It was a cold, frosty winter's night. The sky was absolutely clear, stretching on in an eternal, inky darkness, pinpricked with tiny, white-gold sparkles and dominated by the pearly luminescence of the great moon. The perfectly dark void closed over the whole of Equestria, and beyond, casting its spell of frigid breath which sprinkled the ground with icy powder that would crackle on the dawn, and froze every pond and stream with a thin layer of blurry ice, smoky with trapped bubbles and flotsam.
A chill breeze blew across the still, silent town of Ponyville, sending eddies of frosty grit scudding across the deserted tracks and roads. Coils of smoke from near-every house drifted into the dark sky, wafted away into oblivion by the frigid breeze, filling the cold air with the warm smells of wood smoke and coal. The lights were off all across town as all slept, tucked away in their cosy beds, or wrapped in a blanket and dozing lazily in front of a fireplace. The streets were desolate, save for one pony. That pony had been snuggled up contentedly beside a lovely warm wood burner with two of her closest friends, and then she had been more stupid than a pony could possibly be and had run away into the night to hide her disgrace.
Starlight Glimmer sat on the freezing steps of an unknown shop in the vague middle of town. Her breath rose in plumes of mist from her muzzle as she trembled from both bitter chill, dreadful fear and the adrenaline which coursed through her veins from her chaotic sprint as far away from Twilight Sparkle as she could go before she had slipped on an errant patch of black ice and hurt herself. Her purple mane with its vibrant streak of minty-green fell carelessly over her face from her mad dash, and it helped her hide the tears which threatened to fall from her glittering, watery eyes.
She was Starlight Glimmer- she had enslaved a whole village with nothing more than her own charisma and cunning manipulation; she had learned ancient time-magic, banned in every institute in Equestria, and effectively destroyed the world several times over; and she had helped save the Crystal Empire by fixing their legendary artefact, the Crystal Heart. She was not going to cry over how Twilight definitely hated her now.
She clutched a thin, pale-violet coloured book, bound with a lavender band tightly to her chest. It followed her shuddering, breathless rhythm as her chest heaved with stuttered breaths. She was not crying, it was the cold; it hurt her throat, and stung her eyes, making them water. The book had Twilight's Cutie-mark embossed on the front in worn-matt silver and brass, and one of her own purple feathers was wedged in the binding as a quill. It was her private diary, after all. And it was locked, not only by the small padlock, but by strange and unknown enchantments rendering it useless to all but her. Starlight knew it would be locked to her, and yet, she had stolen it anyway.
A few hours ago Starlight, Twilight and Spike had all been warmly laid under a big blanket by the fire, mugs of hot chocolate and cream in one hoof and various works of literature, as recommended by the resident librarian-come-princess, in the other. And then she had fallen asleep, the little warm dragon leaning against her side and the blanket drawn up to her ears. At some point, Twilight had taken Spike to bed, and now lay side-by-side with Starlight, covering her with a luxurious wing as she wrote in her little diary. Their bodies had been touching, soothingly warm and velvety-soft. Twilight had pecked her on the forehead and whispered her a good night, then they had begun to drift off to sleep. It was blissful...
It was, until Starlight had to go and steal that stupid book. She didn't want it, but it was something so private and special to Twilight, she had been drawn to it like a dog to a bone. The Princess had finished writing and had curled up, enveloping them both in her beautiful damask feathers, and though she felt like she was in heaven, a spike of her old self had driven her to take the opportunity. It was like an underlying instinctual command, chiselled into her mind by her old life. She had leapt up, grabbed it, and run from the castle before Twilight's sleepy moan of surprise and confusion reached her.
There was a sudden sound which tore her from her torturous reminiscence and perked her ears. Hoofsteps. She hugged the book tighter to herself, sniffing back a whimper. Probably Twilight come to get her book and tell her to get out of her town. Or maybe just throw her in the dungeons- At least then she wouldn't be able to make any more mistakes.
A slender alicorn strode around the corner with the grace of a dancer, her coat a deep midnight-blue, accented by her pale silver jewellery. Her eyes were calm, yet showed concern, and watched Starlight gently. She approached slowly, her hooves quietly tinkling on the cobbles in their gilded shoes and her ever-flowing mane swaying slightly like a star-speckled shadow. A small, motherly smile graced her lips.
"I knew I felt one who could not find rest this night. Miss Glimmer, why do you weep?"
"Princess Luna!" Starlight fell to her knees, bowing her head to the ground.
"Rise, Miss. You needn't kneel to me." Luna chuckled, shaking her head, "I require no more formality than Princess Sparkle or any other of your friends. Now, will you not tell me what ails you so?"
How would Luna react to her theft and betrayal? Probably clap her in irons and leave her on the moon or something. Her emotions were a turbulent mess of whatever she felt for Twilight and the crushing feeling she had all-but destroyed her chances with her, but fear for Luna's wrath should she have hurt Twilight overruled. "Nothing! I'm fine!"
Luna raised an eyebrow critically, "Why then, are you crying on the ground in the middle of the street on a freezing winter's night?"
Her defensive arrogance from her old self spoke for her. "I came out for a walk, that's all."
"Many think my nights are beautiful, but I did not think the stars alone were enough to move a pony to tears."
Starlight sniffed and rubbed her eyes, "It's nothing, we're fine."
"We?" Luna was met with a wall of silence and Starlight seemed intent on staring at the ground. "So be it," She sighed, then curled herself around like a cat and lay down with her mane around her like a blanket of fluid darkness, "I shall wait."
A few minutes passed before a chill wind blew through the street in a strong gust, carrying with it the hint of sleet. The quiet pitter-patter of the first few raindrops and hailstones hitting the ground filled the silence. The alicorn did not flinch, but Starlight began to shiver as her coat quickly grew damp, and in the dark of the night with the chill of the wind and weather, she truly felt the cold; made worse than the terrible cold from the north by the empty feeling in her chest- Once she had the burning heat of ferocious leadership, then that was replaced with the warmth of friendship, and now it had left her.
A snowflake of purest white fluttered down from the void of the night, swaying and flowing in the air until it alighted featherlike on her nose, provoking a small, surprised yelp and a deep shiver. The thought of the lovely, warm, comfortable castle and how much better it was than this cold street loosened her tongue.
“It’s, uh, her.” Luna nodded encouragingly, motioning her to continue. “She- We were relaxing by the fire, all warm and nice, and I must have nodded off for a moment. I came to and we were cuddled up together. And she wrote something in her diary, then she…Kissed me.” A bout of trembles wracked her shoulders.
“Why would you run, Miss Glimmer? You appear to have feelings for this pony.” Luna’s calm lilt soothed her. The alicorn lit her horn and cast an aura of warmth about them, warding off the snow and winter cold.
“I just felt so strange! There was all this sudden stickling heat in my body and my mind felt like numb static. I just got up and had to run! But I suddenly needed something of hers, so I took her diary, I think.” She admitted abashedly, giving the small book one last squeeze to her breast before showing it.
Luna snickered as she saw the familiar five-pointed star cutie-mark, “This mare who causes you so much ache, Miss, is she not young Twilight?”
“I think so. No other mare, or any pony at all, has ever made me feel so strange to be around them. Even Sunburst, back then, it was just a friendly warmth, not the stifling heat that she brings.”
“You feel nervous, tense, your mind functions poorly leading to hasty acts, and in those few quiet moments with her when she shows she cares for you, you feel complete contentment, but you don’t know how to react, correct?”
“That’s- how did you know?”
Luna rose to her hooves and approached her. She raised a silver-shod hoof and gently placed it reassuringly Starlight’s shoulder. “You are feeling love, Miss Glimmer. Love you are afraid will not be returned. I have felt it enough in my years, and it is not strange, not at all. The nerves you feel are perfectly normal, and I implore you to act upon your feelings.”
A sudden shout spit the quiet, followed by the clattering of hooves, “Starlight! Starlight! Where are you?”
They both started and looked about, as if fillies caught with hooves in the biscuit tin, then Luna broke into a smile, “It sounds as if Twilight awaits you, will you make your move?”
“B-but I don’t know if I-“ The cold metal of Luna’s hoof held her lips.
“I cannot tell you how to act, but I suggest you follow your feelings.” The alicorn took a sweeping glance around, nodding her head as she saw a faint lavender glow in the air. “Good night, and good luck, Miss Glimmer.” With only the quiet click of her hooves on the street and the rush of wind, she took wing and leapt into the night, leaving Starlight alone once more.
The clopping of hooves grew nearer. Her heart began to speed up, and her breathing quickened. An alleyway to her side beckoned to her with its welcoming shadows, but she steeled herself against her will to flee and managed to stay still. The cold swiftly swooped back in with the absence of the magic to hold it back, and her teeth began to chatter together.
“Either she forgives me and lets me go with her,” She muttered, hugging herself to try and keep some semblance of warmth in her bones, “Or I decorate her town as a nice ice statue.”
“Starlight!” Twilight was just around the corner. Starlight had the time it took for her to turn the bend to decide on her course of action, but the cold addled her brain and her thoughts failed her.
“There you are. It’s way too cold to be outside without anything on.” Twilight stood there before her, a thick, deep red scarf looped around her neck. Her wings were fanned around herself as a layer of violet fleece, with a light dusting of snowflakes dotting her mane and feathers like icing sugar. The pink light of her horn illuminated her violet coat with a gentle glow. She looked beautiful, but her eyes were laced with concern, and a worried smile tugged at her mouth.
Starlight stumbled to her hooves with a sheepish grin, holding the book out before her in her cyan aura. “I’m sorry.” She looked down as Twilight silently enveloped it in her magic, then jerked up as a jolt ran through her as their magical grasps touched with a spark.
“Are you alright?” Twilight stepped closer, ducking her head inquisitively, “Do you ne-
“Twilight.” She said suddenly, “Listen to me, please. You make me feel something, something I’m not sure I really understand.” Her cheeks reddened and the familiar stickling heat growing in her body. She shifted her hooves in discomfort, but through blundering determination, she fought on against herself, with the lingering hint of Luna’s aid.
“What are you talking about, Starlight? Did I do something wrong?” Something like fear approached flickered in her deep, dark purple eyes, and she wanted nothing more than to chase it away and replace it with the glittering warmth and enthusiasm that normally flowed from her.
“You changed me; crushed my horrible past and redeemed me, and then treated me like it was a simple argument amongst friends, not like I had a whole village in my thrall and when you saved them, I nearly destroyed Equestria in my attempts to hurt you. And now you’ve treated me so well, so much better than I deserve.” A single glistening tear traced its way down her cheek, leaving a sparkling trail in her light pink fur. Her eyes glinted with more volumes of tears on the brink of being shed, despite her wish to stay strong. The alicorn before looked so perfect, so lovely, that she could contain herself no longer. She looked deep into the princess’ eyes and with her voice little more than a tentative whisper, said: “Twilight, I think I love you.”
Twilight did not respond for a moment, before drawing back a bit and standing to her full height, “Are you being serious?”
Starlight cowed and almost whimpered at her words. Was she going to have it all thrown back in her face now? Her every effort, every tense moment, every feeling for the mare, all to be so bluntly rejected? And yet, she did not seem to be mocking her, at least, her face was contorted into a confused emotion of interest mixed with concern, with a defensive façade ready to pop up any moment should this confession turn out to be a hoax. She appeared to be waiting for an answer.
The conflicting emotions raged within Starlight’s head for a while, throwing hope and disappointment, and ridicule and bliss back and forth. She felt sick, her belly had begun to ache with a mix of nerves and her mental beating. She hardly dared to meet Twilight’s gaze, fearing it and longing for it in a mess of feeling. Then their eyes met as they roved past each other, both fighting internally over things they did not fully understand, and the deafening roar of maddening thoughts vanished in an instant. Suddenly, everything was quiet and calm.
She darted forwards, wrapping her forelegs around Twilight’s slightly taller shoulders with a lunge, stared into her eyes, admiring the absolutely stunned expression, then shut her own, leaned forward, and planted a tender kiss on her lips.
The lovely warmth that had made her so at peace only that evening prior, before it had been frozen and shattered by her conflicts and worries, now suffused her entirely, blossoming forth from the contact in waves.
A few seconds passed, and though Starlight would have stayed there for as long as she could stand, she felt a gentle patting on her barrel from Twilight’s wing asking her to withdraw somewhat. A tinge of ice sneaked into the warming feeling as she appeared to hesitate. And then she spoke in a hushed, almost-dreamlike tone, gazing into her eyes, “I guess you meant it.” She paused, licked her lips, then continued, “I don’t think we could be friends, Starlight-“ Fangs of frigid, all-consuming fear seemed primed to gnaw at her throat, “-We’ve been through too much together, and, bar the few bad things you have done, I see too much of myself from when I had just moved to Ponyville in you. I feel we have a deeper connection, something that ties us close in a way I don’t think my other friends, however much I love them, could ever really understand.” The fangs receded- still sharp and threatening, but slightly less perilously close.
Twilight looked away and chuckled to herself nervously, “I’m sorry. I may be clever and well-read, and I may have learned a lot about communicating my thoughts properly with others since I’ve moved here, but…” She sighed, trailing off, “I’m no good with things like this.”
Starlight allowed herself a small smile. She moved in slowly, watching Twilight’s reaction carefully. She did not resist in the slightest as their muzzles drew within the reach of each other’s warm breath. In fact, she seemed to welcome it. Then it all faded away as her eyes closed and their lips met once more. The gentle caress of the alicorn’s feathers met her back and encircled her in luxurious silk as they pressed against each other, rising off their front hooves and relying solely on the their bodies' contact to stand upright.
For her, the world could have frozen over or burned away, and she would hardly have noticed or cared as she finally felt herself become part of something more.
Their forelegs pulled them together, more and more, pushing their chests against each other as the kiss turned from a dainty expression and question of love, becoming more passionate as time passed. Every tension that had grown up before, melted away in the tender yet firm grasp. Starlight finally felt complete once more, in a way she hadn’t felt for as long as she could remember- she felt loved, not admired, or followed through force or fear, but genuinely and willingly loved.
Eventually, they had to part, more for air than of want to actually separate, and they stood back down, panting slightly.
“Twilight, will you be my sp-
She was silenced by a mouthful of lavender feathers. A wing wrapped around her barrel and pulled her alongside the alicorn. Twilight’s crimson scarf wound around her neck, held by a purple aura.
“Why don’t we go back to the castle? It’s a little too cold out here for me.” She flashed Starlight a cheeky grin, “Oh, and-“ She pecked her on the cheek, “-Yes, I will be your special somepony, as if we hadn’t already decided that.”
A freak gust of chill air blew a strand of purple mane across her face, and an eerie whisper barely more than the wind itself caught her ear, “You had nothing to fear, Miss Glimmer, nothing at all.” She turned to look at the mare beside her, but it hadn’t sounded much like her. Then a flitting shadow drew her eye- far above, silhouetted against the moon, a slender figure hovered with lazily-flapping wings of majestic darkness. Starlight nodded to the figure, offering her total thanks and appreciation in the simple gesture, and it seemed to duck its head back at her affirmatively, before gliding off into the night.
A silly smile gripped Starlight’s jaw and refused to leave as she looked back to Twilight. She did not speak, her mind wasn’t functioning properly, she just smiled and snuggled up against her marefriend’s side, letting herself hum happily as their coats brushed together on every step, sending lovely soothing sensations though her as they slowly wandered home.
Author's Note
Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! This was my first attempt at an actual romance-centered fic, so please let me know if I did anything particularly well or poorly. And please point out any silly errors I might have made. I read through and didn't notice much, but that's only one pair of eyes.
I think Starlight is now competing for the position of best pony.
