere and his cute yellow pegasus and little green hummingbird rushing to greet him. "Dusk, I missed you! how was your trip? Did it go well? Did you meet any ponies? Do you like what I did with your home?" Her questions were too rapid for Dusk to answer any of them, so he did the next best thing, he hugged her tightly and gave her a peck on the cheek. Hummingway just returned to his favorite spot to nest. "Slow down please, I missed you too but I need you to take a breathe and give me a chance to answer a question before giving me another one." Her cheeks turned a little red realizing her excitement got the better of her, Dusk was just happy to see how happy she was. "Okay, how did it go?" A question that Dusk loathed, he knew that he wouldn't be able to hide it, his conscience wouldn't allow him to lie to her. "Uh, not great I'm afraid," he gulped, the follow-up was going to be much harder. "Oh dear, what happened?" Okay, here goes nothing! "Fluttershy, I don't know if telling you this is either a good judgement call or a huge mistake, but I won't try to hide it... Rarity... kissed me." There, I said it so no turning back now. "W-what?" She was clearly becoming distressed, completely counterproductive to Dusk's plan, the situation was completely out of his hands now. He could only try to comfort her, if she would even let him at this point. "She... kissed me. She told me that she has feelings for me, even when she first met me. I don't really know what to say or do now. But, I will say this, no matter what, I will be here. " Fluttershy just looked at him, her face showing complete shock, until tears started to form in her eyes, Dusk didn't know what to do or say now. If she pushed him away, he would be hurt but given the situation she would have enough reason to do so. "You-you really mean that?" The tears were rolling down her cheeks, Dusk was afraid of this scenario the most, making her cry was the absolute worst thing that he could do to her. "Yes, she really did kiss me, I'm really sorry Fluttershy I didn't have any control over the situation." He was speaking honestly, the situation provided him nothing he could do to prevent it. "No, y-you really mean that you will be here for me, no matter what?" Dusk was surprised by this, he wasn't sure if this was either good or bad, but it didn't matter at this point. "Of course, I will be here for you. Whenever you need me, wherever you need me. I mean that with every fiber of my being and from the bottom of my heart." Upon hearing this, Fluttershy nearly knocked Dusk of balance hugging him tightly to the point where breathing became difficult. Hummingway feel of his head and flew on a perch hanging beside the bed. Dusk could feel the tears on his shoulder, he comforted her there for a good hour, maybe two, until she stopped crying. "Dusk, I love you and I know you couldn't have done anything to change what happened. I will have to talk to her about this later. But, you are the only thing that matters to me right now." "Really?" Dusk was shocked, every way he could see this situation go didn't end this well. "Yes, yes I do. I know I have to go talk to Rarity about it. But, right now I just want to stay here with you. I don't want to leave your side. Whenever I'm near you, as cheesy as it sounds, I feel a kind of weightlessness. Like I'm walking on a cloud wherever I go, I love this feeling and I love you." Dusk couldn't believe this, all of his fears and worries about her leaving or hating him were just dropped from his conscious and there was nothing left, nothing that could possibly go wrong in that moment. The glass doors revealed that the two were sitting there together for quite some time because the moon dominated the night sky. "It's getting late, do you... do you want to... stay here tonight?" Dusk felt it was necessary to offer, the idea of Fluttershy walking through the dark streets made him worry about what might happen. "R...really?" Her face began to glow red, no doubt because of the single bed that they would have to share and what might happen because of it. "Yes really, I won't have you walking through town in the middle of the night alone, if you want to go home I will go with you and come back here." He wasn't going to budge on the issue, she wouldn't be alone whether she left or stayed and it was up to her which one. After a few minutes of contemplation, Fluttershy came to her decision, "I think I should stay here tonight, if that's still okay." "Of course, now we probably should get some sleep now, it's pretty late already," Dusk began to prepare the bed and making sure there were plenty of covers for the two to sleep well. "O-okay," the nervousness in her voice was all too apparent. "Fluttershy, nothing is going to happen, did you really think that I would try anything?" The fact that she thought he would kind of hurt, she had known him for over a week and should have learned that such an act would be completely out of character for him. "Well no, but I have never shared a bed with a stallion before, I'm a little nervous about it." "Everything will be alright, I Pinkie promise," he did the motions to make it official. Fluttershy nodded and climbed into one side of the bed, while Dusk took the opposing side, the experience was... different. He gave her a kiss good night and turned off the lights with his magic, shortly after Fluttershy had curled up against him for warmth. He quickly drifted off and in no time he had slipped into a very restful sleep, knowing that she would be there with him in the morning.