A Sparkling Romance

Inside the cloud manor, the only audible sound was the light taps of the blue pegasus' hooves against the soft cloud floor of his bedroom. Aqua was pacing around, deep in his thoughts, and he was soon greeted by the screech of his baby Griffon landing on his shoulder. Aqua nuzzled the Griffon softly as he stopped pacing momentarily.

"If I could have some advice...any type. It would be of great assistance." Aqua said to the bird lion hybrid, only to get the reply of the same screech of the Griffon, to which he softly facehooved.

"Yes, of course, if only you could actually speak." Aqua deadpanned as he ruffled what would be the Griffon's future bangs. He resumed his pace as the Griffon frowned slightly and flew to her basket. Aqua then sat onto the ground, and began meditating. He unfurled his wings and began levitating, or rather flying, above the ground. As he continued to meditate, a washcloth levitated into his outstretched hoof. Taking the cloth, he dabbed his forehead and started to calm his muscles. The stallion pegasus began to smile slightly as he became lost in his thoughts. In his mind, only quiet contemplation played out. Minutes into the session, he began noticing something peculiar.

What am I seeing?

An image quickly soared through his mind's eye, but he was able to pick it out from the millions of others. The image was of a familar purple unicorn, hours ago, watching him descend into Ponyville with a mesmerized stare. Aqua attempted to pay it no mind, but a sound echoed through his head. The sound of Twilight's nervous whimper at the Fountain managed to creep inside, as well as an image of a somewhat depressed Twilight Sparkle, ears drooped, looking away to the stallion next to her. Seconds later, the entire session was soon 'corrupted' by several images of her. Aqua's forehead began sweating once more as his lips started quivering. His hooves against his head, he groaned as objects around him were soon crushed by an invisible force. Aqua soon broke from his meditation and lashed out in his anguish, causing a fury of energy to escape his body, accompanied by a howl of pure anguish from the stallion. In the end of the tantrum, Aqua levitated back to the ground, wiping his forehead, and dropped to his haunches, lost in his passion.

"Even in my meditation. Twilight Sparkle, you never leave my mind." Aqua said to himself as his Griffon flew to his shoulder, released a screech of worry.

"I'm fine, Goliath. I just need to think." Aqua assured the Griffon, and the bird then flew back downstairs to her basket. The stallion retreated to a nearby quite-lavish pillow, and returned to his thoughts, somewhat disappointed in his sudden outburst of emotion. The lifestyle he has lived before had explained the practice of such rash emotions would lead to darker paths.

Twilight steadied her pace, stopping abruptly in time to dodge a plank of wood piecing the ground in front of her. Twilight looked in total confusion. She looked around to look for the source.

"What in the wild world of Equestria?!" Twilight shouted, feeling a sudden sense of deja vu disorder. She shuffled her hooves curiously, levitating the plank out of the ground and throwing it aside. She then heard the sound of a familar stallion's scream of anger. A second later, she was frightened by a sudden blast of invisible energy piercing the sound barrier. Twilight was in pure terror as the energy blast flowed through her body. She cringed in response to the additional howl of wind joining the blast of energy. Twilight found herself shaking immensely as she felt as if the energy was in fact pushing her away, but to no avail. As the blast soon dissipated, and the wind current returned to normal, Twilight's teeth slowly stopped vibrating as she settled uneasily onto the ground, electricity crackling from her horn.

"What the hay?" Twilight asked, a bit of worry in her voice. Never in her life had she encountered such a massive amount of unknown energy, and it was unlike the usual blast of a Sonic Rainboom. Twilight shrugged it off and began trotting forward once more, taking note that nothing else in the energy's zone had been affected as she had was. She had felt as if her worries were somehow pressed into nothingness, and in it's stead were supercharged molecules of the force blast. She noticed that she was running somewhat faster than normal, and her senses were temporally enhanced. She took advantage of the new power and sprinted, gaining speed that resembled Rainbow Dash on land.

Aqua was busy writing a document while he dropped his quill in surprise, heading slowly towards the cloud window.

I sense a presence I haven't felt in quite some time.

Aqua tilted his head, pondering to how such energy could be replicated. His eyes widened as he realized something. He could sense...Twilight Sparkle. Meanwhile, Twilight felt uncomfortable at moving at such a high speed, watching as the world sped past her. As her eyes began fading from blinding white to purple, she could see Aqua's Cloud Manor in the distance. Pushing further, the Manor became closer and closer in her field of vision, albeit at a slower pace.

"No. No! Not now! I can't stop now, I'm making such good time!" Twilight yelled to herself, straining to go faster, but to no avail. Twilight felt her new energy leave her body quickly, and she felt drained of it. With one final sprint, Twilight's horn sparked with a single leap, Twilight unleashed her energy, and teleported with a blinding lavender flash. Below the Cloud Manor, Twilight awkwardly appeared with another flash, landing on her stomach from the leap she teleported from. Picking herself off the ground, she shook the pebbles from her mane, glancing over to a nearby puddle, and saw herself quite ravaged in her reflection. Her jaw dropped as she saw her mane and tail frizzed out from the energy blast.

"Oh no! I can't let him see me like this!" Twilight shouted to herself as she ran off into the bushes, picking her mane brush out of her saddlebag, and began brushing her mane and tail in vain. Her panicked noises were barely audible to the cyan blue stallion, and as Aqua walked over to his pet Griffon's basket, and picked Goliath up onto his shoulder, and began walking downstairs.

"Better time than ever to talk, I believe." Aqua said to himself, putting his saddlebag on his back, and walked to the front door, and twisted the doorknob to see a nearby bush rustling in the distance. Aqua grew a playful smirk as he hovered to the ground. Twilight's frantic brushing only became quicker as she heard Aqua's hooves tapping against the ground, her pressure boiling over. Aqua spoke thusly to break the silence.

"Messy mane, I see?" Aqua asked the panicked mare, causing a surprised gasp to come from the bush, which now began to shake from Twilight's nervousness.

"N-No! D-Don't! I'm not decent!" Twilight nervously spoke as the bush continued to rattle. Aqua unfurled the bush, and saw the shaking unicorn covering her half-straight, half-frizzy mane, and he put on his most sympathetic tone he could.

"Come on out, Twilight. It's alright." Aqua said.

"Noooo, you're gonna laugh at my mane!" Twilight whined, closing the bush on Aqua.

"I'm not going to laugh at you, Twilight. You can trust me." Aqua persuaded, and the bush's rattling settled. Poking her head from the bush, Twilight walked nervously out of the bush, her teeth chattering quietly to herself. Oddly enough to her, no laughter came from Aqua, only a raised eyebrow and playful smirk on the stallion's face.

"That's it? That's the disaster you had to hide?" Aqua playfully asked. The unicorn's tension melted a bit.

"I-I didn't wake up like this. I-I got hit by some weird energy blast and...poof." Twilight said, and Aqua's eyes widened slightly. He then hid a look a guilt from the purple pony.

"Energy blast?" Aqua asked the mare as she continued straightening her mane.

"It happened all out of nowhere, I was walking over here, and then it just...hit me. It went right through my body and I felt so...good. That's how I got here so fast, only...it's how my mane got all freaky. I could run faster when I got hit, but it only lasted for like 20 seconds." Twilight explained.

"Interesting," Aqua mused, "You seem to have been hit by an immense amount of force energy."

"Force energy?" Twilight asked, perplexed.

"It's an entirely 'unique' type of energy completely unlike that of magic. I believe you shouldn't have any side-effects." Aqua stated.

"W-Whoa wait, energy like that exists? That's just outright dangerous! Who knows how much destruction it could cause?! It could be the end of all of Equestria!" Twilight panicked, shuffling her hooves at an incredibly fast rate. Aqua grabbed the unicorn and gave her a good shake to calm her down.

"Calm down! It's nothing like that, Twilight! Just let me explain it to you." Aqua said to the hyperventilating mare. Twilight's pupils rolled around in her eyes in dizziness, breaking from his grip.

"Ok, ok, by Celestia's crown, if it's that important!" Twilight stuttered, summoning a cloud-walking spell on herself and disappeared in a flash. Aqua retreated to his manor's porch to see Twilight reappear at the front door. The two walked into the living room, gaining a gasp from the unicorn, as her eyes circled everywhere to get a glimpse of everything.

"Whoa! This place...has everything!" Twilight squealed, glancing to everything from the dozen of bookshelves, a somehow physics-defying fireplace, and even an entire Earth-Pony made room, custom built with carpeted flooring, a balcony, and a indoor pool residing in the room.

"It is a sight, I must say." Aqua said.

"Dude...how did you make all this? Celestia's hoof slipper, it must've all cost like a bajillion bits!" Twilight shouted in amazement.

"Well, the entire Cloud Manor is custom built by the Cloudsdale Pegasi Furnishing Cooperation, and the Earth-Pony room was my idea. But I got a special discount, since they owed me a favor a few years back." Aqua admitted.

"Wow. I never even heard of the CPFC." Twilight said.

"It's a special sub-unit of the Weather Factories. How do you think Rainbow Dash built her home? Now...where were we?" Aqua asked.

"Ohh ok. You're gonna have to lead the way though." Twilight told Aqua, taking his hoof in her arm. The two ponies blushed slightly as Aqua guided Twilight to the Earth Pony room, motioning to the fireplace. Twilight sat near the flames, taking in the heat of the fire, calming her down. Aqua sat next to her comfortably.

"So, to begin, the massive energy blast you experienced was simply put, an extreme amount of raw force energy from a powerful source. As it is raw energy, it is also untamed and barely controllable, like...you when you hatched Spike." Aqua began his lecture, and his reference to the unicorn gained a blush in response.

"Well, I'm not the best. There is Celestia herself." Twilight said, humbling herself to the Princess' name.

"Anyway, that energy was once plentiful, existing not in a raw form, but in a controlled and directional form from a certain type of pony. Statistically speaking, only 2 out of 10 ponies could at least have usage of it. Hundreds, upon thousands, maybe millions were able to harness it's infinite power, but only a few thousands could fully master it. The power of this energy could be to enhance the physical, mental, or healing abilities of oneself. This energy...is referred to as...the Force." Aqua lectured.

"The F-Force? Is it...like magic?" Twilight asked.

"In a way, yes. It is invisible to the eye, unlike the aura of magic, but it is controllable. However, if one has a breakout of emotions, they could unleash said energy into a blast of Force energy. Continuing on, the Force is a truly special power, dictated that thousands of ponies gathered together to form a group that held the Force to a type of ancient religion, and it's existance has been known for millennia, or 1,000 years. Confused yet?" Aqua continued.

"Mindblown, actually. So...it's essentially an enhancement of all aspects of your body, and can be used for offensive and defensive purposes?" Twilight asked.

"Correct. The Force is a pathway to hundreds of abilities that only a hoof-ful of ponies have mastered. The very Force-users have remained in secrecy, even I have no knowledge of their whereabouts, alive or deceased. The power you felt was from...me." Aqua confessed.

"W-What?" Twilight asked.

"I-I was meditating, which is a usual hobby I have. And during it, I saw things that broke my concentration, and I lashed out...for the first time in my life. I usually handle my situations headstrong and without breaking emotion." Aqua explained.

"...What did you see?" Twilight asked, full of wonder, full of fright.

"...Images...of you, Twilight. May I...confess something?" Aqua asked, nervous.

"Of course, Aqua." Twilight replied.

"Since I went to my Cloud Manor, I looked for answers of relationships the way I knew--through a book. When I saw you at the Fountain, I was nervous like Tartarus. And when you left, I went here to meditate, and I saw you, dozens of you, all looking at me, just as nervous as me. I couldn't handle all of it...and that explains the massive blast of energy." Aqua confessed, leaving Twilight mouth agape.

"You...looked in a book? And you were nervous too?!" Twilight asked.

"Yes, and yes. Why do you ask?" Aqua replied.

"That's the exact same thing I did!!" Twilight shouted, smiling ear to ear. Aqua and Twilight were now basically on the same wavelength, gazing into each other's eyes.

"Love is like a rose. Blooming both day and night. And when it opens completely up, it's such a beautiful sight." the two said in unison, and their eyes widened in unison as well.

"We have got to stop doing that. It likes I could hear you reading that with me." Aqua said.

"I did. I heard you." Twilight replied.

"So...now you know everything. The energy, and how I feel. Anything to say?" Aqua asked.

"I-I...I felt the same way you did." Twilight admitted. Aqua gestured to the indoor pool.

"We're both tense. Shall we?" Aqua asked.

"Sure." Twilight answered, trotting into the pool with Aqua. She took notice as to why Aqua got his name, as he seemed to blend in with the crystal clear water. The water was warm, lined with herbs, soaps, and other refreshments. The water seized at the tension between the two equines, removing the stress and complication from them both. Twilight let out a relaxing sigh of pleasure, and Aqua smiled to her.

"Refreshing, isn't it?" Aqua asked, to which Twilight was too relaxed to talk, answering with a slow nod. The fire illuminated the Earth Pony room, giving off a vibe of romance. The two ponies slid close to each other in the pool, becoming shoulder to shoulder in comfort of the water. Twilight looked at Aqua as her eyes sparkled, giving heed to her name.

"Aqua...?" Twilight asked.

"Yes, Twilight?" Aqua responded.

"You're like, the sweetest, most handsomest, charming...and charismatic stallion." Twilight gushed.

"Well, I'm a bit known for my charisma. Thank you. I also think you're the most beautiful, selfless, smart, and appealing mare." Aqua admitted, as Twilight began to snuggle next to him.

"Ohhhh, thank you Aqua. I'm so glad I can finally admit my feelings to you." Twilight revealed.

Dear Celestia, he's so...perfect for me! I'm so excited!!

So beautiful, I love her so much. She's just so...perfect.

The two stared into each other eyes, snuggling deeper and deeper, taking in the embrace of each other. Without a word, they simply enjoyed each other's company, reveling in the moment. The two counterparts had without a care in all of Equestria and beyond.

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie awoke to the shuddering of the train's bumpiness, falling out of their beds. Rainbow Dash popped her head out of her now-messy blanket on the floor, followed suit by Pinkie Pie. They were in silence until the loud speaker spoke.

Attention passengers. We are nearing Canterlot. If there is anypony on board wishing to stop here, head to the front of the train.

"You heard the metal-mouth, Dashie!" Pinkie Pie chirped, bouncing out the cabin door, followed by an eye-rolling Rainbow Dash. The two traveled through the train, gaining glances from several ponies, possibly on account of the ninja suits they wore. Passing the dining cart, the Chef gave an uneasy glance at the two. Rainbow middle-hooved him and moved on with Pinkie. As soon as they got off the train, Rainbow then directed the pink mare on her plan.

"Ok Pinkie, the royal vault is inside the Canterlot Castle, floor B section 12 of the A wing, room 1209, according to these schematics I got from a gypsy stallion in an alleyway. It'll be inside a really long hallway, and it's also gonna be packed with security. Laser fields, complicated lock-and-key doors, landmines, possibly a mare-eating plant, and the safe will have a combination that'll be super hard to break." Rainbow explained, earning a blank stare from Pinkie.

"Uh huh..." Pinkie Pie said, trying to understand.

"It probably won't be too hard to open it, but just in case..." Rainbow Dash said before struggling to pull an unknown object out of her saddlebag, and plopped it onto the ground. The object was missile-shaped, and had a nuclear hazard warning on it, accompanied by a sharp ticking noise, much to the pink pony's delight.

"Dashie, you're the best pyro ever!" Pinkie said excitedly, to which Rainbow returned with a smug stance.

"Thank you. Thank you." Rainbow Dash bowed happily. The two mares began running towards the Canterlot Castle, at which atop was the high balcony of the Princess'. Princess Celestia stared above the land beneath her, aware of the two mares sneaking in.

"What in my hoof are those two up to?" Celestia asked herself as she squinted her eyes on the mares. Realization of their identities dawned on her, and her eyes widened slightly.

"Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie? Why are they here by themselves? And why are they wearing black hoodies? White hoodies are more indie this time of year." Celestia said, gesturing a hoof to a highly-decorated royal guard.

"Yes, my Princess?" the guard asked, saluting to Celestia.

"Keep an eye on Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie. There is no doubt they may be after the two royal tickets to the Wonderbolts Air Show." Celestia instructed.

"Yes, my Princess." the guard said, trotting to the immense staircase. Celestia watched as Rainbow Dash looked around, opening a window quietly and flying into without a word, Pinkie Pie following shortly behind.

"Alright Pinkie, I think Celestia spotted us, so we need to get this done fast!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"Okey dokey loki!" Pinkie Pie replied happily. The two mares tip-hooved throughout the several corridors, evading several watching eyes of the royal guards with ease. Rainbow Dash quickly flew up a flight of stairs, proceeding to hide in the shadows to avoid wandering ambassadors. Pinkie Pie imitated a statue with similar ease. The trip through the castle was somewhat easier than they had expected.

"Pinkie, I swear, if Celestia saw us, I thought she'd sent her entire battalion after us. That alicorn must be toying with us." Rainbow said quietly.

"Don't you think we could've just, I dunno, asked for the tickets?" Pinkie offered.

"I saw a spy movie with Daring Do in it, and I wanna imitate it in real life!" Rainbow whined. Pinkie rolled her eyes playfully as they passed the StarSwirled the Bearded exhibit, eventually making their way to the giant door blocking their way to the corridor. In their way was a bulky royal guard standing by.

"Let me do the talking, Pinks." Rainbow said, sneaking closely to the royal guard in her way. Rainbow Dash glared at the royal guard, only to returned by a similar glare as the guard's eyes followed her movement. The rainbow mare attempted to confuse the guard by waving her hoof in several directions, but to no avail, as the stallion grew an annoyed scowl.

"State your buisness, Miss." the royal guard spoke in a deep voice. The sheer threat in his voice sent a shiver down Rainbow's spine.

"Whoa, deep voice, Muscles." Rainbow cooed nervously.

"What is your buisness here, Miss." the guard spoke somewhat impatiently. His scowl grew more complicated towards the hoodied pegasus.

"I-I'm here to...see Princess Celestia." Rainbow lied, pulling her hood from her head.

"And you came here to see her?" the guard questioned. Rainbow's forehead began sweating as she glanced around in a frenzy.

"Look, a supermodel!" Rainbow Dash yelled in an unsuccessful attempt to distract the guard.

"Somepony got hit in the boing-loings!" Rainbow said. The stallion's glare grew annoyed.

"Hit in the boing-loings," Rainbow repeated, a tad annoyed, "Boing-loings...boing-loings...somepony got hit in them." The stallion rolled his eyes, looking away for a second to humor the mare. Rainbow's mischievous smile returned, and she bucked her legs in response in the stallion's chest armor, remarkably knocking the guard out cold.

"Peace-out!" Rainbow yelled, proceeding to buck the giant door open, and to her amazement, opened slightly.

"Wow Dashie, you're so strong!" Pinkie said, hoof-bumping Rainbow in the process.

"You know!" Rainbow said, sliding through the small opening in the door with Pinkie. The two mares met with a long, complicated corridor. From left to right was a massive laser field with landmines on the floor. Rainbow gulped slightly.

"Told ya there were landmines." Rainbow teased, hovering above the laser beams with ease, even slipping a cocky barrel roll through a passage of them. Rainbow eventually made her way through the entire system, and was facing the giant metal vault. She quickly trotted over to the panel controlling the lasers.

"Easy peasy, one two threesy." Rainbow said, punching the panel's red button, and the laser's instantly faded. Pinkie soon hopped through the landmines and over to the vault.

"Alright Pinkie, we just need to crack the vault somehow. Any suggestions?" Rainbow asked.

"Ooh, ooh, ooh, can we use the nuke?" Pinkie asked excitedly.

"Too close, plus the sound would give us away." Rainbow said.

"Now what do we do?" Pinkie asked.

"Hmm, lemme try something." Rainbow said, hovering to the keyboard.

"Sonic...Rainboom." Rainbow typed.

ACCESS DENIED.

"What?! This thing is rigged!" Rainbow shouted, headbutting the safe, resulting in her falling to the floor in pain. Pinkie ran to her side.

"Dashie, you got a huge bump on your noodle!" Pinkie said, taking an ice pack out of her saddlebag.

"I-I'm fine, just a little dizzy," Rainbow said, icing her bump, "Wait, why is there a rabid parasprite next to me?" Pinkie ignored the pegasus' hallucination, trotting over to the safe, and nonchalantly bumped the door with her hoof.

"Loony little pony, bumblebees and honey." Rainbow sang in her concussion.

"Dashie's a crazy little pony." Pinkie said as the vault door opened instantly. Rainbow's eyes widened as she saw what was happening.

"Yoooo Pinkie...how the hay did you do that?" Rainbow asked, still semi-hallucinating.

"I just tapped the safe and it opened. Easy peasy, lemon squeezy." Pinkie chuckled. Rainbow wobbled to the now-open door, almost banging her head on the side of the vault. She saw a beautiful sight, the two tickets were displayed on a podium, and the dark vault was illuminated solely by a spotlight.

"Omigosh." Rainbow said in disbelief. Her face grew into the widest grin, it could rival Twilight's in her crazy state. Rainbow unleashed the biggest "squee" ever as she hugged Pinkie tightly.

"THANK YOU, PINKIE! YOU'RE LIKE, THE BESTEST PONY EVER!" Rainbow squealed, hovering with Pinkie in her bear-hug.

"It's not over yet. We still gotta get home without getting caught!" Pinkie said.

"Right!" Rainbow said, as she plucked the tickets from the podium and returned to Pinkie. Handing one to Pinkie, she hid her ticket in her saddlebag.

"Alright, it's about 1:25, so we only have 8 hours to get back! Rainbow Dash said cheerfully. Suddenly, the room was bathed in an errie red light as a security siren went off. The hallway door opened completely as dozens of royal guards flooded the room with pointed spears.

"FREEZE!" the guards shouted to the mares. Rainbow and Pinkie glanced to each other nervously.

"Ooohhh...this is so not good." Rainbow Dash muttered.

"YOU ARE BOTH UNDER CANTERLOT ARREST! PREPARE TO BE DETAINED!" the guard in front shouted.

"What do we do now?" Pinkie Pie asked, to which Rainbow replied by smashed the red button on the panel, causing the laser beams to re-engage, stopping the royal guards in their tracks.

"I didn't wanna have to do that, guys, but you forced my hoof!" Rainbow teased the guards.

"We have a breach in security! Get Celestia!" the front guard spoke.

"Yes sir, right away." a guard replied, trotting away.

"Ohhhh, you're gonna sic Celestia on us? Have mercy!" Rainbow teased. Rainbow forgot the obvious forgotten the fact that Celestia wields complete energy of the Sun, evident from her struggle with Chrysalis. Rainbow derped her eyes as she realized this.

Rainbow shook slightly at the thought of her punishment at the hooves of the Princess and begun to have a mental breakdown. Pinkie watched perplexed as Rainbow began whimpering softly as she shook in terror at the thought of her punishment. The royal guards snickered as they saw the toughest pegasus in Equestria before them quake with fear, even a few outright laughing at her. Pinkie Pie grew an angry face as she watched the guards, as well as Rainbow quiver on the floor. She roared at the royal guards in pure anger.

"STOP LAUGHING AT MY FRIEND!" Pinkie hollered as she grabbed a mirror and deflected a laser beam at the royal guards' spears, melting them all into unusable magma. The guards jumped back as their weapons were destroyed.

"Missy, you're in a world of trouble now!" a royal guard spoke. Pinkie smirked in response.

"How? You ain't got any weapons now. You're pretty much useless chuck mitts now!" Pinkie Pie teased.

"T-Thanks Pinkie Pie. I-I lost my cool for a sec there." Rainbow rose from her panic state. Rainbow's worry returned as she heard the Princess' hooves trot against the floor. A bright light of sunlight began illuminating the room as a regal white alicorn walked into the room. Her expression turned to small horror as she saw the smelted remains of her guard's weapons.

"What in the name of Equestria is going on here?" Princess Celestia asked, angered.