She looked at the sight before her and smiled, a happy sigh escaping her lips. How could one look out and see their heart so apart from their own body, and know it was the most sensible thing in the world? It was a sensation she had often tried –and failed- to put into words, but one she assuredly knew by sight. To look and see the thing you value more highly than even your own life was a feeling she treasured.

Twilight tried her best to set down her bag quietly, to remove her shoes with hardly a whisper in the hopes that she had not awoken Cadance from her nap, the older woman who she called the love of her life resting peacefully on the couch with hardly a care in the world. For one who held such an esteemed position in the most prestigious school in the city, it was a welcome reprieve. Twilight was glad of it, especially since Cadance had not felt well in some time now. Perhaps exhaustion, or some lingering illness that had simply refused to go away- neither of them knew.

They had been living together for two years now, ever since Twilight had graduated. It had been a sought-after state of affairs, the two women desiring to actually be together physically after a year of long-distance relationship. It had worked, and Twilight had been glad of the comfort, but nothing could equal the real touch of another human being that loved you as much as you loved them, the feel of warm flesh and soft lips pressing against your skin. It was an unrivaled sensation that Twilight cherished- and one she knew Cadance absolutely craved.

Had all her staring found a way to alert the semiconscious brain? Cadance’s peaceful, serene expression that could only be found on a sleeping face began to fall away, a drowsy look instead taking shape as the waking world came to be realized in her eyes. For a moment, they wandered about the living room to quietly take in the surroundings; as they fell on Twilight, the drowsiness shared its place alongside a warm happiness, a heavy-eyed smile forming on Cadance’s wonderful lips. “Hey, Love,” she said gently.

“How are you feeling, Princess?” Twilight asked, walking over and taking a seat beside Cadance’s resting form.

“Mmm… better now that you’re here,” Cadance teased, reaching out a hand that found its place on Twilight’s cheeks, bringing in the younger woman for a slow, soft kiss- one of the many dozens of kisses and acts of affection that Cadance so deeply craved from her lover and so lavishly gifted in return. “How was work today?”

“Long. But I’m learning a lot. You know how it is, just paying your dues until you’re the one in charge,” Twilight answered. “But… you didn’t say how you were really feeling.”

“I’m better, now that I got a nap in,” Cadance said, her voice now less groggy. “You don’t have to worry, I’ll be fine. Just a bit under the weather, that’s all.”

“And you’re sure?”

“Yes, Love. I’m sure,” Cadance said with a giggle. “How you worry so…”

“Well, it’s not like you ever do,” Twilight retorted. Their back and forth was friendly, familiar- even if occasionally it degenerated into bickering. Twilight was the one who needed plans and details and specifics, while Cadance took the world one step at a time. Perhaps it was simply the maturity that came with time that allowed the beautiful woman to be so consistently relaxed.

“Because worrying has always helped make problems go away. You need something to eat, Miss Cranky.”

“I’m not cranky,” Twilight protested, even as her stomach gave an audible grumble. “But maybe I’m something else.”

“There’s still a couple biscuits left on the counter,” Cadance suggested.

“Thanks, Cadance.” Twilight rose from her place beside the beautiful woman she adored and headed for the kitchen, only to pause at the threshold. “Oh, and just in case; we don’t have to go out tonight if you don’t want to. I can tell Pinkie and Sunset that we weren’t feeling it.”

“No! I’m fine, Twilight, I promise. Just tired!” Cadance said, the bleariness that had slowly been seeping away from her features now pushed away by the winds of determination, she rising from her place on the couch and taking a long, luxurious stretch that allowed her to flaunt all her beauty for Twilight to bask in. “Now that I think about it, I should probably start getting ready soon, shouldn’t I?”

“We’ve got a couple hours before we’d have to leave.”

“Then I can take my time,” Cadance replied, sauntering over and gracing Twilight’s lips with another kiss. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.” Twilight turned for the awaiting plate of biscuits and smiled as she heard the soft footfalls of that wonderful woman she had loved for so much of her life. Twilight could say she loved her openly, to her sweet, flawless face, and actually hear it in return. How her life had gone…

Whenever they went anywhere together, it was inevitable that someone would be surprised –if not offended- that Cadance and Twilight were together. The age difference between the two of them didn’t require any strong skills of observation. Some, Twilight knew, would at first assume they were either friends or perhaps instead siblings. Then there would be the moments of affection, simple gestures and touches that were shared only between lovers. It would bring attention, and the whispers would slither their way across the floor towards unwilling ears that had heard it all a thousand times over. A held hand often grabbed attention; a kiss would bring grumbles.

Twilight, the one who had taken initiative both times in their relationships, was the more capable of shrugging off such petty matters as the words and opinions of others. So what if the sneaking suspicions and cruel remarks of the world came her way? They knew not of the truth, how she and Cadance had come to be. To Twilight, their words meant nothing. It had been Cadance who had found it difficult to listen; little surprise, as she was the heart of the relationship. By far the one more heavily scrutinized, the older woman did her best to hold her head high, but some remarks that would flow towards her were… cutting. Deception. Coercion. Predatory. They’d heard it before, the subject even something they had discussed- rather, one Cadance had wearily wondered aloud and had been promptly shut down by Twilight before the thought could take root. It had always been her choice, not brought about by wily words of others. She would see it no other way.

The relief to have friends in the midst of it was welcoming. Pinkie and Sunset were hardly judgmental souls, ones in which Twilight was glad she could confide. The calmer, more peaceful relationship between Cadance and Twilight was a stark contrast to the enthusiastic, almost bombastic, romance the baker shared with her tech-enthused friend and found itself more at ease when in its presence. Cadance relaxed when in their midst, was more comfortable being herself before strange eyes. Pinkie’s overt affection was too much a part of her to ever be diminished by others, and gave a strange courage to others who understood it.

That wasn’t to say it was always easy to be around.

“Hey, you two! Come on over!” The bright, frizzy hair of Pinkie Pie stood out amongst the flat and wavy, her brightly colored outfit adding to the stark contrast of the more muted, relaxed look of the woman sitting beside her.

“She’d have been hard to miss, anyway,” Cadance murmured, though smiling at the joyous greeting. She had become closer friends with the younger woman, and could be just as shameless. The hug that Pinkie couldn’t resist giving was welcomed and returned in equal measure.

“You’re a little late,” Sunset remarked as their friends sat across from them. “That’s certainly not your style.”

“We took a little longer to get ready, that’s all,” Twilight answered. “You know how it can be sometimes.”

Cadance gave a shake of her head and said, “Oh, she’s just trying to cover for me. I’ve not been feeling very well this week and I held her up.”

“Oh gosh, are you OK? You’re not sick, are you?” Pinkie asked, already approaching distraught.

“I’m fine, I promise!” Cadance replied. “It’s just been a long couple weeks- and, well, look how the weather’s been, too. Up and down certainly doesn’t help things. Honestly I felt way better after getting a nap in.”

“Well that’s good to hear. You certainly had her worried,” Sunset said, gesturing to a blushing Twilight. “Neurotic even still, and probably always will be.” Cadance laughed, which only made Twilight feel the flush in her cheeks all the more fiercely. And she thought she’d begun to manage her worries properly!

“You fret too much, Twi, even if I appreciate the concern,” Cadance teased, a squeeze of a hand enough to add what words couldn’t be said aloud. “No wonder you’ve been tired, you don’t let yourself relax!”

“I was just a bit concerned, that’s all!” Twilight countered, wishing the whole conversation would just go away. “I thought I was handling it well.”

Cadance turned to Pinkie and started a new conversation, sensing her girlfriend’s rising sense of mortification. As the casual cascade of words continued on, the fall evening fell in force and only soft, artificial light was there to provide the warmth that could match the conversation and comfort the four of them held. A somewhat mismatched group that somehow so easily worked together; Sunset’s fire properly tempered by Pinkie’s consistent joy, Twilight’s thought given life by Cadance’s heart. In the two years since Twilight had moved in, the happiness she had found in their midst was something she would forever be thankful for.

“So- Thanksgiving’s coming up,” Sunset remarked, picking at the last bites of food that still lingered on her small plate. “You guys going out to Cadance’s folks again, I’m guessing?”

“Well…” Twilight hesitated. “My Mom asked me to come up to Manehatten and visit with my grandparents this time around, and she wouldn’t really take no for an answer.”

“That doesn’t sound too bad,” Sunset said. “So what’s the problem?”

“I’d be going with her,” Cadance added.

“So? That doesn’t- oh my gosh, she doesn’t know you two are dating, does she?” Pinkie asked, the confusion on her face turning to sympathetic understanding like the flip of a switch.

“That is… part of the problem,” Cadance answered, likely unsure of what to say if the subject went further. Some things weren’t capable of being explained.

“Is your Mom against you dating girls?”

“I don’t think so- my grandparents might be, we’ve never talked about any of it,” Twilight said, a darting glance at the lovely woman beside her.

“So the problem is… me, really,” Cadance said with a sigh. “Velvet really, really doesn’t like me.”

Pinkie looked like she wanted to shed a tear and leaned across the table to give Cadance something of a hug, while Sunset seemed to mull the statement over in her mind. “But you were Twilight’s- well, her, uh… her babysitter. Years and years ago,” Sunset stumbled over, the reality of the age gap more difficult to deal with when spoken aloud. “She liked you then, right?”

Cadance looked everywhere that wasn’t the people around her, sensing Twilight’s shame was almost as great as her own. It was the deep, dark, heavily buried secret that they had wrestled with over the years, and what catharsis they had decided upon wasn’t always effective. “We had- umm, a falling out. A bad one.”

“And so you’re afraid she’ll get mad if you show up and say you’re dating her daughter,” Sunset guessed.

“A mild way of putting it,” Twilight remarked. “I don’t know.”

“It’s too bad, too! Just look at Cadance: so beautiful and soft and sweet, she’s anyone’s dream girlfriend!” Pinkie declared, the lavish compliment helping to defuse the awkwardness. “Twilight’s Mom would be beyond super excited about Cadance being with her if she knew what was right!”

Cadance, who had been deflating slowly, was rejuvenated by the vivacious woman’s kind words. “Not anywhere as sweet as you, Pinkie,” she replied. “No wonder Sunset is so protective of you, I would be too!”

Sunset gave her own smile, a gaze softened by love looking upon its favorite subject. “She’s my sweetheart. And no one else could hope to be.”

“And you’re my ray of sunshine,” Pinkie whispered, suddenly pulling the sun-haired woman in for a staggering, overpowering kiss that left Twilight shocked- and quickly being overtaken by awkwardness as it continued, Pinkie holding Sunset so tightly that she seemed to be intent on making her wife swoon. When at last Sunset seemed had the totality of her breath stolen away was she at last released with a hearty Mwah! from Pinkie’s embrace, both the recipient and the audience feeling rather dazed.

“You like her a little bit, do you?” Cadance said pleasantly, more or less unperturbed by the public display of affection.

“Goodness,” Twilight said.

“Oh trust me, Twilight,” Pinkie said, a lavish look in her eyes as she still held her beloved close, “that was nothing. You should see Rarity and her girlfriend. They make us look like a 50’s sitcom.”

Cadance laughed as she recalled the story she had been told, though Twilight still remained mortified by what she had walked into that day. Of all things, intruding on such an incident hadn’t been purposeful. “So I’ve heard,” the gorgeous woman remarked. “And really, they’re just adorable together.”

“Their pet names are awful,” Twilight said, “honestly almost as bad as you all’s.”

“Oh come on, it’s sweet!” Cadance protested, earning a smile from an unabashed Pinkie Pie. “It’s not like it bothers you when we’re home alone.”

“Oh, I’ve got to hear this,” Sunset said, leaning in with eagerness.

“Oh gosh, please don’t,” Twilight protested.

“I call her ‘Love’ if we’re alone,” Cadance explained. “After all, she’s just that. Not a reason to feel embarrassed at all.”

“And what does she call you?”

Twilight gave a sigh and a shamefaced smile, knowing she had asked for such a moment. “Princess.”

Night was falling deeply, and the time to leave had come. The two couples exchanged their goodbyes and began to make their separate ways, Twilight turning to Cadance and smiling as she saw that bright happiness upon her exquisite face, no longer clouded by illness or poor feeling. She likely was much of the same, that common effect from being in the presence of such a happy pair- especially if one of them was Pinkie Pie.

“That was fun,” Cadance remarked as she settled behind the wheel. “I’m glad we went, that was definitely worth it.”

“It was. Cadance, I… I wanted to ask you about going to visit,” Twilight said. “You know. To my Mom’s. Are you sure you’re OK with going?”

Cadance smiled, even if it now appeared a bit strained. “We’d have to face that mountain sooner or later,” she said. “I’d rather do it now- and be beside you when it comes.”

“Alright, I’ll... I’ll let her know. We’ve got plenty of time to prepare, at least. Right?”

“Yeah. We do,” Cadance said. The key was placed in the ignition but left unturned, the beautiful woman’s gaze back in time.

“What’s wrong?”

“Oh, just thinking,” Cadance said softly. “Pinkie and Sunset are… sweet. And that kiss, it was… well…”

Twilight laughed, the scene she had found discomforting now a source of happy, somewhat awkward, memory. “It was a bit much, wasn’t? Pinkie’s always been a bit too enthusiastic-”

“Can you kiss me like that right now?” Cadance pleaded.

As lips met in the darkened vehicle, it seemed Twilight could.

Author's Note

This will be 'quieter' than its predecessor. I don't like writing asshole protagonists.

More will come. And so will other suggested (requested) items.

Keep reading, if you want.