I Want to Dance with Somepony
As the clock quietly ticked beside her, Twilight shook hoof after hoof. "Yes. Lovely to see you. Welcome."
It did not mean a thing. She did not know any of these ponies, she did not care particularly what they were wearing or how they had done their manes. But she was a Princess now. It was her duty to make everypony feel good about themselves and the state of the kingdom.
There was only one pony here that she really wanted to spend time with.
On the other side of the landing, Celestia stood, shaking hooves and delivering equally meaningless greetings. Ponies were eclipsed by her... her gorgeous mane flowed down around her head and shoulders, her strong but delicate wings tucked neatly at her sides. Her eyes were always so kind and soft, and her whole image seemed to glow continuously.
Twilight looked quickly away, continuing her dull task of greeting the guests.
None of her friends had made it that night. They had families and loved ones, now. It had been a long time since they had come here together.
Celestia, although always happy, seemed less so tonight. Her glow a little dimmer.
Twilight turned to look at the clock in a gap between parties. Nearly eight. At eight, Celestia would leave to lower the sun, and guests would stop arriving. The doors would close, and Twilight would be alone.
Luna was off on royal business. She would be for a year. She had left just last week.
You could tell that this bothered Celestia. It was like missing a part of herself. She was back to raising the moon herself, as Luna was busy, deep in negotiations with the Griffon kingdom.
Twilight thought about Applejack curled up in a comfortable chair, probably with Winona in her lap, talking and laughing with her family. She thought of Pinkie playing with the Cake twins, of Rarity working with the help (and sometimes hindrance) of Sweetie Belle. Even Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were spending the night with each other, watching the fruit bat migration. They'd be up all night together, under the stars...
The clock struck so suddenly behind her, Twilight nearly leaped away from it. As predicted, this small party was the last. No more carriages were pulling up.
Celestia and Twilight used their magic to close the great, purple doors.
"Goodnight, Twilight." Celestia flashed a half-baked smile, then walked slowly across the large hall.
Twilight watched her leave, then sat down on a small bench in the large foyer. Her hoofsteps echoed emptily inside the enormous room.
She could still hear the clock ticking.
As the sun went down, Twilight felt a lump rise in her throat. Just a few years ago, her friends had spent a wonderful night at this very celebration, even though everything seemed to go wrong. The nostalgia made her eyes water, and she smeared a careless hoof across her face to get rid of them.
She was older now. She was wiser. She knew that, even though friendship was strong, there were sometimes ties that ran deeper than that. In this case, family seemed to take precedence over her silly party.
Twilight was older enough now to be thinking about her future. A future away from her friends, a future ruling beside her beloved teacher and her dear sister.
She had grown, as well. She was taller, a little more slender. Her wings were certainly much larger than they had first been. Her horn was elongated and her snout was a bit more dainty and lady-like.
Her friends had grown, too. Not as much as she had, but they all seemed to have realized their positions in life. Taking care of their families or the businesses was often times more important than being friends.
She did not want to admit it, but they were growing apart.
Twilight stood, stretching her wings for the first time in hours.
She wanted to have fun again. She wanted to feel that joy of being with her friends. Not tonight, though. It couldn't happen tonight.
Of course, she knew of one pony who would be looking for some company.
Twilight sighed, heading out into the cool night air. Celestia would be in the back room at Donut Joe's, her secret haven away from the hustle and bustle in the lives of the royal.
As she walked through the empty streets, Twilight's thoughts drifted back to her friends. Lately, there had been something else stepping between them...
"Love."
Twilight jumped and spun around.
"Oh... Princess."
"Your friends are falling in love, aren't they?" Celestia asked. There was the shadow of a knowing smile on her face. "That's why they weren't here."
Twilight shuffled her hooves. "I think so."
Celestia put a hoof around Twilight's shoulders. "It's hard sometimes to see friends enjoying the company of others."
"Yeah..." Twilight inched closer to Celestia.
Celestia grabbed her in the embrace of a wing, pulling Twilight into her side. She said nothing, just offered her warm company.
Twilight tried to start a sentence, but instead sputtered "Celestia?"
"Yes?"
"Why... why were you so sad earlier?" she finally asked.
Celestia chuckled. "I wasn't sad."
"But you were. I know you were. Why?" Twilight looked into the face if her mentor. They were nearly the same height now.
Celestia chuckled lightly again. It was a beautiful sound, her laugh. "Oh, Twilight. You haven't changed at all since you were a foal, you know that? You're every bit as perceptive and curious as you were all those years ago."
Twilight kept staring.
Celestia sighed. "I... Twilight, it's not something I want to talk about."
"Oh." Twilight looked down at her hooves.
Celestia's embrace relaxed. "I'm sorry. A... a difficult choice has recently presented itself to me. It's rather consumed me..."
"I see."
Celestia took a few steps away from Twilight, looking off into the distance. "It's hard to be an icon. You know that now. Every choice you make is dissected and debated..."
"Of course. I understand."
"And you know about The Rule, don't you?" Celestia murmured.
Twilight's eyes narrowed. "Which one?"
"The Rule. It's... it's a traditionalist's law, to be sure, but... well, Twilight, didn't you ever wonder why I pushed you so hard to make friends?"
"Because I would have been alone for the rest of my life if you hadn't?" Twilight suggested.
"Then why not preach about love as well? Romantic love..." Celestia hung her head. "Twilight, there's something I haven't told you. The Rule says..."
"What?" Twilight came to her teacher's side.
Celestia turned to look at Twilight. "The Rule says that any Princess that falls in love must... must relinquish the throne of Equestria."
Twilight was silent. "But what about Cadance? She got married, and she is still a ruler."
"She rules over the Crystal Empire, not Equestria. Technically, she shouldn't have the throne at all, but because The Rule was written so long ago, it only truly applies to Equestrian thrones."
"Then get rid of the rule," Twilight suggested.
"I can't... it isn't in my power..."
"What do you mean? It's--"
"It's part of the original Constitution of Equestria. To change it, I'd need the council to vote, and they agree that having a lovestruck mare in the throne is... well..." Celestia shook her head. "I shouldn't be concerning you with my problems."
"It matters to me, too! But, really, what's the big deal? Luna and I can rule just fine. Plus, it's not like you'd be gone. You could still advise and--"
Celestia cut Twilight off again. "That isn't the point. As an older sister, I promised Luna her freedom. It's the job of the older sibling to make life better for the younger. I'm sure you've seen it with your brother, and with your friends."
Twilight shook her head. "Then both of you go! I can do it, I know I can! I mean... I've never really enjoyed that kind of thing, anyway."
"No, Twilight. That isn't... This is my burden, and mine alone." Celestia forced a smile. "But thank you. It has helped to talk about it."
"But-- but--"
"This isn't something you can fix, unfortunately. But I thank you for your caring, as usual." Celestia took off, leaving Twilight in a daze.
Was it really illegal for a Princess to fall in love? This wasn't the dark ages anymore. Upholding laws regarding love was stripping away a pony's most basic freedoms.
But Twilight could fix it. She had saved lives before, surely she could get a law changed.
Twilight started trotting off into town, ready and determined to solve this new challenge.
Then something occurred to her.
Princess Celestia must be in love.
She wasn't sure how this simple fact had escaped her thus far, but Twilight felt her stomach do a flip. Her teacher? Her oldest friend? In love?
With who?
Who could possibly be good enough for the great, wise, beautiful Celestia?
It's not like she mingled with many ponies. She preferred quiet, inside activities with her sister, or Twilight and her friends.
Maybe an ambassador? Those were really the only other ponies she had private time with. Although, it was usually all this political stuff... didn't really seem like the appropriate time or place for romance to be blooming.
Regardless, Twilight was losing her last friend, her best friend, to romance as well. Even though she wanted to help her... she would practically be pushing her away with a pat on the head and a well-wishing.
The best thing to do would be to find the object of Celestia's affections.
But how to do that?
No sooner had the question occurred to her than she had the answer:
Luna.
~~~~~
Twilight tapped gently on the door Celestia's bedroom, making sure that the Princess was not present. Twilight knew that, while Celestia made a big deal of her sister being away, she could keep in contact with her through magical means.
There was no response, so Twilight snuck inside.
It was... neat. There was a large pillow on the floor, but no bed. There was a fire burning in an ornately caged fireplace, and a small desk by a window where she responded to our letters and sent out royal proclamations. Also on the desk was a small, pyramid-shaped device. It wasn't decorated beyond an image of Celestia's cutie mark engraved on one side.
Twilight trotted eagerly over, knowing that this was her way to speak with Luna.
She had to be quick, though. She didn't know where Celestia was or what she was doing. She might return at any moment.
Twilight made haste, sitting in a comfortable chair facing the device. She used her magic to power it up, and an image flickered to life.
Luna was fast asleep.
"Luna!" Twilight hissed.
She snorted, but kept sleeping.
Twilight tried a different method. "Luna..." she cooed, trying to gently wake the snoring alicorn.
"Luna!"
She sat bolt upright, looking around for the source of the sound. "Tia?" she murmured, facing away from the device.
"Over here, Luna," Twilight said.
She twirled about, her wild mane swirling around her head. After she brushed its untamed strands away from her face, she finally saw Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle. Where is my sister? This is meant to be our private line."
"Sorry... I just needed to talk to you."
Luna sighed. "Well, there is no better time than the middle of the night, when I am attempting to create hundreds of thousands of dreams, most of which will never be remembered, anyway."
This was clearly meant to be a sarcastic comment, but it was said in a serious tone, which threw Twilight for a moment.
"Erm... it looked like you were sleeping."
"Touche..." Luna further tamed her mane while she continued to speak with me. "As the young ponies say, what is up?"
Twilight frowned, but shook her head and kept talking. "Well, Celestia dropped more than a few hints today. I think she's got a crush on somepony. I figured, of all ponies, you might know who."
"Well. I'm not sure. Tia is far from invulnerable to passing fancies, but if she was talking about it with anypony but me, she must be serious."
Twilight tried to picture Luna and Celestia as giggling teenagers, discussing recent crushes, which stallions were the hottest.
She soon stopped trying.
"But do you know who?" Twilight asked.
Luna shrugged. "Who else was with you when you talked about this? Just you and your friends?"
"Just... just me."
"Hm... and why did you start discussing this?"
"Well... well, I noticed she was sad at the Grand Galloping Gala, and so I confronted her about it," Twilight explained.
"And she just started talking to you?" Luna confirmed.
"Pretty much."
Luna rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "That isn't normal... Tia normally bottles it up, even around me. Was she with anypony in particular earlier?"
"Just me. We were greeting ponies at the Gala. I mean, we weren't talking or anything, but... we were together."
Luna's face contorted into a look of shock. "It was just you two, the whole evening? Then she looked sad, and you noticed, and she started spilling her innermost feelings out to you?"
"Um... yes?"
Luna's mouth dropped open like in a cartoon.
"What?"
"For such a smart pony, you can be incredibly ignorant."
"Hey!" Twilight frowned.
"It's you, Twilight!" Luna exclaimed, waving her hooves in the air dramatically. "You're Tia's secret crush!"
Twilight froze for a moment, then started laughing. "Yeah, right. Nice try, Luna, but you still can't do the sarcasm thing."
"Twilight--"
"I mean, could you imagine? Celestia... liking me?" Twilight laughed some more. "I mean, first of all, I'm like a thousand years younger than her."
"Two thousand, about," Luna corrected.
"Yeah! Plus, if we got married, I'd be your sister-in-law! And then... then Cadance would be your sister-in-law-in-law!"
"I'm not sure it's cumulative... wait, you skipped right to marriage?" Luna gave Twilight an odd look, but she just kept going.
"I mean, I've known her since I was a tiny blank-flank foal! Wouldn't... wouldn't that be weird?" Twilight's tone was transforming from joking to panicked.
"Well, you have grown quite--"
"And-- and according to her rule, that would leave you in charge of Equestria!"
Luna frowned. "It isn't like I could not handle it..."
"But-- but--" Twilight stuttered, trying to think of another fact to panic over. Before she got that far, though, her cheeks flushed. "Wait... the Princess has a crush on... me?"
"That is what I said, is it not?" Luna reminded Twilight.
"My teacher?"
"That... yes."
"Are you sure?" Twilight asked.
Luna sighed deeply. "I like to think that, after two thousand years, I know her pretty well."
"Oh... oh my gosh..." Twilight put a hoof over her mouth. "What do I do?"
Luna shrugged. "That's up to you. But, of course, now that you're an alicorn, you two could spend your lives together. That is probably why she let her crush go so far. Usually, she gives up when she sees how fast other ponies age compared to her. Of course--"
"I have to go see her!" Twilight jumped up, cutting Luna off mid-thought. She got halfway out the door before returning. "But... what if you're wrong? What of she has a crush on... I don't know, Donut Joe?"
Luna chuckled. "You realize that Donut Joe is not an alicorn?"
"Well-- what about Cadance, then? She's an alicorn!" Twilight exclaimed.
"She is married. To your brother. Remember that?" Luna was getting tired of this conversation.
"What about you, then? What if she has a crush on you?" Twilight shouted.
"She is my sister!" Luna stuck her tongue out in disgust.
Twilight nodded. "So... so it must be me, than? Right? Right?"
"Yes! Now, for goodness' sake, let me sleep!" Luna rolled over rather dramatically, yanking a blanket over her. The connection was lost.
Twilight stared at the empty space above the pyramid where the picture had once hung. her mouth had already formed another question, though she had just as quickly forgotten it as it had come to her lips. She closed her mouth, looking worriedly about the room.
What could she do?
Well, lots of things. But what should she do?
Twilight was consumed by thought for another minute or two, but a smile started to creep across her face. It tugged at her mouth, as though battling with her concern. Finally it overtook her, spreading all the way across her cheeks, bringing her dimples into full view.
A tiny giggle escaped her. She bit her lips together, thinking about how silly she was being. But another giggle came. Soon, she had slid out of the chair and laid down on the floor, belly up, shaking with giddy laughter.
How had she not seen this before?
Luna was right. For being so smart, she could be so ignorant!
When she was near Celestia, her heart lifted into her throat, while her stomach did a flip. She could never tear her eyes from that beautiful mane, always being lightly tussled by an unfelt breeze, always glowing with a soft light, like that of a star or a candle. And her eyes were always sparkling, always happy, with those little crinkles at the corners from smiling so hard, but so soft at the same time.
She was unmatched through all of Equestria. She was unique in every way... perfect in every way.
Twilight skipped out into the open streets, leaping into the air and fluttering along every few steps. Everypony was inside by now, all the shop fronts dark. All but one, of course.
Twilihgt pounded on the door to Donut Joe's shop.
"We're closed! Can't you read?" he shouted, gruff and stubborn as usual.
"It's Twilight! I need to talk to the Prin-- to Celestia!" Twilight screamed back, determined but still happy.
"She's not--"
"Yes she is! Let me in!" Twilight pounded a few more times.
Donut Joe opened the door. "Okay, okay! She's in the back."
"Thank you." Twilight marched past him, heading behind the counter and into his back room.
Celestia sat there, in a chair that was too small for her, slowly swirling a spoon in a steaming mug of tea. She wasn't sad, just... still.
Twilight felt a pang in her chest, like she always did when she saw that look on her teacher's face. It meant that she was thinking hard, trying to make a very difficult decision.
Celestia looked up at her visitor. "Twilight. What are you doing here?" she asked in a flat tone.
"Um..." Twilight fell silent. All the confidence she had had just moments before drifted away. It was much harder to do something for real than it normally seemed in your head... "Well..."
Celestia blinked slowly. "What is it?"
"I... um..." Twilight swallowed hard.
"Is something wrong?" Celestia's voice flowed and floated like music.
"N-no... I'm sorry..." Twilight turned to leave, defeated.
"Wait a minute, Twilight." Celestia grasped Twilight's shoulder. "What did you want to tell me? Don't be afraid, I don't bite." She chuckled.
Twilight turned to look at her. She was smiling at Twilight, not looking down anymore, but instead looking straight into her eyes.
Twilight took a deep breath. "Look, I'm sorry I'm so dense, okay? I finally get what it was you were trying to tell me."
Celestia looked confused.
"I talked to Luna about it, and we figured it out. Well, she did, but..." Twilight bit her lip, afraid to finish. What if she was wrong?
Soft music played over the radio in the room, filling the silence with a gentle song. It was slow, but uplifting.
The two ponies looked at each other a little longer, just staring right into each other's eyes, listening to the gentle plinking of a piano buzzing out from the speaker.
"Twilight?" Celestia finally whispered.
"Yes?"
"I... I want to dance with somepony."
Before Twilight could respond, Celestia laid her neck beside Twilight's, resting her cheek on Twilight's temple. She wrapped a hoof around Twilight's chest, and began to sway back and forth to the music.
Twilight's ears and cheeks burned, but she allowed herself to be held be the alicorn, let the music fill her up.
They stood for a while like this, leaning into each other, just barely waving to and fro, until the music faded away.
Celestia took a few steps back, still smiling. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I... I was worried about what might happen."
Twilight nodded. "I know. But... but we can change this! Love is a freedom! We deserve it!"
"I don't know..." Celestia shook her head, then turned her gaze to the floor.
Twilight's heart leaped up and down, her chest seizing inward as she saw her chance.
She lifted Celestia's chin with a gentle hoof, smiling at her as gently as she could. Celestia closed her huge eyes, opening her mouth slightly.
But Twilight didn't want to waste this time. She needed to rid herself of this strange ache in her chest, yes, but she needed other things, too. She needed an understanding.
Celestia was starting to breathe faster now in anticipation, leaning closer, trying to force the moment sooner. To Twilight's surprise, she was the one in control right now. Celestia was falling head-over-hooves, and Twilight had to slow the descent.
She came forward, past Celestia's mouth, pressing their cheeks together and rubbing gently.
Celestia pressed back, turning her head, trying to make Twilight move faster. Twilight felt almost dizzy with joy, and she was certain Celestia was feeling the same.
It was the first time either of them had been kissed. Celestia draped a hoof around Twilight's shoulders, and Twilight leaned forward, their chests meeting.
When they finally broke, all they could do for a while was giggle, drunk with delight and charm.
Each of them was nearly crying, just so filled with glee and satisfaction that it needed to spill out.
"We should go," Celestia finally managed to say.
Twilight nodded, worried that opening her mouth would cause her to laugh and cry at once.
They left Donut Joe in a dazed confusion, walking back to the castle side by side. Every once in a while, one would nudge the other, or nuzzle a cheek, just to remind the other of her happiness.
