Young Love Is The Tastiest

Sterling Sword woke up in his bed, which was a good thing.

He wasn't a very outgoing pony, really, so if the first thing he saw when he woke up was the ceiling of his room, it was a good start to the day. He did his best to stay on top of life's little issues and his own neurosis. He got good marks in school, and was the top of his class when it came to levitation and actual magical output, so he was respected enough by his peers for him to be excused from being one of those ponies who did what everyone else did. He had a decent build, a nice apartment, and most of all, he had his marefriend. What more could a stallion want?

He culled his trailing lines of thought suddenly, taking great care in making sure his senses were not failing him.

Yes, he smelled maple syrup. And that was sound of something in his kitchen, sizzling. And there was light humming, and the far-off sound of soft hooves hitting hardwood.

He let himself relax, taking time to get out of his bed. His marefriend had a condo close by, but it wasn't uncommon for her to come over to his house early. She was a night owl, anyway, so he was always happy and never really surprised to see her around.

Now, her, making food? That was both pleasant and a surprise. He knew she could cook, and she did it well, but only on special occasions, like when school ended and when they bought the house.

He got on his hooves, and checked himself in his mirror, the only thing that broke the rooms look of being completely barren of personal objects. It was an antique, large and brassy, adorned a list of members of the Sterling family who owned it in ages past.

At the moment, he mused, he looked good enough. His black hair was slightly curly and hugged the sides of his head, but it was shoulder-length and well kept enough that it was never a issue, and his grey coat was clean as always. He considered himself well groomed, as it was one of the few real virtues he considered himself to have, and he liked it when he got conformation that he was.

The kitchen was just down the hall from his room, but he walked slowly, hoping to surprise her. He was a little amused, really; she never sang while doing anything, even with her lovely voice, but here she was, making breakfast and humming a catchy tune he hadn't heard before.

Soon, he passed by the main entryway into the kitchen and past the smaller one that led from his sparse living room, the wonderful mare within still not noticing his presence because of it. That didn't worry him at all; if anything, it made him be forced to suppress smirking. She was quiet on her hooves, and sometimes got the jump on him.

As he slowly but surely leaned on the wall at the far end of the room, quiet as a mouse, he looked over at the mare of his dreams, and the one who had been in them for quite some time, jauntily moving around rather large amounts of pots and pans all while keeping a steady pace.

Emerald Gleam, at first, didn't seem to live up to her name. Her coat was black and her long hair was a dark orange with thin purple stripes in it, making her look a little like a Nightmare Night decoration, as he often teased her about. Her body was smooth and lean, slightly curvy but lithe; like a cat, almost. She was of the thin and tall build that many mares in the modeling business seemed to have, but she wasn't much taller than the average mare, just around his own height. Her movements were quick and with point, somehow never really loosing some innate amount of alertness that he found refreshing. She was a light sleeper, and never seemed to be tired. Always quiet, but eternally prepared to lead him places. She had a sort of inner will that made him stop worrying that she was a meek mare as soon as she spoke.

And here she was, her wonderful lime green eye's staring into his own, wide with-
Wait a moment.

"How long have you been up?" she said, seemingly not angry, or even surprised

Then again, she was very hard to surprise, he mused. Only time he ever saw her truly speechless was when he returned their first kiss together in full force.

"Only a few minutes, hon." he said, getting up and making his way over to where the stove was, stopping when he saw what was on it.

He expected pancakes and syrup, and perhaps some hay-bacon.

There was some, a lot of it, actually. And a lot of other things, too.

Fluffy waffles were paired next to large blackberries, and a moderate sized omelet was on one of the large, square plates he kept around when he needed to bring fine china for the sake of celebrations. Three other plates of similar stature were off to the side as well, but they were covered with plastic wrap; he could make out sandwitches, what looked like a potato salad, a-

"Sweetie, you probably want to know what I am doing with this food, hmm?" she said, cutting him off from his thoughts.

He was happy to hear that purring tone in her voice, though. That always meant she was in a good mood.

"Of course, Gleam. Wait...," he paused, putting a hoof to his chin, "is it a surprise?"

She giggled, a throaty little chuckle that always got him. "It is, but your going to figure it out soon. Mind if you take to the table?"

He raised a eyebrow, but said nothing as he took to his side of the small dining table to the side of the room. Two chairs, one for the each of them. He took the one facing the far wall, of course, still surprised at her actions. She had been acting more...active lately, so it must have been something she's been planning. He liked her plans, usually. Her last one was a impromptu visit to Cloudsdale, and that was a fun trip, if only because he got to show off that he was dating a mare who could pull off a cloud walking spell for two ponies, and that the two of them didn't need to shell out fifteen bits for the potion that everypony else took.

So, in general, he was a good obedient stallion who did what he was told, and said nothing else until she brought down plates for the both of them. He stared at the message written in ketchup on his omelet.

"Happy First Anniversary"

"Good moooorrrnnninng sunshine." she purred in his ear. Purred.

"Celestia, really? One year..." he said, half-coherent with the mare nuzzling his neck. "But that means..."

"It's Heart and Hooves Day, Sword." Gleam said close to his ear in a stage-whisper, "I think we need to celebrate."

He turned to look at Emerald Dawn's rounded, tasteful face, her vibrant, piercing eyes, her cute expression of self content, and returned the nuzzle.

"I guess...this is it, right?" he said, trying to suppress the urge to start running around Canterlot screaming at the top of his lungs.

"Yes, I think it's time we settled this relationship the traditional manner."

She said 'traditional' in a way that made him so happy to exist he wasn't in the frame of mind to stop her when she leaned in to kiss his neck. Many times, at that.

"I guess you've been ready for this for a long time?" he said, half-prepared to think I had died and was having some sort of out-of-body experience.

"You...you have no idea, Sword, and do I have something special prepared for the two of us. You know the Trodderdale Hotel?"

Of course he did; it was the oldest and fanciest hotel in Canterlot, visited by more foreign dignitaries and nobles than any other in Equestria. It was also incredibly expensive to stay at, from his knowledge.

"Of course, babe." he said, leaning in slightly so he could get a better view of her slim, graceful neck.

"Well, I got us the master suite." she said, raising her head so he could have a better look.

It took him a few moments to fully comprehend what she said, and after he double-checked in his brain, he answered back.

"You did?" he said, not sure if he heard right.

"For three days, Sterling. Three days in the suite with the grandest view in Equestria, and the one with the best look at the fireworks tonight. For us."

She meant, obviously, the traditional set of fireworks that played every year for about a hour that was sponsored by Celestia herself, but it was clear by the way she said 'three days' that she had other ideas in mind.

He said nothing, preferring to respond with a series of quick, light kisses down her neck.

"How did you afford it?" he said after he did his duty for a few good minutes or so, enjoying the feeling of making the ticklish mare giggle under his onslaught.

But it was a serious question. He knew she had some money, but not a lot; she'ed showed him papers about how she has a oddly structured bank account which only let her take out some money out of it each week, but she had some amount in it. And, to his own despair, she didn't seem to use any of it on food. Oh, she ate with him, and she had food at her apartment anyhow, but she never ate as much as he would want her to, not out of any wish to make her lose the figure she seemed to work hard on but out of simple concern. She never ate snacks or extra meals or anything, and the most she ate was at his house.

It was always a worrying thought in the back of Sterling's mind; that his marefriend wasn't eating well.

To his own question, however, she just giggled. "You know my ways."

"Oh, I do, you temptress." he said playfully, deciding to forgo any sort of eating before he got the chance to nibble on one of her ears, which he swiftly did while he was still close to her.

Oh, she made noises. Wonderful, squeaky noises.

"Don't question it, or the food. Just eat up, a carriage will arrive soon for just the two of us." she said with a sort of regal finality after a while, "But, there is one last thing..."

She wanted him to say it. Really, it was a silly thing they used to do, early on, when they really weren't quite sure what they were doing, but she kept insisting that he kept doing it for the sake of it.

"I love you." he said, sighing exaggeratedly, "Your Highness."

She squealed adorably and wrapped her hooves around his neck, drawing him in for a kiss. After it became apparent that neither wanted to break it. they tried to see who had the stronger tongue.

Sterling won, but only because she needed to breath.

"Well," she said, faux-haughtly, "I need to go to my apartment to pick up some things. I will be back in twenty, the carriage will be here in the hour. Please eat up,you need your strength."

Letting himself smile, he speared a small chunk of pancake and swallowed it. Made with love, indeed!

"Of course, mylady." he thought for a moment, holding his fork off to the side in his magic, like it was a distraction from the main course, which happened to be Emerald Gleam. "That might be the last time I can call you that, you know."

She looked back at him, head titled to the side. "Oh, why's that?"

"You will not be a lady by the time I'm-"

He didn't finish what he was saying, because he was tackled by a lithe, strong mare with minty eyes who had a mouth that tasted like fall, slightly sweet and a little sticky, and by the time he realized what was going on he was still on the floor, kissing her.