“Duuuuuuusk!“

Galaxy roamed the empty corridors of the castle, trying to find her seemingly absent brother.

She had just finished her training for the day and was eager to show off her new skills to her nerdy, peace-loving brother.

Maybe some awesome moves would convince him that military might was superior to treaties.

At a large junction in the hallways, Galaxy could hear the faint sound of sniffling.

Curious, she trotted quickly toward the sound.

She came to a storage room door, behind which was a bunch of jars, pots, and…Dusk?

As Galaxy approached her crying brother, he noticed her and quickly wiped away his tears.

“What do you want…?“

Despite his angry tone, Galaxy could tell that he wasn’t really mad at her.

Galaxy sat down next to Dusk.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen? I can deal some damage to whoever made you cry!” She punched her own hoof, almost in a comical way.

Dusk sniffed and smiled a little at her offer. But it was a little bittersweet.

“You wouldn’t ever hurt the pony that made me cry…”

Galaxy’s confident smile melted into a confused expression.

“What do you mean?”

Dusk let out a frustrated sigh, not really wanting to explain but also needing an outlet.

“I know that you don’t really care about my studying and my school, but…it really hurt when you and father dismissed the importance of my award.”

Galaxy wanted to retort that she didn’t see why she should care. But she could see how much pain Dusk was in over this and held her tongue.

“He’s never there for me. And it doesn’t help that you completely agree with his dismissals of all the things I do. I can understand why you two don’t care, but…” Dusk began to sniffle again, fresh tears falling down his cheeks. “Why can’t you just support me, even if it’s something you don’t like?”

Galaxy felt a little uncomfortable, not really used to being the one comforting others.

But she could see just how much this meant to Dusk. This connection he wanted with her and Flash.

As a moment of silence followed and she studied his face in the semi-darkness, she took a breath to steady herself.

Galaxy leaned in and hugged Dusk, awkwardly trying to comfort him.

Although surprised, Dusk didn’t pull away. He looked down at her with an appreciative smile.

Galaxy smiled brightly at him.

“You’re right, Dusk. I should have known that you wanted us to pay more attention to you. I guess I haven’t really been spending a lot of time with you lately, with all of the guard training.“

She took a moment to think.

“That ceremony thing hasn’t started yet, right?”

“It’s been over for a few hours now…” Dusk frowned.

“Then I guess we’ll just have to have a party then!” Galaxy grinned. “The Most-Boring-Award-Given-to-my-Brother” Party!”

Dusk couldn’t help but crack a smile at that.

“I guess we will.”

Sequel to this:   
\>\>1682723t