This moment, this reunion, was the reason Gnome had traveled the world with their young daughter for so many years, until she was no longer young. He had recently tried to tell himself that he should stop looking for the lost half of his family, and move on. For a short time, he had stayed put. Yet seeing Lilika here now and being able to touch her again made him realize that no matter how hard he tried he would never have been able to truly stop. His heart, while big enough to care for many, beat most fiercely for the blue roan beauty.

He leaned into her quaking body and arched his neck over her withers in an attempt to stabilize them both; he realized now that his legs also shook with emotion and shock. After a moment, he pulled back just enough to gaze into her face. Lilika’s eyes were squeezed shut, almost as if she were in denial. Gnome could not blame her, and simply waited breathlessly until she was ready. When the moment finally did come, he sucked in a gasp of air. He did not miss the look in her eye. His heart ached to think what had planted it there, but there would be time later to lend a listening ear and help her process whatever pain it had been.

Then she touched him back, and as she sobbed so too did the tears finally fall from his own eyes. In all the years they had spent apart, he had rarely allowed himself such moments in an attempt to remain strong for Eve. Here, there was no daughter to protect. Gnome pressed his forehead to hers and allowed the release of emotion that was warranted for such a bittersweet occasion. For though he felt enormous joy, he also felt sorrow at time lost with his love and their firstborn. Her sobs were perhaps more powerful than his, but he paid this no mind. They each grieved and celebrated in their own way.

Almost as quickly as they had started, their tears tapered off and they were left standing still, drinking each other in. Gnome now saw more signs of abuse and age on her body; in addition to her sides were scars on her neck, a tattered ear, a swayed back. In contrast, he was just as fit and sleek as the last she had seen him, and perhaps even more so after gallivanting through Paradise with its hills and cliffs that were so different from the soft slopes of the Prairie. He did show some signs of aging in the increased density of white hairs at the edge of his blanket. His mane and tail showed more streaks of white with each passing spring, and had his muzzle not already been white he surely would have a peppering of white there as well. Overall, though, it was very clear that whatever Lilika had been doing had taken a toll on her. Gnome still thought she was just as beautiful as they day they had very first met, when they both were rather gangly and awkward yearlings.

Where had she been? Who had given her these scars? Where was Iris? He dared not ask, just as she dared not ask him if he had moved on. Some things were best left unanswered for the moment, but they could not stand in silence forever. “Lilika. I…” He trailed off, at a loss for words. What could he say that could possibly convey everything that he felt? Honesty, he found, was usually the best policy. “I don’t even know what to say. I have missed you every hour of every day since you were gone. Eve and I…we looked everywhere I could think of, both on and off the islands.”

Emotion threatened to get the better of him again as he felt his throat tighten. There was so much more that he wanted and needed to say, but he was having trouble voicing anything aloud. It was an unfamiliar sensation for the stallion, who prided himself on his way with words. Burying his face back into her thick mane to inhale her familiar and comforting scent again, he decided to keep it simple by murmuring, “It’s so good to have you here with me again.” For now, he would focus on the good. Everything else could wait.

Gnome