Celestia shut the door behind them. Sweetie Belle's heart raced. It had seemed like forever since she and the alicorn had been alone together.
"Ugh, I never thought I would be so tired from dancing!" Sweetie Belle exclaimed, flopping down of Princess Celestia's large canopy bed. "Why did you throw this ball anyways?"
"Why, it's the anniversary of the founding of Canterlot, of course," the princess said practically, sitting gracefully down beside Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle waited for Celestia to continue, but she didn't.
"No other reason?" Sweetie Belle asked, staring into those huge, sparkling fuchsia eyes. Princess Celestia grinned playfully.
"Well, I had to come up with some excuse to see you again," she murmured, gently nuzzling Sweetie Belle's neck. Sweetie's face heated, and her heart rate accelerated even further. She could feel color rising in her cheeks, and sighed.
"Why me?" she couldn't help asking. Tia cocked her head in confusion. "When you could choose anypony in Equestria, why would you choose me? There's nothing special about me."
Celestia looked surprised. "Of course you're special! You're the smartest, funniest, most talented, most gorgeous mare I know!" Sweetie Belle flushed an even deeper shade of red.
"I love you," the young white unicorn uttered, pressing her lips to Celestia's cheek. To her dismay, the princess drew away from her.
"No, no, no, not yet, Sweetie," she whispered, her eyes gleaming, "First, you still owe me a dance."
Celestia cranked up a music box on the shelf, and it began to play a soft, rhythmic lullaby. Taking Sweetie Belle's hoof, they stood and began to sway to the sweet melody. Sweetie sighed again and laid her head on the princess's shoulder.
"I wish we could dance in public," Sweetie Belle muttered, mostly to herself. Celestia frowned, but didn't reply. Sweetie Belle looked up at her fillyfriend. There was sadness in her beautiful gaze. Sweetie wrapped her front legs around Tia's neck and pulled her in close so that their bodies were pressed against each other. She gradually leaned forward until she reached Celestia's mouth, where she planted a quick, affectionate kiss.
The smile returned to Celestia's face. Sweetie Belle let out a dorky giggle. Celestia grasped her hooves tightly and twirled her around faster and faster, ignoring the slow tempo of the music box. They circled the room until they danced onto the balcony, where the cool evening breeze tickled their noses.
Tia paused mid-spin, looking out on her kingdom below. Sweetie sensed that she was deep in thought. What she was thinking about, though, she had no idea whatsoever. Unlike, Sweetie Belle, who was like an open book, Princess Celestia had had over a millenium to master that expressionless face.
Sweetie ignore the urge to smother the princess's perfect face with kisses. She had never had feelings like this for anypony before. Instead of acting on her true desires, naughty as they were, she chose to simply stroke the pale, mother-of-pearl-colored fur.
"What are you thinking about?" she teased softly, running her hooves over her fillyfriend's back. Tia started at her voice, but quickly regained her composure. She pulled the shorter mare into a tight embrace.
"I am simply wondering how I nailed such a pretty filly," she murmured as she traced her lips down Sweetie Belle's neck. Sweetie Belle smiled.
"I was wondering the same thing!" she chimed, shivering as a pleasant chill ran up her spine. She stood on the tips of her hooves to reach Celestia's face, and the space between their faces vanished, and their lips met. Her tongue snaked out, thoroughly exploring and wrestling with Tia's tongue. Sweetie Belle used all her strength to press herself as close to Celestia's body as possible, tangling her hooves in the princess's glorious multicolored mane. Sweetie's teeth gently gouged into the soft flesh of her partner's mouth.
Sweetie didn't know how long they stood there on the balcony, passionately kissing. All she knew was that she was dreadfully disappointed when the princess broke away from, chuckling.
"Alright, now, you run along, little filly, and I'll see you tomorrow. We'll enjoy a private breakfast feast in the royal gardens," Tia promised, winking.
Sweetie Belle sighed, still not releasing the princess from her affectionate grasp. "Are you sure you don't want to... continue...?" she asked quietly, gesturing to Celestia's bed. Princess Celestia's expression turned serious.
"Sweetie, you know I refuse to let you abandon your innocence before we marry. We already have so much at stake," she said sternly. Sweetie Belle nodded, her heart sinking slightly. She let go of her fillyfriend and began to the door.
"I know. But it is a new age. Old traditions aren't that important," she teased as she trotted away, mostly joking, though she could not help but feel hurt at Celestia's blunt refusal. She stepped through the door and shut it without saying goodbye.
Sweetie was awakened by a sharp wrapping on the door of her suite. She sleepily answered the door to find a flustered Rarity levitating a newspaper in Sweetie Belle's face.
"What on earth is this?!" Rarity demanded, shoving that morning's issue of The Canterlot Whinny at Sweetie. Sweetie yawned as she blinked several times to rid the sleep from her eyes and get a better look at the headline.
Princess Celestia Spotted with Young Upcoming Singer Sweetie Belle read the title in bold, screaming letters. Below were multiple fuzzy images of Sweetie and Tia making out on the palace balcony. Realization snapped Sweetie Belle awake, and she let out a high-pitched gasp, and slowly lowered the newspaper from her face. She was met with the ungracious gaze of her elder sister.
"I...I..." Sweetie Belle racked her brain in vain for an excuse. How could she explain to her sister that she had been secretly dating the princess of the kingdom for the last six months? She hadn't even told Rarity that she was a fillyfooler!
Rarity didn't even give her the chance at an attempted excuse. "Were you drunk?! Was she drunk?! Or are either of you of drugs? Or did she molest you? What the buck is going on?!" she shouted, practically rocking the very floor. Sweetie Belle wanted to disappear. She shrank back away from her sister's harsh scolding.
Sweetie opened her mouth, and closed it. She could lie. She could say that she had no idea what the picture was and that it was probably somepony else. But that would only make it worse.
"Well?!" Rarity demanded, placing her hands on her younger sister's shoulders and shaking her vigorously.
Sweetie sighed. It was time to come out with the truth. "I should've told you before, Rarity. Princess Celestia and I have been dating for that last seven months. I'm in love with her, and I don't need anypony's approval."
The white filly tried to stay stone-faced as her sister processed what she had just said, but she couldn't help breaking into a grin. She had just stated aloud to someone other than Celestia that they were in a serious relationship.
Rarity's pupils were the size of pinpricks. If she had not already had white fur, Sweetie knew that the fashionable mare would have grown a shade paler. "I- You- What- You're for real?!" she finally belted out after several painful moments of silence. Sweetie Belle nodded. Rarity's muzzle curved into a shocked grin.
"Why, Sweetie Belle, I couldn't be happier for you!" she exclaimed, throwing her front legs around Sweetie's neck and pulling her into a tight hug, "This is amazing! Why ever did you think that I wouldn't approve? And of course you don't need my approval. You are your own pony and I recognize that," Rarity stepped out of their embrace and looked at her from a few feet away, as if sizing her up, "You have gotten so big in these last few years. You are all grown up now and I almost missed it," Her graceful features were contorted by a sly grin, "But you must realize that I will force you to tell me every bit of it."
Sweetie grinned, feeling warm inside. "Thanks, Rarity. You're the best sister anypony could ask for. I-"
She was cut off by another knock on the door. "Sweetie, it's me," called the familiar, muffled voice. Her heart jumping in her chest, Sweetie used her green magical aura to turn the door handle and open the door.
There stood Tia, the only pony she had ever loved. Her face was shaded by the black hooded cloak she wore to prevent being recognized. It was a silly disguise, though, considering that she was twice the height of everypony else. Sweetie Belle and Celestia stared into each others eyes for a few seconds, caught up in the moment.
Rarity awkwardly cleared her throat. "I guess I'll be going then..." she said, otherwise silently slipping from the room and softly sliding the door shut. Neither pony looked her direction as she departed.
Finally, Celestia looked down. "I'm guessing you saw the morning paper-"
"Yeah," Sweetie interrupted her, not really wanting to relive her humiliation.
"And then I'm guessing you told your sister-"
"Yeah."
Celestia didn't say anything else, just wordlessly stared at a particularly strange-colored stain on the pale cream carpets. Sweetie couldn't think of anything that would ease the tension in the atmosphere. But she knew that Tia was probably having the same thought as she: So what do we do now?
It seemed like they stood their forever. Every second, it felt as they Sweetie was sinking deeper into a pit of quicksand. Maybe, if she said something, she could get out, but she was too afraid to try.
She was so deep in thought that she almost didn't notice when the princess began to kneel down, and pulling a small box out of her cloak pocket and holding it out in front of her. The princess had to call out her name before she came out of her trance and noticed the square velvet parcel Celestia was holding. Her breath caught in her throat and she thought she might faint.
"Sweetie Belle," Princess Celestia began, locking eyes with her beloved fillyfriend, "I love you more than I have ever loved any being that has walked this earth. I have thought long and hard about this, and I want to be there for every second of your life, and I want you to love me for eternity. Now that our interaction in finally open, I have the chance to make sure of it. I know that I am immortal, and that you are destined to one day pass away like all ponies. But I do not care. I will find a way, no matter what the cost. So I ask you now, will you give yourself to me, Sweetie Belle, and do me the honor of marrying me?"
Sweetie Belle stood stock still, stunned, for a few moments, staring at the engagement ring. But then, the silence ended.
"Oh, Tia!" she wailed, flinging herself into Celestia's waiting hug. Tears poured from her eyes. "I love you more than I can say!" She wanted to say more, and Celestia blocked her mouth with a big kiss. This time, it was Sweetie that pushed away first.
"We can save that for the honeymoon. Right now, I'm starving. How about that breakfast in the gardens?"