Ponyville teemed with life as it always did this time of year. Foals ran around playing in the afternoon sun while their parents shared a few words about their day. Perhaps about work or a new friend they’d made. Occasionally they looked up to see what their kids where doing and give them a smile as warm as the sun above them.

Dust loved every second of summer in the small little town. Despite the unpleasant memories he had of this place, he found himself coming back here from time to time, simply to walk the streets, take in the sights and smells and listen to the ponies around him. He’d take a stroll past Sugar Cube Corner and buy himself something to eat from the bouncing pink pony he first met at his wedding.

During his long years as ruler of this land, he’d come to several conclusions about its people, or rather, ponies. One of them was that said pink pony, named Pinkie Pie, was completely out of her tiny little mind. It didn’t bother him much though, she was always nice and friendly, just like everypony else.

The first time he visited the library had been a strange experience. It looked so different now, without the lavender pony and her baby dragon assistant taking care of it. It was now owned by a couple of unicorn sisters, and they were probably the friendliest of all the ponies he’d ever met. At times he couldn’t help but wonder if they were interested in him, so to speak.

If they only knew what he did the last time he was in that hollowed out tree. The pain he’d caused that young mare. He still felt guilt about it, but he had to keep it a secret. If Luna found out… he had no idea what she would do. As the memories washed over him, he was forced to excuse himself to the sisters and leave the library fast.

Even though he tried to hide it, they both saw the tears forming in his eyes.

He would take a walk past the spa, looking at the oddly shaped building with longing eyes. He’d been there several times the past few years together with Luna. He couldn’t help but crack a smile and feel warm inside at the memories of the wonderful things they did in there when nopony was looking.

As he passed the spa, he walked by a small crowd of mares chattering about something he couldn’t hear. They all smiled and waved at him, and he greeted them right back with a smile and a nod before they kept on talking and he kept on walking. This was another reason he enjoyed Ponyville so much.

The ponies here didn’t treat him like the king he was. They acted like he was just another average person, with nothing interesting going on in his life whatsoever. It was a very calming change from the other towns and villages, where they treated him like a god with fine food, songs, dance and whatever a king could wish for. And truthfully, it had become a nuisance.

The man rounded a corner in the street, looking to his left as he did. Last time he turned down this street, it had been winter, and in the corner of his eye he’d seen Pinkie skipping around on the horizon like some hopped-up addict. Last time he turned down this street…

He’d been with Rarity.

And just like last time, her home now towered before him. The Carousel Boutique. It looked almost exactly the same as it did all those years ago when he came here to forgive her for what she did, except for the mannequins on top of the building that had now been removed, instead replaced by three wooden carvings depicting diamonds.

He stopped and just looked at the place. Couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. That was where she lived. That was where he could have lived with her, had he not… done what he did.

Even though he’d learned to accept the past and move on, seeing her former home again brought back the pain bottled up deep inside of him. Because of him, Rarity was gone. Nopony would ever see her brilliant eyes ever again, or be amazed over another one of her stunning ensembles. It was long since her beautiful accent rang trough the Carousel Boutique, and it would never do so again.

Dust managed to snap himself out of his trance, taking the first step of many leading him back to the place where it all began. He felt as if his heart slowed down with each new step he took. He focused his eyes on the small fence that had been built around the building, and the fillies and colts running around inside of it, playing happily. They still hadn’t seen him.

He walked up to the fence, a small wall made out of stacked stones, covered with flowers growing on top of it. A small wooden gate lead into the yard and next to it stood a rather large sign, beautifully handcrafted to perfection. He didn’t accept anything else but perfection when he ordered the construction of it years ago.

Three diamonds adorned the sign spread out across the board, crafted in such fashion that three words had been fitted inside of them.

After the wedding, this was the first thing he’d taken care of. He felt that the world needed to know what an amazing mare she’d been, and so the orphanage was established in her name. The sign had been infused with magic that never waned, and as night fell upon Equestria, the three gems lit up in a bright blue colour. He’d taken extra care to make the light match that of her eyes.

Forever sparkling in the night, offering comfort to whoever that saw it.

He didn’t need to open the gate to pass it; it was so small he could simply step over it if he wanted to. Still, he opened it and stepped through without a sound. Stepping over it somehow felt like an insult to this place, and just plain rude. As the foals in the yard caught sight of him, most of them ran up to him out of curiosity. Others knew instantly who he was, and ran up to him for that reason. It’s not every day a king enters your home uninvited.

A couple of moments later, the door to the orphanage swung open, and a small Pegasus mare stepped outside, heading directly to the crowd of foals surrounding Dust.

“Come along now, little ones. Let the man through.”

Her voice was tender and gentle, soothing beyond belief. Like the sound of a warm spring breeze passing through you. Dust could see why she was the one in charge of this place. The children listened instantly and parted, allowing Dust to move towards the mare to greet her more properly. Out of human instinct, he extended his hand to greet her.

“Oh, right. Ponies don’t shake hands.” He said quickly with a laugh.

“Don’t worry about that, my lord. There’s no need to introduce yourself to me.” Her voice felt like the warm embrace of a long lost mother, and Dust could feel his entire body relax and be at ease from just her words alone.

She pointed a hoof towards the door behind them, asking him inside. Dust obliged and followed the Pegasus through the door, and as he did he caught a glimpse of her cutie mark. Three butterflies with pink wings and blue bodies. As he followed behind her into the building, he tried to piece together these butterflies with a potential name on the mare, but couldn’t figure anything out.

“Say, would you mind telling me your name?” He asked as he took in the sight of the former home of his beloved.

The mannequins had been replaced with fluffy furniture, and various toys had taken the place of the sewing and design paraphernalia that used to litter the main room. Even the smell was different. He couldn’t help but sigh as the smell of food and wool filled his nostrils, rather than the scent of perfume and clean fabric that used to make him feel so relaxed.

“Oh. I’m… Fluttershy, my lord.” The mare said back to him, observing him with what could be seen as a frown on her face.

Dust looked over to the side of the room where Rarity used to have her circle of mirrors for measuring, and felt something sting inside of him as he saw the part of the floor next to the wall on the left. There was no trace of what had happened there, nothing indicating that what Dust remembered about that place ever happened. The mirrors had now been replaced by sofas, surrounding a small table.

“Well then, Fluttershy; please call me Dust. No need for titles with me.” He turned his head to give her a smile.

He would never forget that day. When he and Rarity was pressed close together on the floor, right next to where the circle of sofas now stood. The last time they made love, and it hadn’t even been romantic or beautiful. It had been savage and wild, nothing but pure pleasure and ecstasy during a moment in which the world around them seemed to stop moving. The more he thought of it the more he realized that they didn’t make love at all… They just fucked each other’s brains out.

He found himself wishing it had all been different on that day.

“If… if you don’t mind, my lord. Dust, I mean.” The mare named Fluttershy looked at him with a somewhat shy face. “Why don’t you have a seat? Would you like something to drink?”

Dust slowly made his way towards the circle of sofas, trying his best to not look at that one spot on the floor. He let himself sink down in the soft cushions and rested his neck against the back of the sofa with a loud sigh.

“Some cider or whiskey would be great, if it isn’t too much trouble.” For some reason, he couldn’t bring himself to look at her. For some reason that he couldn’t understand, the ceiling above him seemed endlessly more interesting than anything else, and his body felt like a ton of concrete.

“This is an orphanage…” He heard Fluttershy say.

“Right, sorry. How about some tea, then?”

He could hear hoof steps close by followed by the sound of a door creaking open. Fluttershy probably left the room to get him that tea, and the silence that now surrounded him was almost suffocating. As he sat there feeling like a sack of old potatoes, he began to wonder if it really was such a good idea to come back to this place again. He’d moved on a long time ago, but it was as if the walls around him refused to let him forget and just pushed more memories down his throat.

He couldn’t move and was unable to run away from the massive wave of feelings and fragments of the life he could have had washing over him. It was all around him, drowning him, and at the same time it was inside of him, trying to claw its way out.

The man could feel his body and soul tear at the seams, bursting with emotions pushed back a long time ago. He had to get away, had to stand up and get out of here before it crushed him. But he couldn’t. The only thing he could do was to move his mouth slightly and whisper into the thick silence.

“I’m sorry, Rare… I’m so sorry things had to turn out this way.”

Nothing but silence answered him. He couldn’t even hear the kids playing outside anymore. The room almost seemed to have left the real world and was floating around inside itself, forever lost within the river of nothingness.

“I used to be friends with her, you know.”

If Dust had been able to move, the sudden sound of the voice would’ve made him jump, but he remained as immobile as before, not even lifting a finger. The voice continued.

“With Rarity, I mean. She was a sweet mare, even though you sometimes had to really dig deep to see it.”

Dust nodded slowly. Quiet hoof steps could be heard close by, probably belonging to the owner of the voice. He didn’t turn to look.

“She always cared about the ponies around her more than herself, and never backed down when a friend needed her help. She had so much love to give and nopony willing to accept it. But I guess you already knew that, right Dust?”

Someone sat down in the sofa next to him, and he realized that it was Fluttershy, and it was her voice he was hearing. Slowly, something soft and downy coiled itself around his shoulders. The first thing he came to think of was Luna, since it was obviously a wing.

“Rarity loved you very much, Dust. More than anything and anypony in the world. Don’t ever forget that. You made her happy.”

Again, he nodded slowly, feeling something well up in his eyes. “I… I can’t… move…”

The wing around him tightened its grip.

“It’s okay. Just look at me and it will all be over soon. Just try to look at me.”

He tried to move his head but couldn’t. It was stuck shut, like a rusted metal gate refusing to ever budge again. It took him every last drop he had in him to strain himself enough to just turn his neck a few inches to the right. But it was enough to at least get a glimpse of one of Fluttershy’s eyes.

It burned its way straight into his heart and soul.

He started coughing and took several deep breaths, putting his hand over his chest without realizing he was actually moving again. Once he did notice it however, he immediately pushed himself out of the sofa and took a few steps forward across the floor. He almost fell over and had to put his hand up against the wall to support himself.

Through his vision that was blurry from tears, he saw he was standing in that one small spot in the corner, that one spot where he and Rarity had shared their last intimate moment.

“F… Forgive me.” He began, mumbling. “I shouldn’t toss my problems over at you like this the first thing I do after meeting you.”

“It’s fine; everyone has troubles inside of them. It’s perfectly natural. You just had a minor shock from seeing this place again, but you’ll be fine in a couple of minutes.”

“I’d say that was more than just minor.” Dust replied.

“Everyone reacts differently to stress. Don’t worry, I’m used to it. I’m running an orphanage, after all.” Fluttershy said back to him with a smile growing across her lips. Dust couldn’t understand how everything about this mare was so… comforting.

“Even adults need a mothers shoulder to cry on sometimes.” She added.

Dust removed himself from the wall, feeling his heart slowing down to a more regular pace. He wiped his eyes quickly before just putting his palm against his forehead for a few seconds. Then he pulled it up over his head, through his hair, stopping at the back of his head. As he looked back at Fluttershy sitting with a calm smile on her face, he couldn’t stop himself from chuckling slightly.

“I’m not acting very regal right now, am I?”

Fluttershy laughed a bit as well, and the paralyzing panic that just moments ago crippled him to the core seemed to be nothing more than a distant memory. Dust noticed the cup of tea standing on the table, and he once again sat himself down, took the cup between his fingers and put it up against his lips.

It was hot as it ran down his throat, warming him up and making him feel even more comfortable than before. Another sigh escaped his lips, this one out of happiness rather than sorrow.

“Now that you’re feeling better, what brought you here today, Dust? I’m sure you didn’t show up so unexpectedly just to talk.” Fluttershy asked, still smiling as Dust sipped on the warm tea.

“Well…” He began. “Today is the anniversary of me and Luna’s wedding. And before tonight’s feast and glamour I was thinking of getting her something a bit more… different, I guess. It’s no big deal really, I just want to let her know how much everypony else loves her.”

“Go on.”

“I was hoping that perhaps… The kids could help me out?”

Fluttershy’s smile grew even bigger. “I’m sure they’ll be happy to help you. Should we go out to them right away?”

Dust nodded yet again. He couldn’t help but notice that he’d been a nodding a lot the last few minutes. They both got up from their seats, and Dust followed the Pegasus out into the yard once again. Instantly, the foals flocked around them.

About half an hour later, the man left the Three Gems orphanage, carrying a thick bundle of papers between his hands. Behind him, the foals waved at him as he left, and he spun around and waved back at them. Fluttershy was standing in the middle of them all, still smiling.

Behind the orphanage, the sun had begun to set.