Sarosian

Chapter 4: Closer

“Oh, you must be Twilight,” I had just stepped through the doors of the Ponyville weather station, being greeted by a tan coloured stallion with a styled brown mane sitting behind a wide desk. “Rainbow Dash said you were starting today.” The weather station itself was quite small; barely enough room in the entrance for ten ponies to fit. Disregarding personal space anyway.

I closed the door behind me and took a deep breath. The princess’ words of encouragement were working. ‘Let them look’, ‘Say hi as you walk past them’ and ‘Don’t look like you’re hiding anything’ were the major three pieces of advice. And they seemed to be working, although one foal ran into a vendor’s stall while staring. “Uhh, Hi. I was told I’d be working with Raindrops…”

“Of course! Well, lucky for you since there isn’t actually any rain forecasted, you’re the only one rostered on with her.” The stallion’s unusually high voice grated against my ears.

“Where can I find her?”

“She’d be with Rainbow Dash and Stormfeather at their weekly meeting,” The stallion shuffled some papers around on the desk then looked back at me. “This week they’re at Wingsies.”

“Wingsies? Where is that?”

“Oh, it’s a cafe on the west side of town, just two blocks from Town Hall.”

“Thanks,” I turned to open the door.

“Wait!”

I pulled my ears flat to try and save myself from the shrill shout. “Yes?”

“I’m Sunburst by the way. Since we’ll be seeing a lot of each other!”

Great… Just great… “I’ll look forward to it.” No I won’t…

I stepped back outside, flaring my wings and started flying towards Wingsies.

The cafe itself was easy enough to find. Then again, as the princess had said yesterday: finding Rainbow Dash is easier than anypony else, the pegasi’s technicolour mane was easily identifiable. Even from the sky, Rainbow Dash stood out amongst the morning commuters bustling through the streets. I pulled into a dive and headed for an alley beside the cafe. Feeling the wind through my mane was a wondrous sensation, the crisp morning air a good enough reason to leave the underground. The thick, dank and moist air from underground felt like flying through glue by comparison.

I continued to gain speed as I approached the ground, relishing in the weightlessness. Just as I passed the roof of the cafe, I flared my wings, catching as much air as possible to come to a stop just above the road. Hooves back on the ground, I turned around and headed into the street, only to find the two other ponies at Rainbow Dash’s table staring at me.

I shied away on instinct. Their wide-eyed stares almost forced me back into the alley, until Rainbow Dash beckoned me over with a hoof. I approached slowly, unsure on how to address the other two pegasi.

“Good to see you Twi, at least you knew how to find us.” Rainbow Dash started, leaning back in her chair and taking a large mouthful of her drink. I remained silent, taking in the other two ponies before me. There was a bright yellow mare with a turquoise mane, and a dark grey stallion with a short-cut cream coloured mane. Rainbow Dash finished her drink, and noticed my confused expression. “Oh, right. Stormfeather, Raindrops. This is Twilight.” Rainbow turned to face the mare, “Raindrops, I’ve tasked Twilight with you, since she needs to learn how to use rainclouds.”

I glanced between the two other ponies, their faces featureless until the stallion returned from his thoughts. “How did you pull out of your dive like that?”

“Yeah, the only pony I’ve seen who can pull up from a straight dive like that is Rainbow herself.” Raindrops added, leaning over to try and glance down my side.

“I- I don’t know? I just can?” I didn’t think I’d done anything that special.

“Will you two calm down?” Rainbow Dash leaned forward, shuffling herself into a more comfortable position on her chair then leaned back again. “It’s because of her wings. They catch more air than your feathers ever will, so she should be able to perform aileron rolls and sudden stops easier than most pegasi.” I tilted my head, glanced back at my side while shuffling my wings, it did at least make sense. “But that’s not what we’re here for. Storm, how much of your team is still in town?”

“Uh, one… I think... Two if you include me.” The stallion’s eyes scanned the sky as he thought.

Rainbow Dash shook her head. “I’ll need you to give me a hand tomorrow then, since Cloud Kicker and Silverspeed are out sick.”

“I can do that... Anything else?”

“Nope, that’s it.”

“Awesome! See you tomorrow then, Dash!” The grey pegasus quickly took to the skies, flying out of sight in an instant.

Rainbow Dash turned to face Raindrops. “Is the cloud order on track for next week?”

“Sent it yesterday,” Raindrops said with finality.

“Great. Then we’ll be all set for Spring Flower Festival the following week,” Rainbow Dash returned her gaze to me, shuffling out of her chair during the process. “Well, I’ve got a sky to clear. Twilight, I’ll leave you with Raindrops, but will check in when I’m finished.” Rainbow opened her wings and prepared to take off. “Take a few clouds out of the emergency supply Raindrops. We need to rotate the supply anyway, so may as well get some practice for Twilight out of it.”

“Yes Ma’am.” Rainbow Dash drooped slightly at the title.

“How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?”

“At least once more.” Raindrops giggled to herself, waving as Rainbow Dash took to the skies, clearing any stray clouds within sight. “Alright, Twilight is it?” I nodded in response. “As you probably heard, I’m Raindrops. I lead the rain teams in Ponyville.”

“So who was that stallion from before?”

“That was Stormfeather. He’s head of our lightning team.” I tilted my head in confusion. Raindrops obviously noticed it. “Stormfeather has the smallest team, only four of them I think, but the lightning team is qualified to handle thunderheads. I lead the rain team, well, the part of the rain team that is volunteer for the larger storms. And Rainbow Dash leads the cloud-pushers.”

“So if only four ponies know how to handle lightning, then how do you manage a storm over the entire town?”

“Well, we do have five qualified, since Rainbow knows how to handle them too. But including you, there are fifteen full-time weatherponies. Hence why I handle the volunteers, since storms are the only time we need extra hooves. We usually get at least another five ponies helping out with major storms, so to cover the entire town between twenty ponies is usually pretty easy.”

I followed Raindrops out into the street, walking beside her as we went. “Honestly, I don’t know why Rainbow tasked you with me, there’s basically no difference between a raincloud and a normal one.”

“Then how much extra training is required?”

“Well, to put it simply. There are only two major differences between them. To start the rain, just kick it, or jump on it if you’re impatient,” Raindrops paused mid-step, bucking a hind leg for emphasis. “But if you’re moving a raincloud, you must be careful. If you tear a raincloud then anypony underneath it will have a bathtub fall on them.”

I glanced towards Raindrops, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. “A bathtub?”

“Not literally of course, duh. But I’m not kidding when I say that’s what it feels like.” Raindrops grinned as she trotted along, moving towards the outskirts of town. “So, tell me about yourself,” I folded my ears back and lowered my gaze. “Hey, don’t be like that. Rainbow said you weren’t local, and, it’s pretty plain to see why.”

I shuffled my wings on reflex, unsure on what exactly to say.

We continued along the road for several moments, before Raindrops stopped and faced me. “Alright Twilight. I know you’re new to town, and the whole ‘different species’ thing may be getting to you… But you’re at work now, and I don’t fly with anypony I don’t know.” Her face had hardened, taking on a much sterner appearance, but her eyes remained open, a natural sense of ease just radiating from her gaze. It would be a comforting sight, if not for the authoritative way she had addressed me. Returning to walking down the road, she kept an eye on me. “How did you learn to pull out of a dive like that?”

“Back home, there wasn’t really much space to fly, so you had to learn how to stop instantly. Rainbow Dash was right though, my wings are what did the work.”

“Wings are only as good as the mind working them,” Raindrops responded with a wink. “You may have the fastest wings in the world, but if you don’t know how to use them, then you’re not breaking any records,” Raindrops slowed down her pace a little, putting herself directly beside me. “So how long are you planning to stay in Ponyville?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve met some nice ponies here, made a friend or two… I kinda like it here.”

“That’s good… From what Rainbow said about you, there’s not much to worry about.”

“What do you mean? What did she say?”

Raindrops blushed slightly. “Well, to be honest, if it wasn’t for Rainbow telling me about you, I would probably be afraid of talking to you.”

I suddenly realised the picture before me. “Because I’m...”

“Yeah… That… But, she was totally right! You’re just like everypony else. Sure, your eyes are weird to look at at first,” I turned my gaze away at that comment, “and your wings look… strange… But that’s nothing! Talking to you is just like anypony else.”

Raindrops continued for a few moments, apologising for the things she didn’t do, and we returned to talking about work and the other ponies I should get to know. Also talking with Raindrops I learnt a bit more about the Ponyville weather patrol in general. That all cloud pushers were also on the rain team, and that there were three groups of three ponies who rotated working each day forecasted for ‘clear’ or ‘light coverage’. From what I gathered, working as a weather pony wasn’t exactly stressful work, but Ponyville council paid well-enough considering the physical requirements for the job; something which I knew I had to work on.

Raindrops eventually came to a stop, gesturing down a side-street. “If you follow that road, you’ll reach our delivery station. You can’t miss it, the large warehouse on the right,” The pegasus turned around and gestured back towards town. “I need to go grab the key to open it all up. See you soon!”

*

“Alright, now, usually rain-clouds aren’t this dark,” I hovered with Raindrops beside an overlarge, almost black, cloud. “Actually, this is a good stage to work with rain for the first time. Another day or two  and this cloud would turn into a sparky.”

“A… Sparky?”

“Well, the technical term is cumulonimbiform. But this isn’t school, and a sparky doesn’t care how smart you are. You handle him wrong, he’ll kill you.” I pulled my hooves back to my side, drifting away from the cloud slowly. Raindrops giggled to herself a little. “Alright, I may have exaggerated a little. A single sparky by itself can’t kill you, it’ll paralyse you, certainly, but pegasi can take a shock and walk away from it. Anypony on the lightning team can take three at once. They build up a resistance over time during their training. When we’re building a storm, listen to your superior’s every word.”

“When you said it would paralyse me… How badly?”

“I’m not going to lie to you... This is a surprisingly dangerous job. But in the sixty-or-so years the Ponyville weather team has been running, nopony has been a casualty. And I intend to keep it that way.” Raindrops flew up to stand on the near-black cloud before me. “How badly paralysed you ask? Well, as badly as paralysis gets. Your hooves and wings get locked out, and you fall… It doesn’t last any longer than a minute or two; but that’s more than enough time for you to hit the ground from regulation storm altitude.”

“Has anypony on the team been shocked by a… Sparky?” I struggled to remember the technical term.

“Oh yeah, but we always have watchers in case things go wrong. Sparkys are unpredictable. Even Stormfeather gets hit once in a while. But I remember two years ago, one new recruit just couldn’t listen to the supervisor. Went and got herself shocked... Screamed her lungs out as she fell,” Raindrops returned to my side. “Luckily for her, Rainbow was overlooking the whole thing, swooped down and saved her life before she hit the ground.”

“Is she alright now?”

“Oh yeah… You’re looking at her.” Raindrops obviously saw my expression and rubbed the back of her head with a hoof, a darker, more somber tone in her voice. Her eyes glazing over slightly. “That’s why I’m tasked with teaching the new recruits before the storms. I know how it feels... What it’s like… I owe my life to Rainbow Dash, and I don’t want anypony else to feel that way. The screaming panic, burning pain and complete helplessness of falling to your death. A pegasi’s worst nightmare if you ask me.” Raindrops shook her head, and regained her composure. “But enough doom and gloom! This is a rain cloud, and she can’t hurt you… Unless you’re underneath her.”

“It’s not a very safe job, is it?” I asked rhetorically.

“If you follow regulation it is. But that’s why I teach you how to do things. If in doubt, ask a question… Nopony will think any less of you,” I nodded in response, now having a full understanding of Raindrops’ explanations. “Now, let’s get you moving this cloud.”

I spent the better part of an hour doing the same exercises I had with Rainbow Dash the previous day. Move the cloud here, push it to here, pull it to there, give it a kick...

“Alright Twilight, well done. That’s basically all you need to know when handling a rain-cloud.” Raindrops flew back down to the ground, taking shade under a large tree. “Now, I want you to grab both sides of it, and pull as hard as you can.”

“What? Why? Won’t that burst it?”

“Well, yeah. But it’s one of those things you have got to do.”

I shrugged, there was no arguing... Just do as you’re told. I placed a hoof on either side of the cloud, tightening my grip. I gave one strong flap of my wings, and jerked the cloud back, only to throw myself into a spin as the cloud disappeared from my grasp.

I righted myself after a moment, only to notice the entire cloud had gone. “Excellent work.” A voice said from below me. Raindrops stood beside the tree, completely saturated in water. “Nothing beats a rain shower.”

I quickly shot down to the ground, panic running through me. “Oh dear Luna! I didn’t drop it on you did I?”

“Of course not. I made sure of that.” Raindrops was laughing to herself, gesturing with a hoof beside herself. “That is where it landed. I was just hot after spending so much time in the sun, so, what better way to cool off than with an almost-expired rain cloud?”

The grass around where Raindrops was standing glistened with the unexpected rain. “Where did the cloud go though?”

“You’ve broken apart regular clouds before, haven’t you?” I nodded in response. “Well, exactly that. There was enough force to break the integrity of the cloud. Rainclouds have a much lower strength rating than normal ones, because of the extra weight.” The sound of hooves approaching took my attention. “Oh, hi Rainbow!”

Rainbow Dash looked the yellow pegasus up and down, shaking her head. “Don’t you ever take this job seriously Raindrops?” She shook her head in response, holding a wide grin the entire time. Rainbow Dash sighed, turning her attention to me. “So, you’re all set then? Know how to handle the rain?” I nodded once, taking a step towards her. “Awesome!”

Rainbow Dash and I left Raindrops and took to the skies, flying lazily over the outskirts of Ponyville. “Well, that’s it Twilight, you’re clear for regular patrol. Your first ‘on the job’ day is two days from now. It’s scheduled for clear skies, so all you have to do is beat up some clouds before sunrise.”

“I think I can do that.”

Rainbow angled down towards the ground, landing in the somewhat deserted town square. “I hope so, otherwise this weeks pay is going to be taken back.” Rainbow hoofed me a bag which jingled as I caught it. “Weather patrol is great, they pay in advance.”

“So how much is this for?”

“Oh, that’s for the rest of this week. Not bad considering the work required.” I focused a bit closer on the bag, hearing it jingle each time my hoof moved. “There should be a hundred or so in there.”

My eyes widened at the number. “A hundred bits? For that?”

“Hey, it’s gotta cover a lot when you think about it. Not anypony can be a weather pony, considering you have to keep yourself in good shape, eat well, and you are working before the sun rises most days. Then there’s the constant hazards to think of...” Rainbow Dash glanced around, as if checking for anypony. “Its a pretty thankless job too. If you’re not being yelled at because its too hot and there aren’t any clouds, you’re shouted at ‘cause you had to ruin a perfectly good day with rain…” The cyan pegasus snorted quickly, shaking her head. “There’s no pleasin’ anypony some days.”

I did almost understand where Rainbow Dash was coming from, it didn’t sound like any of the more glamorous jobs around town. Although at least being a baker like Pinkie Pie gets satisfaction from her customers. “It does make sense when you put it that way, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow Dash held a hoof up, laughing slightly. “Please, just call me Rainbow. Or Dash. You don’t have to be so formal around here.”

“Alright… Rainbow.”

“Much better! So what are your plans for the day off?”

“I don’t know… I thought I’d see a bit more of the town. Any sights worth seeing?”

“Nah, nothin’ really. Unless you want to go for a run through Whitetail Woods… But this far into Spring it’d be pretty damn hot. Twilight would be the one to see about things like that…” Rainbow shook her head again. “I have so gotta think of a name for you.”

I shuddered at the thought. “Do you have to?”

“I am not going to go the rest of my days calling you both Twilight.”

I sighed, I suppose Rainbow Da- Rainbow did have a point. “Alright, let’s hear it.”

“What? You think I can just make one up on the spot like that?” Rainbow laughed and wiped an eye with a hoof. “Not likely. I mean, I can’t just start calling you ‘Sun’ now, right?”

“I’d prefer not.”

“Then gimmie a few days. Who knows, you might do something at work that’ll give us a name.”

I nodded slowly. “Alright, a few days.” I tucked the bag of bits under a wing, finding my bearings and turning towards home. “I’ll see you at work then?”

“If not around town. Then sure! Don’t strain yourself, you’ll need those wings ready.” Rainbow flared her wings and took to the skies, waving down at me as she left.

A short trip home and I hid the bag of bits in a drawer in my room, taking out a handful to keep with me. Exiting the front door and locking it behind me, I checked the sky, finding the sun almost directly above. Excellent. Lunch time.

Twilight would be the one to see… Rainbow’s words resonating in my mind. If I wanted to learn more about what’s around town, the princess would be the one to talk to…

Any excuse would do anyway...

Making the walk through town once more, I made sure to at least acknowledge anypony who stared at me. For the most part, the princess’s advice was working. Showing everypony that I had nothing to hide seemed to be working. It wasn’t flawless by any means, but it was working. Ponies were getting used to seeing me.

Or at least it seemed that way.

By the time I arrived at the library I couldn’t help but grin like the diamond dogs under Canterlot finding a horde of gems. I hadn’t even lived in Ponyville for a week, and I’d already made great friends, found a nice paying job, and got to spend time with a princess of Equestria! Standing before the library door I took a deep breath, calming myself before the approach, just because she is my friend, doesn’t mean I can be disrespectful.

I knocked three times on the library door, not waiting a moment before it was opened. “Hey, Twilight!” The purple dragon spoke. What was his name again? The princess mentioned him a few times… Spine? No… That wasn’t it.

“Hey,” I paused for a moment, trying to focus my thoughts off remembering his name. “Is Twilight in?”

“You betcha,” He turned around and headed inside. “Hey Twilight, Twilight is here!” He shouted throughout the library. The door was left open, so I assumed that invitation enough to enter, I shut it behind me as I took stock of the library.  Piles of books were sitting on the ground, entire shelves of the library completely devoid of literature.

Oh, right… Twilight said she was reorganizing the library today.

“Spike… How many times do I have to tell you this is a library. Libraries are not for shouting.”

“But Twilight, nopony is here. You specifically made sure that nopony would be in today.”

“Spike, Twilight is here.”

“I meant nopony wanting to borrow a book. Surely she didn’t come in for that…” The little dragon turned to face me as I navigated the labyrinth of books to their voices. “Right?” Spike asked.

At least I didn’t have to ask for his name. “Uhh, no. I didn’t.”

The small dragon beamed, turning back to the alicorn. “See?”

The princess sighed and took the few steps necessary to close the gap between us. “How was your first day at work?”

“Pretty good. Turns out rain-clouds aren’t any different to normal ones. You just have to be a little more gentle.”

“I didn’t think there’d be much difference between them.” The princess tapped a hoof against her muzzle. “If anything the extra weight would make them harder to move too.” She shook her head, returning her thoughts to normal. “But that’s probably not the reason why you’re here.”

“No, you’re right. I was actually wondering if you wanted to grab some lunch… I do owe you one from yesterday,” I glanced around the room. “If you can spare the time… That is…”

“Oh… Don’t mind this, everything has been sorted and just needs to be reshelved and we’re done.” The princess then focused her attention back towards me. “But why do you owe me one? I said yesterday that you shouldn’t worry about it.”

I paused for a moment, I hadn’t realised the princess didn’t want me to return the favour. “Well, do-”

A small laugh from the princess stole my attention, I felt completely flustered. “It’s alright Twilight. I can give this a rest for a while, as I said, I’m almost finished.” The alicorn floated a several large piles of books straight into one of the shelves, clearing a good portion of the room. “And I’d love to join you for lunch,” The princess turned back to face the young dragon. “Spike, if you can shelve T through Z while I’m gone you can have the rest of today off too.” The young dragan sprung to attention, giving a quick salute; before zipping off deeper into the maze of books.

“Alright, let’s go.” I turned around slowly, feeling my tail get caught on a few books before flicking it free and heading towards the exit.

*

“Oh… I didn’t realise that weather management was so dangerous.” I had just finished explaining the finer details of rainclouds and, as Raindrops called them, sparkys. “That would explain why Rainbow Dash has to attend so many safety and training courses in Cloudsdale.”

For lunch we had found a small bar just outside the centre of town. I had the most delicious alfalfa and lime salad while the princess voiced her great praise for her beetroot, lettuce and tomato burger. The atmosphere was nothing short of fantastic; the music was noticeable but not intrusive, the tables and chairs were polished to shine, the wide curtained windows allowed enough light to see the other side of the room, but not cause a glare off the polished wood, the bartender, although looking a little rough around the edges, was both polite and charming.

And still managing to stay under a three bit meal cost each.

This place was definitely worth remembering.

I continued to admire the space around us, before remembering the original reason for asking the princess to lunch. “Are there any sights worth seeing in Ponyville?”

Twilight finished her drink, then tapped her hoof against her muzzle in thought. “Bored of the town already?” She asked with a chuckle.

“What? No…” The princess continued her laugh as I denied her claim. “I just get a lot of free time from work, so I wondered if there was anything worth seeing.”

“Well, Whitetail Woods stretches from the North edge of town through to the West, but I wouldn’t head out there until the Running of the Leaves festival. There’s Saddle Lake to the East of town, it’s at the perfect temperature from now until the end of Summer if you want to go for a swim. Then beyond the Everfree Forest to the South there’s both Ghastly Gorge and Froggy Bottom Bog. Not ideal attractions as they are landmarks. But might I warn against going into the Everfree without letting somepony know.”

“Why? Is there something wrong with it?”

Twilight laughed hesitantly. “You could say that. The forest tends to have a mind of it’s own. There are timberwolves, poisonous flowers, cockatrices…”

“Cocka-what now?”

“A cockatrice. It has the head of a chicken and the body of a snake.” I couldn’t help but laugh at the description. “You laugh now, but it’ll turn you into stone if you look it in the eye.”

I recoiled at the princess’s words. “Turn you to stone?”

“Yes. I was attacked by one two years back. It is not a feeling I recommend.” I shuddered at the thought. The only thing really worth seeing right now then is the lake. Could be worse, I suppose. Twilight must’ve noticed my expression because she had a small chuckle. “That’s all there is locally anyway, the train will take you wherever you want really. It might take a little while, but it’s better than flying. You can get to Los Pegasus before sundown if you leave at lunch. Canterlot sooner than that. And Cloudsdale, if you listen to Rainbow, is no further than Canterlot. But she would probably fly faster than both of us could… If you’re-”

As Twilight continued to name location after location, and their respective distances, purely by memory, I couldn’t help but stare into the distance and zone out. There was something… More… About how she spoke. The eccentricities of her pronunciation explained her Canterlot youth. The constant changing in her expression showed her obsession for detail, and the way her eyes just stared at me-

“Equestria to Twilight! Hello!” I shook my head and returned from my thoughts. “Are you ok?”

“Huh? Yeah, I’m fine…” I glanced out the window to see the sun starting its descent towards the horizon. “How long have we been out for?”

Twilight followed my eyes and checked the sun. “Probably too long. I really should get back to Spike.” I paid for our meals, despite Twilight’s objections, and we both headed back towards the library.

We trotted beside each other, I kept glancing up towards the sun in wonder, never having actually noticed how it turned the sky such vibrant shades of orange and red. “It’s beautiful isn’t it?” I shook my head, turning to face Twilight who had stopped. “Celestia’s sun, that is.”

“I never really looked at it before.” Twilight flushed slightly, and opened her mouth to speak, before closing it without a sound. That was another thing about Twilight; she was a princess, able to do whatever she wished without question, but still measured every word before speaking.

“Follow me.” Twilight turned around, quickly headed back the way we came.

I galloped to catch up with her. “Where are we going?”

“I thought of another sight worth seeing.” The princess said between breaths, increasing her pace with each stride.

“Wouldn’t flying be faster?”

That caused the princess to come to a stop. glancing around the rest of the sky, her eyes settling on a large cloud just outside the edge of town. “You’re right.” Flaring her wings, the princess took to the sky, not waiting a moment for me to register where she was going.

“Wait for me!” I took off after her, catching her quickly enough to land on the cloud her eyes reached moments ago. “Alright…” I panted. “Why are we up here?”

The princess turned around and pointed with a hoof towards the sun, reaching the edge of the horizon. Her wordless gesture being enough to render me speechless. Being above the city gave us an unobstructed view of Princess Celestia’s sun. I watched Twilight stretch forward and lay down, letting her hooves hang over the edge of the cloud as I joined her in that position.

The sun continued its descent beyond the horizon, we both sat in silence at the wondrous scene. “You’ve never seen the sun set before, have you?”

I shook my head. “Never.”

Twilight let out a heavy sigh. “What was it like underground for all those years? How did you know what was day or night?”

“I didn’t. There was no such thing. If you weren’t working, you were sleeping. We all covered things in shifts.”

The princess closed her eyes. “I couldn’t live like that. After all I’ve learnt from Celestia, I just couldn’t live without… This…”

I chuckled at her words. “You don’t know what you’re missing if you’ve never seen it.”

Twilight nodded in acknowledgement, returning her gaze to the setting sun before us. I glanced towards the princess, but lingered for a moment. A wide grin was plastered across my face as I spent more and more time staring at the princess. The sun reflecting off her eyes as it continued to crawl out of sight beyond the horizon.

By the time the sun was half way out of sight, I was spending more time staring at Twilight than the sunset. The warmth of the day was fleeting, but I couldn’t even feel the cool breeze against my face. But I didn’t care about that. It wasn’t about watching the sunset for the first time. It wasn’t about the endless stream of colours spanning the horizon. It wasn’t about the sights or the sounds. It was the view I had, the time I was spending with her. Then the thought struck me.

I have a crush on a princess!