Ponyville in the spring. A perfect, cloudless day.
Asides from the few Pegassi silhouettes seen flying through the skies, much of the town seemed serenely quiet. The sunlight gleamed and reflected from the Castle of Friendship, the crystal star that adorned its roof draping the town in rays of soft light. The sounds of nature sung a tale of peace and serenity across the entire landscape.
No pony was around to acknowledge the picturesque scene, however. All except for one lone stallion. An Earth Pony, to be exact. He sat lying down at a hillside clearing near the outskirts of the village, gazing silently at the horizon. His cyan-green eyes looked tired, or perhaps just content, but they took in every moment of the passing scene. The sunlight seemed to glow off of his golden-yellow coat, and his scruffy, unkempt mane weaved lightly in the gentle breeze. Hanging from a nearby tree branch was a deep blue linen cape and fedora, the Stallion's traditional garb that normally made him quite a distinctive face among Ponyville's more unremarkable residents. Of course, it wasn't the only reason his face was well known.
Stardust Balance closed his eyes, inhaling deeply and then letting out a long, low sigh. He had not had much time to himself lately. Various issues had been keeping him busy all throughout the week, and requests of aid from both his friends and friends of those friends had been taking his toll on him both mentally and physically.
He would never refuse the call to help, of course. Stardust had always felt that he owed his friends more than he could ever repay for the countless times they had come to his aid, put themselves into mortal danger, even as he had tried to keep them away for fear of their safety. But they were as stubborn as the stones from Rockville Farm, and they had valiantly saved the Stallion's life on more than one occasion. For that, he had always promised himself to be there during their times of need. Though their requests for aid typically involved a lot less danger and much more mundanity than the kind of situations he'd have found himself in.
A minor detail. One which he was very grateful for.
He continued to gaze outwardly, not really sure what he was looking for. Just... staring. Waiting. Listening.
"Don't stare too long." Came the soft, familiar voice of a Mare behind him. "I'd hate for those eyes to become sun-damaged."
Stardust turned his head, looking behind to see the source of the gentle voice. His special somepony. His bonded soulmate. Twilight Sparkle.
The purple Alicorn stood gracefully to his right, a light smile adorned upon her muzzle. She gazed down at him with the sparkling violet eyes that Stardust so often found himself lost in, and this moment was no different. It was as though the beauty of their surroundings had been all but a precedent for her arrival. A backdrop worthy of a Princess; enhancing her already divine-like features tenfold to his eyes. She was wearing her royal regalia, a sign that she had been hard at work herself. Likely hosting yet another friendship summit. Actually BEING a ruling monarch, unlike that 'Orcus on Her Throne' Celestia. Whatever. It didn't matter. All he cared about right now was how it had brought out even more of her shine. The glinting, gold horseshoes and brightly laced robes a true indication of her rightful status as Princess.
Rarity... You're a [BLEEP]ing genius.
"Twilight, love, you already made my eyes melt with your beauty a long time ago." Stardust replied.
It was difficult to make out in the glare, but Stardust was sure he'd seen a hint of pink flash across the Alicorn's cheek. She stepped forward, approaching him with an unwavering gaze. The world seemed to fizzle out from around her, and before long Stardust could only see her perfect form alone. The beautiful, divinely-given Alicorn that he had so fortuitously ended up with. Nothing else mattered now. Nothing but her.
She leaned in gently, her muzzle coming to rest near one of his ears, stroking softly against it. Her very touch sent shock waves tingling through Stardust's body. It was an experience he never grew tired of.
"...Jack..."
Stardust brought his own face before Twilight, the two fixated on each other's eyes.
"Jack."
As if beckoned by command, Stardust closed his eyes, tilting his head to lean in...
"JACK!!"
Stardust's eyes snapped open, his head rising up with a sudden start!
*SMACK!*
...And back down again, a sharp pain now throbbing the top of his head where it had struck the wooden protrusion of a shelf. "What the [BLEEP]?! Owwwww..." The stallion groaned and covered his head with his hooves.
He had been sitting at a small, wooden desk inside one of the many study rooms within the Castle. Well, asleep at the desk may have been a better description. In front of him was an opened book that listed various notes on Balance Magic. Even through the pain stabbing through his head, the realization of his surroundings quickly came back to him.
"Jack..." Came the once-again familiar voice of Twilight beside him, though with a tinge of exasperation and, he couldn't help but notice, amusement to her tone. She smiled with a look of concern on her features, obviously trying to ensure that Stardust was not too badly hurt.
"Love." Came Stardust's mildly annoyed tone, though more-so directed at his own clumsiness than at Twilight. "Maybe shaking me or such would work better next time.." He said while rubbing the back of his head, trying to reassert himself.
"Sorry." Twilight said in a chuckled tone. "But you looked to be sleeping pretty deeply. Spike said you'd been there since he came in this morning."
Across the room, a small purple and green dragon was reclined out on a couch. He appeared to be using a laptop computer, one given to him by Stardust, and was clearly enjoying himself to some unseen feature on the screen. A basket of gleaming gemstones lay on the side table next to him, with which he would occasionally snack on. He gave Stardust an enthusiastic wave as he looked over to him.
"Sorry love, I was... well, I was having a dream."
From across the room came Spike's snickering chuckle. "Three guesses as to what it was about!" The dragon said with a cheeky smile. Stardust shot him a stern glare, but then broke into a smile himself. "Can't hide things from you that easily, can I Son?"
"I learn from the best, Dad!" The dragon replied to his surrogate Father and throwing another gem into his mouth.
Twilight turned back to Stardust, now blushing slightly at the intended meaning. "Well, I'm... sure it was very nice, whatever it was."
"Not as nice as the real thing."
Twilight sheepishly smiled, embarrassment across her features. She fluffed out her wings momentarily before continuing: "Well, ahem... Jack. I was thinking, the two of us have been working pretty hard the last few days, right?"
"Oh, I'm not sure I'd noticed." Stardust replied sarcastically, glancing back at the pile of books upon the desk.
"Starswirl would be proud of all the studying you've been putting in!" Twilight said warmly. "Princess Celestia always told me that --"
"Celestia wouldn't know 'study' if a flying Pegassi book depository fell on her head, Twilight."
"Well, there was that one time where..."
"Nevermind. I'm not all that interested." Stardust finished, rolling his eyes at the mere thought of any more tales of incompetence from her.
"My point is..." Twilight continued. "I think the two of us, well, deserve some time to ourselves. Don't you think?"
"Had I a choice in it, I'd give us our very own holiday to be taken once a week. 'The day of', uhh... I dunno... 'Royal Anti-Attrition' or something.
"Jack. A Princess should not abuse her power for self-fulfillment."
"Tell that to Celestia."
Twilight gave one of her trademark groans and grabbed her boyfriend by the hoof, dragging him up to his hooves. "Come on, you need to get out!" She said rather finally, and Stardust knew better than to deny her.
"Bye Son! Mum and Dad are off on another bonding walk!" Stardust yelled to Spike.
"Don't cause too big a scene!" Spike replied and waved them out.
"Heh... Scenes usually tend to find us." The stallion muttered to himself.
Unlike Stardust's peaceful and quiet dream, the streets of Ponyville were bustling with activity today. Mares and stallions, Earth Ponies, Unicorns, Pegassi, representatives from all sub-species of Ponykind were out in force, and as noisy as ever, much to Stardust's disdain. Another annoyance was how several times they were impeded by intrusive villagers who would stop Twilight either to ask simply how she was doing or to request advice for some trivial concern regarding friendship. Most of them ignored Stardust. Not because his face was unknown to them, but because many of them knew better than to engage in unsolicited small talk with the stallion. At least they gave him that courtesy.
"So much for having time off..." He grumbled to his girlfriend after she finished with yet another interruption.
"Oh, I know Jack. But these Ponies need my help with problems of friendship! And a friendship problem waits for nopony."
"God bless your unwavering devotion there, love. If only all Ponies were as committed to their tasks."
"Don't be silly. All of our friends work just as hard at their careers."
"Probably why you're the only ones to ever save the world. Trust me Twilight, this world would've been in mortal peril countless times without you and the other's presence."
"Don't forget yourself, Jack."
Stardust scoffed loudly. "Yeah. Right. I've created nothing but positive contributions to this world--"
"Stardust Balance!"
The stallion froze. Twilight having stepped in front of him with a glare so piercing, the remainder of his sentence became stuck in his throat. "Goddammit. She was terrifying when she wanted to be."
And just as quickly as it had come, the fierce features dissipated into a calm, encouraging smile. Twilight leaned forward, closing her eyes, and pressed her muzzle lightly against Stardust's own. It was as though someone had just punctured a hole through his side and drained all the negativity out of it. In it's place, the feelings of warmth and comfort he associated from simply having Twilight in such close proximity spread all across his body.
"Jack." She spoke not through words, but through their soul-tying bond. "You will always be my greatest gift. My most cherished treasure. Whatever the Magic of Friendship could offer me, were all the creatures of the world to come together in true harmony, if Balance spread to every corner of Equestria..." She opened her eyes, a solitary hoof placed around Stardust's shoulders, her eyelids watered with tears of pure sincerity.
"None of that would matter... if you weren't there to see it with me."
Stardust had no words. The lump in his throat would've stopped them coming through anyway. He embraced the mare tightly, unsure whether to cry or scream for joy. He settled with giving the biggest grin he could muster, so much so that his cheeks started to hurt. He'd probably looked goofy as heck to any passersby, but he couldn't care what the world thought right now. "This mare... THIS [BLEEP]ing mare!"
Suddenly, he heard what sounded like the charging of magical energy, and had barely any time to react before he heard a sharp *CRACK* banging right next to his ear, and it felt as though he was being physically dragged from where he was at a speed he dared not even guess! "Oh God! Please tell me it wasn't another dream! It had been so perfect...!"
Then, almost as suddenly, the sensation of speed slowed, and he felt himself being thrown into the ground, grass and dirt shooting up in all directions. The world looked as though it was spinning, and his ears rang like someone had struck a gong within it. He thought he could've been sick...
"Oops! Sorry..." Came the slightly disoriented, but still instantly calming voice of his girlfriend. "It's not that easy when you have two bodies to teleport."
Stardust rose, his focus coming steadily back into view, and gave a sly looking smile towards her. "Just... warn me before you do something like that next time, alright love? Where did you bring us anyway...?"
He took a moment to properly take in his surroundings, and had to catch himself from physically gasping.
"Wait a sec...! Is this--"
"You remember?" Twilight asked, innocently. "Our very first date."
Stardust did remember. This was the hill he used to retreat to, to help clear his head, all those many years ago... or was it months? He could never quite get the passage of time in this world.
More importantly however; this was the scene of their very first date together. The picnic they had shared before the setting sun on that "Hearts and Hooves" episode way back in season 2. Back then, Stardust had been a nervous wreck throughout the whole experience, vividly afraid of doing anything that would ruin the experience for Twilight, even as she had enjoyed every moment of it.
Back then... he had even been afraid to kiss her.
Twilight, perhaps sensing the conflict within Stardust, brushed herself up against the stallion once again, this time bringing her head to rest above his own. "I've never forgotten the dance we had together that evening, Jack..."
Stardust chuckled. "Heh, you mean all those times I tripped myself up?"
"It was only a couple of times!"
"I'm amazed you even managed to teach me that 'slow dance' style so quickly."
"And you did it beautifully."
"Heh... it's just one of many things you've given to me since then, Twilight."
The two ponies now sat embraced, heads leaned against each other, just enjoying one another's company, looking out over the setting sun as tender feelings of nostalgia set in.
"We've both come a long way since then, Jack." Twilight said to him softly.
"True. You had slightly less appendages back then."
Twilight shook her head. "No, I don't mean just that. How we've both grown... how we've... matured. Together."
Stardust nodded. She had a point. Both of them had acted very differently towards each other. And yet, in some small ways, hints at their future relationship had already started to show.
Twilight giggled. "And to think you suggested that Fancypants would've been a better date for me."
"Well, that was before I realized just how shallow and uninteresting the stallions of Equestria were." Stardust chuckled. "I was adamant about refusing to believe I was worth your love then, Twilight."
"And? What about now?"
"Hmm?"
"Would you say you're worth it now?"
Stardust opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't find the exact words. What he wanted to say. What he needed to say.
"I've... often questioned whether or not my presence in this world has caused more harm than good, Twilight." He finally answered after a long pause. "All the damages and changes I've caused. I've wondered... would things have been better for you if I had never arrived?"
"Jack..."
"But then, I look back at all the memories, all the times we've shared together. Not just you and me, but our friends. Spike, our son, all the things that have come about as a result of our bonds... our family, Twilight."
Twilight looked at him.
"I-- I look back at it all, and I'm... I'm proud of it, Twilight. Proud... to have been a part of it, to have left my mark upon it. Whatever else happens, Twilight, those memories will leave an impact that will last forever. That. That's a contribution that I'm proud of."
Twilight only smiled, looking as if tears would fall at any moment, and leaned in to press her lips firmly against Stardust's own, the two ponies kissing deeply as the moon began its assent into the night's sky.
"Jack." Twilight said after what seemed like an eternity to Stardust.
"Hmm?" Stardust replied, looking as though he'd just awoken from a trance.
"Would you care to grant me this dance, once again?" Twilight offered an extended hoof whilst taking a step back.
"...Would you be upset if I fell over again, too?" He asked, taking her hoof in acceptance.
"You think that you will?" Twilight chuckled.
"Probably."
Twilight sighed, smiling warmly at him. "No matter how many times that you do, Jack, I'll always be here to help you up."
"I know you will, love."
The two ponies began their slow, symphonic dance that took them long into the night. Each cherishing every second that passed. For the both of of them, it was time that would echo all throughout history.
You are my Twilight before the Stars.
