Moonlight

Moonlight
by milesprower06

Back For Seconds, Part 2

If Moondancer had only one word to describe Twilight's dime tour of the castle, it would be 'daunting.' She had been in Canterlot Castle only once for a field trip, and this was just as, and in some places, more impressive than that.

"You have all this space to yourself? I'd go nuts." She commented.

"I did for a bit. I started avoiding this place as much as I could, helping my friends with every odd job you can imagine, to the point where it probably got annoying for them. I got so little sleep that I fell asleep during a pancake breakfast... On the pancakes." Twilight replied, blushing a bit.

"So here we are back at the throne room. I skipped the dining room, because that's where we're obviously headed next."

"What's with the tree roots?" Moondancer asked, opening the door once again, peering up at the chandelier that hung above the round table.

"My five friends did that when I was going stir crazy in here. Those are the roots of the Golden Oak Library. They attached all these little gems that were enchanted with memories from my time here in Ponyville."

"Ah, I see." Moondancer said, gazing up at the jewels. There were several dozen, either cyan, pink, or topaz.

"And I'm gonna add this one." Twilight announced, bringing the unicorn's attention back to her. Twilight held another yellow gem in her hoof. She rotated it, and the facets reflected her and Moondancer hugging at the beginning of her party in Canterlot.

"The memory of rekindling an old friendship, and watching it turn into something more."

Twilight took the gem in her magical grasp, and levitated it up to the bottom of the jewel chain above her throne, and connected it to the bottom gem.

Moondancer lifted her glasses and wiped her eyes. Darn it, she still wasn't used to this. The gem attached, Twilight came over and gave her a hug.

"Alright, enough of this sappy mushy stuff," Moondancer said, sniffling. "I'm famished."

"You read my mind. To the dining room!"

Moondancer followed her date through the hall through another set of large double doors.

"Whoa..." She remarked upon setting foot inside.

"Yeah, this was the room that they went nuts in. I guess you could call it the Dining Room of Friendship." Twilight replied.

A large golden dining table was in the middle of the room, with a sizable stone unicorn statue as the centerpiece, and red satin was draped on the edges as the tablecloth's overhang. Above the table was a brilliant gold chandelier. In front of the room's left and right support pillars were two smaller pillars, with a pot of flowers on top of each one. The outer walls and windows had deep crimson draperies lining them.

The table itself had been set for two. As Moondancer took her seat next to Twilight, she noticed that the Princess had spared no expense. The serving platters and dinnerware were the most elegant she had ever seen. Spike came out pushing a dining cart, with two dome-covered plates. He wheeled the cart to the table, then Twilight took over from there, magically levitating the plates from the cart to the places at the table. Finally, she lifted the domes off, and when Moondancer laid eyes on the meal, she had to fight back the drool.

A garden salad with apple slices and fire-roasted pecans and croutons. Twilight had remembered her favorite dish from their school days.

"Wow, it looks delicious, I can hardly wait."

"Well, no time like the present. Dig in!" Twilight gleefully told her, taking her fork in her horn's telekinetic hold. It was, without a doubt, one of the most delicious salads that she had ever had. Throughout the first and second course, the two of them shared what they had done over the past week.

"So you're still in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns?" Twilight asked, swallowing her last bit of salad.

"I'm in one of their post-graduate programs. The research papers I submit are what keep the stipends coming in, and a roof over my head. To be honest, these two dates with you are the first sense of direction I've had in a long time."

Twilight felt a bit sorrowful at that. Moondancer had put up such a barrier around herself that she didn't know what she wanted to do with her life. She'd certainly be there for her if she ever wanted help figuring out what to do.

After that, it was glasses of carrot juice, and strawberry pie for dessert. When they were all said and done, the two of them felt quite satisfied.

"That was the most savory meal I've had in years. Thank you so much, Twilight."

"Glad you enjoyed it."

"What else do you have planned?"

"Well, have you ever had dancing lessons?"

Having caught her interest, Twilight led Moondancer out of the dining room and back upstairs. Through yet another set of double doors, they found themselves out on the castle balcony, overlooking Ponyville's night sky. Twilight had set up a phonograph next to the door. She grabbed the needle, and placed it on the record, and a slow waltz began.

"I... I've never danced with anypony else before." Moondancer stammered as Twilight took her hooves in her own.

"Neither have I. We can learn together."

What followed was some awkward turns, some missteps, but it didn't matter. Holding, spinning, and twirling each other was all that mattered, regardless of how awkward it may have looked as they danced under the moon. Twilight gave Moondancer a final dip as the waltz came to an end. She brought her up again, and gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.

Moondancer's face flooded with red as she hugged her date.

"N-not bad for my first dance..."

"I guess I needed somepony else to get better. Canterlot Garden Party attendees could probably tell you of the horrors that occurred next to the record player that night..."

Moondancer chuckled, hugging her date once more.

"Now then," Twilight began. "Enough of that."

She pulled out a book that had been placed covertly underneath the phonograph.

"I believe I promised you a certain studying technique."