How I Fell In Love With A Pony

Bright and early the next morning, I found myself back in the library yawning in the face of the Princess. She didn’t look too pleased at my lack of energy, but I had been up rather late the previous evening. I was picking my brain of a way to properly apologize to Twilight for my insolence during our aforementioned encounter. I knew that I had screamed one apology, but that didn’t feel quite right. Somehow a screamed apology when a Princess is glaring at you as opposed to a friendly, thought out apology just didn’t cut it. At least, not in my book. But every idea I came up with just sounded childish, and so I finally came to the conclusion that correctly apologizing to the ruler of an entire nation was damn near impossible.

But my mind just wouldn’t let it be, so I decided to just take a shot in the dark. “Princess?” I asked just before she began her first lecture.

“Yes?”

“I just wanted to say…I’m sorry I wasn’t straightforward with you yesterday. You invited me in to your home, and I acted like a brat. I know I already apologized once, but it felt really forced. I want you to know that I’m sincere.”

She smiled warmly, and I swore my heart skipped a beat. She stepped over and put a hoof on my shoulder. “I believe you,” she said kindly, “and I forgive you again. A friendship is built on the methodical representation and understanding of the Elements of Harmony. Though not official Elements, forgiveness and remorse are two of the strongest tenets friendships can have. I’m happy that you want to be sincere in your remorse and in your apology, so I wish to return the favor in my forgiveness. I will never stop forgiving a friend.”

Her smile seemed to dance on the canvas of her face, and her eyes had returned to having a warm, comforting glow. Her mane played with the air as it flowed behind her majestic head, and the crown that sat there shimmered in the morning light. She was truly a work of art to behold, and I was the observer graciously granted the privilege of viewing said work. But I also understood and respected her position. So, in an act of solemn reverence, I bowed to her.

She gently picked me back up. “There’s no need for that,” she said, “I’m not the kind of ruler who enjoys being bowed to. I know I have authority, and that’s all well and good, but these are friendship lessons. Let us begin behaving as friends, okay?”

I nodded eagerly and she went on. “Wonderful. Now, in order to properly understand the Elements of Harmony, you first have to understand where ponies came from. No matter where we are dispersed in this wide, wonderful world, we can all trace our roots back here. Equestria is the only country in the world where ponies are born and live together. Sure, other countries may have ponies in them, but none of them are exclusive to our species.”

She trotted over to the gigantic book she had shown me before and began flipping through it. “Our history is long and rich. It would take many years of study for you to properly understand it. Some pony historians work their entire lives on one era. But I’ll give you what I can in the time we have, and hopefully that will help you better understand friendship and why it is vital to Equestrian life.”

With that, she launched into a lecture on the history of her beloved homeland. I was enraptured by every story, from the time the Fire of Friendship was lit to the battles between former Princesses Celestia and Luna. The way Twilight spoke created scenes for me to explore, and her voice became like a ping pong ball, bouncing between different characters. She spoke of the War of Equestrian Freedom, when Celestia and Luna had led a tiny army against a much larger invading force and won a miraculous victory. She spoke of the adventures of the Legends of Equestria, who were precursors to the ponies that represented the Elements.

I was spellbound. She brought the stories to life in ways that I had never heard before. Even our human stories could have used the “Twilight treatment.” Her eyes flashed around the room as she recounted the tales, and I dug into every last detail. Hour after hour passed, and still she spoke and I listened. I began asking her questions about the different periods of Equestrian history, and she patiently answered every single one of them.

I think this was the moment when I felt the first seeds of romance begin to sprout in my heart. She was a sight to behold, but her mind was even better. I could have gotten lost in her eyes as she happily sowed her knowledge into the fertile garden of my soul. It was a beautiful experience, and it was one I wished would happen again and again. They say that males are always looking at the outside of our female counterparts, and while a lot of that is true, I like to think that we fall in love with the full package. Twilight was slowly becoming that full package, though I didn’t realize it quite yet.

When she finished, she realized that four hours had passed. “Oh, my goodness!” She exclaimed, “we’d best be moving on to studying our first Element of Harmony: loyalty.”

“If you don’t mind my saying so, Princess…that was wonderful!”

She gave me an odd look. “You enjoyed my lecture?”

“Yeah!” I said excitedly, “I’m a major history lover in my world, and you brought your own history to life!”

She smiled and once again, my heart skipped. “I’m happy you enjoyed it,” she said, “a lot of ponies wouldn’t have had the patience to sit there while I lectured for four hours. I’m impressed!”

Her eyes warmly grazed my exterior, and I basked in their glow. I found that a sense of happiness existed within those two orbs, and I didn’t want to leave. They had me entranced in their field, and I felt welcomed and cared for. She was my teacher, but she was also my friend. Considering that I had a major lacking in friendship back home, this was the first time I had ever experienced it on an equal level. Most of my so-called “friendships” consisted of me wandering after someone, trying to be friendly, but ending up looking like something of a parasite.

“There is something you must know before we continue,” Twilight suddenly said, “we have done our own studies on human beings…and I must say…”

To be continued…