I Waited

We got back to the castle not long after dinner. We had been gone for nearly two hours, and yet it didn't feel that long. I guess it was obvious that we had a good time.

Twilight told me that Clanks went home not long before we came back here, wanting her to tell us that he was off to read at home. I told her I wouldn't be long, but she insisted that I was welcome as long as I'd like.

"Just...be sure not to wake Spike. Please?" Twilight kindly pleaded, a blush beginning to form on her face.

"Twilight, we're just gonna be stargazing," Starlight giggled at her teacher's words. "Don't pull a Rainbow on us too."

"Oh! Of course! That's what I meant, just...don't look at the stars too loud now! Heeheehee...!"

Starlight may have been a terrible liar, but to be honest, Twilight was worse.

After the brief exchange, the two of us excused ourselves to Starlight's bedroom, which looked very different from the typical design layout of the rest of the castle, but didn't at all feel like a room from a normal home. It was at this moment that I realized I had never been in Starlight's room until now, always passing by, but never enough to truly get a look inside.

But now I was here, and...

"It's very...homey."

Not exactly what I meant to say, but it worked.

"I've had doubts in the past, but every time Twilight and Spike wake me up or greet me in the morning, it feels just like that: home. It's always nice to be back here."

"Do you plan on ever getting a home for yourself in the future?"

"I'd like to more than anything," she hoped, "but the problem with that is there's no available home here in Ponyville, and even if there was, I wouldn't have nowhere near the amount of bits to buy it."

"Well," I suggested, "if it's not too much of a sudden thing, I'm sure I'd be able to fit a space for you over at my place."

"I'm flattered...but honestly, I think I'd be more of a burden for you, especially now that you've got Clanks living with you. Plus, I don't think Twilight wants me to leave the castle. She's always so afraid that I'm going to leave her in general."

"Well, you're her student and one of her best friends. I think you leaving her life would crush her."

"I know. I've always been so afraid that I'm going to do that one day."

"As long as you got me and the others," I playfully boasted, "that's never gonna happen."

Instead of casting further doubt on herself, Starlight embraced my words and smiled, deciding to change the topic. "So, are you ready to look up at the stars and end this so-far majestic evening on a high note?"

"...Have I ever seen you flirt before?"

"Not that I can remember," she said. "I think your charm's already rubbing off on me."

"Let's hope."

Starlight smiled and opened up her window, readying her telescope by tweaking its knobs and levers. As she did so, she slowly undid her mane bun and started to undo the rest of her mane, letting it flow freely down. It made her look rather...attractive.

So attractive that I didn't notice that I had been staring at her longer than I should have, and turned away before she noticed. Then again, I had done that with all of my friends when I truly believed they were beautiful, and yet I wasn't trying to go after all of them, not counting Twilight.

"We don't need the telescope to stargaze, Starlight," I reminded her kindly, not wanting her to waste her time setting the whole thing up.

"Oh, we don't?"

"Haven't you ever stargazed before?"

"Well, not exactly. I tried to do it sometimes when I was a filly, but the lights from our town would always make it impossible to see the stars, so I tried to use a telescope to see them, and since then, I always assumed we needed one for it."

"Only for the really far away ones," I reminded her, "but the majority of the stars you can see as is. Here, one sec."

I walked over to the window and opened it all the way, hoping to show her what I meant when I said that. I beckoned her over to the window sill. She leaned up against it and peered out into the darkness above the town. At first, she didn't seem to understand, but the closer she looked, the more she began to see. Hundreds of stars became visible in the night sky, more than she likely ever had seen in her entire life.

"That's the one thing I like about Ponyville," I stated. "The lights of the town are so dim that they don't even contribute to light pollution. Instead, any resident far enough outside the town can look up at night and just see the galaxy looking back at them."

"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed silently. "I've never seen so many stars!"

"I'm surprised you haven't noticed sooner."

"I never really thought about it!" Starlight looked up at the stars and felt like a filly all over again, excited and intrigued. "Wow. There has to be hundreds of them!"

"Actually, a little over two-thousand."

All that did was further blow Starlight's mind, it seemed, staring in disbelief, but also in amazement. I could tell that it was her very first time seeing what could truly be called space. As soon as she had a good look at the sky, I stood right next to her and started to tell her all about the constellations.

Starlight was smart, so she obviously knew what constellations were, but she grew up not really being able to see very many. "I only saw a constellation one time, and that was years ago."

"I don't mean to bring this up," and I meant it, "but what about the village? I assumed that because it was out in the middle of nowhere, you'd be able to see them better."

She simply shook her head. "We had different lights from the ponies here. The light pollution was a lot stronger, which was surprising, considering how small the place was, but even then, you'd have to travel a good distance to be able to see more than a couple stars in the sky."

"Never thought you'd one day be able to see more than a hundred stars, did you?"

"Well, I knew it would happen one day," she corrected me. "I just didn't prepare for it. And to be honest, I'm glad I didn't. It all looks so amazing!"

"Just wait until you start seeing the constellations."

"Wait, I think I see one!" she then said a moment later, pointing up at what seemed to be a constellation. "I think I know that one! Ursa Major, isn't it? I remember seeing it in one of Twilight's books!"

I looked up at the spot she pointed at, and sure enough, it was Ursa Major, greeting us with its presence.

"You're right. Any other ones?"

"Hmm...ooh, ooh! Right there! Orion, right?"

Another look, and sure enough, right again.

"Good eye," I complimented her, "but let's see if you can find a constellation on your own - one that you haven't learned from Twilight."

She didn't complain, instead began to search the sky in all directions, trying to find a constellation she hadn't heard of before. It took a good minute of looking, but once she found herself hooked on a particular shape, it didn't take long for her to make it out and tell me of her discovery.

"I think I found one," she said, pointing at the shape. I took a second to register its design before I ultimately remembered what it was.

"That's Ophiuchus. They say that what it is, in terms of context, is a pony named Ophiuchus holding a snake in his left arm, and earning the title 'Snake-Charmer.' Very good eye. I'm impressed."

"Thank you." The mare had a glance at the stars for another moment before looking back to me. "Why don't you show me what you can see?"

"Are you sure?" I gave a subtle smirk. "I don't wanna make you jealous."

"Oh, hardy har," she replied back with a smile. "I promise I won't let it show."

"Well, if you insist."

Standing up next to her, I took a look up at the sky again, and what Starlight saw and found, I saw and found them all.

"That constellation right there, the one that looks like a bird? That one is Aquila," I explained to her, "It's said that Aquila carried the thunderbolts of the god Hoofiter to the Canter Mountain."

Starlight understood Equestrian mythology pretty well, at least enough to keep up with the story I told her. She didn't seem to protest or want to change the subject. All she did was smile and listen intently, nodding and humming in response, but not in the bored way. It was in the way where she wanted to keep listening.

"And that one right there is Draco..."

* * * * *

Thirty minutes later, Starlight was asleep against my body. I had to hold onto her to make sure she didn't fall onto the floor. I then carried her to her bed, covering her up in her blankets, and closed the window to be sure she wasn't cold.

"Good night, Starlight," I whispered, hoping she would hear it in her sleep, before making my way to her door.

I opened it with ease and shut it behind me quietly, making sure not to make a fuss. Just as I did, I heard the sound of hoofsteps nearby and looked to the source. Twilight was standing there, a slightly tired look on her face, but nonetheless awake.

"Hey," she greeted me, "Do you wanna have something to drink before you head home?"

I tilted my head in surprise. "I didn't know you drank."

"Oh, nothing like that!" she whisper-yelled. "Just tea, that's all."

"Oh. Yeah, that'd be fine."

I walked with her into the kitchen, where she already had a kettle of warm tea ready to drink. She poured two cups and then hoofed one to me, before heading into the dining area. The dining area was such a big room that it felt weird only having two ponies sitting in it, with nopony else but our company.

"Did Starlight fall asleep?" she started the conversation off with a sip of her tea.

"Yeah," I nodded. "I think it was a mixture of the food and the stargazing that finally tuckered her out."

"Actual stargazing, right?" the alicorn asked me, the blush from before making a return.

I only deadpanned. "Yes, Twilight. I'm pretty sure that kind of thing doesn't happen until at least the third date." I closed my eyes and laughed to myself, the fatigue of the night finally beginning to get to me just a little.

Twilight only blushed, but decided to change the topic.

"She missed you a lot," she told me.

"I know. She talked about that a lot tonight. I can see why, but...the last thing I want is her beating herself up over that from now on. She doesn't need that."

"We were both beating ourselves up," Twilight stated. "We'd been practicing this for weeks, trying to get it all right, and-"

"And it all goes wrong anyway," I finished for her. "I know. But it wasn't your fault, neither of you. It was an accident."

Twilight took another sip from her teacup, giving a sigh. "Maybe you're right. But even so, I should keep doing some readjustments on the spell, maybe try to make it work on something that isn't living...like I should've just kept doing."

"I mean, at least you know it worked."

"All it ended up doing was create a new universe, plop you in it, and keep you trapped there for six months," she remarked with a grimace. "I was just trying to make you go forward in time an hour for twenty seconds. Not...that."

The mare sighed again and looked at the reflection in her tea. Her face was sad, but frustrated too.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I just can't stop thinking about it. I want to just be glad that you're back and put it all behind me, but I can't. I just can't. I feel guilty about it."

She said nothing for a few seconds, giving me a moment to come up with something to cheer her up. Here went absolutely nothing.

"Would it make you feel better if I told you to go back a few words and realize that you and Starlight created another universe that literally contained the knowledge of our universe itself?"

"Maybe...if only it wasn't lost."

"...That's true," I almost whispered as I took another sip from my cup. Even I was disappointed that the Library was gone, or seemed to be gone. Either it was drifting in space without its shell or the shell miraculously repaired itself and was now its own universe again.

Either way, to be honest - I sure as Tartarus don't want to try and go back there. Besides...who needed the physical Library when I had the dream world?

"It'll be fine," I said Twilight hoping to make her smile. "Just take comfort knowing that I'm back home and alive, okay?"

And it worked. Her frown curved into a small smile, and her eyes beamed faintly. Though, it must have been because she was tired, otherwise she might've smiled further. Twilight then put down her tea and gave me a warm hug.

"I'm glad you're okay," she said to me. "I promise I won't do anything like that to you again."

"Oh, you can do that to me again," I corrected her, "but just make you had your sleep beforehoof."

That got her laughing. It was always nice to make someone laugh when they needed it the most.

A short time passed by the time I finished my tea. I said my goodbyes, and Twilight did the same. Pushing in my chair, I left the dining hall and started for the exit. But before I got there, I saw Starlight's door open up, and the unicorn herself peeked her head out, before eventually noticing me walking towards her.

With a yawn, she greeted me sluggishly, "Hey. I was hoping you hadn't gone home yet."

"Why?"

"So I could give you this."

She then held a hoof under my chin and gave me a warm kiss on my left cheek, letting her lips sit there for a second longer than usual, before pulling away. Though, that may have been because she was still half-asleep.

"I had a good time tonight," she smiled. "I hope we can do this again soon."

"Whenever and wherever you want," I smiled back.

After a couple seconds of silence, she blinked a couple of times before speaking again:

"Well...goodnight."

"Night, Starlight."

Her door closed and I eventually left the castle. It took another few minutes for me to make it back to my house, with nothing but a stupid smile on my face, and an awkward laugh emitting from my throat.

That was the first time I had ever been kissed, even if it was just the cheek. It was ridiculous: I had the knowledge of all of space-time, and yet I still felt giddy like a little colt over a peck on the cheek.

Then again, whoever said that was a bad thing?