Twilight walked swiftly through the streets, shivering slightly as the cold wind gnawed at her, scanning the area for any sign of Geo.

"Where would he go?" she asked herself. "He's only been to Canterlot once, so he's not familiar with the area." She sighed. "I hope he's not lost — I'd hate to have to kill him for freezing to death... then again, I could have at least given him his jacket when I threw him out onto the street." She wiped away an errant tear. "Focus, Twilight, you need to think like Geo would."

The sudden feeling of something warm being laid against her body snapped her out of her thoughts. Turning around, she saw her parents standing in front of her. They were both wearing their coats, while Velvet was trying to put Twilight's coat on her.

"Oh. Thanks, mom," Twilight said sheepishly. "You really came all this way just to give me my coat?"

Velvet shook her head. "We also came to help you find him," she replied. "The way you spoke about him earlier made us realise that you really do love him — so if you are willing to give him a chance to redeem himself, then we can as well."

"Indeed," Night Light added. "Might I suggest that you head to the castle? It's easy to get to, and you did tell us once that Geo has met the Princesses. Maybe he's with them?"

Twilight smiled. "That's a great idea, Dad!" she exclaimed. "Let's head over there right now and see if—"

"Citizens of Canterlot!" a booming voice cut through the chilly evening air, attracting the attention of everypony out on the streets. As they all glanced upwards, they could make out a solitary figure standing solemnly on the castle balcony.

Twilight and her parents gasped in shock, the former letting out a horrified squeal of shock.

"GEO?!"

***

A few minutes earlier...

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" I asked of Luna, who was putting yet another scarf on me. "It looks really slippery out there, and I don't quite fancy breaking my neck."

"You'll be fine," Luna replied. "Tia will take care of the ice, and then I will apply the voice amplification spell."

Celestia nodded and charged her horn with magic. A quick flash later, and the ice on the balcony had melted.

"There we go," she said. "It's all up to you now, Geo." She turned to Luna. "I hope this idea of yours works, Lulu."

"Maybe it will, and maybe it won't." Luna waved a forehoof dismissively. "But we won't know until he tries." She opened the balcony door, another cold draught flooding into the room, and gently pushed me towards it. "Good luck, Geo."

I nodded once and stepped onto the balcony. I glanced behind me and looked at the Princesses, watching as Luna charged a spell. A tingling feeling overtook my throat, and I coughed a couple of times. "Was that the voice amplification spell?" I asked her, to which she nodded. "I guess it only works if I shout?" She nodded again. "Well... all right then, here goes nothing."

I looked out over the streets of Canterlot. The snow lay on the ground like a large white carpet, reflecting the streetlights and making the city seem as though it was glowing. I took a few moments to compose myself, and then took a deep breath.

"Citizens of Canterlot!" my voice burst forth from my mouth with the raw power of a hundred megaphones. It had the desired effect, though, as I could make out hundreds of confused ponies turning their heads upwards to look at me. Hoping against hope that Twilight was one of them, I continued shouting.

"My name is Geo, a human who has been living amongst you for the better part of a year now. In that time, I have been blessed with not just new friends, but the love of a beautiful mare — my beloved Twilight Sparkle. But recently, I did something that threatened to destroy that love... and now I come before you all today to throw myself at her mercy – not literally, though, in case you're worried I'm gonna jump – and beg her for forgiveness."

"I will not go into the gory details of what I did, as the damage has already been done. What I will do, however, is tell the whole of this fair city exactly why I love this mare — in the hope that she is listening to me speaking from the heart."

***

Twilight remained rooted to the spot, eyes cast upwards, staring solemnly at the Geo standing on the balcony. Her parents stood on either side of her, also staring, while Geo began speaking.

"My name is Geo, a human who has been living amongst you for the better part of a year now. In that time, I have been blessed with not just new friends, but the love of a beautiful mare — my beloved Twilight Sparkle." A faint smile appeared on Twilight's lips, but it quickly vanished as soon as Geo resumed speaking. "But recently, I did something that threatened to destroy that love... and now I come before you all today to throw myself at her mercy – not literally, though, in case you're worried I'm gonna jump – and beg her for forgiveness. I will not go into the gory details of what I did, as the damage has already been done. What I will do, however, is tell the whole of this fair city exactly why I love this mare — in the hope that she is listening to me speaking from the heart."

"What is he up to?" Night Light asked. "Does he really think that telling all of Canterlot about your troubles is actually going to—"

"Dad, shush!" Twilight cut him off. "I want to hear this."

"Twilight was one of the first ponies I met when I arrived in Equestria," Geo continued. "I had been injured, and was trying to find help when I was hoisted into the air by Rainbow Dash and flown to where Twilight and the rest of the Element bearers were."

A ripple of laughter washed over the crowd, as they imagined Rainbow Dash struggling to carry the human.

"But we didn't have time to chat, as my injury became more serious and caused me to pass out from intense agony. I woke up some time later in hospital, where Twilight was the first one besides the doctor to see me. She informed me that she was the one who carried me all the way from the Everfree Forest to Ponyville. Rainbow Dash found me and brought me to her friends, and then Twilight took me to the hospital. It goes without saying that they both helped to save my life that day."

"I met the Princesses, and they allowed me to stay in Equestria. I then spent three months in the hospital recovering from my injury, as well as helping Twilight and the doctors learn all that they could about human anatomy. Twilight visited me a lot, and after two months... well, I realised that I loved her."

"I won't bore you with the long story, but suffice to say the feeling was mutual. We soon got together, and ever since then we have been inseparable... until now, that is." There was a pause. "I fell in love with Twilight because she is the most amazing individual whom I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. I love her caring nature, her dedication, the way her tongue pokes out her mouth when she's concentrating, the gorgeous eyes I find myself getting lost in on many an occasion, the way she does anything she can to help others – often without asking for anything in return – and I also love running my hands through her silky soft mane."

"But the main reason I fell in love with her was because of her compassion. I know that she and her friends have had the occasional falling out, but they have always made peace in the end. Granted, the things they fell out over pale in comparison to what I have done — but if there is one thing that I have learned during my time here, it's that love – like friendship – will always find new and inspiring ways to persevere."

There was another pause, during which murmurs of agreement rose up from the crowd. Twilight sniffled heavily, wiping her eyes free of tears as Geo spoke once more.

"I love you, Twilight Sparkle, and that is never going to change. I know that what I did was wrong on so many levels, but I hope that you can find it in your heart to forgive me." He looked out over the crowd. "Thank you for listening, Canterlot. Good night."

The crowd watched as Geo left the balcony and walked back into the castle. Twilight's parents looked at each other — but as they went to look at their daughter, so they could gauge her reaction, a blaze of purple light momentarily blinded them. Once their vision had cleared, they saw that Twilight was gone.

***

As I stepped back into the warmth of Luna's bedroom, I noticed that she and Celestia were sitting on her bed. Both of them glanced up at me as I took off the several scarves, and I saw that their eyes were misting over. Pouring myself some water, I addressed them.

"I take it you heard everything?" I asked.

Celestia nodded. "We did," she replied. "And it was lovely."

"It was indeed," Luna added. "If Twilight heard that – and there's no reason she wouldn't have, given that most of Canterlot could hear you – then hopefully she will consider talking to you."

"I heard every word."

Luna frowned as I sprayed her bedside cabinet with water, staring slack-jawed at the doorway Twilight was standing in. She looked at the Princesses, and then locked eyes with me. We held our stares for a moment before she finally looked away, blushing madly.

"We'll leave you two in peace." Celestia stood up and left the room, smiling warmly at Twilight as she passed her.

Luna walked over to me and leaned in closer to my ear. "Let her say whatever she wants," she whispered. "And do not even think about attempting to stop her." She glanced over at Twilight. "But, if things go the way I think they're going to, make sure you change the bedclothes — and burn the old ones." She winked at me and grinned wickedly, quickly following after her sister.

The door closed with a soft click, leaving Twilight and I standing in the room. We stood in silence for a moment, but I eventually walked over to the bed and sat down.

"Care to join me?" I patted the bed. "If we're going to talk, there's no sense in you being all the way over there."

Twilight walked over and sat down next to me. I reached out for one of her hooves, cheering internally when she made no attempt to stop me. "Well, then," she said. "Let's talk."

Author's Note

Conflict resolution will be coming next chapter.

But it won't be the only thing, if you catch my drift.