Building a Different Fence

Chapters

Prelude: Ending the Party/Sharing Her Feelings
First Date
Friendly Discussions
Second Date
Sunday Discussions
Seeking Advice
Moondancer's Preparations
Saturday Preparations
The Big Night

Prelude: Ending the Party/Sharing Her Feelings

Author's Note

Most of this chapter will be done in a back and forth dialogue.

Prelude: Ending the Party/Sharing Her Feelings

Amending Fences, the end of the party

After what started out as a rocky party full of uncertainty and negative emotions from Moondancer, things eventually calmed down and became more like a normal party. Naturally there was cake, music, punch and decorations like there were at any other party. Just like all parties though, it wouldn't last forever.

Darkness had arrived in Canterlot and Twilight realized that she had best get going. She turned to Moondancer and said, "I think it is time for us to go Moondancer."

Moondancer replied, "Thank you for helping me make some new friends. Even if they are my old friends."

Twilight was happy that everything had turned out the way she had planned. She said, "Don't worry, we'll come back and visit soon.

Moondancer was very happy that Twilight would be returning but then remembered one thing as she reminded, "That would be great! You've still gotta teach me that Hayscartes technique!"

Twilight replied, "Deal."

Right before they headed out to leave Spike remembered that he had yet to give Moondancer what he had for her. He said, "Um, Moon Dancer? It got kinda banged up, but here's a little something I wanted to give you back at your first party."

It was a picture from a gathering at the sweets' shop from long ago. In it were her, Minuette, Lyra, Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts clearly enjoying themselves while Twilight, always the studious one, had her face buried in a book and naturally Moondancer loved it.

Twilight felt like she had accomplished what she came up to Canterlot for. She had made amends with her old friends and as an added bonus, she was able to get Moondancer to reconcile with her old friends. She, Spike and Pinkie were headed to the train station when they heard, "Twilight, wait!"

Twilight turned around to see Moondancer rushing towards her. Once she got to her she asked, "Twilight, can I talk to you alone?"

Twilight looked at her companions and signaled for them to give them their privacy. Twilight replied, "Yeah, what do you want to talk about?"

Moondancer was quiet for a brief moment before beginning, "As you know back when we were in school together you and I were always close and I'm going to admit, I admired you a lot because of your hard work."

Twilight replied, "Uh, thanks."

Moondancer continued, "As time went by, that admiration grew more and more until I developed special feelings for you, feelings of love."

Twilight stood there with a look of shock on her face, completely unsure how to reply to this. She finally replied, 'Uh, ok."

Moondancer continued, "And I remember how scared I was to tell you, I was so afraid you'd reject me. It was finally when Minuette, Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine convinced me to throw that party that I planned on telling you...." she began to become very sad, "and when you didn't show up I was devastated." She began to sob quietly, "I even read book after book on how to reveal your crush to your best friend! I wanted to make sure I was ready but...." her sobbing became louder as she continued, "you didn't show up! Like I said earlier today, I felt like I wasn't important."

Like she was earlier, Twilight wasn't exactly how to respond to this without making things worse. After a moment of thought Twilight replied, "Again I'm sorry Moondancer."

Moondancer continued, "And even after that, even after you hurt my feelings, my feelings of adoration and my crush endured. I quit going out with my friends and studied more because while I knew it probably wouldn't happen, I thought if you ever came back, that I might be important to you."

Twilight put her hoof on Moondancer's shoulder and replied, "Moondancer, of course you're important to me, you've always been important to me."

While Moondancer had let it be known earlier in the day that she felt like she wasn't important and she was upset with Twilight, she knew she had to remain calm if she was to talk about what she wanted to. She looked Twilight right in the eyes and said, "I'm sorry for being so rude and unpleasant over the past three days. I'm sorry for yelling at you and continuing to try and avoid you."

Twilight replied, "It's alright, I understand you were angry with me and you had every right to be. I would feel the same way if the roles were reversed."

After hearing this, Moondancer wondered if maybe the time to share her feelings had arrived. She continued, "Twilight, despite me being rude since you've been up here, I want to tell you something."

Twilight had a feeling as to what it was going to be but decided to let Moondancer say it herself. She asked, "What is it?"

Moondancer replied, "Twilight, even after all this time....." she began to have some doubts as to how Twilight would react but she had come way too far to simply stop here "I still have a crush on you. I still admire and adore you."

Twilight was shocked hearing this coming from the same pony who had been less than friendly for the past three days. She replied, "Uh, ok. I don't know what to say."

As she was moving closer to asking Twilight what she thought of as the "big question" she began to stutter, "Twi-Twilight, I kn-know that we just rekindled our friendship but I'm wondering if you'd ev-ever be interested in more?"

While Twilight pretty much knew that Moondancer still adored her and probably had a crush on her, this was something that she did not expect. She stood there in a state of shock for nearly a minute until she replied, "Moondancer, we just rekindled our friendship, we have a lot to learn about one another because I know we've both changed."

Her response did sadden Moondancer a bit but this was something that she wanted too badly to simply give up on. She asked, "Twilight, what would you think about us spending some time together so we could get to know one another again?"

Twilight replied, "Well we could spend time together I suppose. I can't guarantee you that it will lead to what you want but yeah, we can spend some time together."

Moondancer was a bit disheartened by what Twilight said but she was not going to let that crush her hopes. She asked, "So when would you want to get together?"

Twilight replied, "Well I suppose we could do something next Saturday afternoon."

The fact that Twilight would give her a time when she would be available made her happy. Moondancer suggested, "Well I could always take you out to Donut Joe's at three."

Twilight stood there for a moment in deep thought before replying, "Yeah, that would work. So would you want to meet me there or what?"

Moondancer said, "Yeah, that would work."

Twilight looked off in the direction of the train station and replied, "Well Moondancer, I hope you enjoyed your party but Spike, Pinkie and I really must get going."

Moondancer asked, "But you'll be up here for donuts on Saturday?"

Twilight knew that Moondancer would likely be paranoid over this so she replied, "Yes, I'll see you on Saturday."

The two gave one another a light embrace before parting ways. For Twilight, this seemed like an odd situation as she had never had any romantic feelings for anypony and hoped that Moondancer wouldn't be too disappointed if nothing happened. For Moondancer, while she knew that nothing was guaranteed, this was a truly wonderful night. Not only had she rekindled old friendships, she also had a chance, albeit small, to win Twilight's heart.

First Date

Author's Note

Twilight and Moondancer's date will be done mostly in a back and forth dialogue.

First Date

Preparing for Her Date

Several days had passed and it was the day before her date with Twilight. She was in the library searching frantically for various books on the subject of dating as she had never been on a date before. Other ponies in the library were looking at her with looks of disapproval as she was quietly saying the names of the books she was grabbing. While she would normally just stay in the library and study, this time she decided to check the books out and go home to study this subject.

When she got home she said to herself, "Ok Moondancer, you can do this. If you study the right things and have confidence, everything will go alright with Twilight tomorrow."

The first thing that she wondered was what a pony is supposed to wear on a first date. She was reading and sighed, "Alright, it says for a first date you aren't supposed to dress any differently than you normally would. Got it."

She then moved on to another book, one about proper etiquette for dating. At first she couldn't help but read about what to do during further dates down the road when she said to herself, "Come on Moondancer, you act like you normally would! You don't start pulling out chairs and holding doors open until further down the road!"

She then moved on to about who would pay and again she wound up skipping over what should be done on a first date and said to herself, "Ok, it says here that the one who invited the other on the date should.....oh, once again I'm skipping ahead. For the first date you either discuss it with your date or you pay separately!"

After what was likely much longer studying this than what was likely necessary, Moondancer finally put the books down and decided to call it a night. As she laid there in bed trying to get to sleep there was only one thing on her mind, Twilight. Despite Twilight not guaranteeing that anything would happen, she couldn't help but imagine what that first kiss would be like.

Moondancer's First Date

Saturday afternoon arrived and Moondancer was nervous, very nervous. She stared at her reflection in the mirror as she continued to make sure her mane and tail were perfect. She cast a closer gaze at her reflection and asked, "Do I leave it up like I always do or do I wear it like I did a long time ago?" She then remembered how the book she read stated that one should not change their looks any on the first date so she kept it up.

She looked at the clock and it was a quarter till three so she knew that she had better get going. She was no fan of tardiness and knew that Twilight wasn't either. As she walked to the donut shop she walked with something that nopony had seen in ages, confidence. She walked with her head up knowing that she at least had a chance of winning Twilight's heart.

It was five minutes before three when she arrived and just as she was arriving, so was Twilight. The first thing she couldn't help but notice was that Spike was not accompanying her and to her that was a good thing. The first one to say anything was Moondancer, "Hi Twilight, I'm so glad you could make it!"

Twilight gave her a smile, "Well you know I'd be here Moondancer. You know I hate tardiness just as much as you do."

Moondancer gave her a smile and as they headed to the counter Twilight asked, "So Moondancer, who is paying?"

Moondancer replied, "Well with this being our first get-together, I was thinking that I could pay for mine and you could pay for yours."

Twilight couldn't help but snicker, "You've been reading books on dating etiquette, haven't you?"

Moondancer got a sheepish grin and replied, "Uhm, maybe!"

In the eyes of Twilight this was proof that Moondancer was not wanting to rush things, that she wanted to genuinely take the time to know her more rather than immediately deciding that they were destined to be together.

After they got their food and got sat down, there was an awkward silence for about thirty seconds until Moondancer began the conversation, "So Twilight, what have you been up to? How has princess life been treating you?"

Twilight replied, "Well nothing special recently. After everything that happened right before we rekindled our friendship, the lack of activities has been nice."

Moondancer commented, "I can imagine. That summit you helped organize must have been rather stressful on you."

Twilight replied, "It was. I had to go three straight days without any rest and then when I was able to get some rest, Spike decided to make decisions for me and things didn't go so well."

Moondancer couldn't help but chuckle, "The water main breaking?"

Twilight replied, "Not just that. Pretty much everything from special privileges to who got what, he made the decisions for me. Yeah in the end everything turned out fine but still, it was frustrating."

Moondancer had noticed that Twilight had said everything when she began discussing what happened before they rekindled their friendship. She asked, "I noticed you said everything, did anything else stressful happen."

Twilight sighed, "Unfortunately yes. Princess Celestia decided that we should try to befriend the yaks and I tell you, those yaks are impossible to make happy!"

Moondancer had done some reading about yaks that was in books from the last time their borders were open and had a feeling as to what she was talking about. She asked, "I take it if something wasn't perfect they got mad?"

Twilight replied, "Yes! It seemed like no matter what we tried, it wasn't perfect and they'd go destroying everything!" Twilight raised her voice and continued, "And their grammar was horrible! They were always saying things like, 'me honored,' 'not perfect, yaks destroy!'"

Again Moondancer couldn't help but chuckle, "Ugh, that would drive me up the wall! I'm betting there are kindergartners with a better grasp of the English language than that."

Twilight gave her a smile, "It did drive me crazy and even worse, my friends simply went with the flow when I wanted to haul them into my castle and give them a lecture on proper language usage." She paused for a moment and continued, "You know, I honestly don't get how my friends could handle it. At least you have a good appreciation of proper grammar."

For Moondancer this was a good sign, it was Twilight acknowledging that she was still somewhat like her. She was getting ready to reply when Twilight continued, "So, what have you been up to lately?"

Moondancer replied, "Well I've been spending a lot of time with my friends and of course studying."

Twilight asked, "I know you study a lot and at one time you were in Celestia's school. Do you have any plans on seeing if you could get back in?"

Moondancer replied, "I've thought about it but I'm really nervous about how she would react." Moondancer began to become a bit paranoid and continued, "What if she was to be upset and tell me no since I just quit showing up for classes? What if she told me that she didn't think I had what it took to be in her school again?"

In a reassuring voice Twilight said, "Moondancer, you are smart and devoted to studying. I'm sure she will let you back in and if she was to say no, just let me know and I'll vouch for you. If I vouch for you, I know she'll let you in."

Moondancer replied, "Thanks Twilight, that means a lot to me."

They had long finished their donuts and Twilight looked up at the clock and realized that she had been gone for a bit longer than she had planned. She said, "Well Moondancer, it has been really nice getting together with you. I'm glad we could just talk."

Moondancer had a bit of a sad look on her face as she replied, "It was good to get together with you too."

With the way Twilight was wording things, she thought that this was likely Twilight's way of saying that she was not interested in anything further until Twilight suggested, "So Moondancer, what would you think of getting together again next weekend?"

Moondancer's ears shot up when she heard this. She asked, "Really, you want to get together next weekend?"

Twilight gave her a smile and replied, "Of course!" She paused for a moment before suggesting, "I was thinking maybe we could meet up at the cafe down in Ponyville on Saturday afternoon."

Moondancer asked, "Would the same time be ok?"

Twilight replied, "Of course it would!" The two got up to head for the exit and Twilight got ready to fly home. Right before she took off she gave Moondancer a smile and continued, "Today has been nice, see you next weekend?"

Moondancer replied, "I wouldn't miss it for the world!"

Twilight gave her one more smile before taking off. Moondancer was really hoping that Twilight would have given her a hug but knew that things probably wouldn't move along that fast. Like it was when she headed to the donut shop, she walked home with her held high and a smile on her face which drew attention from other ponies in town since most of them had never seen her with a smile on her face.

When she got home she closed the door, began to jump up and down and squealed, "She wants another date! She wants another date! Oh I'm so happy!" She calmed down and glanced over at the books she had checked out and continued, "Well Moondancer, now it is time to read about what to do on a second date!"

Friendly Discussions

Meeting at Donut Joe's

After a night of pleasant dreams for Moondancer, Sunday had arrived and like she had since she made amends with them, she headed to Donut Joe's to talk with her friends. Her friends knew that she had a get-together with Twilight the previous day. When she walked in she had a huge smile on her face and this brought out some comments from her friends.

Minuette was the first to ask anything, "So Moondancer, how did your get-together with Twilight go?"

Moondancer replied, "Well it went good, I suppose."

The last part of her reply brought out some concern from her friends, especially Twinkleshine who had been on a couple of dates before. She had a concerned look on her face and asked, "Did things not go as well as you hoped?"

Lemon Hearts added, "You were smiling when you came in so it couldn't have gone completely bad."

Moondancer replied, "I'll admit, I was kind of hoping that she would hug me before she left" her voice became much more positive as she continued, "but she does want us to have another date!"

Minuette couldn't help but ask, "Did she really call it a date?"

Moondancer replied, "Well no but she does want us to go to the cafe in Ponyville."

Their heads shot up upon hearing this. Lemon Hearts asked, "She wants you two to go to the cafe? She wants to do something more elegant than the donut shop?"

Minuette teased, "Oooh, maybe Twilight's developing a crush on you!"

This was something that Moondancer truly wished was true but did not want to jinx things. She replied, "I wish but maybe she wants to go there so that we won't be around her friends since they go to the sweets' shop a lot."

Lemon Hearts commented, "Perhaps but now for the big question." She gave Moondancer a more direct look and continued, "Who is going to pay?"

Moondancer replied, "I'm not sure. I've checked out numerous books on dating but I haven't read about second dates yet."

Twinkleshine replied, "Well I would say that you two should discuss it. That is what Citrus Blush did when we were dating."

Minuette asked, "Wasn't that the last date you two had? Wasn't she upset that you didn't offer to pay for the whole meal and decided you weren't wanting anything serious?"

Twinkleshine replied, "Yes it was but Twilight is not like Citrus Blush. I think she would appreciate discussing things like that."

Moondancer commented, "I agree. Twilight is a completely different pony than her but I also can't help but wonder about my appearance. Do I dress like I did yesterday and wear my mane the same or do I change it?"

Lemon Hearts replied, "Personally I would still dress the same and not change your mane style, well yet anyway."

Minuette added, "After all, you don't want Twilight thinking that you are trying to rush things."

Moondancer replied, "True. I'll take what you three have said into consideration and also do some studying on what you're supposed to do on a second date."

The three began to laugh which brought out a negative reaction from Moondancer, "Why are you laughing? You know I like to study and I think it will help."

Minuette replied, "Moondancer, we're laughing because chances are Twilight is having the same concerns you are!"

Lemon Hearts added, "And I'm sure that is one thing that will really bring you two together, your love of studying."

Moondancer sighed, "I certainly hope so."

A Meeting with Rarity

Sunday morning arrived in Ponyville and Twilight was a bit tired as she did not get much sleep the previous night. Spike noticed this and asked, "Twilight, what's wrong?"

Twilight replied, "Nothing is wrong Spike, I just couldn't sleep very well last night."

Spike had been awake some during the night and heard Twilight talking in her sleep. He asked, "Are you sure about that? I heard you talking about the cafe and Moondancer in your sleep. Do you have a date with her there sometime?"

Twilight became a bit defensive, "It's not a date, it's just a casual get together!"

Spike couldn't help but laugh a bit, "Uh-huh. In your dream I heard you talking about a date with Moondancer." His voice became more concerned as he continued, "Is there something you want to talk about Twilight? Is something going on with Moondancer that you don't want anypony to know about?"

Twilight was beginning to get a bit flustered and knew that she needed to discuss this with somepony. While she knew that Spike would listen and give her the best advice he could, she knew that this was something that another mare would know more about. She replied, "I wouldn't say I don't want anypony to know about it but I'm confused on what to do. I'm thinking Rarity would be able to give me some good advice since she's dated before."

Spike's head shot up at the prospect of going to see Rarity. He asked, "Really, we're going to see Rarity?"

Twilight replied, "No, I'm going to see Rarity." She saw his head drop and continued, "I'm sorry Spike but this is something that would be best left just between her and I."

Spike sighed, "Ok Twilight, I understand."

Despite not having had any breakfast, Twilight immediately left the castle to go and talk to her. When she arrived at Rarity's she began pounding on the door louder than normal. After a couple of minutes and no answer, she began to leave thinking that maybe she had left to go see the rest of their friends early. As she turned around to leave she heard the door open and Rarity ask who was there.

Twilight immediately turned around and asked, "Rarity, can we talk?"

Rarity was still in her pajamas and her mane and tail were not as well kept as she would like them to be around other ponies but she replied, "Yeah, just let me get presentable."

Twilight followed Rarity in and waited for her to get presentable. Once she got back into the living room she asked, "So Twilight, what do you want to talk about?"

Twilight replied, "Well it is a rather odd situation for me. Yesterday Moondancer and I had a date, I mean get together in Canterlot....."

Rarity embraced Twilight and exclaimed, "Twilight darling, I didn't know you were seeing anypony!"

Twilight asked, "Do you remember when I went up to Canterlot to make amends with my old friends?"

Rarity replied, "Yes I do." She then got a smile on her face and asked, "And I take it you and Moondancer decided to give each other a chance?"

Twilight sighed, "Well she told me that she absolutely adores me and has special feelings for me and I don't know what to do. I decided that I would at least meet up with her every now and then so that she wouldn't become a recluse again but after our get together yesterday I asked her if she would want to go out to the cafe here next Saturday afternoon."

Rarity's eyes grew wide and she asked, "Twilight, are you sure you're just doing this so she won't shut herself in again or are you feeling something else?"

Twilight replied, "Rarity, it is so she won't shut herself in. I don't have special feelings for her and I know I promised her another get together but I'm just worried about what will happen if things don't turn out the way she hopes."

While Twilight was clearly stating that she did not have any special feelings for Moondancer, Rarity couldn't help but wonder if she was hiding anything and she wanted to see if she could get it out of her. She asked, "Twilight, I know you promised her this date....."

Twilight interrupted, "It isn't a date, it is a get together!"

Rarity continued, "Ok, get together. I want to know something, do you feel like you have to do this or are you looking forward to it?"

Twilight replied, "Well I am having mixed emotions. One part of me feels like I have to do this but another part of me is kind of looking forward to it."

Rarity had a smile on her face as she suggested, "Twilight darling, you know I could make you a magnificent dress for this."

Twilight was not thrilled that Rarity was making a suggestion that would likely make Moondancer think that she wanted to commit to her. She snapped, "Rarity, it is only our second get together and I doubt I'll ever need to wear anything for this and if it were to go on long enough that I did, I don't think anything elegant will ever be necessary."

Rarity continued to smile as she replied, "Well you know if you do wind up needing something I'll be more than happy to make it for you!"

Twilight threw her hooves up in the air and headed for the exit without even saying goodbye. As she headed home she grunted, "Ugh, why does Rarity think that something is going to happen? Maybe I should have just talked to Spike."

Second Date

Getting Ready

The following Saturday had arrived and Moondancer was up bright and early, doing some last minute studying on how to prepare for a second date. She remembered how her friends said that she should just wear what she always does and wear her mane the way she always does but she couldn't help but question that advice. She decided that she would study as much as she could with the time she had before she would need to get ready and head to Ponyville.

As she was flipping through the various books she was finding plenty of information on second dates but given that most ponies don't even wear clothes there wasn't a whole lot of information on how to dress. There was however, plenty of information on mane styles. She began to focus more on the material and found something about wearing a somewhat different mane style than she did on the first date. She said to herself, "I've got it! I'll wear my mane like I used to! I'm not wearing it up like I do now."

She immediately took her mane down and brushed it so that it looked like it did years ago, before she had withdrawn from everypony. She looked at her reflection in the mirror and smiled but then realized something. That turtleneck she has always worn goes with her old mane style, she didn't wear clothes the last time she wore her mane like this. She said to herself, "Alright Moondancer, I know your friends said not to change, but I'm just going as I am! That turtleneck does not go with this mane style."

Moondancer removed her turtleneck and was happy with what she saw in the mirror. In it she saw the Moondancer from before Twilight skipped her party, the Moondancer from before all the heartache. She sighed, "Well I better get showered. I certainly don't want to smell bad!"

After showering and getting dried off, Moondancer looked up at the clock and saw it reading ten till one and knew that she had better get going. She was the type of pony who tended to be a bit paranoid about things not going quite the way it should when it comes to timeliness. Before leaving she grabbed her saddlebags in the event that she would either be the one to pay or if they would split the bill like they did last time.

Meeting at the Cafe

After what seemed to be forever for Moondancer the train finally pulled into Ponyville. When she looked at the clock at the station she was not thrilled. It was a quarter till three, she did not have long to make it to the cafe. She knew that Twilight tended to arrive at places early but also knew that if she were to gallop to the cafe, that she would work up a sweat and that would immediately be noticed by her. She worried that if Twilight saw that that she may think that she wasn't overly serious and was not taking being on time seriously.

Moondancer did walk a little faster than normal to the cafe but not fast enough that she would work up a sweat. When she arrived right by the entrance she saw Twilight off in the distance. She said to herself, "Alright, arriving on time, check!"

When Twilight approached her she gave her a smile and said, "Moondancer, you made it!"

Moondancer smiled back at her and replied, "I wouldn't miss this for the world."

Moondancer wasn't exactly sure what she should do but she used her magic to open the door for Twilight before following her in. Twilight smiled and said, "You didn't have to do that but thank you."

Moondancer replied, "You're welcome Twilight."

After the two were seated and the waiter took their drink orders Twilight noticed her change in appearance, "Moondancer, I see you're wearing your mane like you used to." She took a closer look and continued, "And I notice that you aren't wearing your turtleneck."

Moondancer replied, "Well I just thought I would go with a different look." Even though it wasn't exactly a hot day Moondancer felt like she had to make an excuse for her change. She continued, "Well it is a bit warm and I didn't want to sweat any."

Twilight gave her a smile and replied, "Well I think you look a lot better like this. The way you are wearing your mane looks more natural."

This made Moondancer a bit nervous. She thought to herself, "She gave me a compliment, what do I do next? She always looks like this so what do I say?"

Moondancer looked a little flustered and Twilight saw it. She asked, "What's wrong Moondancer?"

Moondancer replied, "Well it's just that nopony has ever complimented me on my looks before so I don't really know how to react."

Twilight commented, "Well I know how that is, I've never had anypony compliment me on my appearance either."

They continued to discuss normal things until the waiter arrived to take their order. Almost immediately Moondancer began to wonder what she should get. She began to wonder if she should order something similar to Twilight so she would think that they have something in common when it comes to food or if she should just order what she normally would.

Twilight ordered, "I would like a daffodil and daisy sandwich along with a medium cider."

Moondancer realized that she simply can't order something similar to Twilight because that would be her being fake, that along with her hating what Twilight ordered. She ordered, "I would like a hayburger, some hayfries along with a large cider."

Before he left the waiter asked, "So will this be on separate tickets or will this be on one bill?"

Moondancer realized that what she ordered cost twice as much as what Twilight did and knew that this would likely be best if they paid separately. She replied, "It will be on sep......"

Twilight interrupted, "It will be on one ticket." She turned to Moondancer and continued, "Don't worry Moondancer, I've got this."

The waiter nodded and took their order to the kitchen. Moondancer was nervous about her order being so much. She said, "Twilight, what I ordered is so much." She took some bits and went to hand them to Twilight and continued, "At least let me pay you for mine."

Twilight grabbed the bits, levitated them back into Moondancer's saddlebags and replied, "Moondancer, don't worry about it. You're my friend and like I said, this is on me."

This made Moondancer nervous because normally one pony doesn't basically refuse to let the other even help out with the meal. She began to analyze the whole situation in her head when Twilight asked, "So Moondancer, have you went to talk to Celestia about getting back into school yet?"

This question scared Moondancer because she hadn't done so yet and she knew how much Twilight valued education but she knew she couldn't lie. She nervously replied, "I haven't yet."

Twilight suggested, "Well I really think you should. If she lets you back in you could have so many more opportunities open up for you."

Moondancer replied, "I'll admit, I'm just nervous given how I just quit showing up for classes. I'm scared she might be mad that I'd even have the audacity to ask."

Twilight reached her hoof out and grabbed Moondancer's. She said, "Moondancer, like I said last week, if she says no just let me know and I'll talk to her. If I vouch for you I know she'll let you back in."

When Twilight grabbed her hoof, despite trying to fight it, Moondancer blushed a little and replied, "Alright, I'll go talk to her tomorrow about this."

Before letting go of her hoof Twilight replied, "Good, I just want what is best for you and I want to see you succeed in life."

Still blushing Moondancer said, "Thanks Twilight, I really appreciate that."

Twilight noticed Moondancer blushing when she grabbed her hoof but understood why she blushed. She knew that Moondancer had strong feelings for her and having her hoof grabbed must have made her happy. Twilight also realized that Moondancer was not trying to rush anything as she had not tried to be sappy or anything.

The two continued to discuss about how their lives were going and talked about their friends before the waiter brought the bill. Twilight looked at it and didn't give any sort of reaction, which caused Moondancer to wonder what was running through her mind. She tried to read her facial expression and tried to figure out if she was upset or not but simply couldn't tell.

The two headed to the register and Twilight paid. On the way out Moondancer said, "Thank you Twilight, I really enjoyed this."

Twilight replied, "You're welcome Moondancer, I enjoyed this too." Twilight too enjoyed her get together with Moondancer and asked, "Moondancer, what would you think about doing this again next Saturday?"

Moondancer's ears shot up as she did not expect Twilight to immediately suggest that they get together again. Moondancer replied, "I would really like that but next week I'm taking you out to the cafe in Canterlot and I'm paying!"

Twilight said, "That sounds good." She paused for a moment before continuing, "Would three be alright?"

Moondancer replied, "Sounds good to me." She then realized that it was getting late in the afternoon and figured that Twilight likely had things to do. She continued, "Well I probably better catch the train before it gets too late."

Twilight said, "Alright." She gave Moondancer a light embrace before continuing, "I look forward to seeing you next week."

Moondancer replied, "I look forward to seeing you next week as well."

The two parted ways and Twilight headed back to her castle while Moondancer headed to the train station. During her ride home she couldn't help but wonder what Twilight was feeling. She remembered that she gave her a light hug before she left Canterlot on the night of her party and the hug she just gave her was the same type of hug, a light friendly hug but in her heart she couldn't help but wonder if it wasn't more.

When she got home and closed her door she began to jump up and down and squealed, "She wants another date! She wants another date and she hugged me!"

Soon she calmed down and headed over to the books she had checked out and said to herself, "Alright Moondancer, now you need to study for what to do on a third date!"

Sunday Discussions

A Discussion With Celestia

Sunday morning arrived and the morning sun woke Moondancer up. The night before she had a very sweet dream, a dream about her and Twilight committing to one another, eventually getting married and living happily ever after. She couldn't help but smile as she pulled herself out of bed and said to herself, "What a wonderful dream, I just hope it comes true."

As Moondancer headed into the kitchen to fix herself breakfast, some of what Twilight said yesterday was still ringing in her head. What she remembered the most though was Twilight's emphasis on her seeing if Celestia would let her back into her school. Thinking about this made her nervous, very nervous. It made her so nervous that she was unable to even eat breakfast. She did know though that if she was to have any chance of winning Twilight's heart, that she would have to do this.

While she was waiting until she thought that Celestia would be in the throne room and be available to speak to, something crossed her mind. She couldn't help but wonder if she should wear her mane up and wear her turtleneck or if she should go like she did when she went to see Twilight. After nearly two hours of deep thinking she finally decided that she would go as she did the day before. She said to herself, "It was when you had started putting your mane up and started wearing that turtleneck that you dropped out. Just go as you did when you were a serious student."

Two hours had passed and Moondancer finally felt that it was late enough that Celestia would be in her throne room and be available to see ponies. As she headed to the palace she had a nervous look on her face but knew that such a look would probably not look good to Celestia. She thought to herself, "Come on Moondancer, you have to go in with a look of confidence! If Celestia sees you as a nervous wreck she certainly won't think you're ready to be back in her school."

Moondancer began to be less nervous as she was walking through the city but it would return all too quickly when she arrived at the palace where she was greeted by two guards. One asked, "Halt, who goes there?"

The other added, "State your business."

Moondancer gulped, "My name is Moondancer. I used to be in Celestia's school and I really want to talk to her."

The first guard replied, "Very well, I shall lead you to the throne room."

As Moondancer followed the guard towards the throne room she couldn't help but remember the few times she was in the palace. She couldn't help but remember the time when Celestia had both her and Twilight in the throne room to present them with the Princess's List award for having perfect grades. Before she knew it they had arrived in the throne room and the guard said, "Princess Celestia, this pony wishes to speak to you."

Celestia looked up and saw who it was. She had a curious look on her face and asked, "Moondancer, what are you doing here?"

Moondancer bowed and replied, "Princess Celestia, I have a question to ask you but I'm really nervous about it."

Celestia asked, "What is it that you want to ask me?"

Moondancer replied, "Well I have rekindled my friendships with Twilight, Minuette, Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts and Twilight suggested that I talk to you and see if I could get back into your school."

Celestia had an uncertain look on her face and sighed, "I don't know Moondancer. I know you were a great student but the fact that you quit showing up to class and withdrew from everypony kind of bothers me. Being part of my school involves more than just studying."

Moondancer knew what Celestia was hinting at but knew how to maybe persuade her. She replied, "Your Majesty, ever since I have rekindled my friendships I have spending a lot of time with Minuette, Twinkleshine and Lemon Hearts and even Twilight and I have begun to meet on Saturdays."

Celestia gave her a smile and mentioned, "That is true. I did hear those three talking about how glad they are to have you back and were talking about everything you have done together."

Moondancer was fairly nervous because it seemed unlikely that Celestia would let her back in but figured that she had come far enough that she may as well ask her directly. She asked, "I know I brought it up earlier but would you allow me back in your school?"

Celestia sat there quietly for a moment thinking about this. She remembered how Moondancer was such a good student until Twilight left and she withdrew from everypony, even her friends. She then began to think about how she had heard about how she had been doing a lot with her old but new friends and realized that this may work out, she realized that since she has true friends and is actively doing things with them, that she may not just quit attending classes.

Celestia gave her a smile and replied, "Moondancer, I have come to a decision. I have decided to let you back in my school but you must promise me that you will not pull what you did before. You must promise me that you won't stop showing up for classes."

Moondancer replied, "I promise that I will come to classes and I'll study hard, very hard." She then gave Celestia a curious look and asked, "So when would I resume my studies?"

Celestia replied, "Meet me here in the throne room tomorrow morning at nine and we can discuss your situation and see where you would be best to start since you will basically be a new student after your absence."

Moondancer gave her a smile and said, "Ok your Majesty, I will be here tomorrow morning. I look forward to starting school again."

Celestia replied, "I'm glad to hear that." Celestia cast her gaze towards the exit and finished, "Well I'll let you go for now because I'm sure you probably want to go and tell your friends."

Moondancer nodded and left the throne room. As she exited the palace she felt a level of confidence she had not felt in ages, even more confidence than her meetups with Twilight had provided her. She knew that her friends would likely be at the donut shop and could not wait to share with them not just one, but two bits of good news.

Meeting With Her Friends

When Moondancer arrived at the donut shop she discovered her friends were there waiting for her. The first one to say anything was Minuette, "Moondancer, you're late!"

Lemon Hearts added, "Is something wrong? You're never late."

Twinkleshine added, "We were worried you weren't coming."

Moondancer replied, "I'm sorry ladies but I had some business to take care of at the palace."

The three wondered why Moondancer would be at the palace since she had not been in Celestia's school in ages. Minuette asked, "So what kind of business did you have over there?"

Moondancer replied, "Well Twilight had been telling me I should ask Celestia if I could get back in her school so I finally got up the guts, went over there and spoke to Celestia about it."

The three got very curious looks on their faces as they had never expected their friend to do this. Lemon Hearts asked, "So what did she say?"

Moondancer replied, "She said yes! I'm resuming my courses tomorrow morning!"

Her friends embraced her and Twinkleshine said, "We're so proud of you Moondancer, you have no idea how many opportunities you will have again!"

Moondancer replied, "I know. That is what Twilight told me yesterday when I went to see her. She said that if I could get back in school I'd have a lot more opportunities."

Twinkleshine gave her a smile and asked, "Speaking of Twilight and yesterday, how did your date, I mean get-together go?"

Moondancer blushed and replied, "It went good."

Her friends got huge smiles on their faces and Minuette asked, "Oooh, is our friend off the market now?"

Moondancer replied, "Not yet but she did take me out to the cafe down there and she insisted that she pay the bill. She wouldn't even let me pay her for anything."

The three nodded and Moondancer continued, "And when we got to talking about me going back to Celestia's school, she reached her hooves out and held mine." Her voice became more dreamy as she continued, "And feeling my hooves in hers felt so wonderful. I never imagined that Twilight would hold my hooves" her voice returned to normal as she continued, "even if it was just for discussing me going back to school."

Twinkleshine gave her a huge smile and commented, "That must have been a dream come true for you, for Twilight to be holding your hooves."

Moondancer replied, "Well sort of but I know I can't get ahead of myself. This was only our second date but I do have some more good news."

In unison the three asked, "Does she want a third date?"

Moondancer blushed, "Mhmm."

Her friends reached out to give her a hoof bump which Moondancer gladly returned. She then continued, "And I was reading in my books that if a situation like this where friends are going for more, that if I can make it through this third date that the chances of us becoming marefriends will be pretty high!"

Minuette commented, "Well let's hope those books of yours are right. I don't know if Twilight is feeling the same way you are but if she is, I bet she's probably studied and knows the same thing."

Moondancer replied, "She did say that we could give a chance for us to be more a shot but I'm not sure if she is feeling the same way or not but given that she was so quick to request a third date, maybe things are starting to build between us."

Lemon Hearts said, "I certainly hope so."

After they finished their donuts and parted ways, Moondancer headed home. While she couldn't get Twilight out of her mind, she knew that she would have to. The next day would be her first day of school in what seemed like forever. She thought to herself, "Ok Moondancer, getting back in school is one thing but to really impress Twilight, you're going to have to not only study hard but do just as good as she always did."

Seeking Advice

Nearly two months had passed and another Sunday morning arrived, another day after her get together with Moondancer. That morning Twilight was late to rise and this brought about some concern from Spike as she is never late to rise. Spike asked, "Twilight, are you alright? You're never late getting up!"

Twilight replied, "Yeah, I'm fine Spike. I just have some things on my mind that I really need to talk to somepony about."

Spike suggested, "Well you can talk to me about it."

Twilight replied, "Thanks for the offer but I really need to talk to a mare about this." She gave Spike an intense stare and continued, "And no you can't come with me!"

Spike sighed, "You have to talk to Rarity about Moondancer don't you?"

Twilight blushed, "I do not! I just have to Rarity about something."

Talking with Spike about this was making Twilight a bit uncomfortable so she rushed out of her castle and headed straight over to Rarity's. She knew that bothering her so early on a Sunday was likely not the best idea but she really needed some advice from her and had other things she needed to discuss.

When Twilight arrived she knocked on the door louder than normal but much to her surprise, Rarity was quick to answer and was already presentable. She said, "Twilight darling, it's so good to see you."

Twilight asked, "Do you think I could talk to you about something?"

Rarity replied, "Of course, come on in." Twilight headed in and was a bit disappointed to see that Rarity had already finished breakfast but figured that maybe they could go and get a snack after their discussion. Twilight got sat down and Rarity continued, "So Twilight, what do you want to talk about?"

Twilight replied, "Well yesterday I had another da..., I mean get together with Moondancer but it seems like each time we get together, my feelings change more and more."

Rarity got a huge smile on her face but wasn't about to say much of anything yet. She asked, "Oh, how so?"

Twilight replied, "Well at first I agreed to have these weekly get togethers solely so that she wouldn't withdraw from her other friends" Twilight began to blush as she continued, "but now it's something different. I'm really developing feelings for her."

Rarity's eyes grew wide when she heard this. When Twilight first told her about getting together every week with Moondancer deep down she thought this may happen but she never expected her to admit it. She asked, "So what are you going to do now?"

Twilight replied, "Well yesterday after our meal we agreed to have a late lunch at the cafe but now I'm thinking of something different but I'm not sure how she'll react."

Rarity asked, "So what are you thinking about instead?"

Twilight replied, "Well I'm thinking about sending her a letter telling her that I would rather we have supper in the castle instead."

Rarity got a huge smile on her face and asked, "Twilight darling, are you going to do what I think you're going to do?"

Twilight's face turned red as an apple as she replied, "I'm thinking about asking her the 'big question' but I really want everything to be perfect."

Rarity suggested, "And the first way to make this perfect is for you to have an elegant gown!"

Twilight couldn't help but smile, "That is one of the things I was going to ask you about."

Rarity raised her voice, "I told you Twilight! I told you that you'd eventually need a dress but oh no, you said that it would never come to that!"

Twilight sighed, "I know you said that but also I'm wondering what do I say in the letter I plan on sending to her? Do I simply tell her about the change to time and place or what?" She began to become a bit more panicky and continued, "Do I mention that she should wear something nice or do I hope that she will follow suit since it will be in my castle in the evening?"

Rarity put her hoof on Twilight's shoulder and replied, "Calm down Twilight. I'm not sure how her mind works but I'm sure she will know to dress nice."

Twilight became more frantic, "But Rarity, she's even more practical than me! I don't think she even owns any dresses much less any elegant gowns! All she owns are those turtlenecks and I don't think she even wears those anymore!"

Rarity pulled Twilight close to her and ordered, "Twilight, calm down. I know you are worried about how she is going to dress but you can't let it drive you into a panic."

After a couple of minutes of heavy breathing Twilight finally was able to calm down somewhat. Once she got her bearings straight she asked, "But Rarity, what if I'm dressed in an elegant gown and she doesn't even wear anything? I would feel horribly overdressed."

Rarity suggested, "Twilight, I know she is practical but you could always see it as whether or not she has the same feelings for you that you have for her now."

Twilight replied, "That is true but what if she doesn't have the money for an elegant gown? I can't just expect her to come wearing something that she can't even afford!"

Rarity sighed, "You do make a point." Her smile returned as she continued, "Now about that dress, what do you want it to look like?"

Twilight suggested, "Well I was thinking maybe something like I wore for the last gala but with dark pink accents that match the stripe in my mane."

Rarity replied, "Are you sure? That shade of blue would really clash with that dark pink."

Twilight asked, "Well what do you think would look better?"

Rarity replied, "Well I think something a bit darker than your coat with the dark pink accents would look better."

Twilight agreed, "Yeah you're right." She then buried her face in her hooves and continued, "Now what to say in that letter. I don't want to sound too cheesy or I don't want to basically tell her flat out about my intentions in the letter."

Rarity replied, "Like I said darling, just follow your heart and the words will come to you."

Twilight knew what Rarity said would be the best but for her, this was not going to be the easiest thing to do. For most ponies it would simply be a letter but for Twilight, this was going to be her sending a letter pretty much inviting the mare she has fallen for to her castle to ask the biggest question she had ever asked.

Moondancer's Preparations

Tuesday afternoon had arrived and Moondancer was returning home from her classes. Despite still not being used to spending all day in classes and especially being around other ponies, she was not exhausted or frustrated. She felt that what she was doing was right, not just because it would open up more opportunities but also because she believed that it would increase her chances of winning Twilight's heart exponentially.

When she got home and got her mail, her face dropped when she saw that she got a letter from Twilight. Her very first thought was that it may be a letter telling her that she didn't want to see her anymore. She headed into her house with a sick look on her face. She knew that she needed to open the letter but wasn't sure when she would be able to.

She set it on the kitchen table and sat down, staring at it. So many emotions were running through her mind. She wondered first if it was Twilight telling her that she didn't want to see her anymore, she thought it might be Twilight telling her that she felt like they were moving too fast and shouldn't see each other all that often or maybe something telling her that she didn't know what to think about things.

She sighed, "I thought things were going so well, it seemed like we were getting so close, I thought maybe she might want more." She continued to stare at the envelope for another hour until she finally realized that she can't continue to put this off so she grabbed the letter with her aura. She held it in front of her face and it read,

"Moondancer,

I know that we had originally planned on going to the cafe here in Ponyville on Saturday afternoon but I don't think that is the best plan. I would greatly appreciate it if you could come to the castle on Saturday evening at seven and we can have supper then. I look forward to seeing you then.

Sincerely,

Princess Twilight Sparkle"

Moondancer jumped up out of her chair and squealed, "She wants to see me at the castle? She wants to have an evening supper?"

She had a feeling that this was a good sign but wasn't sure exactly what she should do. She couldn't help but wonder if perhaps she would have to wear something nice rather than simply going as she normally does but she knew of one pony who might, Twinkleshine since she had dated before.

She grabbed her saddlebags and the letter and immediately headed to Twinkleshine's house. When she got there she was knocking on the door more loudly than normal and when she answered, Twinkleshine couldn't help but wonder what was going on. She asked, "Moondancer, what's going on? Why do you seem so frantic?"

Moondancer asked in return, "Can I come in?"

Twinkleshine motioned for her to head in and once they got into her living room, they sat down and Twinkleshine asked, "So Moondancer, what's going on? You seem like something is wrong?"

Moondancer replied, "Nothing is wrong but I just wanted to show you this."

Moondancer levitated the letter to Twinkleshine and as she read it, she got a huge smile on her face. She jumped off her couch and embraced her. She said, "Moondancer, this is wonderful news but you also know what this means?"

Moondancer asked, "What does it mean?"

Twinkleshine replied, "We're going to have to get you a nice dress. Whenever a pony invites you to a supper like this, something big is likely going to happen and you can't just go like you normally would."

Moondancer got a nervous look on her face and asked, "What am I going to do? I don't even own a dress and I don't have nearly enough money to buy one!"

Out of all her friends, Twinkleshine came from a wealthier family and would be able to easily get her a dress. She offered, "Moondancer, don't worry, I can get you one."

Moondancer wasn't the type of pony who liked the idea of owing anypony anything. She replied, "Twinkleshine, I really appreciate the offer but you know how I feel about being in debt. I don't want to owe you any......."

Twinkleshine put her hoof over Moondancer's mouth and interrupted, "Moondancer, think of it as a gift. I want to see you win Twilight's heart as much as anypony else does." She headed towards the door and continued, "Let's go shopping, we need to get you a nice dress for this."

Moondancer followed her out the door and the two headed to one of the local boutiques. As they headed in Moondancer couldn't help but notice the elegance of all the dresses in there. She gave Twinkleshine a nervous look and asked, "Are you sure about this? Everything looks so expensive."

Twinkleshine replied, "Moondancer, I'm your friend and like I said, I want to see you win Twilight's heart so of course it is alright."

As they began to look around Moondancer found herself drawn towards the dresses that were a bit darker in color than her coat. She thought that the way it would stand out against her coat would look good but there is one thing that she couldn't decide on, which one had the right color of accent to look good.

She called Twinkleshine over and asked, "I love the color of this but what color of accent do you think would look the best? Do you think I should go with something the color of my eyes or should I go with something that matches my mane and tail more?"

Twinkleshine was looking through the different dresses on the rack until she found one that had accents that she felt would look good. She replied, "I think this one with the purple accents would look great!"

Moondancer asked, "You mean the one with the accents that match the center stripe on my tail?"

Twinkleshine replied, "Yes, I think that would look great and I think it would really impress Twilight."

Moondancer gave her a smile until she looked down at the price tag and was not thrilled by what she saw. She saw that the price was 250 bits and simply couldn't fathom anypony paying that much for something that probably didn't cost any more than 10 bits to make. Twinkleshine saw her glare at the tag and grabbed it from her. She sighed, "Moondancer, it's no big deal! Like I've said, I got this."

Moondancer replied, "Thank you so much Twinkleshine, you have no idea how much I appreciate this!"

Twinkleshine gave her a light embrace and said, "You don't need to thank me."

The two headed towards the register and paid for the dress. Once they got outside Moondancer suggested, "Hey, what would you think about coming over for supper? It is the least I can do for you for this."

Twinkleshine replied, "Of course I'll come over."

Moondancer nodded and the two headed towards her house. While she was very happy that Twinkleshine had bought her a very elegant dress for her get together with Twilight she still couldn't help but wonder, "What if Twilight doesn't like how I look in it? What if she thinks it clashes against my coat?"

Once the two got to her house and sat down to eat, her fears about Twilight's reaction to her dress subsided for the most part but still, there was one small part of her that worried. As her and Twinkleshine discussed the issue, Twinkleshine was able to get her to realize that she has done everything she can and had a great dress and that she shouldn't worry herself sick over it.

Saturday Preparations

After a week that seemed to drag by for Moondancer, Saturday had finally arrived. As she woke up that morning she had both anticipation and nervousness running through her mind. While her friends had been giving her more encouragement than she had ever received in her life over the past few days, she still couldn't help but be nervous.

After having some breakfast it was still several hours before she would have to worry about getting ready and then heading out so she did what she had been doing a lot of lately, studying what to do on specific dates and what to do in specific situations. For the situation she was going into tonight, finding information on it would be much more difficult than it had been for earlier dates.

She was flipping through the pages and sighed, "Ugh, there is nothing in here at all about what to do when you are invited to supper at her place! Nothing, absolutely nothing!"

She was becoming a bit frustrated until she finally found something about the type of situation she was going into. She said to herself, "Alright, so I'm supposed to go in confident but not overly so, I'm not supposed to assume anything and keep my composure. I can do that."

Despite it seeming to take forever for her to find the information she was looking for, it was still only eleven when she was finished. Her excitement was building and she knew that she had to do something to calm herself down so she figured that a quick snack and then a nap may help calm her down.

After eating a small snack she laid down for a while but could not get to sleep. The only thing she could think about was Twilight and what might happen that night. She began playing so many scenarios in her head, both good and bad. She had scenarios of Twilight telling her she looked awful, scenarios of Twilight simply wanting to be friends and stop going for anything else and then she had a different scenario run through her mind, one that brought a smile to her face. She said to herself, "What if she was to ask me to be her marefriend tonight? What if my dreams of being hers was to come true?"

Those thoughts finally were able to get her to get to sleep for a while, longer than she liked. When she woke up she looked at her clock and it read ten till three. Despite her not having to leave for another couple hours or so, she couldn't help but be nervous. She hopped in the shower and decided to use soap that was a bit more sweet smelling, something that had a better smell than the odorless soap she usually did.

Once she got out of the shower and got herself dried off, it was still just 3:30 and she really didn't want to put her dress on that soon. She decided to do a final bit of studying about what to do in a situation if Twilight was to ask her to be her marefriend. As she read it she said to herself, "Ok, if she was to ask me to be her marefriend, she should be the one to initiate the kiss."

She continued to read forward about what to do afterwards and about what would be classified as moving too fast or moving too slow after the relationship began but unfortunately, it did not provide much of any useful information except that a couple shouldn't just go for it all immediately after committing. Moondancer couldn't help but chuckle, "Well of course not! It would be nonsense to try to be intimate that quick!"

Eventually enough time had passed that Moondancer figured she could get dressed. As she slipped into her gown she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous. She looked in the mirror and said, "Ok Moondancer, tonight could be the night. Tonight could be the night that the dream you've had for years will come true." She then became a bit nervous and continued, "Or it could be the night your heart is crushed."

She continued to stare at her reflection until the clock read a quarter after five. She looked at the clock and continued, "I better get to the train station before it leaves. The next train leaves in fifteen minutes and I can't be late."

Moondancer left her house and headed off to the train station. Many ponies couldn't help but stare as nopony else was wearing anything like that around town and among the ponies from the library that do know something about her, they never imagined she would be wearing anything like that.

The Big Night

The ride down to Ponyville seemed agonizingly long for Moondancer. Her friends had been giving her confidence and telling her that everything would go fine ever since she let Twinkleshine know about this but she still couldn't help but worry. Even during that day, she had been trying to keep her hopes up and dreaming of what could happen, the closer to Ponyville she got the more nervous she became.

When the train finally arrived in Ponyville it was 6:30. Moondancer knew that Twilight had always valued timeliness but heading over there this early may irritate her and make her think that she was desperate. She sighed, "Alright, just wait around here for a few more minutes and then head over there. I can't show up too early."

Moondancer waited around the train station until the clock read a quarter till seven and then she headed towards the castle. The whole way there she was playing the same scenarios through her head that she had earlier in the day. She had been so preoccupied with her thoughts that she almost bumped straight into the door. As she raised her hoof up to knock she said, "Well here goes nothing."

She knocked on the door and almost immediately it was answered by Twilight. Twilight gave her a smile and said, "You made it!"

Moondancer replied, "You know I wouldn't miss this for the world."

Moondancer looked at Twilight and was impressed by what she saw. She noticed that her dress was a bit darker than her coat and that it had accents the same color as the pink stripe in her tail, which was fairly similar to the style of hers. She thought to herself, "Maybe this dress is the right choice."

Twilight invited her in and looked at her dress in curiosity. She couldn't help but comment, "Wow, you and I must have had a similar mindset when it came to our dresses."

Moondancer nervously replied, "Yeah it looks that way."

Twilight ordered, "Follow me Moondancer, I don't know about you but I'm hungry."

Moondancer replied, "I haven't ate much today so I'm hungry too."

Almost immediately after saying that she scolded herself internally. She thought that by saying that that perhaps Twilight would think she was being overly nervous and would find that unappealing. When they arrived at the table, it was not in the dining hall but in the library.

Moondancer was shocked, Twilight had set up a candlelight dinner for two in the place that both of them love, the library. Moondancer gave her a smile and asked, "Wow, in the library? I didn't think you'd ever let anypony bring food in here."

Twilight gave her a smile, "Well I normally wouldn't but for tonight, I decided that I would make an exception. I want this to be as enjoyable for you as it will be for me."

Moondancer was trying to analyze everything that Twilight was saying and so far it didn't seem like anything was going to happen that would lead to them being a couple. She couldn't help but wonder though that if that were the case, why would Twilight wear a gown and why would she set a table up for them in the library.

Moondancer soon stopped trying to analyze every little detail and asked, "So, what's for supper tonight?"

Twilight replied, "Oh you'll see but I have a feeling that you'll like it." She looked towards the exit and continued, "Speaking of supper, it should be just about ready."

One part of Moondancer wasn't overly thrilled that Twilight simply didn't have her castle chef come and take their order so she could have what she wanted but given that Twilight said she would like it, Moondancer figured that it wouldn't be some nasty daffodil and daisy sandwich.

Five minutes later Twilight returned to the library levitating a tray with two plates on it and a pitcher of cider. When Twilight sat Moondancer's plate in front of her she was shocked. On it was a hay steak along with some hay fries. Moondancer gave her a smile and said, "Thank you Twilight, this looks delicious!"

Twilight replied, "You're welcome. I know you tend to like heavier meals so I knew fixing you a sandwich wouldn't suffice."

Moondancer asked, "Wait a minute, you fixed this yourself? You didn't have the chef fix it?"

Twilight replied, "No, I didn't. I figured that our meal would have a lot more meaning and be more special if I made it myself."

Moondancer was in a state of shock yet on the inside it was a state of elation. Perhaps something special was going to happen that night because Twilight, a princess, fixed the meal herself when she has staff that could have done it for her. She wasn't sure what to do next, did she immediately dive in? Did she wait for Twilight to start eating hers first before starting in on hers?

Twilight got sat down and began to eat her sandwich so that was the signal to Moondancer that she could begin to eat. Twilight felt a bit nervous by the initial silence once they started eating so she started a conversation, "Moondancer, I know you've been back in school for a while. How is that going?"

Moondancer replied, "It's going great. I'm doing so well that Princess Celestia has said that I could very well make the Princess's List for this semester."

Twilight commented, "Wow, you're going to be right back where you were before too long."

Moondancer replied, "That's what she said. She said that when the next semester begins, I'll likely be able to take courses at the same level that I was in when everything went down hill."

Twilight got a nervous look on her face because she knew what moment Moondancer was talking about. She knew that she really meant that when she left and hurt her but was being kind and not being direct about it. Twilight wanted to know more about her life though. She asked, "So how are things with our other friends going?"

Moondancer replied, "Well things are going great. We've spent time in the park talking, we've gone rollerskating some and of course things wouldn't be complete if Minuette didn't drag us to the donut shop on a nearly daily basis."

Twilight couldn't help but chuckle, "I know how she is, if she doesn't have her sweets she'll go nuts."

Moondancer figured that she had probably better turn the conversation to focus on Twilight. She asked, "So, how is everything going for you? Have you had to handle any special events recently?"

Twilight replied, "Not really, just spending time with my friends."

Moondancer asked, "How are your friends anyway?"

Twilight replied, "Well Fluttershy is taking care of her animals like she always does, Pinkie wound up throwing a couple of birthday parties, Applejack has been busy applebucking, Rainbow Dash has been handling the weather and Rarity made this dress for me."

Moondancer commented, "Well she did a very nice job, it looks beautiful."

Twilight replied, "Thanks." She looked at Moondancer's more closely and asked, "Who made your dress? It has a similar design to mine." She got a huge smile on her face and continued, "Did you somehow get down here and ask Rarity to make you one and did she give you an idea for this?"

Moondancer replied, "Actually no. Twinkleshine and I went shopping on the day I got your letter and I found it in one of the boutiques up in Canterlot."

Twilight commented, "Well I think you look absolutely stunning in it."

By this point the two had finished their meal and Moondancer couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen next. A small part of her feared that this would be it but again she thought to herself, "Why would she wear a gown just for us to eat?"

Twilight could see a bit of uncertainty coming from Moondancer so she continued, "How about we go to the throne room and talk some more?"

Moondancer replied, "That sounds good."

Moondancer followed Twilight and wondered why in Equestria that they would need to go to the throne room to continue their conversation when they could have just kept talking in the library. When they arrived Moondancer was shocked to see that Twilight had a record player set up along the wall. She thought to herself, "If we're going to talk, why would she have us listening to music?"

Twilight headed to the record player and put some music on, slow music that was perfect for dancing to. Moondancer's heart began to beat a little faster when she heard the music. She couldn't help but wonder if Twilight was indeed going to ask her the question she had been hoping to hear for years. She then reminded herself that she can't go assuming anything, that she needed to just play things by ear.

Shortly after putting the music on Twilight approached Moondancer, held her hoof out and asked, "May I have this dance?"

Moondancer never had been good at standing up on her hind legs even for just a few seconds but hoped that by holding on to Twilight, that it may be easier for her. Once they began to dance they held onto one another, but they weren't pressed up close nor was Twilight looking directly into her eyes.

While they were dancing they did continue to do more talking about various things and soon once again the paranoia began to build inside of Moondancer. She couldn't help but wonder that perhaps Twilight is only wanting them to dance as close friends, especially since she had yet to gaze into her eyes or pull her close enough to the point where they were pressed together.

Eventually a song that was much slower than the others began to play and Moondancer felt herself being pulled closer to Twilight and saw those purple eyes that she had always found so beautiful looking straight into hers. Again Moondancer's heart began to beat faster, except much more so and Twilight could sense it. Twilight commented, "Somepony's nervous, isn't she?"

Moondancer really hoped that Twilight wouldn't notice but she knew that since her cover had been blown, that she better not lie. She replied, "I'll admit, I am a little nervous. It's just that I've never danced with another pony before, especially like this."

Twilight said, "Don't be nervous, it's just me."

Moondancer tried to slow her heartbeat but wasn't doing a very good job of it. The song that was playing was slow and sounded very romantic but soon the slowest part of the song began to play and Moondancer saw something she never thought she would see, Twilight was moving in for a kiss. Moondancer readied her lips to meet those of the pony she held so dear and when it finally happened, it was like fireworks were going off for her.

She thought to herself, "She's kissing me, she's really kissing me!"

Moondancer knew that she couldn't just let Twilight do everything so she put her hoof behind Twilight's neck and began to deepen the kiss. This moment wasn't just special for Moondancer but it was for Twilight as well. The fact that Moondancer would do that caused her to realize that she was truly enjoying the moment and that all her adoration was truly real, that she truly did love her.

Both mares were in a state of pure bliss at this moment. This was something that both mares didn't want to ever end but they realized that they simply couldn't stand there kissing forever. When the music stopped Twilight broke the kiss and decided the time had come.

She began, "Moondancer, I know that for a very long time you have had special feelings for me, dating back to when we were in school together. I know I should have been able to pick up on them but I was always so caught up in my studies that I was oblivious to you when I shouldn't have been. I just feel like had I taken the time to spend more time with you instead of burying my face in a book all the time, I could have experienced happiness sooner."

As Moondancer heard this, she was in a state of shock. She couldn't help but wonder what Twilight meant by experiencing happiness sooner. She replied, "Twilight, it's ok. I know how much you love your books and studying."

Twilight continued, "But it's not alright. I feel like I not only denied you true happiness but I also did myself." Her voice began to break as she continued, "Moondancer, I know when we first started seeing each other every week I was very skeptical about whether anything would ever happen or not. I'll be honest, I didn't think anything would ever come of it but with each passing week, I've felt a genuine closeness developing between us and I have begun to develop feelings, special feelings."

When Moondancer heard this, she had a feeling where Twilight was headed with this but still wasn't going to assume anything. She knew that if she were to suddenly assume that Twilight was going to ask her what she hoped she would and then didn't, that she would only hurt herself. She replied, "Twilight,....."

Twilight interrupted, "Moondancer, it has been over our past couple meetings that my feelings have grown strong, very strong. Here lately you have become a bigger and bigger part of my thoughts. Today I was frantic because I wanted to make sure everything would be perfect for you." Twilight began to tear up as she finished, "Moondancer, I hope you don't think this is too soon but" the tears began to flow down her face as she asked, "Would you be my marefriend?"

Those five words, that one question was what Moondancer had dreamed of hearing ever since she developed her crush on Twilight. She too teared up and replied, "Yes Twilight, yes! Yes I'll be your marefriend!"

The two smiled at one another with tears streaming down their faces before engaging in a passionate kiss, a much more passionate kiss than the one before. For the first time in either one's life, they felt that they were loved, truly loved. When they broke the kiss Moondancer asked, "Since we are a couple, where do we go from here?"

The two gave one another huge smiles before they giggled in unison, "Perhaps there's a book we're supposed to read about being in a relationship."

They gave one another a tight embrace and realized that they were a whole lot alike and that things would likely work out perfectly. After breaking the embrace Twilight commented, "I think our hearts will guide us to where we will go from here."

By this time it was getting late and Moondancer yawned, "Wow, I didn't know it was this late. I guess when you're truly happy time flies."

Twilight looked up at the clock and saw that it was ten. She suggested, "Moondancer, it is pretty late so what would you think about staying the night here?"

This was something that Moondancer was unsure about. She was thrilled that her and Twilight were finally a couple but knew that she just couldn't share the same bed with Twilight but didn't just want to come out and say that. She replied, "I really appreciate the offer Twilight but where would I sleep?"

Twilight couldn't help but chuckle, "Moondancer, I live in a castle. It's not like I don't have any VIP bedrooms!"

Moondancer replied, "Alright, I think I'll take you up on your offer."

Twilight suggested, "I have an idea. How about in the morning you and I go out for breakfast to celebrate tonight."

Moondancer replied, "I would love that!" She yawned and continued, "I don't know about you but I feel like I could just fall asleep standing here."

Twilight said, "Well I'll lead you up to your bedroom and then I'm going to hit the hay myself."

Moondancer nodded and followed Twilight up to the VIP bedroom. She was amazed by the size of it and the bed was more than twice as large as the bed she had at home. Once she got out of her gown and got laid down she said, "Well I'm going to hopefully get some sleep, good night Twilight."

Twilight replied, "I'm going to try and get some sleep too. Sweet dreams Moondancer."

Twilight closed the door and as Moondancer tried to get to sleep, she was the happiest she had ever been in her life. She began to think back to everything that had happened ever since she knew Twilight. She first thought about their competitive nature as fillies, the very moment she developed her crush on Twilight, then the sadness she felt when Twilight left and then more recent times, such as when Twilight threw her that party and then the day when Twilight said that she would have get togethers with her.

What mattered the most to her though was the here and now, what happened that night. The supper, the dancing, the kisses but the most wonderful moment for her was when she heard those five little words, "Would you be my marefriend?"