I Waited

We did it. The spell was finally complete and working as we had hoped!

After the test—and surely after she stopped trying to eat my face—Starlight didn't tamper with the spell any further. She made sure the parchment was preserved and the two of us went upstairs to tell Twilight the good news.

Starlight and Twilight hugged it out, with the princess congratulating her student on her work. The spell was then delivered via Spike to Princess Celestia, where it would no doubt be archived and studied for future use. Of course, that was the plan all along: In the wrong hooves, it would be used for all kinds of evil, so who better to keep it safe than Celestia herself?

And Luna, of course!

As soon as the deed was done, I decided to invite Starlight for another dinner date. It had been a while since our last—not to mention first—one, and I had been eager to follow through on my original promise the day of the party.

She accepted, but we decided this time not to part from each other until sundown, but instead, we went around town, picking and sniffing flowers, and talking about whatever was on our minds.

I had to be honest: Starlight was my first mare-... well, actually, I wouldn't call us a... thing just yet, and she seemed to agree. Despite having had the romantic, celebratory kiss earlier in the day, she wanted to give the whole 'friendship' part of us a final goodbye before starting that brand new chapter in her life, and presumably our lives.

And I intended on making it a great finale.

* * * * *

After a day of excitement and overall glee, the sun began to set on Ponyville, and Starlight and I started our way for Allure Dé Mystique, the place I took her to on her first date. The Mystique was Starlight's favorite place to visit the first time, so it was only right that I brought her back to where it all began.

Ha... I say it like it's been ages. Time can do that, I suppose.

The head waiter of the restaurant recognized me and greeted me by name. "And Miss Glimmer! Such an honor to see the two of you again. Your table is ready. If you will follow me..."

He guided the two of us over to our table, with our window giving a fantastic view of Ponyville's downtown area.

"Your waiter will be with you in a moment to order drinks," he said to me.

"Thank you, Sheffield," I grinned, and Sheffield went back to the front of the restaurant, leaving me and Starlight alone to chat.

"I didn't know you knew him," she said to me, propping her head up with her hooves.

I chuckled in another sheepish manner. "Well, sort of. I haven't met him, only read about him during my time in the Library."

"Read about him?"

I tilted my head, and then realized a moment later. "Oh, right—I never told you." I then looked around to make sure nopony was listening in on their conversation, or very well had no clue what I was talking about.

Leaning forward against the table, I started to explain:

"Remember when I told you about the Library, and how all of the books in it archived every event in the universe from start to finish?"

It took her for a second for her to understand what I was asking. When it dawned on her, she took a look at Sheffield in the distance, and then let out a somewhat drawn out:

"Oooooh." She leaned in as well. "So you're telling me that you...?"

I nodded. "I basically know everyone without having met half of them. Well, more than half. I do have a good reason for it, though."

"And that is...?"

I slunk my shoulders a bit. "I... may have wiped my memory at one point."

At first, Starlight looked at me like she thought I just told a joke. But it became clear to her as she realized that I was, in fact, telling the truth. Immediately, her eyes looked like she was disappointed, but upset, and yet not.

"Why would you do that?" she asked in disbelief.

Rubbing my head awkwardly with a hoof, I answered, "Because honestly—I didn't think I was ever gonna come back. I mean, after the first few weeks, I started to feel alone and generally... uncomfortable. Then the weeks turned into months, and I'm just reading and trying to pass the time. And then that whole thing with you and Twilight..."

I paused, hoping I'd never have to bring it up anymore, and here I was letting it spill. Again.

"... I guess I just lost hope and thought, 'If I was going to be here a while, I'd rather not torture myself.' So I built a helmet, put it on, and in an instant, I had no clue who I was or even where I was."

"Oh." That was all Starlight said as a response, sitting in silence for a few seconds, before adding, "So... I'm assuming, judging from the past week, you got your memory back?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, I did!" I exclaimed softly, not wanting to attract attention. "I ended up finding the helmet after a while and put it back on, and like that, my memories were back like they never left. Granted, it was a bit... painful remembering everything again, but it was worth it knowing I'd get back home a few hours later."

"So, the time between you putting the helmet back on and going through a black hole was just a couple of hours?"

"Pretty much."

Starlight's eyebrows were raised as she found that bit of information a bit funny in terms of context. After a few seconds, she stared at me again.

"So... does you knowing about ponies also mean that you... know their future?"

Hesitantly, I nodded, and rather than seem worrisome, Starlight actually grew curious once again.

"Tell me about some of the ponies here," she requested. "Anypony here that I might know that you've read about, and tell me what they'll do in the future."

"I'm not sure, Star-"

"Oh, come on," she egged me on, "It's just between you and me. It's not like I'm gonna tell anyone."

"Right," I smirked, "like when you didn't tell Trixie that we had s-"

"Ah ah ah ah," she silenced me. "That... that doesn't count."

"Sure it does," I chuckled, then rolled my eyes. "Okay, fine, I'll tell you. But no more than three ponies, alright?"

Starlight gave a cute nod as she watched, eager to know. It made me smile. I then started to look around the restaurant to see who was here that Starlight might've known. After a few seconds, I happened to notice a particular figure: Lyra Heartstrings.

"Do you know Lyra?"

"Lyra Heartstrings? Of course," she answered. "I was actually hanging out with her a couple days ago."

I pointed to the magic mint mare several tables away from me, but not enough to draw her attention. Starlight looked in the direction I pointed and saw Lyra sitting and chatting with some of her friends, including some from Canterlot that I recognized.

"What about her?"

"In about two years, she will begin a passionate music career and in ten years, she will become one of the most popular musicians in Equestria, and gain a star on Applewood's Walk of Fame in twenty years."

The unicorn stared at Lyra, wowing at the knowledge that one of her friends would become a legend in a few years. Lyra eventually noticed her staring back and waved her with a smile, to which Starlight waved back. I pointed to another figure: a stallion just a couple of tables away.

"Iron Canter," I whispered to Starlight. "Right now, he owns one of the shops at the market, selling carrots and making a petty living—and even he calls it that: a 'petty' living. But five years from now, he will take up art and paint 'The Moment In Time': A painting of all of Equus so rich in detail and effort, that if you used a magnifying glass or even a microscope to zoom in, you could actually see ponies, griffons, or even dragons all doing something, like they were all photographed in a single moment."

"A moment in time... Oh, I get it," Starlight giggled.

"Who else do you know?"

"Hmm... ooh, I know, how about-"

She was unable to finish her sentence before our waiter—or rather, waitress—came out to order our drinks. We both chose a variant of red wine mixed with cider. The waitress then left for another good minute, giving Starlight time to finish her question, only it was a different suggestion.

"Applejack. What about her?"

No doubt, she only mentioned Applejack because of the cider, but I was more than content to tell her.

"Well," I began, "she and Big Mac both take control of Sweet Apple Acres and expand their business across Equestria. Twenty years from now, Sweet Apple Industries prospers across the land."

I even mentioned the factory that Applejack named after me... well, would have, and Starlight acknowledged that.

"But now that you're back..."

"Yeah... some things aren't happening." I furrowed my brows as I glanced out the window and looking up at the moon. "That's what I wonder sometimes. How much did everyone I know do that was because of me disappearing? Stuff that they now won't do?"

"Well, that depends: Did Applejack take charge of Sweet Apple Acres because of you?"

"Not exactly, no."

"Then that's one thing that's for sure to happen," she grinned. It helped realizing that, even though I mentally frowned at the reason why she would take charge. But I wouldn't tell Starlight that.

After a minute, the waitress came back with our drinks and and took our orders. Despite all of the delicacies that would make anypony drool in excitement, Starlight and I were feeling a tad bit... lazy today. It was nothing but burgers and fries for us.

"I didn't even know they had burgers here," I added.

"Me neither. But I guess they do."

Our order, being relatively small, was prepared and sent to us in just a few minutes, so we spent that time talking about other things to pass the time: like the one time Rainbow got stuck in a tree during a Running Of The Leaves and needed to be helped out. It made the two of us laugh even after she tried to swat us with her wings.

Eventually, our meals came, and we began to dig in. It was refreshing to have a burger for the first time in such a long time. I hadn't even realized that until now.

Halfway through our meal, however, I grew curious about one thing.

"Can I ask you something?" I said to Starlight, who nodded with bits of burger in her mouth. "Who were you originally going to say?"

I waited for Starlight to swallow before answering her question. "Well... I was originally gonna say... me."

It was no surprise that she wanted to know what she would do or who she would become, but I was also curious to know why specifically she asked of her.

"I figured that since you were back, I wasn't gonna go off and pull some isolationist move, push away every friend I ever made, spend three years trying to redo a spell... and then slap Twilight across the face."

The last sentence made her sink in her seat, definitely ashamed to have known that. But I comforted her by telling her:

"Well, no doubt you're right. But there's just one problem with that."

"I know," she answered, "there's no way you can know. The only reality you can tell me is the one that no longer exists. That's kind of why I didn't say me in the first place."

"Sorry," I apologized, knowing I had disappointed her, but she simply waved it off.

"It's fine. I'm pretty sure telling me how my future goes probably isn't the best thing, now that I think about it. But... if it's alright with you... do you think you can tell me more about the future that was?"

It was my turn to wave it off. "Maybe one day. It's all still a bit too soon... even though it's technically not. But for tonight, I'd just like to hang out and have a bite with the mare I love."

I had originally meant to leave it as just that, but I shared a brief smirk with Starlight, just to see what she would say.

"Well, I... uh... I... Iloveyoutoo," she said quickly.

I gave her a small laugh and held her hoof in mine. "Did you ever know that you're cute when you do that?"

Starlight hid her reddening face under the table, though I knew she was trying to hold back a smile and even her own bit of laughter. I kissed her hoof gently.

"Eep...!" A little squeak left her lips.

* * * * *

After our meal, the rest of the date went smoothly. We eventually paid the bill and left the restaurant, thanking Sheffield on the way out, telling him to thank the others as well. I felt genuinely happy tonight.

We walked through the town for a little while longer, chatting away at anything our minds could think of. And all the while, I had my wing wrapped around her just to keep her warm. Well, that and more.

A little after nine o'clock, we headed back to the castle and stood outside the front entrance.

"Well, this is my place," she said in a joking tone. "Are you sure you don't wanna come inside?"

"As much as I'd love to, I'd much rather wait until the third date. It's usually not like a stallion to—...oh, you mean come inside the castle."

Starlight's eyes went wide and her face was red once again as she realized what I was talking about.

"You little—!"

But I only continued to laugh, despite her glare, though she eventually joined in as well, not denying that it was at least a tad bit funny. After a moment or two, the laughter died down, and I answered her question.

"Sure. I'd like that. I hope Clanks'll be fine on his own. Then again, all he does is read. Heehee."

"How much trouble could he get into on his own?"

I shrugged. "With how much he's learning, I honestly have no clue."

Starlight laughed quietly to herself, walking up the steps, but then turned back to me.

"If it's alright with you—I'd like this night to be... clean. Safe."

Walking up to her and wrapping a wing around, I kissed the mare gently on the lips, though it lasted longer than I hoped on her own accord.

"Whatever you want."

"Good," she piped, "because I really want to know more about the stars."

"Your wish is my command." With a smile, Starlight invited me into the castle, to which I followed behind her, shutting the door behind me.

For the rest of the night, the stars were the only show we chose to see, and the only story we chose to read. Nopony else, and nothing else. Just me, Starlight, and the universe.

What more could a stallion ask for?