MoonShine

Chapters

Feelings
Easing Tenses
Suspicions
Reconciliation
Sequel

Feelings

The ear-rattling sound of the school bell flooded the hallways of Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. The students started to pack up their supplies and get ready to depart and go their own ways after school hours. The hallways were packed with unicorns making their way for the schools exit.

Today was the first day of Summer Break. Three months of a break from hard schoolwork. No more studying, no more homework, just rest and relaxation. Most ponies had plans to see their family, others just wanted to lay in bed all day and forget about learning.

Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns was a boarding school. Ponies take an entry exam to apply for acceptance into the school, and they live on-campus in their own separate dorms. So then during breaks ponies may go on vacation to see their families who miss them dearly in other towns. There aren't many breaks in Celestia's School. There are really only two major ones: Hearth's Warming Vacation, and Summer Break.

Whatever the case may be, it was three months of rest and relaxation, except for one pony in particular. A creme colored unicorn with a light, fluffy pink mane. Her cutie mark was of three stars, and her eyes a gentle baby blue.

Twinkleshine, a gentle minded student at Celestia's school, was all but relaxed for the upcoming break. In fact, she was downright stressed out. She has been closely counting down the days, and that one day she has been waiting for was almost there.

Twinkleshine has had a crush on Moondancer, arguably her best friend since foalhood, for almost a year now. She can never tell why, but those feelings had came up recently for reasons unknown. She had never felt this way around her. Whenever she stared into her light purple eyes, the entire world was tuned out. It was as if nothing existed expect her, and Moondancer. Her body was perfect, slim and toned, not one imperfection stood out.

Twinkleshine sighed, it was never easy for her to explain her feelings to anypony. She had even tried talking to Moondancer about those feelings, but of course not telling Moondancer that it was her that she had the crush on. Most of the time she found herself at a loss for words when talking to her best friend.

The creme colored unicorn sighed again. She decided to take a walk to ease her troubled mind. Exiting her dorm room, she started to trot in the direction of the Royal Gardens. Twinkleshine had always loved the Garden. Something about the place was just so tranquil. The beautiful flowers and statues that surrounded the gardens, along with the soft songs that the birds sang. She came here on a normal basis to ease her stress. Most of the time she usually sits on a bench, and stares off into the horizon, overlooking the valley that was below where the small town of Ponyville was located.

The treatment seemed to be working, her mind was becoming more at ease. The Royal Gardens acted as sort of a sanctuary for her mind. She allowed herself to be too calm, however. Celestia's suns' warm rays felt stimulating on Twinkleshine's white coat. Her eyes grew heavy, and her vision started to cloud up. Within seconds, her focus on the world around her was gone, and she drifted off to sleep.

Her subconscious mind brought her to her most desirable dream. One that had stayed with her for months. Twinkleshine found herself sitting on a hilltop, overlooking a lake. It was night out, and the stars were visible all throughout the sky. Moondancer was with her too, and the two of them sitting together gazing at the lake. Twinkleshine had her head positioned in the crook of Moondancer's neck, and Moondancer tilted her head so that it was resting on top of Twinkleshine's. The two would sit there for hours, leaning gracefully onto each other.

Moondancer lifted her head up. Twinkleshine noticed the absence of her marefriend and also lifted her head. Their eyes met, but it wasn't long until Moondancer leaned in and passionately kissed Twinkleshine. The pink maned unicorn showed no signs of withdrawal. Instead, she pushed back on her, making the kiss more passionate. Twinkleshine's tongue had managed to slip passed Moondancer's lips. Their tongues collided and battled the other for supremacy, causing Moondancer to grunt with approval.

This is what Twinkleshine had always wanted: To love, and be loved back, by Moondancer. She would give up everything to be with her. The feelings inside Twinkleshine pounded against the metaphorical cell that they were locked up in, just waiting to be released. Each day the feelings intensified. She knew that one day she had to tell her.

Her fantasies were interrupted by the feeling of a hoof on her shoulder, and her name being called out. Twinkleshine sat up on the bench she had fallen asleep on, and stretched out her arms, yawning. She rubbed her eyes, and looked to see who had woken her up. She saw standing in front of her a light gray coated mare with a dull scarlet mane with a streak of purple in it, and instantly recognized her as none other than Moondancer.

"There you are, Twinkle! I was worried about you!" Twinkleshine and Moondancer shared a dorm room together, which just made it more awkward each day to be around her for Twinkleshine. The lighter coated unicorn looked upon the horizon; it was dark out. Moondancer must have been worried because Twinkleshine never came back to the dorm, and set out to look for her best friend.

Moondancer sprawled her arms out and hugged Twinkleshine in a friendly gesture. This wasn't abnormal, but it still always made Twinkleshine feel happier, and also slightly blush. Before Moondancer let go, she tried to keep her face from becoming more scarlet. Maybe the night will make it so it was harder for her to see the blush? She hoped so.

"Sorry, Moondancer. I just...got distracted and had to come here. Then I fell asleep." She smiled meekly and averted her gaze from Moondancer's eyes.

"Next time you decide to disappear for a couple hours, would you mind telling me?" She smirked at her. "Let's just go back to the room, you look like you could use a bath and a real bed." Moondancer pointed at her.

Twinkleshine's coat was covered in marks from the bench's split wood. Her curly light pink mane was all ruffled up. "Yea," She chuckled sheepishly, "I guess I could."

The two walked side by side back to their dorm room. Twinkleshine kept finding herself trotting closer and closer to Moondancer, but before the latter noticed, she pulled back and kept her a suitable distance. Twinkleshine didn't know how much more she could hold her emotions back. They kept pounding at her to spill her guts out in front of her dearest friend. How would she take it though? Will she accept Twinkleshine and go out with her? Or will she denounce her and never want to see her again?

Those thoughts made Twinkleshine freeze in fear. She stopped trotting and stared off into oblivion. The thought of losing her best friend was too much to bear. Moondancer and Twinkleshine were like a pegasus and her wings; they were always next to each other, no matter what, and Twinkleshine felt as if she couldn't live without her.

Moondancer noticed the absence of her friend, and looked behind her. Twinkleshine stood stone cold and stared into an infinite void. Being the caring friend that she is, Moondancer nuzzled Twinkleshine's cheek, causing another wave of crimson to wash over her face.

"Something wrong, Twinkle?" She asked.

Twinkleshine quickly turned her head away to hide the furious blush on her cheeks, "Um, no, nothing's wrong...I'm fine. I...uh...just got lost in thought for a second."

Moondancer stood in front of her and stared her straight in the eye, Twinkleshine tried to resist, but was pulled in by her beauty, "Twinkleshine, I'm your best friend, you can tell me anything. I can tell something is wrong. Please, tell me, maybe I can help?"

Twinkleshine backed away from Moondancer, almost bursting out into tears. She tried to hold back her emotions. She wanted to just tell her, right then and there, all her feelings towards Moondancer. For some reason, she couldn't. Something inside her wanted her to tell her, but another overpowering force extinguished that thought and kept it vaulted.

"I...I have to go!" Without another word or second thought, she galloped away.

<~>

Each door to each dorm room had special magical locks. Only the unicorn that that dorm belongs to can break the magic seal and open the door. When a new unicorn moves into the dorm, one of the royal guards, or Celestia, cast a spell on it to open it up to the magical ID to any unicorn. The unicorn channels his or her magic into the lock, and then it is sealed. Only the unicorn, or unicorns, that channeled their magical ID into the lock can break the seal and open it.

Twinkleshine had made it to her dorm room before Moondancer was able to, she channeled her magic and cast the spell to unlock it. When she entered her room, she immediately plopped herself onto her bed, and cried into her pillow.

Why couldn't she just tell her? Why is she going through so much pain over this? As these thought's crept into her mind, she cried more deeply. She loves Moondancer. That's that. She wanted so badly to hold her, to relinquish all her feelings and just love her, and snuggle with her....and kiss her.

Another wave of tears broke through her eyes and soaked her pillow even more. She stuffed her face harder into her pillow to further muffle the sounds of her crying. She knew it was only a matter of time before Moondancer came back to the dorm and demanded to know what was bothering her. To solve this solution, she continued to cry deeply until fatigue got the best of her, and drifted to sleep.

<~>

Moondancer used her magic to unlock the magic lock on her and Twinkleshine's dorm. She walked inside and looked around, noticing Twinkleshine laying dead asleep in her bed. Her fluffy pink mane had been ruffled even further, and her pillow was soaking wet. She wanted to know so badly what was troubling her best friend, and why she wasn't telling her.

Moondancer sat on the edge of the bed, staring at Twinkleshine. Her back rose and fell slowly as she slept. Moondancer raised her hoof and lightly stroked Twinkleshine's mane. The troubled pony didn't respond to the gesture, she being too fast asleep to respond to light motions.

It broke her heart, it really did, to see her best friend so broken. Moondancer continued to gently stroke Twinkleshine's mane for a few more seconds before going to bed herself. Maybe tomorrow she'll be willing to talk to her about it? Hopefully. Moondancer slowly closed her eyes, and drifted to sleep.

That night, neither pony had a good night sleep.

Easing Tenses

Author's Note: I just made a huge mistake that I didn't realize sooner, I'm so stupid! This story is supposed to take place during the Summer Sun Celebration, and in the last chapter, I mentioned that it was SPRING break! I went back and changed it to Summer Break, just so there's no confusion.

Now on to the story.

Wait one last thing! Here's a picture of Moondancer.

And here's one of Twinkleshine

And just so that I'm not copy writing anything, the Moondancer art was by WolfWhiskers on deviantart and Twinkleshine was by 90sigma on deviantart.

Twinkleshine slowly opened her eyelids, struggling against the dried tears that sealed them shut. Having no avail, she sat up in her bed and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. It took a few seconds, but her eyes adjusted to the new light in the room. She squinted from the bright sun rays that invaded her dorm, and walked over to the blinds to close them. Once the blinding light was gone, she looked at the clock on her nightstand. The numbers read 12:42 p.m.

Twinkleshine cursed herself for sleeping in so late. This wasn't normally like her, to sleep until noon, unlike most ponies. She could never understand why they did that. She normally wakes up before nine-thirty. On some occasions, she found herself waking up as early as six a.m.

It must have been from the troubles she had last night. When Moondancer woke her up from the bench, it was pretty late already. It was weird though, when Twinkleshine was crying her eyes out. It seemed sort of relieving to her if she thought about it. Her mind was like a dam, and the river being the emotions. When the emotions brewed up a storm, the dam broke, and the emotions let go through her tear ducts. Letting go of all that build up slightly eased her tenses. She seemed more relaxed, and more suitable to talk to Moondancer.

Where was that gray coated pony anyway? Twinkleshine looked up at the bunk bed above hers. Moondancer was not there sleeping. The dorm was fairly small, so it didn't take much looking around to know that Moondancer was not here. She must have gone out to get lunch or something.

The thought of lunch stuck in Twinkleshine's head now, and the rumbling in her stomach made the decision for her. Before she went anywhere, she decided that she needed a shower, badly. Her mane looked as if a pegasus had conjured up a tornado in it. Her eyes were red from all the crying, and dried up tears covered her face.

So she entered the bathroom, and turned on the shower. After the shower, she dried herself off and used her magic to levitate her toothbrush and comb at the same time to brush her teeth and mane. It took some time, but Twinkleshine had gotten used to multitasking in this fashion, and she's gotten pretty good at it. The only challenge now was attempting to put on makeup while brushing her mane and teeth. She concentrated on her makeup brush, attempting to focus on that while still channeling the tooth brush and comb. Twinkleshine's pink aura enveloped the three brushes all at once, and she was able to maintain concentration on all of them at once.

Concentrate, c'mon Twinkle you can do this!" She thought to herself. Yes, she was doing it! She was now combing her fluffy pink mane, brushing her pearly white teeth, and applied makeup to her beautiful complexion. She kept concentrating, tuning out all thoughts except for the three actions. She was almost done.

Her concentration was abruptly ceased by a knocking at the bathroom door. Twinkleshine was startled, all three of the brushes twitched out and flew all over the place. At the time, she was applying mascara, and the brush zipped across her face, leaving a black streak from her chin across her eyelid to her forehead. The manebrush yanked her pink mane and caused her to yelp in surprise and fall to the floor.

"Twinkleshine? What's wrong?" A familiar voice called out. "Can I come in?"

Twinkleshine rubbed her head where the brush yanked her mane, "Sure, come in."

Moondancer entered the bathroom to find Twinkleshine laying on the floor rubbing her head. She noticed the black streak running down her face and attempted to muffle a snicker. It was a futile attempt however, and it turned to an all out laugh.

"What happened to you Twinkle?" She asked, still laughing.

Twinkleshine also joined in on the laughing, "Well, I was trying to brush my teeth, comb my mane, and put my makeup on all at once. Then you knocked on the door and I got startled." She looked away and smiled meekly.

Moondancer's laughing had ceased, "I'm sorry, Twinkle. Here let me help you get cleaned up." Moondancer's horn started to glow a light maroon, just like her mane, and she lifted up a wet towel and wiped the makeup off Twinkleshine's face. Then, she lifted the mascara and started to apply it to her carefully.

This is the perfect opportunity to talk to Twinkle about last night. She thought as she continued to apply makeup to her friend. Twinkleshine's gaze was averted from Moondancer's, and she stared at the door behind her. "So," Moondancer began, "We need to talk about last night. Something is bothering you, and as your best friend, I want to know so that I can help you." She put the mascara brush back in the small bottle and set it down so that she can focus on her friend.

Twinkleshine sighed, this wasn't going to be easy. She attempted to steer clear of the subject, "Don't worry about it. I'm fine."

Moondancer raised a brow, "Twinkle, c'mon. You don't just run away from me and cry your eyes out and then just say 'I'm fine.'" She placed her hoof on Twinkleshine's shoulder, "Please, I want to help you. It hurts me to see you in so much pain."

It was obvious that there was no arguing with Moondancer with this topic. Twinkleshine smiled knowing that her friend cared so much about her. Maybe she could possibly feel the same way? Twinkleshine prayed that that assumption was true. However, she still didn't feel ready to tell her, not yet at least. It had to be the perfect opportunity. Moondancer's birthday was only a few days away. In fact, it was on the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration.

It was then that she would tell her, but for now, she needed to make up a story. Something believable, something that would give the signal that she has those feelings, but not giving it away that it was Moondancer that those feelings belonged to. "I," She began, "You see, I, um, I--Remember all those times I talked to you about these feelings I have?"

Moondancer nodded, signaling her to continue.

"Well, those feelings are getting...um...stronger, and I...I'm sorry I ran away from you, Moondancer. At the time, I was just really confused, and I needed to get away. But trust me, I feel much better now than last night."

The light gray mare seemed to go for it. All of it was truth, though, so Twinkleshine had nothing to worry about. "Have you tried telling this stallion about these feelings?" She asked.

Of course she would ask that. All the times Twinkleshine and Moondancer talked about the prior's feelings, she usually said that it was a stallion that she was interested in. This was going to be hard to tell Moondancer, admitting that Twinkleshine was a filly-fooler. "Well, you see," She began slowly, "The truth is...um...it's...it's not a stallion!"

Moondancer blinked, "Oh. My. Celestia."

Twinkleshine closed her eyes and braced herself, as if Moondancer was about to punch her. What will she say to her? The tension between the two grew stronger with each passing second. Twinkleshine felt as if her whole world was going to crumble now.

Moondancer noticed her friend's fear. So Twinkle's a filly-fooler huh? She didn't hate Twinkleshine just because she's a filly-fooler, she shouldn't be afraid of her. In fact, Moondancer felt as if their friendship grew to a new level now. Twinkleshine was now more open to her and able to tell her who she really was.

Instead of the punch that Twinkleshine had somehow thought was going to occur, she received a forceful hug. The whiter unicorn started to blush again. Without even breaking the hug, Moondancer spoke, "It's ok, Twinkle. You don't have to be afraid, I don't think any less of you. In fact, I'm proud of you."

Twinkleshine widened her eyes at Moondancer's response, "What?"

Moondancer broke the hug, "It takes a lot of guts to admit that you're a filly-fooler. I'm proud that you were able to tell me. So, who's the mare you got your eyes on?" Moondancer furrowed her eyebrows.

Twinkleshine gulped, now's not the time to tell her. She had her plan, and she's sticking with it. "Lemme guess!" Moondancer continued, "Is it Lyra? No no wait! Umm, Colgate! It's Colgate right? Or how about Twilight Sparkle? She's a sight for sore eyes huh?" She chuckled.

'Sight for sore eyes'? Did she hear that correctly? Was Moondancer a filly-fooler too? This gave Twinkleshine some hope. "I have to admit, Twilight is very pretty. But no, she's not the one, neither is Colgate or Lyra." She replied.

"Then who is it?!" Moondancer asked, staring anxiously at Twinkleshine.

Twinkleshine didn't reply, instead, she smiled and trotted out of the bathroom and headed for the door. She felt like humoring herself for the moment. Torturing her and making her keep digging for a name.

"C'mon Twinkle! Tell me! Tell me tell me tell me tell me tell me!" She started to bang her hooves on the floor in a pout.

"Later." Twinkleshine said as she trotted out the door of the room. Moondancer closely followed her, prying her for the information she wanted with every hoof step. Twinkleshine started heading to a nearby restaurant to get some lunch after she had exited the castle.

"Later? Later when?" Moondancer asked as she continued to follow Twinkleshine.

"Later."

And so the torture continued. Moondancer kept pleading Twinkleshine to tell her the name of her crush, but Twinkleshine still remained silent. No matter how much pleading the maroon maned mare forced upon her friend, she wouldn't speak. All she did was smile and stay silent.

Suspicions

Moondancer sat in front of Twinkleshine with her arms embraced around her as they stared longingly into the others eyes. Moondancer was smiling softly at her partner, and Twinkleshine's blush grew more intense the longer she kept her gaze on her marefriend. For the longest of time, they just sat there and stared at each other, waiting for the other to make a move. It was the whiter coated unicorn who took action and leaned in on Moondancer, locking her muzzle with hers.

Moondancer put her hooves on Twinkleshine's waist and pulled her closer, dragging them deeper into the kiss. The whiter unicorn grunted with approval, and started to push harder against Moondancer's lips. Noticing this, the gray unicorn felt like having a challenge, and pushed back with equal, if not more, force. Moondancer's tongue invaded Twinkleshine, and a duel between the two erupted. The force's of the two were so intense, that they fell over while still kissing. Moondancer was on top of Twinkleshine now.

Everything was perfect. This is exactly what Twinkleshine had wanted for such a long time. She had Moondancer as her marefriend, that's all she needed. Her life was complete.

Twinkleshine's marefriend broke the kiss and leaned up. She stared into her baby blue eyes, noticing how beautiful they were. Her soft pink mane went perfectly with her shiny white coat. She leaned in close on Twinkleshine, but teased her another kiss. Instead, she whispered into her ear.

"Wake up."

Twinkleshine shot her a confused look, "What?"

"Wake up."

The next day came quickly. Celestia's sun had just poked itself over the horizon, and the warm bright rays penetrated the window in Twinkleshine and Moondancer's dorm room. Twinkleshine shot her eyes open, and a blotch of white covered her view. She leaned back while still laying in bed, and noticed she was holding her pillow as if it was Moondancer in her dream, and a small wet spot was located on the pillow directly across from her lips .

And of course Moondancer was standing right next to her.

Twinkleshine threw the pillow to her side and sat up in bed, blushing. Moondancer didn't even attempt to hide her laughing this time. She just let it all out, loud and proud.

"Oh I see," Moondancer began, "So it's the pillow that you have a crush on? What's her name?! HAHA!"

Twinkleshine couldn't even reply, she just slumped lower into her bed and hid her head under her blanket in shame.

The gray coated unicorn used her magic to take the blanket off her friend, "C'mon Twinkle, lighten up. I'm just kidding."

"Hehe." She said sheepishly, "Right, right."

"So anyway," Moondancer said, lightening the mood, "I was about to go out and get breakfast, wanna come with?"

"Sure," Twinkleshine replied as she hopped out of bed, "Lemme just get cleaned up."

Twinkleshine made her way to the bathroom. She looked over herself and found that she was still blushing from the little fiasco a few seconds ago. I've got to stop blushing so much. She thought to herself. She spotted her toothbrush and enveloped it in her light pink aura. Then, she grabbed her manebrush in her telekinesis. Now the hard part. She spotted her makeup bag and opened it. She channeled her magic carefully, and lifted up her foundation. Twinkleshine applied it to her face carefully while still concentrating on the two brushes.

Moondancer came into the bathroom and spotted Twinkleshine and her multitasking abilities. Dang, she's pretty good at that. She thought. She took position next to Twinkleshine and started to apply her own makeup. She looked back at Twinkleshine, amazed by how she can concentrate on three things at once.

"You have got to teach me how to do that, Twinkle." She said while smiling.

The whiter unicorn didn't even turn to look at her friend, but took the toothbrush out of her mouth to reply, "Do what?"

"Multitask like a boss." She chuckled.

Twinkleshine momentarily lost concentration, and dropped her manebrush. She grunted with annoyance.

"Oops! I'll stop talking!" Moondancer said while imitating the motion of a zipper being closed on her mouth.

The light gray unicorn continued to apply makeup to her face while observing Twinkleshine through the mirror. She had finished brushing her teeth and set her toothbrush down, allowing her concentration to ease. Moondancer noted how she was able to apply the makeup so skillfully while concentrating on the other brushes.

"Finished!" Twinkleshine declared. Moondancer had also just finished applying her makeup. She didn't use as much as Twinkleshine did; she had sort of a natural stunning beauty that stood out without makeup. She didn't really fiddle with her mane that much, it sort of suited her better to have it raggedy rather than straight and groomed.

"Well look at you." Moondancer examined Twinkleshine carefully, "You look good, Twinkle."

The white mare's face turned a deep shade of red at the compliment. She quickly walked passed her friend and out of the bathroom. "Well, uh, ready to go?"

"Yeah, sure!" Moondancer stood up and exited the bathroom and out the door of the dorm with Twinkleshine beside her.

All throughout the walk, Twinkleshine kept playing different scenarios in her head. All of them being different ways on how to tell Moondancer her feelings towards her. She mentally sighed. This was not going to be as easy as she hoped. How would she tell her best friend that she's in love with her? How would she take it?

All her fears returned to her over that thought. She tried not to think of it. She tried to stuff it back into the dark corners of her mind. She already told Moondancer that she was a filly-fooler, and she took it very well.

This, however, is totally different. It was her that she was in love with. It's an entirely different game now. The thoughts once again invaded her mind, and she thought of scenarios where Moondancer rejected her. She thought of what she'd say to her, and how harsh the words will be.

No. She needed to tell her. Each day, the feelings are getting stronger and stronger. Each day, they keep pounding at the barrier in her mind to be freed. It was almost torture each day. Her mind kept battling with itself on what's more important; telling Moondancer her feelings and hoping she feels the same way, keeping the feelings under lock and key and dealing with it, or risk losing her best friend.

No, that's impossible. Moondancer and Twinkleshine are best friends. No matter what, they always agreed to stick by each other. She could never lose her friend, even if she confessed her feelings. Moondancer wasn't the type of pony to just give up on a friendship over something like that. They've always stuck together, and they always will. When Twinkleshine got accepted to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns, she made sure that Moondancer was also enrolled, or else Twinkleshine would've rejected the offer to attend. When Moondancer struggled to learn new spells, Twinkleshine was always there to help her learn.

"Twinkle, watch out!" Moondancer screamed as she used her magic to put a barrier around Twinkleshine and pull her towards the gray mare right before she was about to walk off a cliff. Twinkleshine flew towards her friend and slammed into her, and the impact made them both fall over. A small dust cloud popped up as they hit the ground. Once the dust had cleared, Twinkleshine rubbed her head to numb the pain from the impact.

Then the most embarrassing thing happened. Twinkleshine found herself...on top of Moondancer. Her friend was still rubbing her head from the impact with her eyes closed, not noticing the white unicorn on top of her. She tried to get up off her, but her legs were unresponsive. Then, Moondancer opened her eyes. They stared at each other for the longest time. Twinkleshine had a look of utmost embarrassment on her face, while Moondancer's face was blank, other than wide eyes.

Either it was her imagination, or Twinkleshine could see the slightest blush on Moondancer's face.

"Umm, Twinkle...."

"Oh! Right, right!" Twinkleshine immediately got off her friend and helped her up. The two stared at each other awkwardly. "Thanks for, um, saving me." Twinkleshine said, trying to break the ice.

"No problem...."

More silence consumed. Twinkleshine risked another glance at Moondancer. She was right, Moondancer was also blushing! Does she know?! Does she feel the same way! Twinkleshine started to sweat like crazy in her frightened state. All her emotions came out at once. She was practically on her knees attempting to just say the words that were pounding at every corner of her mind.

Moondancer, I love--

"How about we go inside and get some food." Moondancer said, interrupting Twinkleshine's thoughts. She pointed to a building that was right in front of the two.

The white unicorn sighed and cursed herself for not being able to tell her friend her feelings. She gave in and reluctantly agreed to go inside and get some food.

The rest of the day went on like normal. They didn't speak about the little incident the rest of the day, although they did have other little conversations to lighten the mood. The little fiasco did a number on Twinkleshine's emotions, she nearly broke down after that. She stayed strong though. Tomorrow will be the judgement day, the day she confesses all her feelings to her best friend. There's no turning back now.

Reconciliation

"Moondancer, I have to tell you something."

Twinkleshine's voice was radiating with nervousness. This was it, this was the judgement day. This was the day that Twinkleshine was going to confess her feelings to her best friend, Moondancer. It also happened to be Moondancer's twenty-first birthday. The two unicorns stood in a small room inside the west castle, the party was going on in the courtyard outside.

Twinkleshine gulped. Not once in her life had she been this nervous then she was now. Not even during her entry exam into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns was she this nervous. She had known what the exam spell would be, so she had practiced it many times before the exam itself. It was simple, quick, and got her enrolled into the school.

This, however, was very different, this wasn't some test or spell to master. This was practically the fate of the rest of Twinkleshine's life. Everything Twinkleshine had ever wanted to complete her life stood in front of her with a confused expression, awaiting for what the ivory mare will say next.

Twinkleshine sighed. Why couldn't she just say it? Just say the simple words: Moondancer, I love you. Just say the words, and then be judged upon. The only problem was, what will Moondancer say in return? Will she accept, or reject Twinkleshine? The tension was too much, and it was nearly cracking down on Twinkleshine, forcing her to utter the words.

It felt like an eternity, standing here in front of the love of her life, Moondancer. Each second was transformed into days as her mind was racing at the speed of light to find the right words. Little by little, they were all located in her head. She started off slowly, uttering the words softly, but clearly.

"Moondancer, I...I love you!"

There it was, the straw that broke that camels back. The truth hath cometh out, so they say. Those four words were without a doubt the hardest words Twinkleshine had ever said in her entire life. Those words are the ones that will decide her fate. The fate to be with the love of her life, or to be shunned forever.

The gray coated unicorn stared at Twinkleshine. Her face was completely unreadable and indecisive. Twinkleshine could not tell if her best friend was shocked, calm, or amazed. The seconds seemed to convert to eons under that much tension Twinkleshine was feeling. As the 'eons' went by, all she could do was stare back at Moondancer, shaking in fear of what the gray unicorn will say in return.

She stayed silent though. Not a single breath could be heard. Twinkleshine hung her head low. She knew what was most likely in store for her. That was it, she was going to get rejected, and she knew it. What will happen then? Will they still be friends? Or would Moondancer denounce their friendship?

After what seemed like eons of eons, Moondancer finally spoke, "I...I, uh..I have to go." The gray unicorn stood up and made way for the door.

Twinkleshine was shocked in fear. I knew it! She hates me know! She could barely speak as Moondancer headed for the exit of the castle. She tried to stand up, but some invisible force kept her down. It took almost all of her strength to utter her next words, "M..Moondancer, wait!"

"Twinkleshine." Her tone was bitter and sharp. It seemed as if just her speaking will be enough to cut through the fabric of space and time. "Just get out of my sight."

Before her very eyes, Twinkleshine was plunged into a world of darkness. Everything turned against her, the walls of the castle collapsed before her, and the floors became black. She ran outside, but everything was gone. Moondancer's entire birthday party seemed to have never even happened. The world was black. The sky, sun, earth, everything was black. The only thing that wasn't black was Twinkleshine. Even then, she started to become gray. Her color receded, just like her joy.

The world was gone, her world was gone. Everything she knew escaped her grasp, and she just laid down. Nothing mattered anymore. The infinite void around her seemed to get blacker by the minute, but she didn't care. Moondancer was gone, and she now hated Twinkleshine.

When all hope was lost, when the never ending void of pure darkness was about to engulf Twinkleshine forever, a faint light was seen. The now dull coated Twinkleshine rose her head to view the light. The light seemed to be soothing despite the darkness enshrouding her. She started for it, and eventually broke out into a full gallop. The light seemed to never get closer for the longest of time, but it eventually did. She reached for the light, and was blinded.

Twinkleshine woke up with a scream that was held in her lungs. It lasted for almost thirty seconds before Moondancer woke up and jumped off her bunk bed to calm her friend down. The gray unicorn put her hooves on the ivory unicorn's shoulders. She started to lightly shake her while saying 'shhhh' in a soothing tone until she stopped screaming.

"Shhh, Twinkle, it's ok it's ok. Calm down. What happened?" Moondancer said in the sweetest of tones.

Twinkleshine panted heavily, attempting to recover from both her ear-shattering scream, and her horrible nightmare. She put a hoof to her chest and applied pressure to stop the heavy breathing. After a few long breaths, she spoke, "I...I had a nightmare."

She stared at Moondancer for a while. In the nightmare, Moondancer brutally rejected her. She was too afraid of that happening in the real world. All her stocked up emotions came out almost at once, and she wrapped her hooves around Moondancer and pulled her into a tight hug. Twinkleshine started to cry with her head rested on her friends shoulder.

Moondancer patted her friends back, "Shhh, there there. It's ok Twinkle. You don't have to worry about it anymore. You're awake, the nightmare is gone."

Twinkleshine sniffled, "M...Moondancer?"

"Yes, Twinkleshine?" Twinkleshine could tell Moondancer was very sincere and open at that moment. Moondancer only used her full name when she was in certain moods. It was mainly when Moondancer was angry, upset, or very serious.

"P..please, don't ever hate me." She said softly between sobs.

Moondancer hugged her tightly, "Why would I ever hate you?"

"The nightmare," Twinkleshine thought for a moment. She didn't want to tell Moondancer it was her that she exposed her secret to, so she thought of a cover-up, "I told you who I liked...and you hated me for it."

Moondancer broke the hug and stared straight into Twinkleshine's eyes, "Twinkleshine, listen to me. No matter what you or I do, I will never hate you. We are best friends," She put emphasis on the word 'best'.

A great wave of relief washed over Twinkleshine at that moment. She felt relaxed knowing that her best friend could never hate her. Though she still knew that Moondancer might reject her, it at least eased her tenses knowing that she won't hate her, and that they could still be friends.

Friends. They've been friends for the longest of time, but Twinkleshine wanted more. She wanted to hug Moondancer, and have it mean something rather than just a friendly gesture. She wanted to kiss her, and feel the spark that is supposed to ignite inside her soul. The thing that ignites the power of love between two ponies.

Twinkleshine pulled Moondancer in for another hug. She started to cry again, but this time they were tears of joy. "Thank you, Moondancer! You don't know how much that means to me!" Twinkleshine broke the hug, "Oh, and happy twenty-first birthday!"

"Thanks, Twinkle!" Knowing that Twinkleshine now felt better, Moondancer got up from sitting on the bed and trotted to the kitchen. She opened the fridge and grabbed a slim glass bottle. "Now I can finally crack this baby open!"

They both shared a laugh as Twinkleshine went up next to Moondancer, and grabbed the bottle from her, "Not yet, it's too early. Trust me, morning drinking will not end well!" The two unicorns laughed again.

"Oh yeah, I remember that time when you turned twenty one and that party. Then the next morning you were still drunk! Haha! Yeah..." Moondancer's voice trailed off as she remembered their crazy night.

Twinkleshine shot a death glare at her light gray friend, "I thought we agreed to not speak of that night again."

She chuckled at Twinkleshine, "C'mon, Twinkle, that was like, the best night of your life!"

"I don't see how getting drunk off your flank then jumping off the roof of the east castle is fun."

"Hey, I caught you in time!"

"Yes, I'm very grateful for that, but did you really have to dye my mane black afterwards?" Twinkleshine raised a brow.

"It was funny!" Moondancer shot back.

"Then you made me sneak into the library and rip up half of Twilight's books while she was studying! Do you know how long it took me to finally get her to forgive me, and buy her new books?!"

"She kinda needed that you know! That mare studies all day AND night! If you think about it, I did her a favor." Moondancer leaned against the kitchen counter and crossed her forelegs.

Twinkleshine gave Moondancer another death stare, "And the thing we did with the princess?"

Moondancer raised her hoof and opened her mouth to reply, but her face sunk. "Ok, maybe I went a liiiiiiiiitle far with that one."

"Little?! You made me steel the princess's CROWN! We almost got banished for that!" She paused, "You didn't even drink that night! What compelled you to do something crazy like that?" Twinkleshine noticed her tone was becoming more harsh. She didn't want to be mean to Moondancer, so she sighed and toned herself down. "Sorry for yelling." Just then, a mischievous thought crept into her mind and a wicked smile appeared on her face. "Just you wait till you drink more than you can handle. Hehe."

Moondancer gulped, "Well then, I guess now that you gave me a warning, I'll just have to watch how much I drink now, huh?"

Aww shoot! I gave it away. Twinkleshine thought, then mumbled something inaudible.

"What was that?" Moondancer asked.

"Nothing, nothing. I'm going to take a shower." Twinkleshine trotted to the closet that was outside the bathroom door and grabbed a towel, then proceeded inside the bathroom and shut the door.

<~>

About an hour later, both unicorns finished their morning routines, and went their separate ways. Moondancer headed off to the west castle to prepare her birthday party there. Twinkleshine had other things on her mind. She knew that she had to tell Moondancer her feelings today at her party, but just how exactly?

Twinkleshine trotted with her head in the clouds, her mind had left this world and drifted in to imaginationland. She pondered over how she would exactly word her confession. Should it be just casually tell her in the open? Or should she lead her to somewhere private?

Then her thoughts led her to if she should even tell her or not. Over the past few days, she had gotten over the fear of telling her how she truly felt, but the thoughts still snuck into her subconscious. She tried to battle with them, fighting back those thoughts for as long as she could, but it was of no use. Twinkleshine's self esteem fell, and her emotions almost came back out in the form of tears.

She continued to trot slowly through the gardens again to clear her troubled mind. Her head was still hung low and her eyes were focused on the ground. She couldn't pay attention to what was in front of her, and she bumped right into another pony.

Twinkleshine looked up and instantly noticed the pony she bumped into. It was a bleach white stallion with an equally white mane. The thing that stood out the most, and everypony knew him by, were his blood red eyes. It wasn't just the rim of the eye that was red, the entire pupil was blood red.

"Oh I'm sorry Professor Diem! I wasn't paying attention."

Professor Carpe Diem was one of the teachers at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. He taught students a type of magic called runecasting, where unicorns would draw runes on a surface and cast on or in them to amplify their spells without tiring the unicorn out so easily.

Professor Diem looked at Twinkleshine and smiled, "Ah, Twinkleshine, It's quite alright. I'll admit that I was lost in thought as well." He spoke kindly in his Canterlot-elite accent. "So, how have you been lately?"

Twinkleshine's tenses eased at hearing Carpe's voice. He was always her favorite teacher. Every time Twinkleshine had some sort of problem, he was the one to talk to. His cutie mark was of the famous statue 'The Thinker', implying that his special talent was philosophy.

"I've been, um, ok. Well not really. Can I ask you something Professor Diem?"

"Well of course, my dear. What seems to be on your mind?"

"Well," Twinkleshine thought of how to begin explaining her problem to Carpe. "Have you ever told somepony that you're in love with them?"

Carpe smiled, "Ah, love troubles huh? I've seen plenty of those before. Come, walk with me." The white stallion started walking through the Royal Gardens with Twinkleshine next to him. "I've never told you the story of Rose have I?"

The ivory mare shook her head.

"Well, she was the most beautiful mare I have ever laid my eyes upon. I met her about 20 years ago at this very school. We talked every now and then, and eventually became close friends. Back than, I was always nervous to ask her out. It took me about a year, but I did, and she said yes. We were together for a few years, but alas." He sighed, "One day, she moved to Trottingham for a job offer, and we slowly drifted apart."

"Oh, I'm so sorry Professor."

Carpe smiled again, "No need to worry, deary. I am very strong minded, and I can handle things easier than most ponies can. I just learned to accept it and move on with my life. But anyways, tell me, what is your love problem? Maybe I can help?"

Twinkleshine gulped, "Well you see, umm, I'm in love with one of my friends---"

"Moondancer."

Twinkleshine stopped walking and her entire face turned scarlet, "H-how did you know?!"

"I've caught you secretly staring at her before in my class. My eyes may be different, but I can still see very well." He chuckled. "So let me guess, you're afraid that if you tell her your feelings, she will reject you and your friendship will never be the same?"

"Umm, yeah that...that basically sums it up." Twinkleshine replied, still blushing.

Carpe cleared his throat, "You must learn that in life you must take risks. The world today will be drastically different if ponies in the past did not take certain risks. Most importantly, do not let your thoughts control yourself. You love Moondancer, correct?"

She nodded.

"Then that is that. Do not let your mind control what your heart desires. Get out there and tell her what you feel. If she says no, then you must move on. I know it might be hard, but you have to. I myself have learned to not care about what life does to me, I simply laugh at everything it throws at my face, and shrug it off. My mental state has greatly improved after thinking this way. One day you will look back at this day and ask yourself 'Should I have told her?' you may never know if you two would have been something."

Twinkleshine stood in awe as she allowed every wise word from Carpe sink in. After that, her mental state had greatly improved. She no longer fears loosing her best friend. She no longer fears what Moondancer will think of her. She said it herself in their room, 'No matter what you or I will do, I will never hate you.' The decision has been made; She will confess her love to Moondancer today at her party.

"Just one more question. How did you ask out Rose, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Well, being me, I sought to humor her to the lighten the mood. I said, word for word, 'Hey there Rose! So guess what? I heard of this thing called dating, and I was thinking that we should try it out! Sounds like fun right?'"

Twinkleshine couldn't help but laugh. Carpe was always a joker. She gave the stallion a quick friendly hug, "Thanks Professor Diem!" And she galloped away for her dorm room.

<~>

This was it. In only thirty minutes, Moondancer's party will start. Twinkleshine had gone back to the dorm room to retrieve the present she bought for Moondancer. She had been saving up her money from working a part-time shift at Donut Joe's doughnut shop. It wasn't that big a deal, but Moondancer had been begging for this really fancy perfume for a while now. So Twinkleshine bought it, wrapped it up, carried it on her back, and set out for Moondancer's party.

Along the ways, Minuette and Lemon Hearts accompanied Twinkleshine to the party. They also ran into Twilight Sparkle, but she had 'studying' to catch up on, and couldn't make the party. The trio made it to the west castle courtyard just in time for the party to start.

When they arrived, Twinkleshine could not believe what she was seeing. The party was huge! Everypony in the school must have been here! The entire courtyard was filled with unicorns, and even some of Moondancer's pegasi friends got invited and were now hovering above the crowd of unicorns.

The music was blaring over the roar from the ponies. Twinkleshine looked over and noticed that the famous DJ Pon-3 was the one responsible for the music. The three made their way down the hill to the courtyard, carefully maneuvering around the thick crowd. Once they made it past, the three entered the west castle building. Upon entering, they were greeted with a large pile of presents. The three decided this is where they should put their presents for Moondancer, so they did.

"Can you believe this, girls?" A familiar voice called out from behind. "When the word got out that DJ Pon-3 was playing at my party, everypony just invited themselves." She chuckled.

The three unicorns turned around and noticed Moondancer standing before them, "Oh hey there Moondancer, happy birthday!" Minuette said.

"Thanks, Colgate." She knows that her real name is 'Minuette', but everypony calls her Colgate. Even some of the professors call her by her nickname.

"Yeah! Happy birthday!" Lemon said.

"Thanks. Well what are we waiting for? Let's go out there and have some fun!"

Minuette and Lemon cheered and galloped for the door. Moondancer turned to follow, but was stopped by Twinkleshine's.

"Wait, Moondancer, I have to tell you something." Her voice was surprisingly calm, given the situation that she was putting herself into.

The light gray unicorn turned back around to face her friend, "Sure, what's up?"

Well, this is it, the real thing. This isn't the dream Twinkleshine had this morning, this was real. No more hiding, no more suppressing these feelings she has. Now is the time to confess. Twinkleshine took a deep breath, and started off slowly.

"Do you want to know who's the mare I have the crush on?"

Moondancer jumped up in excitement, "Yes! Who is it who is it!" She trotted up close to Twinkleshine, wide eyed and eager for the secret to finally be exposed.

Why? Why did the emotions all have to come back? Why, at this most crucial of moments, did all her locked up emotions break out of their cell and take the form of tears? Twinkleshine tried to hold them back, she forced her eyes shut, but they secreted through.

"It's...It's...."JUST SAY IT!

Almost one year of stocked up feelings poured out of Twinkleshine. She became weak in her knees, and nearly fell to the floor. Her vocal chords seemed to completely shut off and not want to work. NO! I will not let my mind get to me! I love Moondancer, and I WILL tell her!

"It's you, Moondancer! I'm in love with you!"

There it was, loud and proud. The words now lay dangling out in the open, looming throughout the building. What has been said, cannot be unsaid. All in all, Twinkleshine stayed strong. She didn't cringe in fear, or cower beneath something. She stood there, stared Moondancer right in the eye, and expected an answer.

There were no words though, instead, Moondancer lunged at her friend and pulled her into a bone crushing hug. "Oh Twinkle, I know, I knew all along! I'm so proud that you finally got the courage to say it to me!"

Twinkleshine sat there in awe. She was completely bewildered by what her friend said. It felt as if a truck full of bricks hit her, twice. Moondancer knew all along? How? When? For how long? Twinkleshine's internal war in mind had been settled, every single disrupted emotion had calmed itself down, and she was at ease.

Even though her tensions eased, she was still as confused as ever, "W...What?"

Moondancer broke the hug and looked at her. The light gray mare's eyes had tears in them as well. "I knew it was me that you are in love with. I kinda knew for a while now, I was just waiting for you to tell me yourself."

She blinked, trying to process all the words in her mind. "How? When?" She was able to force out.

Moondancer smirked at her, "What? You don't think I've never caught you staring at my flank?" That made Twinkleshine blush, "Or you never thought I noticed you blush whenever you're around me? C'mon Twinkle," Moondancer ruffled up her friends mane. "And also, yesterday morning, when you were kissing your pillow. I kind of heard you say my name in your sleep...hehe."

Another wave of scarlet washed onto Twinkleshine's face. "And also," Moondancer continued, "You got to stop blushing all the time! It's cute and all, but If we're gonna be dating, you gotta stop!" She said, jokingly.

Twinkleshine's eyes widened to the size of bowling balls, "Did you just...say...?"

Moondancer smiled and nuzzled her new marefriend, "Yes, Twinkleshine, I will go out with you, on one condition." Moondancer threw on a wicked grin.

Twinkleshine gulped, "What's that?"

Her smile grew wider, "Teach me how to multitask like a boss!"

The two mares shared a laugh. It wasn't a normal, friendly laugh. To Twinkleshine, it was more than that. This was a whole new chapter in the story of her life. She couldn't be happier, she had Moondancer as her marefriend, her life was complete. The two lovebirds walked out of the west castle side by side to enjoy the rest of the party.

This is not the end. Not all love stories are sunshine and rainbows, and Twinkleshine will soon find this out. There will always be conflict, there will always be interference. Somewhere along the way, there's always that one point where something really bad happens by mistake and the couple have a huge argument and break up. Then they realize they can't go on without each other and makeup the next day.

Life is full of these things, challenges every new couple will have to face eventually. There could even be somewhere along the lines a third member that will interfere with the two. It happens in every love story.

But for now, enjoy the tale.

Sequel

This is just a link to the sequel for those of you that haven't read the second one, if any. I know I should have put this up a couple weeks ago buuut....whatever...

MoonShine 2