Bittersweet Trails

"Alright, so do you think you're ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, Pinkie."

"One...two...three!"

On sudden count of three, I leaned forward with as much effort as my body would let me, which was actually not that much. I made contact with the ground front hooves first, which was promising, until my knees suddenly buckled beneath me, unable to support my weight.

"Woah there, Twilight!" A pink hoof jutted under me, another wrapping around me and pulling up, saving my face from a devastating collision with the hard packed dirt beneath. "I thought you could walk!"

"...yeah, so did I." I sighed, rubbing my head in annoyance weakly. "I mean, out in a single day? I was just in a coma for over a week. Shouldn't I be allowed time to recover from possible atrophy?"

Pinkie shrugged. "I 'unno'." I felt her pull me forward, if only just a little gentler than usual. "Come on, the library's just right there. You gotta walk at least a teeny, stretch out your muscles!"

I did as she said, because it actually made sense-activity in a previously weakened area could definitely reactivate the reinforced flow of nutrients and oxygen, so that I might not fall over every step.

We reached the library soon enough, upon where she helped me to the nearest couch, where I collapsed almost instantly. She muttered something about how she had something to do, and she was off.

I shrugged silently, closing my eyes and sighing in relief. Great. I had more time to think.

By the time I opened my eyes, the realization came to me: I'd fallen asleep. So much for thinking.

Almost immediately, I was greeted by...well, who else would I expect? "Hi! Ditcha' sleep well? And why were you sleeping after being in a co-"

"I'm fine, thank you." I interjected coldly. The last thing I wanted right now was to deal with a headache. "And it is, ironically, tiring in itself being inactive for so long."

"I would imagine so, kiddo." A new voice spoke out, and I turned to face it.

"And hello to you too, Shining." I said. "Did Pinkie show you around Ponyville yet?"

"Show me?" he chuckled. "She dragged me around so fast, that I had to ask her to do it again so that I could understand what she was saying!"

Pinkie nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, we had tons of fun! And now that you're up, we can have tons more!"

"I'm not exactly-"

"Oh, I know, I know!" Pinkie interrupted, waving a hoof nonchalantly. "You don't feel good, and I hope you get better. But I can guarantee that you will be so happy by the time I'm done!"

Well, if there was a pony I would trust to the job of making me happy, it was definitely Pinkie Pie. As for 'being done', I was confused, but whatever.

"So I thought we should talk!" she continued, widening her trademark smile a bit. I shrugged, and she continued. "So I've been thinking,-" Shocker. "-and the past just seems so...so...I dunno', weird, like in an overall sense and stuff. We go from bestest friends to marefriends, and I'm like, 'how does that even happen?'."

I chuckled. "Well, actually, Pinkie, that's how a lot of relationships get started."

My brother nodded assent to that. "It's pretty common for really good friends to find that they want something more." he said. I could swear he had to suppress a delightful chuckle of irony as he said it.

But I knew where he was getting at. "But that is how we started, right? We started small..." I paused. "...all right, so we faced an eternal princess' evil alter ego, and then we 'went' small."

"And then we 'went' bigger!" she chirped. "And, I..." she paused, closing her eyes momentarily.

I could hardly believe it. Not only was Pinkie passing up an opportunity to speak, not only were her cheeks coloring slightly, but she was taking deep breaths as well, usually only a sign of anxiety or sorrow. Even Shining Armor looked slightly worried at her sudden change in tone, and I found my own heart fluttering as well. I half expected to hear, 'we need to talk'.

Then again, I essentially had already heard it.

I was interrupted as she finally spoke up again. "...I think we can still go bigger."

Go bigger? In the sense she was speaking, that was quite literally impossible. Not to bring up the subject to myself, but...there seemed to be nothing that might bond us closer together.

I...I turned out to be very, very wrong indeed.

I caught sight of her reaching into her mane-yes, her mane, digging not as if to ease any knots, but as if to search for something. I remained wordless throughout, fascinated by this recent development.

And then she moved closer, having nodded quietly to herself. I pulled myself up, staring as she reached back into her mane. She moved to kneel, which seemed perfectly logical considering my elevation, until her hoof left her mane, another quickly coming to cover it.

"Y'see, I've been thinking, and even though it hasn't quite been a year, I...I think I definitely want to do this." Her hoof moved to uncover the other, moving slightly upwards while doing so.

And then the world stopped as she finally smiled at me the widest possible, the most anomalous twinkling in her eyes, and said the only words that could ever fully stop my heart, imagined only but in my deepest dreams:

"Twilight Sparkle, will you marry me?"

...

Never had there been a time when my cognitive senses utterly failed, but now was such a time.

Here she was, the mare of my dreams...a small box balanced precariously and inexplicably on her hoof, just the tiniest glint of light reflecting into my eyes...proposing to me.

No, buck the ring. I...

She was doing it. She was actually doing it. Out of the corner of my eye, I gathered my brother looked nearly as shocked as I.

...but there was no way that he was as happy as I was.

Throughout all the time we had been together, she was willing to share more, to intertwine her very life with my own? Pinkie...Pie?

I felt my eyes slowly welling up with inexplicable tears as time slowly returned to me. My heart, as I said, literally stopped before skipping a beat. I attempted to form words, but I just couldn't.

Just as much as I couldn't explain the feeling to myself as I might to anypony else, I couldn't bring myself to form any sort of words at all. It...I was just...

"Twily, are you-"

"YES!" OK, maybe I could. It was one word, but it was the only word I needed. The only word I needed to shroud my mind in ecstasy and affection, as I leaned forward and drew Pinkie into the biggest hug I had ever mustered. "Yes, yes, yes, and in case you need to clean your ears out, yes!"

My hug was returned with equal fervor, and my eyes were shut tight, the grin on my face rivaling her own, the tears leaking down my cheeks in pure, unadulterated happiness.

And it felt great.

We stayed locked in the hug, me not even bothering to lose my grip on her. I didn't want to.

Out of an instinct I couldn't quite put my hoof on, my eyes drifted open.

All I caught through my watery gaze was my brother, wearing the biggest smile I'd ever seen. Perhaps from sentimentality, or pride in his sister.

I knew why I was smiling, though.

As much as I hated it, Pinkie released herself from my embrace. "You have no idea how happy you've made me, Twily. And...and how long I-"

I silenced her with just a gentle hoof to the lips. "I know. It's how I feel too." I tilted my head slightly, widening my grin as wide as it was possible. "Now shut up and kiss me."

With only a giggle, she did. And as we met in the middle, there was only one thing I was, and something I had never been before.

I was truly in love.

And I couldn't be happier.

End of Story 1.