Sipping at my cup, my face scrunched into a frown as I was met with a meager few drops of water. I put it down with a sigh, letting my eyes wander the room as it had for the past hour. Most of the attendees had long since left; the empty chairs around me were a testament of that.

Still, one chair to my right remained filled by a certain fiery-haired woman. Sunset swiped through her phone, occasionally glancing up at me for small talk or to offer words of encouragement. Regardless, I struggled to will myself off the chair and over to Twilight.

"What's the worst that could happen?" she asked for the third time that night.

"I talk to her and I make her even more upset."

"What's the best?" she countered.

"I leave without a word."

A groan. "I'm no goddess, but I know that's a fat lie." She crossed her arms. "You've got it all backwards. I'm willing to bet she'd want nothing more than for you to reenter her life - even if it's just for a moment."

I paused, rubbing my neck. "Just a moment?"

"Just a moment."

Taking a deep breath, I looked over at Twilight. She had been standing by the stage this entire time, talking to attendee after attendee as they congratulated her. All I had to do was walk over.

Focus.

Focus.

Focus...

A pause.

I can't focus.

"Lemme grab more water first."

Sunset rolled her eyes. "I'm gonna pop out a second round of babies by the time you grow some balls."

Not willing to entertain her joke, I walked in the opposite direction from Twilight, towards the refreshments table. Putting my glass on the table, I lifted the pitcher to pour water in.

"Excuse me, could you pour me one, too?"

"Sure." Moving the pitcher over to the other cup, I tilted it forward.

"Thanks." The woman bowed her head slightly before retreating to her table. Watching her walk away from my right shoulder, I heard someone clear their voice by my left.

"You've come along way. 'One, too? It's called "twelve."' Remember that?"

Freezing up, I slowly turned my head. To my side, Twilight Sparkle leaned over to catch my gaze.

"It's good to see you again, Luck."

Don't freak out.

"...hi..."

Don't freeze up either!

The purple-colored woman raised an eyebrow, but she continued. "I'm surprised you actually showed up," she scratched her temple, "considering..."

"Yeah," I already knew what she was referring to, "I'm surprised, too."

We stood in silence, unsure of how to proceed, whether to walk away or jump into each other's arms. After a few awkward seconds, I took the first step.

"Well," I picked up my cup, "it's nice seeing you." As I turned away, she grabbed my other hand.

Turning around, I was met with a look of distress. "Wait!" I rotated back towards her, but she shifted her weight nervously. "Look... about what happened... back then."

Uh oh. I steeled myself, holding onto my poker face for dear life.

"I'm sorry. I should've never ran away like I did."

I tilted my head back slightly, but I refused to succumb to my emotions.

"We were still fresh off that argument... and then when you kept drunkenly knocking on the door while I was working, I just... snapped."

I nodded, though it was quick to keep the glossy look in my eyes from spilling over.

"I just want you to know that I haven't forgotten anything, and I regret it all." She looked away, so I took the chance to swipe at my eye with a finger. "The first few days after, I thought I was fine, but..." she returned her gaze to mine, "I realize now that I was wrong. During these past seven years, research project after research project, I've been so overworked, and now, I realize how much you were looking out for me."

Clearing my throat, I squeezed her hand. "I was wrong, too. It's not my place to complain about your work ethic."

"It wasn't my place to complain about you wanting to take a break from research, too." Again, silence filled the air around us. Twilight inhaled sharply, shifted her weight once more. "I, uh... Do you... still have feelings for me?"

A pause. We made eye contact once more. Unable to respond immediately, I instead pulled on her hand, bringing her into an embrace.

"I missed you, too, Twilight. I missed you so much."

While initially shocked, the woman in front of me slowly eased into the hug, resting her head against my shoulder as I reciprocated. She sighed contentedly as I tightened the embrace, letting the familiar scent of lilacs fill my sinuses. There were no words necessary, just two people who cared deeply for one another. Eventually, though, after realizing how long we had remained connected, we stepped back, blushes coating our cheeks.

"I've, uh, been keeping up with your work. You're still writing papers at Mane U.?"

"Yeah. I'm still prioritizing teaching, but if I feel like it, I write an analysis or two." I shrugged.

"What else do you do?"

I cocked an eyebrow. That was a first. "Mostly just exploring new hobbies."

She rolled her eyes. "Does drinking still count as a 'new hobby' or something?"

Chuckling, I shrugged again. "It's all relative." As Twilight returned the smile, I gestured to her. "What about you? What's been keeping you up at night now that you've published all this?"

She tapped her chin. "I'm taking it easy for a bit."

Confused, I squinted at her. "That's a first."

"Yeah. Believe me, it took a lot of consideration before deciding to take a break."

Still suspicious, I crossed my arms. "You're still Twilight, right?" I jabbed.

Giggling, she nodded. "The one and only."

"Not necessarily."

"Oh, shut up. She doesn't count."

I waved dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, what's the real reason."

Slowly, her grin disappeared, nervousness beginning to replace it. "Well..." Recognizing my wary expression, she continued. "I'm... uh... seeing someone."

Oh.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"I see."

Whatever joy that we had once expressed was sucked into a vacuum, and in its place was more tense air.

"Is he...?"

"No, he's busy working."

"Oh, where does he work?"

"He's a high school teacher. Teaches math."

"Cool, cool."

I fought the sinking feeling in my stomach, the pounding ache in my chest, forcing the words to come out to prolong whatever conversation I could squeeze out.

The nervousness in her question wasn't because she was excited to reconnect; it was because she was afraid to tell me we couldn't reconnect.

It was just a friendly hug.

How could I be so naïve to think there was more to that - especially after seven years?

She cleared her throat. "So... what about you?"

I shrugged. "I'm still in the market."

A weak laugh. "It's a big market."

"Only makes it harder to find the right one."

"Fair enough."

Silence.

"Look, we're, um, getting married in September. You should check your schedule. We'd love to have you."

I swallowed hard. "Sure... sure thing."

Silence.

"Well," I rubbed my hands on my slacks, "I should probably get going."

"Yeah. It was nice seeing you, though."

"Agreed. Glad we could clear things up, y'know?"

"Keep in contact? I'm sure my fiancé would love to meet you."

"Of course."

Waving at her, I stepped away returning to my table. Peeking over my shoulder, I watched her linger for a minute longer, concern painted on her face, but with a sigh, she also left the refreshment area and reunited up with her research peers. Sunset glanced up from her phone, face filled with excitement, but upon spotting my discomfort, she put a hand to my arm.

"Luck, are you okay?"

Instinctively, I wrench my arm back to my side, holding it with my other hand, but realizing how forceful I was, I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry." Forcing the muscles on my face to contract, I produced a weak smile.

"It went great. I'm gonna head out now, though. Thanks for helping me out." Without waiting for a response, I walked out into the hallway. Still feeling overwhelmed, I retreated even further into nearby bathroom, slamming my hands onto the sink to steady myself. Despite my blurred vision, I felt the splash of tears on the back of my hands. Wiping an eye, I whipped my head up to the mirror, but my sight distorted once again. Rubbing once more, I caught a brief glimpse of my reflection. It stared back with rivers flowing down its face, raining down into the ceramic bowl.

A few droplets slid by my lips, coating them with a salty sheen.

My sense of taste was back... but why now?

Shortly after, my tears flooded my vision again, so I wiped... and wiped... and wiped... They refused to stop.

Why wouldn't they stop?

Author's Note

Alas, I'm already done. I think it was a nice creative outlet to allow me to recover from my main story.

As it currently stands, the completed status doesn't mean I'm particularly happy with how this came out. I think it's satisfactory given my intentions, and I think it's as good as I can produce at the moment. However, if I afforded myself more time, this could be improved, perhaps I'll revisit this later on to rewrite it.

Regardless, I hope you enjoyed, and as always, feedback is appreciated.