The Stormgate Diaries

The school bell rang, signaling the end of classes for the day. The fillies and colts burst through the front doors of the building in their excitement to go home, while the young mares and stallions of the higher grades followed slowly behind, chatting idly with their classmates. In the schools front yard, a young blue unicorn stallion stood with a slightly younger silver mare, also a unicorn.

"Shimmey, why are we hanging around here? We both know you don't have the guts to talk to her, so why aren't we going home?" The silver mare said to her brother, flicking her white hair out of her face.

"Because, Mirror, I think I can do it today." Shimmercoat replied, chafing at the nickname his sister always used.

Mirror sighed, settling in for another long wait. Shimmer was a handsome stallion, with his long navy mane and deep purple eyes, but he was far too shy to take advantage of his looks. He had had a crush on a mare in his class for several months now, but he could never work up the courage to talk to her. Well, at least she's a cute little thing. Mirror thought to herself, picturing the fire-themed pegasus that was the target of her brother's affections in her mind. What was her name? Fizzy? Fizzer? Ah, right. Fizzle Flare.

Mirror was brought out of her thoughts by her brother suddenly standing up straight, trying to see over the crowds of ponies. She sighed again. Why does he get so excited? He's not gonna do it. She loved her brother, but sometimes he just needed to pony up and jump in head first.

Shimmer finally spotted Fizzle among the throng of brightly colored ponies, and quickly turned to his sister. “Wish me luck, sis.” He said before turning back and pushing into the river of ponies. Luckily, he managed to make it to his destination without much incident, ending up right next to Fizzle.

She was talking to the Keys twins, Ebony and Ivory. The twins were quite an odd sight, they were both missing a front leg from the knee down, Ebony's left, and Ivory's right. They also played piano, Ebony taking the high end while Ivory took the low. Ivory noticed him right away, the butter colored mare smiling slightly. She had seen the poor colt trying to get Fizzle's attention several times before, but it was all in vain. His subtle methods were completely slipping past Fizzle's notice. After a moment, Ebony noticed Shimmer as well, the large black stallion suddenly looking stern. He had no real issue with Shimmercoat, but he was very protective of Fizzle, who he viewed as a younger sister even though they had only known each other a week. Shimmer stumbled a step at Ebony's look, but quickly caught his balance and pressed on. However, the stumble was enough to get Fizzle's attention, and she looked at him in surprise.

“Oh, hi Shimmercoat. I didn't see you there. What's up?” She asked, locking her deep blue eyes to his amethyst ones.

He stammered a bit, suddenly becoming very nervous. “I-I-I was w-w-wondering if y-you would be interested i-in joining me for dinner...” He trailed off, losing his nerve.

She leaned closer to him, flashing a friendly smile. “I'm sorry, I didn't catch that last part. Wondering if I'd be interested in what?”

Shimmercoat froze, his heart hammering in his chest, and his mind went blank except for a single thought: She's right next to me...

Mirror watched him freeze and hung her head. So close, but yet so far. She thought to herself.

Fizzle stopped a step after he did, turning to face him completely. “Is something wrong, Shimmercoat?” She asked politely, wondering why he suddenly froze.

Suddenly he turned tail and ran several yards before his horn started glowing and he disappeared with a quiet pop.

Fizzle turned to the twins. “Do you know what that was about? I hope he's alright...” She said, a little bit of worry creeping into her tone.

Ebony chuckled a bit before Ivory bumped him with her flank. The butter colored mare looked at Fizzle with a smile. “Ah don't know, why don't y'all go after 'im and check? He's the blacksmith's boy, so just head on over to the forge an' see.” She said in the southern drawl that the twins shared.

“Alright. I will. See you guys later.” Fizzle said before spreading her wings and taking to the air, heading towards the forge that sat on the town's edge.

Mirror was close enough to hear the conversation between the three ponies, and as soon as Fizzle took flight she immediately turned and ran towards home, hoping to beat the pegasus there.

Shimmercoat appeared in the front yard of his home, upside down and extremely embarrassed. His mother, Starshine, looked out the kitchen window when she heard the small pop of Shimmercoat's teleportation spell. She finished drying the dishes as he righted himself and walked towards the door.

The gray pegasus mare smiled as he made his way into the house. “Hi, Shimmer, how was school?” She asked, looking back out the window and noticing the absence of her daughter. “And where is your younger sister?”

Shimmer walked over and sat next to his mom. “School was fine, mom. Mirror should be here shortly.” He said, anger evident in his voice.

Starshine looked at her son. “Is something wrong, Shimmey?” She asked, motherly concern creeping into her words.

He sighed. “Well, there's this mare, right? I've had a crush on her for awhile now, but every time I try to talk to her, I freeze up, and every time I try to get her to notice me, it's like I don't even exist.”

Starshine smiled. “A mare, huh? What does she look like?”

Shimmercoat immediately smiled. “Well, she's a pegasus, she's yellow with some orange on her flank, she's got a really nice dark red mane, and she has the deepest blue eyes I've ever seen...” He rattled off quickly, a dreamy look on his face.

His mother giggled. She recognized that look. Her son had it bad for this pegasus. “So, why don't you just go up and talk to her? You've never had this problem with a filly before.”

Shimmer quickly shook his head. “Something is different this time. I can't help myself around her. I just get nervous and my heart starts pounding and I can't think straight and-”

“I think I get the point, son.” His mother cut him off from his rambling. “You really like this mare. What are you planning on doing about it?”

He stopped. “I don't know.” He said slowly, shaking his head. “Right now, though, I think I'm gonna go take a walk.”

His mother smiled at him. “Alright. Just be back before dark.”

No sooner had he walked out the back door of the house than his sister ran in the front.

“Where's Shimmey?” She asked, breathing hard.

Starshine looked at her daughter and raised an eyebrow. “He just left. Why, is there something wrong?”

Mirror laughed. “Not for us, but Shimmer's crush is on her way here. The way he ran from her earlier made her worry about him and now she's coming to check on him.”

Starshine chuckled. “Well, he just went out for a walk. He's got it bad for this filly.”

Mirror nodded. “Yeah he does. She's all he talks about on his way to and from scho-”

She was interrupted by a knock at the door. Starshine walked over and pulled the door open, revealing Fizzle.

“Excuse me, ma'am, does Shimmercoat live here?” Fizzle asked, hoping she was in the right place.

Starshine stepped back from the door, motioning for Fizzle to follow. “Come on in. Yes he does live here. Are you a friend from school?”

Fizzle followed her into the house and sat down in the living room. “Well, we have a couple of classes together, but we haven't talked all that much.”

The gray pegasus chuckled. “With how much he goes on about you, I'd think you two shared all your classes.”

Fizzle's eyes widened. “The w-way he goes on about m-me?” She stuttered out, surprised. “B-but we hardly ever say anything to each other.”

Mirror spoke up. “That doesn't matter to him, he's got it bad for you. If you'd like, I can take you to where he usually goes when he needs to think. Should be interesting to see his reaction to you just showing up.”

Fizzle thought it over for a second, then nodded. “A-alright.”

Starshine looked at her daughter. “Be back before dark, and make sure your brother is as well.”

The silver mare chuckled as she lead Fizzle out the back door. “Okay, mom. Will do.”

Mirror led Fizzle down a path just behind the house that lead into the light forest bordering the town. As they walked, Fizzle asked her questions.

“Could you tell me more about Shimmercoat? I know we share classes, but we don't really talk all that much...” She asked.

Mirror chuckled. “He's a nice pony, and he usually has no problem talking to fillies. Something about you gets him all embarrassed and nervous. It's adorable, but really odd. He sometimes helps dad out in the forge, and he makes these cool little shield bubbles.”

Fizzle cocked her head. “B-but I'm nothing special. Of all the mares at school, why would he be so nervous around me?”

The silver mare shook her head, stepping over a fallen tree. “I dunno. I mean, you're cute, but like you said, you've hardly ever spoken to him.”

The fire-themed pegasus stopped and looked at Mirror, blushing. “C-cute? Y-you think I'm c-c-cute?”

Mirror looked back at her, grinning. “Yeah, you're pretty cute. You have really cool eyes, and it's adorable how much you stutter.”

Fizzle shook her head. “I never thought you were into mares, Mirror.”

The silver mare leaned forward and kissed her. Fizzle fell back on her rump, surprised. Mirror leaned back, licking her lips. “Are you kidding? I'm into both, hun. Best of both worlds, and all that. Come on, we're almost to my brother's little hiding spot.” She said before pushing her way through some undergrowth.

The surprised pegasus shook her head and followed. After a few minutes of pushing through undergrowth and getting lightly snagged on branches, they pushed into a clearing. Mirror smiled as she heard Fizzle gasp at the sight that lay before them.

They were standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking an ancient impact crater. A massive waterfall fed into the bowl-shaped impression, splashing into the lake that now sat there. The water drained out into a river that flowed right past the town into the ocean. The surrounding area was alive with vibrant colors, from the green of the grass and trees to the bright colors of the flowers in bloom. Birds flitted between the trees and the undergrowth, chirping their songs. The gentle thunder of the waterfall added a constant background noise. Fizzle inhaled deeply through her nose. The area smelled of an untold number of plants and flowers mixed with the gentle smell of the fresh water. It was a forgotten paradise, untouched by ponykind. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the whole place was the color surrounding the waterfall. Instead of the typical rainbow, the entirety of the glow was a deep amethyst. Fizzle stood in awe for several minutes, before Mirror nudged her.

“I know, it's incredible, isn't it.” She asked, smiling.

“How did I never see this? I've lived here my whole life and never noticed that this place existed.” Fizzle asked, still sounding stunned.

“Well, I'd imagine it would be pretty hard to see from the air, and there is no real reason to build on the lake when the ocean is just a couple miles downriver.” Mirror replied, walking down a path that led to the waters edge. “Come on, Shimmer should be right down here somewhere.”

Fizzle followed the silvery mare down the path until they arrived at the shores of the lake. Mirror looked around a bit before turning to the yellow pegasus. “He should be around here, hold on.”

She took a deep breath and bellowed. “SHIMMER! SOMEONE IS HERE TO SEE YOU!”

Birds took flight to get away from the sudden sound, and after the echo had died out, only the sound of the waterfall remained.

There was a quiet pop and a small flash of light as Shimmercoat teleported near them. As usual, his spell had him turned upside-down, and he landed on his back with a thud. He rolled onto his hooves and started talking before he looked at his sister.

“Mirror, how many times have I told you to not go around yelling in this place. You know I come here to sit and think, and I can't do that if you-” He suddenly noticed Fizzle standing next to Mirror, and his rant immediately cut off. “O-oh. H-h-hi, Fizzle. W-what are you d-doing here?” He asked, starting to stutter again.

“Well, after you ran off earlier I came to your house to see if you were alright, and...” Fizzle trailed off as she thought of why he had run off.

“And I brought her here to see you. We both know you like her, and she knows you like her, and it's getting embarrassing the way you keep acting. So just pony up and ask her out, already.” Mirror said, trying to finally get him to just break down and stop running away.

Fizzle and Shimmer both blushed and looked down. Shimmer swallowed heavily and looked up at the blushing pegasus.

“Miss Flare, would you like to see something incredible with me?” He asked, his voice suddenly confident.

Mirror grinned as Fizzle blushed. It's about time Shimmer did this. I think I'll leave them alone for awhile. She thought to herself as she silently slipped off into the forest.

“Shimmercoat, I would be honored to join you.” Fizzle replied, locking her deep blue eyes onto his amethyst ones.

Glancing around, Shimmer noticed that his sister had disappeared. He shrugged and motioned for Fizzle to follow him. He led her into the shallow water, then looked at her.

“Just follow me, and stay close. I won't let anything hurt you.” He said, smiling at her. His gaze was confident, and she nodded, stepping closer to him.

Shimmercoat's horn started glowing, and a shimmering bubble appeared around the two. He began walking into the lake and she followed closely, making sure to stay inside the bubble. As they walked deeper, Fizzle noticed that the water was lapping against his shield but wasn't getting through. Fizzle followed him and watched as the bubble became completely submerged. Under the water, they could hear the gentle thunder of the waterfall. The fire-themed pegasus looked around in wonder. Just outside the bubble she could see the bottom of the lake, and she gaped at what she saw. Fish swam around them, lightly tapping the shield. She giggled at how silly they looked, bumping the shield and then milling about for a moment before doing it again. She looked around at the underwater plants, waving slowly in the current. Through the bubble she could smell the clear water, and the temperature inside the shield was dropping slightly. Something glinted at the edge of her sight, and she walked towards it. Shimmer saw her turn and walk, and he quickly changed his course to make sure she stayed inside the bubble. He mentally checked his magic, the water's constant pressure pressing against his shield, and the fish gently tapping the bubble. The real drain on him was the air recycling spell he had going, making sure the air in the bubble stayed fresh and breathable. He didn't care about the stress it was putting on his magic, though. He was happy seeing her enjoying herself.

As they approached the glinting area, the surrounding water started to get brighter as if they were heading back up to the surface, but they were walking along the flat lake bed. Shimmer smiled, he had explored this whole area before, and he was pretty sure she was going to like what she saw. When they got close enough, they could see that the glow was coming from and underwater cave sunk into the cliff face. She entered it first, and Shimmer followed her, smiling. They quickly found themselves walking up a slight incline, and soon they were no longer underwater. Shimmer dropped his magic and looked to see her reaction. Fizzle was staring at the cavern in awe. The cave was completely covered in gemstones. Amethysts, rubies, emeralds, and every other kind imaginable were growing together in a beautiful mix of vibrant colors. In the back of the cave, there was a small crystal formation that shone with a bright white light. The light was refracting throughout the gem formations, casting multicolored spots of light on the ground. Fizzle slowly walked forward, looking back and forth at the walls and the reflections of color that danced over her body. Shimmercoat sat at the cave entrance, looking at her, stunned. He thought she was beautiful already, but seeing her walking amongst nature's treasures floored him. He watched her spread her wings, giggling at the motes of color moving across them. To him, she was a fiery angel, walking amongst mother nature's tribute to her beauty. Fizzle turned to see Shimmercoat staring at her in wonder, and she blushed.

“What are you staring at?” She asked him, snapping him out of his stupor.

“Only the most beautiful creature that has ever blessed Equestria with her presence.” He replied, his tone ringing with sincerity and love.

Fizzle blushed harder, looking down. “I-I-I am not...” She said quietly, embarrassed by his words. She heard him move, and looked up just in time for him to press his lips against hers. She stiffened, surprised, before melting into his touch, wings flaring. They stood for several minutes, just enjoying the moment. Finally, Shimmercoat broke the kiss, leaned back, and looked deep into her eyes.

“You are. And don't let anyone tell you differently.” He said, his tone brooking no argument.

She nodded, blushing, and looked around at the cavern again. “How did you find this place? This is... Incredible.”

The azure unicorn walked over to the glowing crystal. “Same way you did. I was walking along the bottom of the lake and I noticed this light. I don't know what kind of crystal this is, and the books at school don't have anything on a clear stone that glows white. I think I'll call it a flare diamond.” He said, looking back at her.

She looked down at her hooves, embarrassed. “I-I guess that's a nice name...” She said, trailing off. She glanced up at him. “These gemstones are rather large, and they're perfect. Why haven't they been mined out?”

Shimmer laughed. “As far as I know, we are the only ones that know about these. And I'm not liable to tell anyone, either. Somepony else will discover them eventually, and then they'll get dug out, but until then I'll just keep it a secret. I've been picking up the crystals that fall to the ground, and either selling them off or using them in my father's armor. He doesn't know where I get them from, but they're high quality, so he doesn't complain.” He pointed a hoof at the glowing patch. “This one hasn't dropped any crystals, so I've thought about gently knocking off a bit so that I can take it home and study it. Problem is, I dunno if damaging it in any way will affect it's light. You probably can't tell, but this whole cave hums with magic. With my luck, damaging that crystal would make this whole place explode, or collapse, or something like that.” He said, walking back over to her and sitting down.

“Really? He's never asked you where these high quality gems?” She asked.

“Nope. As long as I keep bringing them in, he doesn't ask. What's he gonna do to make me spill it? Tail me under the lake without the benefit of my shield? Until somepony drills in here from the cliff, these gems are almost completely inaccessible. Besides, if I had told him about this place, I wouldn't have gotten to see you like this. Standing amongst nature's bounty, you are as flawless as these gemstones.” He said with a grin, causing her to blush again.

“Well, Shimmercoat, where did your sudden confidence come from? A couple of hours ago you couldn't even say a full sentence to me, and now you are speaking to me like you've thought about this a lot.” She replied, looking him in the eyes. Such pretty purple eyes he has... She thought absentmindedly.

He blushed and looked down, scratching the ground with a hoof. After a moment he stood and looked back up at her, fire in his eyes. “That is because I have thought about this a lot. And then, just when I was about to give up hope, you come to my most sacred place to see if I'm okay. In this hidden sanctuary, I am the only one that can see everything to be seen. I realized that the only chance I had to have you as my own was to show you the entirety of my world.” He waved a hoof around him, gesturing to the cavern around them. “This is, without a doubt, the very definition of a home field advantage. If after all this, you aren't even remotely interested in me, then I have no chance.” He sat back down. She blinked, surprised by his sudden honesty. She knew he was trying to impress her, she was impressed, but she never thought he'd just sit and admit it to her.

“What would you do if I rejected you? Leave me here until I begged you to take me back?” She asked, eyes glinting with mischief. Normally, a pegasus such as herself would be a little nervous inside of the cave due to the lack of sky, but she felt completely safe around Shimmer.

Shimmercoat flinched backwards as if she had slapped him. “No! Never! Never would I harm you. If you rejected me, I would take you back to the town and we would continue with our lives.” He shook himself, as if the idea of harming her had physically harmed him.

She darted forward to kiss him. “Relax, I was only joking. You aren't the kind of pony to do something like that.” She shivered. In all the discussion, she hadn't realized that the temperature in the cave was dropping, and she suddenly realized that she could see their breath in the air.

He noticed her shiver, and motioned towards the cave entrance. “Come on, it must be night already. We should get out of here before we freeze.”

They made their way back out to the shores of the lake, and Luna's night was in spectacular form. Stars twinkled against the blackness of the infinite sky, while the moon held dominance over the heavens, glowing brightly enough to see by. Shimmer, instead of leading her back towards the town, motioned for her to follow him and led her up a steep path towards the top of the waterfall. When they reached the top, Shimmer sat on a patch of grass and looked up at Fizzle.

“Care to join me, miss Flare?” He asked her, patting the grass next to him.

“I think I will, mister Shimmercoat.” The fiery pegasus replied, moving over and sitting beside him.

Shimmercoat grinned. "Mister Shimmercoat, eh? Sounds so... Proper. Call me Shimmer or Shimmercoat. Mister is too... Formal.” He said, looking up at the heavens.

Fizzle also turned her head to the night sky. "Well, if I am to just call you Shimmer, then you should just call me Fizzle or Fizz. No 'miss' stuff."

He smiled as he looked over to her. “Old habits die hard. Mom always told me to address a mare by 'miss.' She said it made me sound more like a gentlecolt.” He said, smiling fondly at her.

Fizzle caught his gaze for a split second, and blushed. “I can tell you must be quite the mare's stallion, Shimmer.”

The blue stallion blushed. “I don't know about that. I just try to be a nice pony.”

She nudged him. “Your sister told me that you had no trouble talking to other fillies, everything points to you being a very charming pony.”

He shook his head. “Well, I try to be nice, but far too often fillies think I'm just trying to sleep with them. Mainly because I speak to mares like I'm from Canterlot and I guess I'm not bad looking. In any case, I quickly get the 'you're a great guy, but...' And that's as far as it goes.” He looked down as he finished speaking, sorrow tinging his voice.

She nudged him again. “Well, that's their loss, and I'm better off for it. Now I get you all to myself, huh?” She said, smiling.

He blushed and looked away. “I-if you w-want me all t-to yourself...”

She giggled at his blush and looked back up into the sky. “So, how did you get your cutie mark?” She asked, changing the subject.

His blush and stutter left as quickly as they came, and he laughed as the memory came flooding back to him. "Well, when I was younger, I was taught by an old unicorn who blew bubbles. One of my dad's old friends. I had a small problem though; my bubbles just wobbled and broke. It wasn't until he told me to picture myself in a bubble that I finally got it. Well, sorta got it. I can't blow bubbles like he did, my bubbles are small shield spells. Cool, until I concussed myself on one."

She giggled. “How do you concuss yourself on a shield?”

He smiled broadly, a light flush on his cheeks betraying his embarrassment. “Well, I made one that floated a few hooves above the ground, and when I saw it stay, instead of popping, I was overjoyed. I was jumping around, and yelling, and laughing, and I jumped right into the darn thing. When I woke up, I had my cutie mark, and I've been practicing my shield ever since.”

She laughed. “Do you know why the waterfall glows purple?” She asked, looking off of the cliff.

He shrugged. “Nope. Pretty amazing, though, isn't it?”

She nodded and they sat quietly for a moment. Fizzle broke the silence with another question. “Tell me more about your sister? She seems like a nice filly.”

Shimmer smiled warmly. “Yeah, she is. Mirror Shines. Her talent is shapeshifting. It's really cool, but she likes to cause me trouble by doing things while looking like me. The trick of it is, when she copies somepony, the cutie mark is backwards, like your reflection in a mirror. Kinda poetic, and most ponies don't notice it, but I've lived with her long enough to realize how to tell her from somepony else.” He laughed. “She's a flirt, though. Hits on anypony that she feels like. Most of the time she does it to just mess with ponies, but sometimes she gets in a little too deep. Heck, once she even hit on me, looking like somepony else. She almost got me to kiss her before I noticed the filly she was mimicking standing ten hooves away. I about had a heart attack.”

Fizzle looked sideways at him. “You don't think that her behavior was odd?”

“She was just trying to mess with me. She didn't mean anything by it.” He replied, confident that his sister wouldn't actually be trying to kiss him.

The yellow pegasus shook her head. “If you say so.” She smiled mischievously. “I think she may have actually been trying to steal a kiss. I can see why, you're a cute stallion.” She giggled as he blushed. “Especially when you blush.”

Shimmercoat felt like his face was going to catch fire. “And you, are quite beautiful when you smile.” He chuckled as her face grew red. “And when you blush.” He added.

Shimmer looked back up into the night sky, smiling. “Luna's night is spectacular tonight. I wonder what inspired her to make one such as this.” He said, thinking aloud.

“Lovers. I bet she was inspired by lovers. When they would gallop together in the night the stars would guide them along the path of their love. The moon a beacon that hides them from the cruelty of the day and the sun." She looked up at the dark blue air, the white stars and creamy moon.

Shimmercoat smiled over at her. “That was beautiful, Fizzy. You're probably right, though. The night has always been a refuge for lovers, and lonely souls looking for that which matters most.”

She scooted over right up next to him, their bodies lightly touching. “Which matters most? What do you mean?”

He smiled at her. “My dear, what matters most, the thing worth more than life itself. Love. Money gets you nowhere, power the same. In the end, love is the most powerful, most precious thing this world can offer.”

"Hm... Love. Quite the proclamation there, Shimmer. And 'dear'? When did we get to pet names?" Fizzle wondered idly before looking him in the eyes. "Sometimes love is worthless, too. You have to make something out of love for it to matter. It gets passed around too easily. The truest forms of it don't exist anymore, the kind where a pony would give their life for their love's. That doesn't happen anymore. Love now is the word for simple affections."

He blushed, lowering his gaze to the ground in front of him. “I may have gotten a little carried away with the 'my dear' thing.” He brought his gaze back up to hers. “Love is painful, sometimes, but is never worthless. Wasted, perhaps, but never worthless. Where did you pick up such a cynical view of the world? The truest form of love lies dormant, but can never truly die. You may not be looking in the right places.”

“Where did I get such a cynical view? The world gave it to me.” She laughed, the sound completely devoid of mirth. “The right places? Where am I supposed to look, Shimmer? Life isn't a fairy tale, where a couple meets under the stars and falls in love. Life doesn't work like that. My life especially, doesn't work like that.” She blew a lock of hair out of her eyes and looked at him evenly.

In a flash, he darted forward and stole another kiss. “Is it not interesting, that you say that under the stars? Life could work like that, but it takes two, and I've always been but one.”

A blush spread across her cheeks like wildfire, her eyes going wide. “H-huh. I didn't even realize that there were stars here...” She looked back up into the heavens. “We're always one, we have to find our other half. The goddesses gave us two ears, two eyes, but only one heart. We have to find our other heart.” She leaned up to the taller pony and kissed him, her eyes sliding shut. Shimmercoat's mind blanked at the intensity of this kiss, his eyes closing as well. They sat like that for several moments, before she broke the kiss, leaning back. She looked up at the stars and smiled. “A sky for lovers, huh?” She said quietly, wondering aloud.

Shimmer sat stunned for several moments before shaking his head. He looked back into the sky and spoke quietly. “A sky for anypony that wants it, but few, if any, can appreciate it like lovers do.”

She looked back over at the blue pony and tilted her head to the side slightly, puzzled. “Why do you think lovers understand the sky more than other ponies?”

He smiled, still looking at the stars. He took a deep breath and spoke. "Lovers understand the night sky better because they are what it is made for. The moon to provide light enough to see by, but not enough to overpower. The stars to guide lovers to each other. Astronomers look at it with too much science, and lonely souls can't grasp the full meaning. The darkness of night was made to be frightening to those alone, so that ponies would take comfort with each other, and welcoming to lovers, for they have nothing to fear from the night as long as they have each other to guide them through the black."

She looked up at the sky, the light of the moon reflecting off her deep blue eyes."But what of the lovers that part ways in the night? Such as you and I, I will be returning to my house and you to yours. The breadcrumbs can only help so much, as with the light of the moon and stars. And what of meeting? How can the lovers guide them selves to each other to meet? The dark can hide them from the day and yet still hide them from each other. And still, lovers take the path that could make themselves lost just to find their love basking in the moonlight."

Shimmer looked deep into her eyes. "Parting is such sweet sorrow, but if love is true, then lovers will always reunite. That reunion is one of the greater joys in life. In the end, love will find a way. Through any obstacle that this world can put between them, love shines. Lovers guide themselves to each other through the connection they make, the feelings for each other. The darkness cannot truly hide them.” He smiled , looking back up at the moon. "And the path least traveled leads to the greatest rewards."

“Great rewards? What rewards do you speak of, Shimmer?” She asked, still looking at him.

He grinned and looked back down at the yellow mare. “Only the greatest of rewards. Love.

Fizzle looked up at the blue pony with glittering eyes. She scooted herself closer to him so that her body was pressing against his. "This is kinda crazy..."

Shimmercoat looked down at her with warmth in his eyes. “It is kinda crazy. Then again, who ever said that love is sane?”

Fizzle saw the trust in his eyes and smiled with a light blush, looking down. That was a look of love, and it heated her like the sun did. A gentle warming sensation, along with tingling and a twisted stomach. "I think sane love would be boring. It has to be insane to really be alive." She paused as a thought hit her. “What path were you talking about earlier? The one least traveled?” She asked, puzzled.

“The path least traveled, yes. Who would walk to get lost? Lonely souls, letting an invisible line draw them to their other half.” He nuzzled her. “And that, is why so many ponies are unhappy. They try to control everything in their lives, and it backfires. The best things in life come from the insane, the chaotic.”

Fizzle sighed happily and leaned into his touch. “Too much chaos is bad, though.” She said.

He glanced at her with love in his eyes. “True, but too little is just as bad, if not worse.”

Fizzle met eye contact and blushed a little. He was an attractive pony; long blue mane, light blue coat and purple eyes. Shimmercoat was an attractive pony, indeed "So you need the perfect balance. Chaos and tranquility."

As soon as she met eye contact with him again, he stared deeply into her blue pools, losing himself in them. Her coat and mane were pretty, but her eyes... He blinked, then spoke again."Balance. Neutrality. Yin and Yang. Yes. One cannot exist without the other. For example, I am the color of water, and you are the color of fire. Funny how the world works, is it not?”

Fizzle looked down at his observation. She hadn't thought about that. her yellow coat met with his blue, her red mane with his navy. But his eyes were so close to hers. Sapphire to amethyst. “Huh, I hadn't noticed that until you pointed it out.”

Shimmer smiled and nuzzled her again. “Just little things I've noticed. Opposites attract, but similarities bind. Our coats may be opposites, fire and water, but our eyes are quite similar. And, your eyes are quite breathtaking.”

She giggled and looked down, blushing again. “You know what they say, eyes are the windows to the soul.” She said before looking back up and meeting his gaze.

He smiled down at her again, that same, warm smile. “Then what a beautiful soul you must have.”

She blushed heavily. “You are quite the charmer, aren't you, Shimmer?”

A blush to match hers grew on his cheeks. “Not usually, but something is different tonight.”

Fizzle laughed at his blush. “What could possibly be different about tonight? The moon and stars are out, just like always.”

He chuckled.”Tonight is different, because never before have I had somepony like you to share the night with.” He lifted his gaze back up to the heavens. “Tonight is different, because I think I finally understand the night.” He nuzzled her again. “A night made for lovers, indeed.”

She lightly swatted his flank with her tail, smiling. “I think I know how you feel.”

He grinned at the touch of her tail. They sat, enjoying each others company for several minutes, before Shimmer pointed up at the moon, which was making it's way towards the horizon. “It appears that it's getting quite late, and it's starting to get really cold out here. Would you like to accompany me back to my house? I don't want this night to end. Not just yet, anyway.” His face turned red as he realized what he just said. “I mean, uh... Not like that, I mean we could talk, or uhh... Something. I dunno.”

Fizzle bumped her flank into his, a smile making it's way onto her face along with a slight blush. “Sure. I would like that.”

Shimmercoat stood, and bowed to her. “If you would follow me, miss Flare, I will lead you back through the forest back to my house.”

Fizzle stood and shook the dirt off of her belly, and walked a little ahead of Shimmer, her hips swaying slightly. "And we're back to the 'miss' thing again. You're persistent." She looked back over her shoulder, her gaze smoldering. "I'd love to join you at your house, mister Shimmercoat."

He grinned ear to ear. “Right this way then, miss Flare.”

X--------------------------------X------------------------------------X-----------------------------------------------X

Shimmercoat and Fizzle Flare walked into the back door of the house. Shimmer looked around for his parents and found a note telling him that they were out, mom stargazing and dad at the pub. He turned to the fiery pegasus and grinned. “Looks like we've got the whole place to ourselves. Want something to drink?” He asked, slowly walking towards the kitchen.

“Water, please.” Fizzle replied politely. She looked around, taking in the rather sparsely decorated house. “Why are there no decorations in here? It's almost like nopony lives here.” She asked him, still observing her surroundings. She heard a fridge opening and shutting, then Shimmer reappeared. He handed her a bottle of water before answering her.

“Well, this is the living room, we don't usually do much in here. Dad's usually at the forge, and mom's usually stargazing. You should see my room, it's packed with stuff.” He said lightly, looking around the room.

“Okay, show me, then.” She said, smiling at him.

“Uhhh... O-okay. I-if you want...” He said, his face flushing with embarrassment. He hadn't actually expected her to want to see his room when he said that. He motioned for her to follow him and walked towards the staircase. She giggled at his embarrassment as she followed him up to the second floor of the house. They walked up to a simple wooden door, and Shimmer opened it with his magic. The room beyond was exactly as he said. Not messy, but just packed full of stuff. The only pathways through the items stacked on the floor led to a desk across the room and to the bed right next to the door. She could see the edge of a mirror partially obscured by the open door. Shimmer turned around and looked at her. “See what I mean? Full of stuff. We've been meaning to build another section onto the place, but we just haven't gotten around to it yet.” He said, gesturing to the room.

“Wow, you weren't kidding. Why do you keep all this stuff?” She asked him.

“Well, I'm a packrat. I like to keep everything I pick up and such.” He replied, looking embarrassed.

Fizzle laughed. “There's nothing wrong with that.” She looked him in the eye and grinned. “Have I mentioned that you are really cute when you are embarrassed?”

He blushed. “You might have mentioned it before.” He said, not breaking eye contact. He leaned forward and kissed her, deeply and passionately. She melted into his touch, her wings snapping out to their full width. After a moment, Shimmer leaned back and grinned. “Seems like you have a small problem, there.” He said, nodding towards her wings. She blushed a bright pink at the unintended display. After a moment of hesitation, he continued, “I could help you with that. If you wanted.” He looked down nervously as he spoke, one hoof motioning towards the bed.

Fizzle looked at him, surprised at his sudden request. “Uhh... I-if you want...” She replied, her voice trailing off. While a 'wingboner' was a common occurrence with pegasi, she had never had anyone offer to 'help' her with it before, she smiled nervously as she stepped over and laid on his bed. Shimmercoat swallowed heavily before climbing on the bed behind her. He tentatively leaned up and put his front hooves on her back, right between her wings. He pressed his hooves out away from each other, each pressing into her wing joints. She gasped, the touch sending shocking waves of pleasure up her spine. He immediately backed off, looking worried.

“I didn't hurt you, did I?” He asked quickly, concern in his voice. He quickly continued before she could reply. “I'm sorry, I just thought if I gave you a back rub your wings would go down and-” He was cut off by her smacking him lightly on the cheek with a wingtip. She looked over her shoulder, her gaze smoldering.

“Relax, you didn't hurt me. Quite the opposite, in fact. That felt amazing.” She said, trying to get him to stop panicking. Lowering her voice seductively, she continued. “Keep going?” The question came out a little more needy than she intended.

He had never given a pegasus a wing rub before, so he hesitated for a moment before leaning forward again. He gently pressed his hooves to her back, and slowly started to slide them towards her neck. She let out a slow breath as his hooves moved up her spine. As soon as Shimmer's hooves reached her neck, he reversed directions, now heading down towards her flank. As his hooves moved towards the base of her wings, he was struck by an idea. Instead of continuing down her body, he gently ran his hooves over and started rubbing her wing joint before moving his hooves across the feathered appendage. Fizzle gasped again and shoved one of her fore-hooves into her mouth to stop herself from moaning. Shimmer noticed this and grinned, becoming bolder in his ministrations. He moved off of the wing and then slid over to the other. She had to bite down on her hoof to stop herself from making noise. She felt her body reacting to his actions. If anything, he was making the 'problem' worse, not better. Not that she was complaining. She stifled another moan as he worked back down her wing and finally continued down her flank. As he reached her cutie mark, he caught a breath of something... Interesting. After a moment of confusion, he realized that the sweet smell permeating the air was coming from the mare he was currently massaging. Shimmer's face turned red as he realized the implications of what he was doing, and he paused in his ministrations for a moment before continuing. As he worked out the knots of muscle in her flank, his body began reacting to the smell that was starting to cloud his mind. His now slightly addled brain started throwing thoughts and ideas around. One of them stuck, and he leaned down and gently nipped her left wing joint with his teeth. Despite her best efforts, Fizzle couldn't stop a moan from slipping out around her hoof at his nibble. After the massage and now the nip, Fizzle felt herself rapidly approaching her peak, and she gasped as his hooves kept caressing her body. He froze for a moment at her moaning, but kept massaging her flank as he leaned down and nipped at her other wing joint. Fizzle couldn't help but moan again at the feeling of his teeth on her wing. He smiled as he leaned down and licked a line from just above her cutie mark to her neck, where he topped it off with a nip to one of her ears. The fiery pegasus let out a breathless cry as she came, her body drenching the sheets beneath her. Shimmer leaned back and looked down, grinning broadly at the results of his work. Fizzle rolled over, legs splayed lewdly, treating the azure unicorn to a show that he never imagined that he would ever see.

“Please.” Was the only word she could muster, glancing down at his member now standing at its full length before looking up at him, her gaze full of desire. Shimmercoat met her gaze for a moment, before looking down at her soaked marehood. He leaned down and tentatively licked along her slit, causing her to moan at the explosion of pleasure that rippled through her body. Smiling again, he continued lapping at her need, eliciting more noises. His tongue ran across her clit, and she gasped. He grinned at her before flicking his tongue across the sensitive nub of flesh. After a moment, he slipped down and started lapping at her tunnel, pressing his tongue as deeply into her as he could. Her juices covered his face as he delved ever deeper, drinking up as much of her nectar as he could wring from her quivering body. Shimmercoat's senses were completely overwhelmed by her, filling his mouth, his nose, his ears. To him, it was sweet music, the master musician summoning the most wonderful sound out of the most inspiring instrument.

Fizzle felt herself speeding towards her peak again, and she reached down and grabbed his head, interrupting his tongue's rapid strokes and his brain's rapid thoughts. She dragged his face up to hers and trapped him in a passionate kiss, tasting herself on his lips. She was surprised as he shoved his tongue past her teeth, overpowering her own organ's attempt at defense. She gasped at the feeling of domination, and pressed herself up against him. The yellow pegasus felt the tip of his stallionhood pressing against her body, and she broke the kiss, looking down at his modest length. Shimmer followed her gaze and looked away, blushing. Fizzle grinned mischievously, and quickly snapped her back legs around his body, pulling him all the way into her in one quick thrust. Both ponies moaned in unison, neither moving as they rode out the pleasure. At this point, Shimmer's instincts took over. He barely waited for a nod from her before he picked her up, pressed her against the wall, and started slamming himself into her body as hard as he could. Fizzle moaned as he pounded into her, unable to do anything but hold on as the blue stallion pinning her to the wall ravaged her body with wild abandon. She threw her head back and cried out as she came again, her release spilling over his cock and down his legs, adding to the mess already on the sheets. He groaned in her ear as her inner walls clenched and gripped at him. Shimmer felt his release mounting, but fought it as he thrusted into her spasming body. She panted in his ear as she rode him, tongue hanging out of her mouth as he fucked her roughly. His mouth met hers again and they shared another sloppy kiss, tongues wrestling for dominance. Hers won this round, and she shoved her tongue past his to explore his mouth. He groaned around the invading appendage and redoubled his efforts, pressing his hooves against the wall behind her to stabilize himself. She leaned back to look him in the eyes, grinning wickedly before pushing off the wall, causing them to fall over and land with her on top. He lay on his back, looking up at her as she started slamming herself down onto him, moaning and gasping all the while. Shimmer felt his orgasm rapidly approaching, but continued to resist it, wanting her to cum one more time before he finally let go. Fizzle angled herself so that his shaft struck her most sensitive spot on each thrust, and pressed her front hooves to his chest as she bucked her hips wildly. Her tunnel felt amazing, and Shimmercoat was fighting a losing battle trying to stop his release. He groaned through clenched teeth as he rapidly approached the point of no return, trying to draw out the moment as long as he could. Finally he couldn't take it anymore, and he reached up and grabbed her hips, pulling himself as deeply as he could as he reached his peak. She felt his member twitch once, twice, and then she felt his thick cum spray into her body. The feeling of his seed spilling into her sent her over the edge for the third time, and she arched her spine and let out a breathless cry as a mix of her juices and his cum flooded over his groin.

Fizzle collapsed on top of him, breathing heavily, and he wrapped her in a hug. Neither of them spoke, both content to just bask in their shared afterglow, perfectly happy laying in a panting, sweaty heap. After they had both caught their breath, he leaned down and nuzzled her, whispering in her ear.

“I love you.”

She looked up at him, eyes full of warmth, and whispered back. “I love you too.”

He gently squeezed her as he leaned in and kissed her. She sighed happily and laid her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat, quick and strong. Her movement caused their still-connected bodies to slide against each other. Shimmer groaned in her ear as the slightest friction caused him to start to harden again, his shaft still trapped inside her. She gasped as she felt him stiffen, slowly filling up her dripping tunnel once more. She looked back up at him, eyes wide and full of surprise. She didn't think he would be able to go again so soon after the furious pounding he delivered to her. The fiery pegasus wasn't sure how much more of that kind of treatment she could take before passing out. As if reading her mind, he leaned down and softly kissed her again before slowly moving his hips. She sighed as he gently rocked himself into her, enjoying the simple act of making love, in contrast to the raunchy sex they had enjoyed earlier. He rolled over to place himself on top of her before he leaned down and nipped at her neck in several places. She sighed contentedly, relishing the attention he was lavishing upon her. Shimmer smiled at her sigh as he continued gently biting her, running his tongue over each spot that his teeth grazed. She started slowly rocking her hips in time with his thrusts, pushing him into her as far as she could. He trailed his nibbles up her neck to her mouth, where he kissed her passionately before he nipped at her bottom lip. She gasped and wrapped one leg around his head, trapping him against her lips. She pressed her tongue against his teeth, and he opened his mouth to give her access. There was no fervent wrestling this time, just gentle pushes and slides, the two young lovers just exploring each other in every way they could think of. Fizzle felt her body reacting strongly to Shimmer's ministrations, and she pulled his head off to one side so she could moan directly into his ear. The blue unicorn responded by licking along her ear, then trailing a series of light bites up the yellow appendage. Fizzle couldn't figure out which she liked better, the primal lust or the passionate lovemaking. In either case, she felt herself on the edge of her fourth orgasm of the night. Shimmer groaned into her ear, his own release mounting again. He wasn't fighting it this time, he just kept rocking into her body, her tunnel slick with her own juices and his seed. He leaned around her to nip at a wing, gently tugging at the sensitive appendage. She wrapped her back legs around his hips again and pulled him into her as the tug on her wing sent her over her peak, gripping him tightly as she came again, her cum flowing down her thighs. Shimmer once again fell prey to her body's talented muscles, and he pressed himself into her as deeply as he could, his member twitching as he painted her inner walls with his essence for the second time. She moaned at the sudden spray of warmth into her most sacred of places, and his cock twitched again in response, shooting another ribbon of seed into her body. He could feel his jizz leaking out of her around his stallionhood, and he pulled completely out of her, a flood of his cum following his retreating member. As she felt the flood of warmth flow out of her, she looked down at her ravaged slit, and her eyes widened in surprise at the sheer volume of his seed leaking from her. He noticed her look, and gazed down at his handiwork. The sight before him was possibly the hottest thing he'd ever seen, his white cum blending with her clear nectar, leaking out of her well used marehood and running down her yellow thighs to his bed. At the sight of it all, his cock immediately sprang back up to full attention. Fizzle noticed this and looked at him incredulously.

“Wow. Don't you ever get tired?” She asked him.

Shimmer blushed at her question, and shrugged. “I uh... Don't know. I-I've n-never done this before, s-so I have no idea.”

She blushed at his response. “I-I'm your f-first?” She asked. To her, he seemed to know exactly what he was doing, she had automatically assumed that he had done this before.

He nodded. “Y-yeah. You are.” His blush intensified, and he looked away. “W-what about y-you?” He stammered out.

She reached over and pulled his face back towards her, and she looked him in the eye. “Yes, and it was amazing.”

He grinned, her words bolstering his confidence enough that he stopped stuttering. “Good. I'd hate to leave you unsatisfied. It wouldn't be very gentlecoltly of me if I did.”

She looked pointedly down at his groin. “What about me? A lady should never leave her colt in such a state.”

Shimmercoat looked away at her words. “Don't worry about me. I'll be fine.” He heard her move, and he felt a warm wetness caressing his stallionhood. He gasped and looked down. He saw that Fizzle had taken his member into her mouth, and was slowly bobbing her head up and down on his shaft, and he could feel her tongue lapping at his tip. He groaned and leaned back to give her better access to his sensitive flesh. She smiled around him as she continued to run her tongue across his stiffness, cleaning him of their combined juices. She licked him with vigor, enjoying their mixed tastes. He groaned again, her enthusiasm pushing him towards a third orgasm faster than he thought it would. She pushed herself as far down on him as she could without choking, bathing his length with her tongue. She remembered hearing about a trick when giving oral to a stallion, and she pressed herself down on him a little farther before humming. The vibrations from her humming buzzed along his erection, and he moaned loudly, pressing his front hooves to the back of her head. She was happy he enjoyed it, but found it hard to breath around his full girth. As he drew nearer to his release, he started lightly bucking his hips, gently fucking her mouth. Fizzle kept humming, excited about the prospect of getting to taste him from the source. She started bobbing her head in time with his little thrusts, swirling her tongue around his tip.

He realized that he should warn her of his impending orgasm, so he leaned down a little bit and spoke, voice shaking. “F-Fizz, I-I don't know how m-much longer I-I'm gonna be able to h-hold o-o-out.” She hummed a little harder in response, looking up at him while bobbing her head. She felt him twitch in her maw as she looked him in the eye. With her increased humming and enthusiasm, he felt his climax approaching at alarming speed. His thrusting pace increased as he sped towards the point of no return, and she hummed harder in response. He grabbed her head and pushed himself into her mouth as far as he could. She felt his cock jump against her tongue before she her first taste of his sweet cum. She tried to swallow it as it came, but after a few spurts she couldn't keep up. It leaked out of her mouth and dripped down her chin. She leaned back and closed her eyes as his member continued to spray his essence on her head and neck. Spent, he flopped back on his pillows, panting, and looked up at her cum streaked face.

“That. Was. Amazing.” He managed to say in between breaths. She reached up and scraped off as much of the sticky stuff as she could, before licking it off her hoof. She repeated this a few more times before she was satisfied that she was as clean as she was going to get under the circumstances. Fizzle looked down at him, noticing that his stallionhood was finally shrinking and staying that way.

“There we go. Nice and satisfied like you should be, right?” She asked him, smiling.

He nodded. “Very much so.” He sat up and grabbed her in a hug before falling back to his pillows, pulling her with him. She squeaked in surprise as he pulled her into his tight embrace, nuzzling at her neck. “You didn't have to do that, you know.” He said, speaking quietly into a yellow ear.

She giggled. “I know. I wanted to, though. It was fun getting to have you entirely at my mercy.”

He flushed and nipped at the ear he was whispering into. “Well, I suppose turnabout it fair play, seeing as you were completely helpless when I was touching your wings.”

She gasped at the nip and smiled. “I suppose I was.” She murmured as she closed her eyes.

They lay like that for a few minutes before her breathing deepened, and Shimmer realized that she had fallen asleep. He decided that she had a good idea, closed his eyes, and was soon slipping into slumber, curled up with the mare he loved.