Moonlight
by milesprower06

Cupcakes

Moondancer stood in the aging ceramic tub, as the warm stream of water from the shower head rinsed the soap suds from her mane for the third time.

'Lather, rinse, and repeat. Why don't they just tell you how many times you're supposed to repeat?' She thought to herself as she watched the white foam spiral down the drain. Her showers were usually quick, less than five minutes, as she didn't want pristine cleanliness to eat away at the minutes that could be used for getting through just one more chapter at the library. But now...

She poked her dripping wet head out from the front end of the shower curtain to glance at the small clock next to the sink, and her eyes widened when she realized that she had been in there for twenty minutes. She darted back in from the curtain, shut the water off, and shook off the excess water before drawing back the curtain and stepping out onto the rug, grabbing a towel.

The late-morning shower did wonders to help her wake up. At first, she thought she wasn't going to sleep well because of the inner conflict that had come about going off the deep end and asking an old friend out on a date. Now, she hadn't slept well because that old friend said yes.

'She said yes.'

That fact had echoed in her head repeatedly throughout the night, the combination of excitement and nervousness churning in her gut assured that she never got more than an hour's worth of sleep at a time. But she felt she had gotten enough sleep, and now, freshly showered, she was ready to take on the challenge of putting together a proper first date.

'Nothing too extravagant.' She immediately told herself after Twilight left for the night. As much as she would've liked to, going all out wasn't the best of ideas just yet. As excited as she was at this prospect, she wasn't entirely convinced that Twilight wasn't just being nice.

'I have to be sure that she reciprocates those feelings. She's been gone for a long time. I have to see how much has changed, and how much has stayed the same.'

She gently dried off her hair, then stepped in front of the sink and mirror. She ran a brush through her mane, and had to check herself when she routinely went for her mane tie. No, she wasn't going to wear it up. Her mane had been messily kept for years, and it was time for a change. Twilight had to know how seriously she took this. Grabbing a pair of styling scissors from the drawer, she magically grabbed her mane, and made the appropriate number of snips, giving herself the traditional scholar's cut that Twilight had come to school with almost every day of the year. It was surprising, seeing her mane well-kept, and free of frizz. After giving her tail a quick brushing, she toweled off her coat, put her glasses back on, and went to her bedroom.

Before leaving last night, Twilight said she'd get a message down to her friends that she would be staying an extra day in town, and to come get her at her old tower whenever she was ready. After giving it some thought during her hours tossing and turning and during her shower, Moondancer had the perfect place in mind for her first date with Twilight.

'But what do I wear?' She thought, staring at her closet.

The last thing she wanted to put on for this was the black turtle neck she had worn oh so often the last few years. No, today had to be different. Twilight had to know that this truly mattered to her. But again, nothing extravagant, especially not with her chosen locale. It was all about finding that delicate balance.

After about ten minutes of shuffling around in her closet, she settled on a simple silver necklace. With that done, she shut off the lights, and left the house. She always took note of the far more modern development that surrounded her dilapidated dwelling. She figured it was only a matter of time before the Canterlot Construction Coalition offered her enough bits to relocate. But that wasn't worth worrying about today. She began trotting down the street towards the Royal District, where Canterlot Castle, Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, and Frosthay Spire were located. Frosthay Spire was the official name for Twilight's previous dwelling before moving, where Celestia housed her personal protegees.

It was a ten minute trek at a brisk trotting pace. On her way, she noticed that several plants and trees in the gardens were starting to bloom in the spring weather. The castle gardens and hedge maze separated the castle grounds from the school grounds. Moondancer ascended the spiral stairs, swallowed her nervousness, and knocked on the door three times. A few moments later, the door opened, and Twilight stood there to meet her.

"Hey, you're finally here! Beautiful day out, isn't it?" Twilight greeted with a smile.

"Absolutely. Ready to go?"

"Yep, just one moment." Twilight replied, disappearing beyond the door frame for a few moments. She came back with her white saddlebags strapped around her midsection. Moondancer felt a small pang of sorrow, but she hid it well. Was she going to use this time for more studying? She did her best to push her doubt aside. There weren't necessarily books in there.

"So where are we headed?" Twilight asked as she stepped outside, closing the door.

"Someplace appropriate." Moondancer replied, knowing all too well how not knowing every intricate detail about an outing irked Twilight. But an important part of a date out was the surprise.

They trotted down the same path she took, and went back downtown to the Market District.

"And here we are." Moondancer announced.

"The cupcake parlor?"

"Yeah. I noticed in that photo Spike took that when we all got together here after school that one time, that you never got one. I'd say it's time to rectify that."

Twilight gave a smirk, and they headed inside. There were a couple ponies ahead of them in line, and they were quickly served. With them out of the way the duo stepped up to the counter.

"Special order for Moondancer," the unicorn stated. The cashier grabbed a clipboard that was hanging on the wall, and glanced down the list it held. He checked off a box, went to one of the numerous fridges, and came back with a platter, on which four cupcakes rested. They were all chocolate. Two with purple frosting, two with light yellow frosting, and each pair had a molded, colored chocolate on top in the shape of their respective cutie marks. Twilight found herself touched at the sentiment.

"So I've got to ask. Not to state the obvious, but I'm wondering... What do you see in me... Or did see in me all those years ago?" Twilight asked, getting settled in front of a table and setting her saddlebags down on the floor next to her.

"It isn't obvious? Out of everyone at school, you were the only one who seemed to share my love of learning. Minuette, Lemon Hearts, and Twinkleshine helped me come out of my shell, but it seemed you weren't interested. I thought if I could show you how to balance friendship and studying, you'd be more social. But it turned out it took a lot more than a party invitation to get your nose out of books. I mean, I could get a party together, but hardly a threat to Equestria."

"To be fair Moondancer, it wasn't just a threat to Equestria. It was being helped along the way, then facing that threat alone and failing. My friends down in Ponyville are amazing, but I can't really see myself connecting with them on that kind of level. I loved studying with you, so I'm sure I'll love getting to know you when we aren't buried in homework."

"You really mean that?"

Twilight seemed surprised at Moondancer's disbelief.

"Absolutely. Moondancer, I wouldn't have said yes to a date just to string you along and make you happy. That'd be all kinds of wrong. I haven't ever had any kind of love life to begin with apart from a high school dance, and I'm not even sure that counts."

"...We never had a high school dance..."

"Long story. I'm saying that I'd love to reconnect with you, and see how deep that connection goes."

Hearing that brought the biggest smile yet out of Moondancer. With that, they started into their cupcakes, which almost looked too good to eat. After that, the unicorn had quite a day ahead planned.

"Before we go, I wanted to give you something." Twilight said.

Twilight's horn lit up, and Moondancer heard shuffling come from her saddlebags. A moment later, the key to Frosthay Spire came up from below the table, levitating over to her.

"I still want you to be able to go my old tower and study whenever you want. It's quieter, and it's great when the library gets too crowded. Spike and I finished cleaning it up last night. Oh, and one more thing."

The magic aura faded from the key as it dropped to the table in front of Moondancer's cupcake wrapper, and Twilight came up with another item from her saddlebags.

It was the first edition of Principles of Magic.

"Looking back, I'm glad I didn't take this with me. You see, I'm sure you remember when Tirek attacked Equestria a few months ago, right?"

"That Centaurian that escaped from Tartarus, yeah." Moondancer affirmed, nodding.

"Well, when he got to Ponyville, he and I got into a pretty big fight. The Golden Oaks Library, the place I lived when I first came to Ponyville, was obliterated, and most of my personal collection was lost with it. So I just want you to know, I'm taking this with me back to Ponyville. I can't think of a better book to restart my collection with."

Moondancer teared up at this act. This way, perhaps it was for the best that she had left it in her tower, so that it, like their friendship, could be used as the start of something greater. She was now mentally kicking herself, thinking Twilight brought her saddlebags for studying over cupcakes. Wiping the tears from her eyes, she accepted the key to Frosthay Spire.

"Thank you, Twilight. That means so much to me."

The alicorn and unicorn spent the first part of the afternoon window shopping in the market district. Before they moved on with their day, Moondancer looked in her coin purse, and decided to buy Twilight a matching silver necklace from one of the corner jewelers. After that, they spent the next several hours in the castle gardens and hedge maze, reminiscing about their botany classes. When the sun finally started it's final dip below the horizon, they at last decided to call it a day. The unicorn decided she wanted to use Twilight's gift immediately, and opted to spend the night in Frosthay Spire. The Princess of Friendship gladly escorted her there.

"I had a great time today, Moondancer. I can't wait to do it again."

It was all Moondancer could do to stop from matching Pinkie Pie and bouncing off the walls.

"Well, I believe it's your turn next."

Twilight put a hoof to her chin, mentally going over her schedule.

"Well, I've got the next weekend free. Why don't you come on down to Ponyville next Saturday? It'd be great to have some company in the castle."

"Sure thing. It's a date!"

Moondancer threw her arms around Twilight and they shared a hug. Afterward, Spike came out of the tower, gave a polite bow, and waved her inside. She waved them goodbye as they took off into the dusk sky, then made her way inside. Suffice to say, this was a tenfold improvement over her house in town. She had already seen the atrium library upstairs, so she opened the door that was under the spiral stairs.

It was a small living area. It wasn't quite as roomy as a traditional house was, but there was a couch on the left wall, along with the doorway to the kitchen, the bathroom door on the far wall, and a full size bed on the right wall. Seeing the freshly made, neatly folded linens made her feel sleepy. She walked up to the bed, and saw a teddy bear resting at the foot of the bed, with a note in front. She picked it up, and saw that it had obviously been torn open, because there was a black stitch line along his chest. She smiled and looked down at the note.

Sweet dreams!

Love,
Twilight

Fresh tears fell from her eyes. She was going to have to get used to this. Shutting herself off from the world for years caused her to become a whimpering mess at every gesture of kindness. She climbed into the bed, sliding under the sheets, and holding the bear close, let her head sink into the cool, fluffed pillow.

She was asleep almost instantly.

Author's Note

What? Perhaps you were expecting a Saw-inspired gore-infested torture scene in the basement?

What do you take me for?