Enchanted to Know You

by Teal

Rating: teen
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, Drama, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, Princess Celestia
Length: 50863

After flirting with a mare at a bar, Twilight did not realize the she had unexpectedly asked Celestia out on a date.

When Twilight first saw her, she thought the mare was beautiful, and she couldn't help but be attracted to her. When she got to know her more, she began to realize that the mare was somepony she connected with and loved. But as date after date went by, the mare got more and more nervous, as Celestia struggled to figure out how she would break the facade to the mare she had grown to love.

Published 2021-05-31 11:50:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-01-14 16:26:32 UTC

Chapter 2: The Morning After

Twilight woke up with a splitting headache.

Groaning as she got up, she placed a hoof on her aching head, as she did her best to fight off the ever increasing sensation of the world around her spinning. Last night had gotten way out of hoof and she was already regretting the amount of drinks she had. Mentally swearing to never let Pinkie convince her and Moondancer to do another drinking challenge, and to never again drink as much as she did last night, she soon rubbed out the sleepiness from her eyes and began looking around.

Finding herself on a sofa, a short scan of the room quickly told her that she was back at her old library apartment. Another scan around the room told her that she wasn’t alone, as her friends laid all over the place, with some in the most uncomfortable position.

Rainbow Dash was sleeping on the floor near her, Moondancer was laying atop a pile of books, Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine were sleeping side by side on one of the large tables she used to stack books on, while Minuette, Rarity, Applejack, and Fluttershy were nowhere to be seen, but she assumed they were in one of the other floors, spread out in some kind of similar fashion.

Last night was definitely a wild one.

Doing her best to get up, and trying her hardest to subdue the nausea that was building up, she soon managed to stand on all four hooves, before making her way to the bathroom. Hopefully, if Moondancer kept up with her promise to maintain her old place, then there would be some aspirin pills in the drug cabinet. She just hoped that there would be enough for all of them, since she wasn’t in the mood for volunteering to get more from the pharmacy, and she doubted anypony else was either.

Reaching the bathroom, Twilight was surprised, and then annoyed, to see that the door was closed shut. Any attempts of opening it revealed to her that it was locked, making her sigh in defeat at being beaten to first rights with the bathroom. Luckily for her though she didn’t have to wait long, as the door opened in less than a minute after her arrival.

“Oh, darling, you look dreadful.” Rarity said, as she stood by the door and stared at Twilight, who had the hairs of her mane and fur sticking out everywhere.

“We all do, Rarity.” Twilight informed her, eyes closed as her headache felt like it was getting worse. Inside, she felt like it was too early for small talk like this.

“Oh my, well not me.” Rarity informed her, making Twilight open her eyes and see that Rarity actually looked decent, if not pristine. “Even when intoxicated, a lady must never look disheveled. Besides, it’s also bad for a lady to over drink, and should thus only drink enough to feel the alcohol but never get drunk.”

“Whatever you say, Rarity.” Twilight muttered, not really in the mood to talk on how a lady should and should not look like. Right now all she wanted was to deal with the increasing headache that was taking over all sensations on her body. “You didn’t happen to notice if there were any aspirin pills in there now, did you?”

Smiling, Rarity ignited the magic on her horn and soon levitated a bottle of aspirin in front of Twilight. “I believe this is what you’re looking for, darling?”

“Thanks.” Twilight replied, as she took the bottle with her own magic, before pulling out a pill. Placing it in her mouth and immediately swallowing it, she didn’t even bother to get some water to ease the intake. She just wanted it to do its medical magic as soon as it can.

“You know, Twilight, I don’t think it’s healthy to drink aspirins on an empty stomach.” Rarity said, a slight look of concern on her face.

“Don’t care, head hurts...” Twilight said, as she levitated the pill bottle to a nearby table and began heading towards the kitchen. “Alicorn magic will probably keep me safe...hopefully...”

“Oh my, I’m taking your headache is that bad?” Rarity asked, not phased too much by Twilight’s grumpiness.

“Worse.” Twilight mumbled, as she reached the pantry and opened it. Looking through the assortment of foodstuffs, she debated whether she had the energy to make some pancakes, but ultimately knew that she was fooling nopony at the thought. Because of that she instead took a box of cereal, levitating it to the kitchen table, before joining it with a carton of milk from the fridge and a rather large bowl.

Fixing up her breakfast, she couldn’t help but smile as she realized it looked similar to the old days. Back when she was still studying and got up before Spike, she would always end up fixing a bowl of cereal, no matter what time of day it was, since it was always the fastest meal to make so that she can immediately get back on her studies.

Shaking her head at this though, she realized just how much she matured since then. Gone was the loner and study freak Twilight, and in came the more outgoing Princess of Friendship.

“What seems to be so funny, darling?” Rarity said, trotting into the kitchen and seeing the grin on the alicorn’s face.

“Oh, nothing.” Twilight said. “It’s just that, looking back at things now, it’s funny to see how much I’ve changed. I used to be so bad at making friends, with me always studying and staying cooped up reading books. Now look at me, I’m a sociable mare who has the best friends a pony can ask for.”

Smiling, Rarity nodded, before thinking a bit. “Well, although I agree with most of that, I would just like to add that you still do end up isolating yourself in the castle just to spend all day reading and learning.”

“Ha...ha...very funny, Rarity.” Twilight remarked, a deadpan expression on her face.

Rarity giggled, before smiling gleefully at Twilight. “I do very much agree though that you are so much more sociable now. For example, I never thought I would ever see you going out on a date, darling.”

“A date?” Twilight asked, confused. Staring at Rarity with curiosity, the alicorn stopped her eating for a few seconds to think about what her friend just said. “What date?

“You know what I mean, darling.” Rarity said with a wink.

Searching her memory, Twilight found it hard to connect what Rarity said to anything she could remember in her schedule. But then a thought occurred to her.

“Do you mean my lunch plans with Princess Celestia?” Twilight suggested. “I think you can hardly call that a date, Rarity. It’s more like two friends catching up over lunch, which may seem like a date, but it isn’t.”

“No..no, not that, Twilight.” Rarity said, nearly rolling her eyes in frustration. “Honestly, were you so drunk that you have forgotten.”

“Forgotten what exactly?” Twilight asked hesitantly, as she stopped her eating and fully focused on Rarity. Deep inside she couldn’t help but feel nervous. Last night was a blur to her and after the drinking contest began she couldn’t remember anything at all.

She had hoped that nothing too bad happened while she was intoxicated, but based on Rarity’s statements, it was starting to seem that she did something that she did not fully intend to.

Staring at her intently, she could see that Rarity was studying her, probably trying to see if she was joking. But Twilight wasn’t. She really did not have a clue what happened, it was making her anxious not knowing.

“Do you remember the mare at the bar front?”

“Which mare?” Twilight asked nervously.

“The one with pink mane and white fur. You can’t have forgotten her; you’ve been staring at that mare even before you started that drinking contest. Don’t lie to me now, I saw those short glances.”

Mouth hanging open and cheeks blushing red, Twilight stared at Rarity in disbelief. Had she been that obvious? Clearly she had, since Rarity seemed to know a lot more than Twilight would have liked.

“Well, after your little contest with Moodancer, you got really drunk, darling, and started to spend even more time staring at that mare. But instead of doing it subtly, you made it quite obvious to all of us who you were looking at, as if you were fixated on her. I swear, your gaze was so hot on her that she could have melted. It got to the point where Rainbow Dash started remarking something along the lines of: ‘If you like her, then go ask her out’, to which you responded by immediately getting up and trotting to her.”

Immediately Twilight’s heart dropped, as she heard more and more of the story. In her mind, the events of last night were still foggy, but as Rarity spoke, some of the things that happened were suddenly cleared up in her memory. She was starting to feel scared now, and she couldn’t help but wrap her wings on her side, as if trying to cower.

“We watched you as you talked to her and, no offense, Twilight, but you looked like a nervous wreck. Most of us were certain that she would have turned you down. So, you can imagine our surprise when you suddenly turned around and started trotting back to us with this wide smile on your face. When you got back to the table, you excitedly told us: ‘I asked her out on a date to Hay Burger!’. I must say though, you looked quite proud after your achievement, and every one of us were cheering for you.”

Twilight froze as she heard that, eyes twitching as her mind processed what she had been told. Then, as the situation dawned on her, and as her memory of the night started to return, she started to blush even harder as her eyes opened wide.

“I DID WHAT?!”

Making use of the Royal Canterlot voice, Twilight managed to ruin Rarity’s pristine mane, while at the same time rudely waking up the sleeping ponies in her apartment.

Gathering at the kitchen and sitting around the dining table, Twilight’s friends ate their breakfast as they pestered her about her date, trying to get as much information as they can. Despite having headaches from their hangovers, they still managed to gather enough strength and energy to continue their continuous harassment on the lavender pony.

Resting her head on the table, and covering her face with her hooves and wings, Twilight did her best to hide her shame and embarrassment, as her cheeks glowed a bright red from that morning’s revelation. What had happened last night was beyond her control and were the actions of her drunk self, yet the one who had to suffer from the consequences was her.

Groaning, she tried to think to recall the events of last night, only to find herself becoming even more flustered from the memory. By then she remembered enough to know that she had made a complete fool of herself in front of that mare, as she stuttered and flustered the entire time she was talking.

Twilight remembered seeing the mare for the first time. She was okay, nothing special. It wasn’t like she was attracted to her. It just so happened that the majestic combination of snow white fur and flowing pink mane on that cute pony enchanted Twilight to the point that she couldn’t help but make glances towards her.

It was just distracting, that was all. It’s not like she was attracted to her or anything.

Somehow though, her drunken self interpreted these curiosities as a desire for something else.

Twilight remembered how confused the mare looked at her arrival, and how she stared with those beautiful purple eyes. She remembered how nervous she felt in trying to confess her attraction, and how the mare listened and waited patiently instead of running away . She remembered how the mare’s giggle was so soothing, and how her blush made her look cuter, as the hint of red shade clearly came out on her smooth white fur.

Then there was her voice. Her soft and calming voice. Twilight could have listened to that voice speaking all day long, and it made her heart stop remembering how the beautiful mare sounded. That mare could say anything and Twilight still felt excited chills run through her body from the sound.

Eyes opening wide, it was at that moment that the alicorn finally admitted to herself that she was indeed attracted to the mare. With a sigh, she tried to bury herself deeper into the table, but to no avail.

She never realized that her interest had gotten so far as to become infatuation.

When she first saw the mare walk into the bar, she knew that something was odd when her heart started pumping faster at her sight. This was strange to her, and she couldn’t remember the last time she felt such a sensation before.

Finding herself glancing at the mare ever so often, Twilight slowly realized that the once annoying sensation that was filling her body was actually making her feel quite happy. It was strange, and she couldn’t help but continue her glancing towards the mare, as this happy sensation kept on engulfing her.

It was intoxicating and she couldn’t help but get more of it. She soon found herself smiling wider, as a growing feeling built up inside her.

Twilight was embarrassed to admit that it took her drunk self to finally realize that this feeling was a growing attraction for the mare. It also took her drunk self to confess this feeling and be bold enough to tell the mare directly.

Remembering this made Twilight squirm uncomfortably on her seat, as she tried harder to cover her face with her hooves and wings. From the heat she was feeling on her cheeks, she was sure that her whole face was red. The last thing she wanted was for her friends to see her tomato colored face and end up teasing her even more.

But she knew that sooner or later she would have to face the music. She couldn’t keep her face buried forever, and with their growing curiosity, her friends would continue to pester her until she gave them answers. With a sigh, she did her best to calm down her blushing so that she could properly talk to her friend.

However, whenever she felt her blush lessening, she would end up hearing one of the curious questions her friend had about the mare, resulting in her remembering the beautiful pony, and thus making Twilight blush hard again.

Groaning, the alicorn grew frustrated as she realized that the cycle would not end, and she ended up cursing herself for being so weak towards such things.

“Alright, just stop with the questions!” She shouted, sitting straight and flaring her wings wide.

The suddenness and intensity of her actions managed to shock her friends to a halt, forcing them to momentarily halt their constant bombardment against her.

“I get it, I got a date, but please just let me come to terms with what just happened last night.” Twilight said, huffing and puffing as she vented out her annoyance and stress.

“Twilight, sugarcube, I think you need to calm down a bit first and do your breathing exercises.”

“Calm down? You’re the ones who need to calm down with all your questions. I don’t need anypony reminding me how I managed to embarrass myself last night!” Twilight shouted, fore hooves slamming on the table, as she glared at each one of them, her heavy breathing audible throughout the kitchen.

She was beyond annoyed by the constant inquiries, and although she understood their curiosity in regards to the situation, she felt that she needed space first before answering. She herself was still confused about the events, and their questions made it hard for her to figure out how she was supposed to feel about it.

Staring at them one by one, she soon saw the frightened and concerned looks on her friend’s faces, and this sight was enough to lessen her anger. Slowly, the alicron’s intense breathing started to become calmer, as her whole body deflated in shame and guilt.

“Sorry, everypony.” Twilight said meekly, as she hung her head . “I guess this whole date situation has been stressing me more than it should.”

“It’s fine, darling, we understand.” Rarity said, a warm smile on her face. “It is your first ever date after all, so you have every right to be stressed about. Just remember, you have your friends here to help you.”

Looking up, Twilight smiled and nodded. “Thanks, Rarity. And its okay, girls, you can ask me questions, I’m okay now. Besides, it’ll probably help me out how much of a fool I made myself last night.”

“Aw, don’t think about it like that, sugarcube.” Applejack said. “Sure, you were a bit drunk, but you made no fool of yourself. It was just you being bold and taking action.”

“I think it was very brave of you to express your feelings to somepony you like.” Fluttershy added.

“Definitely!” Rainbow Dash said with a nod. “And I’m glad I helped you! If it wasn’t for my wise words of advice, then you would probably be sulking here right now, thinking how you missed a golden opportunity, instead of being excited for the awesome date you’re about to have tonight.”

“Thanks, Rainbow.” Twilight said, with a small giggle. The pegasus was right though, she did feel excited for the date, although a hint of nervousness was present.

“Honestly, I’m just surprised that Twilight is into mares.” Pinkie Pie stated. “I always thought that she was more attracted to books.”

Twilight gave the earthpony a deadpan look, as she found the remark unamusing. The rest of her friends on the other hoof found it hilarious, as they all giggled at the expense of her embarrassment.

“Nah, I’m the only one here who’s attracted to books.” Moondancer remarked, making everypony laugh once more. This time, Twilight couldn’t help but smile at herself. “Congratulations on the date though, Twilight, you make book nerds like us proud!”

“Yea, Twilight, congratulations on getting a date! Minuette chipped in, and soon all of them were cheering and congratulating her.

Twilight though was taking the praises hesitantly.

“I’m not sure that I should take that as a compliment, or be insulted that my friends think that one of the greatest achievements in my life is getting a date.”

“Well, you got to admit, a pony with your...attitude, doesn’t often go on dates, making it quite a rare event.” Rarity informed her.

“Yea!” Rainbow Dash agreed. “Besides, you managed to successfully ask out one good looking mare. I checked her out too, and I admit, she looked pretty cute. Good job, Twi, you definitely got first prize! Hey, what was that for?”

The last remark was for Rarity, who had levitated a box of cereal and used it to slap Rainbow Dash on the face.

“A lady is no object and should never be treated as a prize!” She firmly told the pegasus, before turning to Twilight. “But I do agree with one thing Rainbow Dash said, she was indeed splendidly looking. Very majestic, one would say.”

Being reminded of the mare, and seeing the image of her beauty in her mind, only made Twilight blush. This was not kept hidden from her friends, as they giggled at her flustered state.

“Heh, the mare must be even cuter up close if it makes Twi blush that bad.” Rainbow Dash said. “I bet you’re thinking about her right now.”

“Now, now, let’s not tease our friend.” Rarity told her. “Although if you don’t mind me asking, what was the name of your little crush? I’m starting to get tired of calling her, ‘The Mare’.”

For a moment Twilight paused, thinking. Searching her memory, she tried her best to remember their short conversation last night. At some points, she couldn’t help but grimace at the things she said, and she wondered how better she would have done things if she weren’t drunk.

But as she pieced together their conversation, and scanned through everything was said, a realization suddenly came upon her.

“Oh Celestia, I forgot to ask for her name!” She despaired, slamming her head on the table and covering her face with her hooves. “I can’t believe I forgot to ask her name!”

“Oh dear, that does sound like a problem.” Rarity said, moving close to the alicorn and placing a comforting hoof on her back. “But I’m sure that’s nothing that can be easily cleared up during your date tonight.”

“No...” Twilight mumbled, looking up. “...this is a disaster already. She’ll probably think I was disrespectful to her by not asking her name.”

“Now, don’t down yourself over that, sugarcube.” Applejack said. “It was just a little mistake, and I’m sure she would not have said yes to your date if she thought you were disrespectful.”

“But...but...” Twilight began, as an endless number of scenarios played in her mind. “But what if she points it out during the date and it ends up taking over all of our conversations. Or what if I act too shy and she doesn’t think I’m as confident as I was last night? Or what if...what if she doesn’t like me?”

All these possibilities played in her mind, as she felt her heart beat faster and faster. She was scared of the upcoming date. The mare, she was wonderful, and she knew that she wanted to know her more. She, on the other hoof, was not as impressive.

Twilight was afraid that her own quirks would turn the mare her off. Most ponies found her weird, and she was terrified that the mare would not like who she was. She also knew that she was not an interesting pony to know, and she was afraid that the mare would just find her boring.

Thinking about this, Twilight could feel her anxiety return, as she felt petrified. She was both excited and nervous about the upcoming date, and she really wasn’t sure what she was going to do to make sure it goes well.

“Wow, you really do like this mare...whatever her name is.” Rainbow Dash said, as she watched Twilight go through her panic attack.

“Indeed, it seems to be that somepony is having some pre-date jitters.” Rarity said in agreement.

“Aw, cheer up, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie said, as she popped up next to Twilight and pulled the panicking alicorn towards her. “It’s just a date, silly, you don’t have to worry too much about it.”

“Just a date?” Twilight said, turning towards Pinkie Pie, eyes wide and gaze shaky. “This isn’t just any date, this is my first date ever! I don’t even know what to do. What if I do something bad? What if we run out of conversation material? How am I even supposed to act on a date? I don’t have previous experience to go by, and it’s too late to study upon it now... Or is it? Maybe if I cancel my lunch with Celestia then I would have enough time to read-”

“Okay, let me just stop you right there, Twilight.” Rarity, pushing the alicorn down before she could even get up from her seat. “Reading books on dating is certainly no way to prepare for a date.”

“Yea, Twi.” Applejack said. “It’s also not right to cancel your plans with the Princess; she is your friend after all. You’re rarely here at Canterlot and thanks to both your duties as princesses, you two barely see each other anymore. I’m sure she’ll be really hurt if you cancel your plans.”

Twilight hanged her head in shame from this. “Sorry...I just really want my date to go well.”

“And it will, darling!” Rarity informed her. “You have your friend by you for support, Twilight, and may I add that some of these friends are experts in dating.”

Looking up and studying her friends, Twilight saw their caring glances as they smiled at her. Slowly starting to smile back at them, she suddenly felt reassured knowing that they were there to help.

“Thanks, girls, you’re the best friends a mare can have.”

With that all of her friends piled around her and hugged the lavender alicorn. Although Twilight still felt nervous about the date, she at least felt better that no matter what happened her friends will be there by her side.

Chapter 3: Lunch

Celestia couldn’t help but giggle to herself every time she thought about her date for that night. She was excited for it and she had made sure to have all her duties done before seven that evening, so that she would have time to get ready and arrive early to Twilight’s selected venue.

Remembering the events of last night, Celestia was amused by the younger alicorn’s restaurant of choice. She couldn’t remember the last time she went on such a public date, and she was certain that this was the first time somepony had asked her out to eat at a fast food restaurant.

The thought of eating at a fast food restaurant excited her even more, as it was a nice change to the traditional fine dining restaurants her previous dates brought her to.

The Solar Princess had to admit that she always had a certain part of her that wanted to eat at such a place, and to be able to do so now made her quite happy. Having lived in royalty for thousands of years, it was a nice change to dine somewhere more casual.

No meals with small servings, no overbearing waiters, and no need for formal etiquette, all the things she wanted to experience at a fast food restaurant. Hay Burger may not be a fancy place, but it was the place Celestia could lay back and be herself. She wanted to enjoy her food and she could care less for the proper eating decorum when she was hungry.

Nopony, except her sister, knew that she was such a slob when it came to eating. Although she wasn’t embarrassed with her eating practices, she knew that her advisors, as well as the nobility, would frown at the idea that the most senior princess ate in such a messy manner. Because of that, she had to abide by the royal image.

To be able to eat the way she naturally did, and to do so out in public, was exhilarating for her. The thrill wasn’t even reduced by the fact that she would be doing it in disguise. Just the act itself was enough to make her feel like her real self.

That was one of goals after all, to express her real self, and not the princess facade that she had always held in front of everypony.

But no matter how much this goal excited her, the other goal of getting to know her date excited her even more.

Thinking of Twilight, Celestia couldn’t help but make a wide grin. She wanted to know so much more about that pony, and it was strange how she knew so little about her despite having known the younger mare for most of her life.

There had always been a connection between them, and it seemed like the wall she built up as a princess prevented that connection from growing further than the boundary her duties set. She could be wrong about this, but the feeling seemed to have always been there.

Celestia cared for Twilight, yet the other pony seemed to see it as nothing more than the obligatory care of a mentor and princess. Although this was true at first, it seemed that over time this care had grown to something more.

She hated how the barrier prevented them from knowing more of each other, as she yearned more and more to express her true self, while taking in who the true Twilight was. The Solar alicorn wanted to get rid of the formalities, to be gone with all the suppression of thoughts and feelings.

As interesting as they were, Celestia didn’t want their conversations to just be about friendship problems and little facts that she just learned. She appreciated that Twilight was always telling her these things happening in her life, but the older princess could sense that she was holding back, as if she wasn’t deserving to know more about mare. What she wanted, however, were more heartfelt talks, more emotions. She wanted to hear her talk about her feelings, her inner interest, her true self.

Celestia wanted Twilight to open herself to her, but she knew that it would never happen as long as the younger mare was blocked by the wall of her being a mentor and princess.

Hopefully tonight the wall of the facade will start to crumble.

Before Celestia could get lost in her thoughts, the sound of the large doors of the dining room opening suddenly brought her back to reality. Immediately knowing who it was, the white alicorn quickly got up from her seat and made her way to the entrance, where she greeted her former student.

Smiling broadly and standing perfectly by the door, Celestia found it hard to see that this lavender alicorn presented before her now was the same one from last night. No bright red blushes, no nervous glances left and right, and no stuttering speech, this was a completely different pony.

“It is good to see you again, Twilight.” Celestia said, as she gave her a quick hug.

“It’s good to see you too, Celesita.” Twilight replied. “Sorry it took me so long to visit you again.”

“No need to apologize, Twilight, it’s perfectly understandable.” Celestia replied, ushering the other mare to her seat. “Royal duties always take up a Princess’ schedule, and with all those friendship problems you and your friends always have to resolve, I’m sure that you have been extra busy.”

“Well, the map can be quite a hoof-full sometimes. “Twilight said, as she took her seat at one end of the dining table. “The Cutie Map has this habit of sending us off into distant lands. For example, just the other day, me and Fluttershy were sent to the Smokey Mountains.”

Taking her sit at the other end of the, Celestia couldn’t help but give a slight frown when she saw the distance between her and Twilight. Although she knew that the table would separate the two ponies by a bit, it seemed that the distance was far greater than she remembered it to be. Inside, she couldn’t help but wish for the distance to disappear.

There was no intimacy with this kind of sitting, and for a short second the white unicorn couldn’t help but remember how close she was to Twilight last night. Bar fronts provided no distance and no barriers, and Twilight had been up close with her.

Then another memory came before her, one that made her ever regal image falter, as a small blush formed on her cheeks. In her drunken state, Twilight had pulled her face close to hers till their noses touch and eyes stared closely to each other. Never in a thousand years had she expected that mare to do something like that, and yet she did so with careless disregard and complete joy.

The thought of that memory made Celestia’s heart beat fast, and she couldn’t help but think how she would like it to happen again.

However, she was once more snapped away from her thoughts when a confused Twilight stared at her from the other side of the table, wondering why the older alicorn was blushing and looking distracted. “Princess are you alright?” She asked.

Looking at Twilight, and realizing how careless she was to allow herself to be lost in thought, Celestia shook off any remaining hints of what she was thinking, knowing that there was time for it later. For the moment, the thoughts of intimacy should be placed aside. There would be plenty of time to think, talk, and maybe even do, later on their date.

“Yes...yes, Twilight, I am quite alright.” Celestia said, before deciding to change the topic. “Now then, our appetizer should arrive soon. I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of choosing our meals for the day.”

“Sounds good to me, Princess.” Twilight said, smiling politely.

Celestia smiled back. “So, Twilight, how are things with you?”

“Oh, you know, like you said, friendship problems and paperwork, with the occasional late night research splurges. It’s great to get a momentary break from that though and visit my friends here in Canterlot. By the way my Ponyville friends are interacting with my Canterlot friends; I think they’ll get along just fine.”

“That’s nice to hear. I’m glad that you and your friends are bonding well. How long do you all plan on staying in Canterlot by the way?”

“Oh, well, the girls plan to go back to Ponyville later tonight, since some of them have some personal business to attend to tomorrow, so they’ll catch the six o’clock train back to town.”

“Just the girls?” Celestia said, raising an eyebrow in feint curiosity. She already knew the answer to her next question. “Won’t you be joining them on the trip home?”

For a brief moment, Celestia saw Twilight pause and think. Looking directly at her, Twilight seemed to be confused on what to say, as if she was debating with herself on how to proceed.

“Well you see...” She began, before pausing, thinking, and then darting her eyes left and right. Celestia had to suppress a smile for a second, as the flustered look of the younger alicorn reminded her of Twilight’s drunken panicking last night. This amusement, however, did not last long, as she suddenly felt disappointed, as the other mare hesitated in telling her anything about the deeper parts of her life. This was understandable and she respected Twilight’s privacy, but it only served as a reminder how Princess Celestia was locked out from this part of her mind and heart. “...you see...I...I have plans with...Moondancer... Yes! I have plans with Moondancer, to do some research so we can finish my speech for the seminar with your magic students.”

“You mean the seminar scheduled for next month?” Celestia asked.

“Yes, that exact one! You can never be too early in preparing, right?”

“I guess so.”Celestia said, frowning slightly. She was definitely holding back, but Twilight still did her best to move the topic away from herself.

“How about you, Princess? I’m sure you do speeches like that all the time? How many days before the event do you usually write your speeches?” She asked, a nervous laugh trailing in the end.

Deep inside Celestia felt frustrated.

No matter how many times she told Twilight, the other mare always seemed to forget that she didn’t like being called ‘Princess’, especially now that they were equals. It always annoyed her to be referred to by her title when it came from somepony she considered close to her.

But that wasn’t the only thing that got on her nerves.

What annoyed her more was that Twilight was staying firm and was once more not letting her in. Just like always, doing the same pattern again and again, the mare would rather talk about trivial things than allow her to hear more important parts of her life.

Celestia didn’t want Twilight to know about her speeches, she wanted to talk about things like her life, her likes, wants and desires, the little things that make her smile, she wanted to know the Twilight that was never shown to her.

Before her thoughts raged into a storm, Celestia managed to remind herself that this wasn’t their date yet. As much as it hurt her, Twilight will never open up to Princess Celestia. But a certain hint of hope did raise her spirit, thinking that she might open up to Sunny.

Regaining her composure and giving Twilight her usual warm smile, the white alicorn nodded towards the young mare and passed off her long silence as she was just thinking the question through.

“I prefer to make my speeches at least a day before the scheduled seminar or ceremony-” Celestia finally replied. “-just so I can add in some points on current events.”

Looking somewhat relieved that the topic was off of her, Twilight smiled at the other alicorn and nodded. She was about to speak again when the doors to the Royal Kitchen opened up, revealing the Royal Chef, Fancy Garnish, who levitated two covered trays ahead of him. Moving gracefully towards them, the unicorn looked proud and quite happy to be able to serve his first course to the two alicorns.

“Your Royal Highnesses...” He said, as he walked towards the table and gently placed each tray in front of the two princesses. “I present to you your soup...” Pausing dramatically, he lifted the tray’s covers with his magic, revealing a warm and yellow colored soup, with chunks of green spread out, beautifully presented in a porcelain bowl. “...Broccoli Cheddar Soup.”

“My, this looks marvelous, Chef Garnish.” Celesita said, looking down on her soup with a smile. Glancing towards Twilight though, a small frown formed on her face to see the other alicorn cringing and seemingly terrified.

“Is everything alright, Twilight?” She asked.

Almost immediately, the mare switched to a fake smile, as she nodded her head all too eagerly. “Y...yes! I’m definitely fine, never better! Wow, this soup looks so....so delicious.” To add more to her statement, the lavender pony tried to give her biggest smile.

Celestia was far from convinced by this, and after thanking Fancy Garnish for the soup, she decided to further question her guess once the chef was gone.

“Are you sure you’re alright, Twilight? Are you not happy with the soup?”

“No!” Twilight said in a panicked tone. “I mean, no, there’s nothing wrong, Princess. The soup is good and I’m...I’m happy with your choice.” To try and prove her point, Twilight then levitated her spoon and cautiously took a scoop of the liquid. Staring at it as she slowly brought the spoon to her mouth, the younger mare took one glance at Celestia before sipping its contents.

Watching with concern, Celestia saw Twilight do her bet to control her expressions, as she brought down the spoon and made motion to take another scoop. “Mmmm...yum. So...cheesy...”

Confused at what was happening, and unsure what was wrong, Celestia continued to give Twilight a worried look. “Are you sure there’s nothing wrong?”

“Yup!” Twilight chirped, as she continued to slowly eat her soup. Occasionally though, she caught the young alicorn fight off the urge to gag.

“Well...alright.” Celestia said. She was sure that everything was definitely not alright with her, but she was also sure that whatever it is, Twilight wasn’t going to tell her.

But then a mischievous idea came to her mind. If alcohol was enough to loosen her up last night, then maybe it can do the same now. With a grin and a quick teleportation spell, a bottle of champagne from the Royal cellars suddenly appeared on top of the table.

“Just to spice up our meal, how about a glass of champagne, Twilight?” Celestia said, as she levitated two glasses and began pouring the rich liquid into it.

Grinning widely, Celestia studied Twilight to see the other alicorn’s ears fold back in fear. This didn’t come as a surprise to her, as she had expected the mare would be scared of alcohol after last night’s events, although it did disappoint her that her plan wouldn’t work.

“Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no!” Twilight said, wings flaring as she stared at the floating glass of champagne. Then, realizing how improper she was acting, she suddenly straightened herself to a more proper posture. “I mean, I couldn’t possibly drink...” The rest of her sentence was lost, as she muttered out her words.

“Oh?” Celestia said, the mischievous grin still on her face. If she couldn’t convince her to drink, then she might as well tease her then. “Are you afraid that you might get too tipsy and end up doing something? Don’t worry, Twilight, you may be an alicorn, but I am more than enough to handle you.”

“Wha....what?” Twilight asked, baffled as an eye twitched in confusion. It was clear that she didn’t know how to respond to this, as she sat there and stared. This made Celestia giggle, and once more she was reminded how nice it was to see Twilight blush.

“I’m just kidding, Twilight.” Celestia said, before taking a sip of her champagne. “You’re so easy to tease, you know?”

Twilight only blushed even harder from this, keeping her gaze away from Celestia. The form on her face, however, showed that she was not enjoying it. “Can we just talk about something else please?” The lavender pony nearly begged, as she blushed and continued to look away from older alicorn. “I’m not really comfortable talking about stuff like this, Princess.”

“Very well, Twilight.”

Relenting for the sake of her former student, Celestia soon changed the topic to a subject less stressful for the mare. This meant the two ended up talking about the Princess of Friendship’s recent trip to the Smokey Mountains which, although really entertaining, seemed more like a friendship lecture than anything else.

What Celestia wanted was deeper conversations, but based on Twilight’s hesitance and avoidance about such topics, she knew she wouldn’t be getting it now. She just hoped that the Twilight later that night would offer up a better conversation.

Later that day, as she walked through the halls of the castle, Celestia couldn’t help but let out a long sigh of relief, as she finished the last of her Royal duties for the day. The meeting with Griffon ambassadors took longer than she had expected, but at least now she can relax knowing that a decent trade deal had been achieved.

With her work for the day done, and thirty minutes remaining before her expected date with Twilight, Celestia trotted as fast as she could back to her personal chambers. She would have preferred to gallop or teleport, but she didn’t want to look like she was in a rush, so that the Royal Guard and palace staff wouldn't be concerned thinking that something was wrong.

Getting nearer and nearer to her chambers, Celestia couldn’t help but think of the upcoming date. She was excited, and she couldn’t wait to get it started. She soon began wondering how it would go, and how Twilight would act throughout the night. Inside, she hoped that she would at least be more open and comfortable, since she didn’t want a repeat of the lunch they had earlier.

Knowing how first dates often went, she knew that it began with both ponies getting to know more of each other. This was what she was excited for, since she was about to learn a new side of Twilight that she hadn’t known before. However, remembering the side that she did know about, she realized that Twilight would probably be a bit shy because of her nervousness. This was her first date after all, at least that’s what she assumed. This shyness might become a problem, and Celestia knew that she would have to find a way to calm down the mare.

Thinking of ways, she began to consider using alcohol again. But she quickly decided against this, remembering the mare’s negative reaction to champagne earlier.

Letting her mind search for solutions, she soon realized that the best way to get Twilight to open up is by making the first move. If Sunny was the first one to talk about herself, then maybe Twilight would become comfortable enough to talk about herself too. The logic in it seemed good enough, and Celestia was pleased with the idea.

But the solution soon opened up another problem, one that Celestia felt foolish for not solving earlier. Who is Sunny? Where does she work? Who is her family? What is her life story?

She knew that she should think of something fast or else end up having a story with too many holes in it.

With that she began creating her persona in her mind, as she began filling in the blanks in every bit of Sunny’s character. She did, however, make sure to make them as close to the truth as possible. Aside from her work and home address, everything about Sunny was essentially the same as who Celestia was. She was going on the date to finally express her true self after all, and completely lying would make things counterintuitive. Because of this, Sunny shared a lot of Celestia’s own characteristics. The same favorite color, the same favorite music, the same favorite food, and many other little details which she hoped to tell Twilight later on and in the long run.

By the time she reached the Household Wing of the Castle, Celestia had more or less finished building Sunny’s character. Satisfied that it was similar to who she was, Celestia felt ready for the date.

All she had to do now was get back to her chambers, freshen up a bit, then put on her disguise and teleport away.

But before she could reach her chambers, a familiar dark blue alicorn encountered her in the hallway.

“Sister, what are you doing back here so early?” Luna asked, as she stared at her older sibling with curiosity. Looking back at Luna, Celestia could tell that she had just gotten ready for the night and was probably out to get dinner before starting her duties.

“Oh, Luna, it’s good to see you.” Celestia said, greeting her with a warm smile as they got closer. “I’m just about to head back to my quarters.”

“But it’s just seven thirty in the evening, Tia.” Luna said, clearly surprised. “I can hardly remember the last time you ended your day before nine o’clock.”

“Indeed, Luna. But my day has not ended yet. I still have a lot of paperwork waiting for me in my chambers.” The last part had been a quick excuse, and Celestia hoped that Luna didn’t see through the lie.

“Ah, yes, that makes sense.” Luna said. For a second, Celestia thought that she saw a hint of sadness in Luna’s face. Her inner instincts as an older sister immediately made her concerned, as she studied her sibling with worry.

“Is everything alright, Lulu?”

“Yes...everything is fine, Tia.” Luna began, before pausing and hesitating. “I just...I just hoped that maybe we could have dinner together, and maybe after that watch the stars like we used to...” Then a hopeful look formed on Luna’s face, and the white alicorn could see a bright shine on her sister’s eyes. “Maybe your paperwork isn’t too much, dear sister, and you can spare some time having dinner with me? My schedule for the night isn’t too busy, so if you can spare some of your time, I can spare some of mine.”

At that moment Celestia felt her heart tear, knowing that she was being forced to choose between Twilight and Luna. Seeing Luna’s excited expression made it hard to say no to her, but imagining Twilight’s reaction to being stood up on a date sanded her also.

What Luna said hit Celestia emotionally, and the elder sibling knew that they rarely had time to spend with each other. Aside from breakfast, the two alicorn sisters had almost no time with each other. It hurt her knowing that her sister missed her so much, since Celestia knew that she missed her too.

But she also knew that Celestia couldn’t miss her date with Twilight. Despite being drunk, she could sense that what Twilight said last night was true, and she really did like Sunny. For Sunny to ditch her would most likely devastate the young alicorn, and it might break her emotionally to the point that she won’t become so open to the idea of dating anymore. Celestia couldn’t do that to Twilight, she cared too much to allow that to happen.

This was a difficult decision, and for a moment it felt like time stopped as her mind felt lost and confused. She didn’t want to hurt any of the two, but the position she was in meant that somepony had to be.

She knew she had to choose, and in the end she chose Twilight. She can make it up to Luna tomorrow, but it would be impossible to recover from any mistake she would do to Twilight now.

Biting her lip, Celestia had to suppress a sigh, as she gave her sister an apologetic look.

“I’m so sorry, Lulu, but the paperwork I have can’t be delayed.” Celestia managed to say, trying to hold back any hint of sadness. “How about next time, maybe tomorrow?”

A frown formed on Luna’s face, but Celestia could sense even greater sadness within. Trying to hide this though, the younger sibling tried to give an understanding nod. “I shall see, sister, I might have a busier schedule for that evening.”

“Oh, alright. But be sure to tell me as soon as you can, so I can clear up mine.”

“I will, sister. Although do not fret too much, I understand your circumstance and know that duty comes above anything else.”

Celestia tried to give a small smile, as she hid the sting her heart was feeling.

“Thank you, Lulu. But I really am sorry.”

“Don’t think too much about it, Tia, there are plenty more opportunities in the future.” Luna said, as she began to take a step forward. “I wish you well with your work tonight, sister. Goodnight, Tia.”

“Goodnight, Lulu.” Celestia said, as she watched her sister trot away before disappearing from sight.

Once the other alicorn was gone, Celestia let out a long sad sigh, before shaking her head. Then, trying her best to cheer herself up, she began thinking once more about her date as she headed towards her chambers.

Chapter 4: The Date

Twilight wished her friends could have stayed to be here, but she understood their need to go back to Ponyville. Most of them had plans with families and other responsibilities tomorrow, so they needed a good night’s rest, not a restless night of waiting and taking care of her. It just wouldn’t be unfair to keep them here just because she had a date.

Besides, she knew that they couldn’t exactly help her now that she was on the date itself, and she didn’t want them extending their stay in Canterlot just to wait for her. They’ll be there in Ponyville, and she could count on their support when she got back after the date, no matter how it would turn out.

Good or bad, her friends will be there for her.

A frown soon formed on her face when she pondered about the outcome, as she suddenly felt her nervousness rise up once more. She didn’t know how it would go, and she was scared that it would end up bad. Sure, she was really excited for the date, but she feared the bad things that might happen.

Despite her friends’ earlier reassurances, Twilight’s anxieties still managed to creep on her, infecting her mind with worries and fears.

She was excited for the date, it was all she wanted, but she was so terrified of ruining it. No matter how much she tried thinking of something else, the longer she waited, the more her fears grew. What if she didn’t show up? What if she suddenly didn’t like her as much? What if she’ll suddenly complain about her restaurant of choice?

This last fear was the one worrying her most during that moment, as she couldn’t help but curse her drunk self for choosing such an inappropriate place for a date.

Standing outside of the Hay Burger branch near the downtown plaza, the alicorn mare stared at the restaurant and studied it for a couple of seconds. What she saw brought a small frown on her face, as she wondered if she made the right choice.

Twilight loved Hay Burger, and there was no doubt in her mind that it was this reason that made her drunk self choose this place. Normally, there was nothing wrong with the place. The food was good, the service was amazing, and their multiple branches were often clean and decent looking.

However, despite how good the place was, Twilight feared that it might not be first date material. The seats were very public, the place was often noisy, and because of its popularity, the restaurant was quite crowded and hectic. Such factors would make a date difficult, as it lacked the calm environment that would give the proper intimacy for conversation.

But aside from those things, Twilight also feared that her date may just not like the place in general. She did meet the mare at a fancy bar after all, so maybe she was a pony similar to Rarity’s character; where modest yet elegant venues were her preferred places. Hay Burger was none of those, thinking it through she knew that it was the complete opposite of those things.

This made Twilight panic more, as her eyes darted left and right, studying the restaurant and finding more and more things her date might complain about. This was a disaster, and she felt it. The date hadn't even begun, yet she could feel that she had already ruined it by choosing a bad place to eat at.

Hay Burger might have been a bad choice, and that thought kept bombarding her mind.

Feeling down, as her worries overtook her, the lavender alicorn felt her mind swirl in a storm, as she felt scared and worried. She could not stop herself from worrying, and it took a lot to fight off the fears in her mind.

Closing her eyes and trying to push away the negative thoughts, Twilight barely managed to compose herself, as she tried to replace the fears with the advice given to her by Rarity.

“You date somepony who you want to bring to places you love. If they can’t accept that, then maybe you’re not dating the right pony.”

Thinking about it, Twilight slowly realized that what her friend said made sense. Dating was more than just feeling the attention of somepony you like, since it also involved mutual understanding. If her date didn’t like or understand the things she likes, then maybe it was a sign that she wasn’t somepony who she should continue dating.

Twilight hoped that wasn’t the case, but she nonetheless kept it in her mind to not forget that. She was here to enjoy after all, not constantly worry about pleasing the other pony.

Remembering all the advice Rarity and her friends told her, Twilight allowed her mind to focus on this, as she began ignoring the anxieties that had troubled her.

“Don’t over panic; she’s probably as nervous as you on the inside.”

“Be yourself; don’t pretend to be somepony you’re not.”

“Have fun; dates are supposed to be fun after all.”

One by one, she went through every bit of advice given, and Twilight couldn’t help but smile as she thought of each one. Her friends cared for her so much, and she felt so lucky that they were so helpful in calming her down and giving her words to make her feel better. She didn’t know what she would do without them, and she was glad that they were so willing to support her.

Making a mental note to herself, she made sure to remember that she should repay them all for their help; they deserved it.

Running through their advice over and over again, Twilight soon felt calmer, as her mind began to think of happier thoughts. Although a hint of fear still lingered within, it was no longer enough to completely overtake her body with terror.

Once her fears were reduced, a surge of excitement soon replaced the anxieties that had earlier filled her heart and mind. She was happy, and to be here now made her feel so alive. Yes, she was still nervous, but she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else but here. The only thing left to make things better was for her date to arrive.

Gazing out at the number of ponies going towards Hay Burger, she began searching the crowd, trying to see if there was a familiar looking white furred and pink maned unicorn heading towards her. Eyes darting from one pony to another, she tried to locate the mare from the bar. But as her eyes examined each one, it soon became clear that she wasn’t there.

Trying her best to stay calm, Twilight dug into her mind and tried to think what time it was.

She had left her apartment at around seven thirty that night, and she knew that her walk to Hay Burger took around fifteen minutes. She chose to arrive early on purpose, so that she would be the one waiting. Estimating that she had been standing there for a good ten minutes, then that meant there was still five minutes left before their agreed upon meet up time.

Knowing that there was still plenty of time, she felt better. She had nothing to worry about, and all she had to do was patiently wait.

Yet, why did she feel so nervous and concerned?

For a moment a frown formed on Twilight space, as she felt the small amount of fear within her begin to rise again. Unable to help herself, she once more scanned the crowd and still failed to see the unicorn there.

Slowly, her fears began to rise up once more, as she started to wonder if she had been stood up by her date. As the minutes went by, the troubled feeling inside shook her, as her heart started to beat faster and faster. Doing her best to fight it, Twilight tried to distract herself with her friend’s advice. But the battle proved to be harder than she initially expected, and her mind’s vulnerability to anxiety proved to be a major weakness.

Luckily for her, however, the fight did not last long, as her eyes suddenly caught a beautiful unicorn mare, hurriedly trotting towards her direction. Keeping her eyes on the mare, and feeling her mouth switch from a frown to a smile, Twilight’s heart couldn’t help but continue to beat fast.

However, instead of beating from worry it was now beating in joy and excitement. Her mind felt very high, as she once more got to look at the wonderful mare who had attracted her attention the other night.

She was enchanting and Twilight couldn’t help but be mesmerized with her sight. The way she trotted was so graceful, and the way her long pink mane flowed just made her look graceful. Once more, the lavender pony couldn’t help but feel attracted to her, as she found it hard to bring her gaze away from the unicorn.

Taking a deep breath, she tried her best to keep her composure, or else make a fool of herself in front of the unicorn. This was it, it was finally going to happen.

Smiling brightly, and feeling her emotions burst in full joy, Twilight stood there in happiness as the mare saw her and approached.

“Oh Faust, I hope I’m not late.” The mare apologized, as she stood there panting in front of Twilight. “Sorry about that, Princess, the way here was a bit more crowded than I expected. I hope I didn’t make you wait too long.”

“Oh, it’s fine.” Twilight said dismissively. Based on her calculations, it probably just turned eight o’clock. “You’re just on time, so no need to worry.”

The mare smiled happily as she nodded. Twilight didn’t know why, but this only made her blush, as she couldn’t help but focus on the wonderful smile. The mare looked gorgeous, and that smile fully completed it. This was the first time the alicorn was seeing her clearly up close, and not through the hazy gaze of being drunk. Studying the mare, she had to admit that the unicorn was even more beautiful than her memory told her.

She was wonderful and Twilight knew that she could stare at her all day. In her mind everything was perfect, and any fears and worries she had seemed to disappear.

“Are you okay, Princess?”

The sweet voice of the unicorn suddenly pierced her thought, as Twilight’s eyes widened from shock. Snapping out of her transfixed state, the alicorn quickly shook her head and blushed harder; this time from embarrassment.

“Sorry about that...umm...yea, I’m okay.” Twilight said. “By the way, you don’t have to call me by my title. You’re my...you’re my date, so please, just call me Twilight.”

The mare giggled at this, and the alicorn swore that she felt her heart stop at how sweet it sounded. Inside, a small part of her brain told her that she was acting like a little filly in a bookstore for being so easy to excite, but Twilight didn’t care. She was enjoying the feeling, and she was happy to see that so far the other mare was enjoying things too.

“Sure thing, but...” A mischievous look then formed on the mare’s face, one that suddenly made Twilight feel nervous. “...I’ll only agree to that if you answer this one question: What is my name?”

Twilight had dreaded that question, since she was clearly aware that she had neglected to inquire that valued piece of information last night. She knew that the name situation would be brought up almost immediately, but she never did find a way to find a solution to it. No matter how many times she searched her memory, there was no point throughout their previous conversation where she asked the mare her name. She had been just too excited and too drunk that she forgot to ask the simple, yet important, question.

Giving a sheepish look, Twilight first stared at the mare, before looking away, and then looking back at her to see if she was angry at her lack of an immediate reply.

The playful gaze she saw on the mare at least reassured her that she wasn’t angry, but it still didn’t make up for the fact that she had been careless enough to not ask her name last night. Biting her lip Twilight studied the mare once more, although this time she was trying to find any distinct features on her that would at least give hint to her name.

Pony names were usually based on talent and defining features after all, so maybe she could get lucky and guess it right.

“Oh, checking me out I see. My, my, I never knew you were so bold, Princess.”

“Wait, no, that wasn’t...that wasn’t what I was trying to do!

“Well then, what are you trying to do?”

“Trying to figure out your name...” She finally admitted.

“And?” She asked with a giggle. “Based on your analysis, what do you think it is?”

“Erm...Cotton Shine?”

The mare stared at her, a deadpan look of displeasure plastered on her face. For a few moments Twilight couldn’t help but stand there nervously, thinking that she had insulted the mare for making such a bad guess. However, the look on the bare soon quickly returned to a playful one, before a long reassuring giggle erupted from her.

“Cotton Shine?” She said with a laugh. “I know my hair is pink and all, but does it really remind you of cotton candy?”

“A bit?” Twilight replied sheepishly, as she gave out a small smile. Although she felt relieved the mare wasn’t, she now felt a bit embarrassed. Inside she couldn’t help but panic as she tried to keep her mind focused and back on track.

“Well, since you were unable to guess my name, then I suppose I’ll just have to address you as ‘Princess’ all throughout our date. I’m sure it wouldn’t be much of a problem though, you did say you wanted to be my Princess.” She said with a wink.

“I...I did?” Twilight replied meekly, as her eyes widened in horror. For a brief moment, she was tempted to teleport away in embarrassment.

“You did.” The mare said giggling. “But don’t worry; I think it was pretty sweet.”

Twilight gave out a short nervous laugh at this, as a mixture of embarrassment and excitement flooded her. On one hoof, she was beginning to realize just how much of a fool she made herself last night, while on the other hoof, she felt a thrill of happiness knowing that the mare actually seemed to like her; even if she acted like an embarrassing wreck.

Doing her best to control her smile, and trying to stand straight and fight the flurry of emotions in her, Twilight did her best to compose herself and get the situation under control.

“Well, then, I guess I’ll be your Princess for tonight.” She said, trying to stay confident.

“And I shall be your Cotton Candy.” The mare said with a laugh.

Twilight couldn’t help but laugh at this too. But this time, it wasn’t out of nervousness or embarrassment, but out of joy at the little joke.

“Please tell me that my guess was at least somewhat close?”

“By a bit. My name is Sunny Beam by the way, so I guess that Shine was pretty close.”

Hearing the name, Twilight couldn’t help but nod. The name made sense, and it sounded wonderful on a beautiful mare like her. Feeling herself blush again at the thought of how beautiful her date was, Twilight quickly offered for them to go to the restaurant, in hopes that Sunny wouldn’t see her red face for the hundredth time that night.

When they entered, she couldn’t help but notice a lot of ponies staring at her. Apparently the sight of a princess at the local Hay Burger wasn’t a common sight as it was at Ponyville. This made sense though, since she could hardly imagine Celestia or Luna eating at a fast food joint.

Normally, Twilight was used to having ponies stare at her, as it often came with the title. However, with her currently being on a date, she suddenly felt shy as the world watched and speculated about her private life.

“Are you okay?” Sunny suddenly said, turning towards the alicorn with a hint of concern.

“Yea. I just wish I asked you out to a more...private restaurant.”

“Oh, it’s fine.” Sunny said dismissively. “I think you asked me out to a wonderful place. I actually prefer a more casual place like this, especially compared to the formal places I used to be taken to. Don’t get me wrong, dates at fancy restaurants are quite nice too, but it gets tiring and being here is a nice change to the norm.”

Twilight beamed at this, happy to hear the mare was at least satisfied at her restaurant of choice. However, the inner worrier inside of her couldn’t help but notice the way Sunny worded her sentence. From what she said, it implied that she had been on dates before. This didn’t surprise her, because a beautiful mare like her most likely had dates before, but it made the alicorn realize that she needed to do good to make a better impression compared to her previous dates.

Lining up for the counter, Twilight was glad to see it move quickly. Their conversation had stalled by then, and she was having a hard and awkward time trying to restart it.

Ordering her usual meal, a double hayburger with fries and a drink, Twilight made sure that they left out the cheese from her hayburger.

“Oh, you don’t like cheese?” Sunny inquired curiously.

“Not really a fan.” Twilight admitted, before cringing at the thought of cheese on a hayburger. “I don’t know, cheese is just so...cheesy.”

“Hmm...It all makes sense now.” Sunny said randomly, making the alicorn raise an eyebrow.

“What makes sense now?”

“Nothing!” The unicorn said, a little bit quickly. “Anyways, I’ll have the same thing, but I don’t mind the cheese.”

Before long the two ponies got their meals and managed to find a vacant table near the large windows of the restaurant. Sitting face-to-face, Twilight was confronted by the wonderful sight of her date. Looking down at her food with an excited smile, the unicorn looked hungrily at the hayburger and fries, as if it were the first time she ordered one. The alicorn couldn’t help but giggle at the cute sight, before suddenly stopping and folding back her ears, as she realized that she had been ogling at Sunny again.

Turning away before the unicorn noticed, she then focused on conversation topics, hoping to once more start up a conversation before things get awkward. However, try as she may, she couldn’t think of something that wouldn’t come out as too nerdy or out of place.

Giving up, she let out a sigh, which caught the attention of the other mare.

“What’s wrong?” She asked, her eyes filled with genuine concern.

Twilight gave a half smile. “No...Nothing’s wrong...it’s just...umm...can I tell you a little secret?”

“Of course.”

“This...this is actually my first date. As in, the first ever date in my entire life.”

“Really? Surely a beautiful mare like you gets lots of dates?”

Twilight blushed hard after hearing that. Nopony had ever called her beautiful with that much admiration before. “Yes, really. I’m...I’m actually not quite sure what to say or do next...”

Sunny gave a soft smile at this, and nodded her head. “Well then, how about I help you out? Let’s start the conversation easy by getting to know more about each other. Does that sound good to you?”

Feeling a bit calmer, Twilight nodded her head.

“Good. I’ll start with me.” Sunny began. “So once again, I’m Sunny Beam, not Cotton Shine.” She said, adding a wink to the last part. “I live here in Canterlot, and work as a freelance writer. I’m a bit of an adventurous pony and like hiking and roaming places outside the city when I can, but with piles of work always on top of me, the easiest way I can unwind these days is going out to bars and getting a nice relaxing drink. However, little did I know that I would end up catching the eye of one of Equestria’s royal alicorn’s during my outings.”

Once more, Twilight couldn’t help but blush at this, making Sunny giggle.

“You know, if you keep on blushing all night we might have to ask the other Princesses to change your title from the Princess of Friendship to the Princess of Blushing.”

This only made the alicorn blush brighter, but she giggled at the joke. “It’s not fair, you tease me a lot.”

“Because you’re easy to tease, and cute to watch when you glow red.” Sunny said, winking and sticking out a tongue. “Anyways, how about you, what’s there to learn about the Hero and Savior of Equestria?”

Twilight rolled her eyes at this but gave a laugh. “Well, what’s not to know that isn’t already known by all? I grew up here at Canterlot, studied as Princess Celestia’s personal student, moved to Ponyville, made the best of friends a mare can ask for, and used the magic of Friendship to defeat evil.”

“That’s just the general stuff though.” Sunny pointed out. “How about the real you? The one they never say in the papers?”

Twilight stared at the mare with curiosity, as she felt a weird sensation in her chest. No one had ever been this eager to know about her, and it felt nice to have somepony desire for who she was. This was a stranger feeling, and the alicorn wasn’t sure how to interpret it. However, she knew that she liked the feeling and wanted to keep it.

“Alright, how about this. I share something about myself, then you share something about yourself, so that we can take turns while we eat.”

“Sounds good to me!” Sunny said cheerfully.

“I’ll start then.” Twilight said, as she used her magic to open the box that held her hayburger. “I love hayburges, it’s my guilty pleasure”

With that, she levitated the hayburger in front of her and took one big bite, unable to resist its savory smell. Hayburgers were always the best and for a moment she was lost in the flavor. But then, remembering that she was on a date, she took one big swallow and smiled sheepishly.

“Um, your turn.”

Sunny smiled back at her. “These hayburgers must be really good then, aren’t they?” She said, before opening and levitating her own.

Observing patiently, Twilight watched with hopeful eyes as the unicorn took a bite of her hayburger. Everything felt like it was moving slowly, as the alicorn knew that everything tittered on this moment. She knew she was being overdramatic, but it seemed like the fate of the date hung on whether Sunny would like the hayburger or not.

Luckily for the anxious alicorn, the unicorn’s eyes lit up in joy, as she gave a happy nod of approval. “These are pretty good!” She said excitedly, making Twilight’s smile grow wide. Then, to the purple mare’s shock, she watched as the mare in front of hungrily ate at the hayburger. Eating it quickly and with great pleasure, Sunny gobbled both burger and fries as if it were the first meal she had in years.

Watching with surprise, and then amusement, Twilight couldn’t help but be reminded by her own eating habits. Inside, this gave her some relief, as she now realized that it wasn’t only her who ate so sloppily when it came to hayburgers.

“Sorry about that.” Sunny finally apologized, once two-thirds of her burger was devoured. “These hayburgers are better than I first thought.”

“You never had a hayburger before?” Twilight asked curiously, one eyebrow raised.

“No.” She admitted. “And I regret not having one before!”

“Well, I’m glad you’re enjoying it.” Twilight said, laughing. Although she found it a bit odd that somepony had never had a hayburger before, she was at least happy to have introduced the wonderful delight to the mare. “But now it’s your turn to share something about yourself.” With that said, she took a bit of her own hayburger and ate slowly, so that she could focus on what her date had to say.

“Hmm...” Sunny said, thinking as she levitated a napkin to wipe her mouth. “Oh! I love pastries and would literally die for it!”

“Really?”

“Okay, a bit of an exaggeration, but you get my point.”

Twilight nodded and continued to eat her hayburger. But an idea soon came, and she smiled at the thought of it. “Hey, after this, do you want to head to Donut Joe’s for some dessert? I know it’s a bit of a walk from here, but the donuts there are worth it.”

“Oh, Faust, Donut Joe’s?” Sunny said after swallowing the last bite of her hayburger. “I love that place! I’ve been there a couple times before, but work has kept me so busy that I never had the time to visit lately.”

“Then it’s settled then. Next stop is Donut Joe’s!”

“Cheers to that!” The unicorn said, levitating a drink. Twilight quickly lifted her own cup and gently tapped it with hers. “Anyways, let’s not rush. That place is open 24/7, right?”

“Mhmm.” Twilight replied, a mouthful of hayburger in her mouth.

“Good. Now, if I remember correctly, it’s now your turn?”

“Oh, yes, right! Let’s see... Well, I don’t claim to be the most adventurous of ponies, but I do like exciting stuff from time to time.”

“What kind of exciting stuff?” Sunny asked, raising a curious eyebrow. However, Twilight couldn’t help but notice a spark of interest in the other pony’s eyes.

“You know, stuff like hiking, camping, maybe even cave exploring?” Twilight replied, a sheepish smile on her face.

“Those things sound exciting!” She said cheerfully, a look of glee plastered on her face. “You know what, I think we should try those things someday.”

Twilight couldn’t help but blush at Sunny’s statement. This first date had yet to finish, but what she said seemed like an invitation to another date. Giving off a small smile, Twilight nodded her head and tried to keep herself composed as her heart raced with excitement.

“Okay, now it’s your turn.”

“Hmm...” Sunny though, as she took a bite on the remnants of her burger. “...I like cooking. I’m not good at it, mind you, but I think its fun.”

Twilight smiled at this.

“I can’t say I’m a master chef, but cooking isn’t too far off from spell making.” She said, hoping that it sounded more impressive out loud than it did in her head.

Sunny giggled and nodded. “Then I guess you and I can add cooking together as something we can both do in the future.”

Once more Twilight smiled widely and blushed. She easily fell victim to such propositions and was slowly starting to think that Sunny was doing this on purpose to tease her.

“Your turn now, Princess.”

Twilight began thinking for a moment, before finally speaking up.

“Hm, how do I say this without sounding cheesy? Well, I love long walks at night, but I also hate them?”

“How come?” Sunny asked with a tilt of her head.

“You see, nights are nice and peaceful, and there’s this certain calming beauty to them. But everytime I do it, I’m always alone, and it makes me feel lonely.”

A smile formed on Sunny’s face after hearing that, as she looked at Twilight directly in the eyes. Staring back, the alicorn couldn’t help but feel the warmth and care radiating from her eyes.

“Well, luckily for you, Princess, you’re not alone tonight. You have me by your side now. How about we take a nice long walk later on the way to Donut Joe’s?”

Twilight was speechless for a few seconds. But soon a genuinely happy smile formed on her face.

“I would love that.”

The rest of the night went on like a wonderful dream for Twilight. She couldn’t have asked for a better mare to spend it with. After their diner, the walk to Donut Joe’s was a quiet one. Yet, it was all comforting, especially when there was somepony by her side to walk with. All of a sudden, the cold night became warm and complete.

Their time at Donut Joe’s was no different from the one at Hay Burger, as the two chatted again and got to know more about each other. As the conversation went on, Twilight knew that she was beginning to like Sunny more and more. Not only did the unicorn look beautiful, but she was also smart and shared many of the same passion for learning as her.

Before she knew it, the date was approaching its end, as the two walked to Canterlot’s Central Rail Station. Standing at the platform, Twilight couldn’ help but feel a tinge of sadness, knowing that the night and the date was not at its end.

“What’s wrong?” Sunny suddenly asked.

This caught Twilight by surprise, as she wondered if she had been sulking and if her sad feelings had been obvious to the unicorn.

“Nothing...” She first said, before sighing lightly. “Just, I had a great night and I can’t believe it’s over already.”

“I had a great night too.” Sunny said, as she turned towards Twilight with a smile that made the alicorn’s heart race once more. “I think we should do this again sometime.”

Twilight smiled at this, her mood turning to a brighter one. “I think that would be nice.”

“Great!” Sunny cheered. “I’m already excited for it. Maybe we can spend the whole day together next time...so that it won’t feel so short.”

“Yea, I think that would be the best.” The alicorn said, as her eyes briefly gazed towards the distance, where the sound of the oncoming train could be heard getting louder and louder. “Well, that’s my train. I guess that’s goodbye for now.”

“It seems so.” Sunny mused, before pausing. “Before this date ends, there’s one more thing I think I need to do?”

“Oh? What’s that?”

“Why, give you a little gift, Princess, so you wouldn’t be so sad all the way home.”

“Oh?” Twilight asked curiously, trying to recollect if the unicorn had brought or got her something that night. “What kind of gift?”

Instead of replying with words, Sunny moved her head closer towards Twilight’s and, to the alicorn’s shock and joy, the unicorn pressed her lips against the flustered and blushing Princess.

That kiss would be on her mind throughout the ride home to Ponyville. Achieving what Sunny wanted, the alicorn Princess was far from sad after the date, as she thought nothing but the wonderful sensation of the unicorn’s lips against her.

Chapter 6: Camping

“Welcome to Ponyville!” Twilight greeted gleefully, as she raced towards the mare who just got off of the train.

Rushing towards her, she quickly pulled the unicorn mare into a tight hug. Wrapping her hooves around the unicorn, she felt the other mare’s hooves close around her too, making her blush lightly, as she got a whiff of the warm and fragrant scent of the other mare. The scent was intoxicating, and Twilight could not believe how much she missed it.

It had nearly been a week since their first date and Twilight was glad to have Sunny with her again. For days she wondered if the mare liked her as much as she did, with the wonder soon turning into an anxiety that pestered her every day. For Twilight, the day after the date was spent pacing around the castle, trying to review the whole date and pick out any negative moments that could have squandered her chances for a second date. As if it were a test, Twilight scrutinized her own actions, trying to calculate if they were proper or were satisfactory to prove that she was a serious mare to be with.

Despite Sunny’s statement at the station that she would love a second date, Twilight’s worries did not stop bothering her. It was only after a letter from Sunny came in from the mail did she feel somewhat reassured, as the mare said that she would be visiting in a week’s time.

Ever since then, Twilight had done nothing but prepare for the second date, making an itinerary, getting all the materials, and daydreaming about the fun the two mares would have. Now that the day had come, the alicorn couldn’t help but feel relieved to see that the mare was actually here in front of her.

A senseless part of her had been nagging her mind that the unicorn would not come, so it was too good to see that proven wrong the moment the white coated and pink maned pony stepped off of the train.

“It’s good to see you again, Princess.” Sunny replied, as they broke off from the embrace.

“Are you still going to keep on calling me that?” The alicorn asked giggling.

“Yes.” Sunny said, sticking out a tongue. “Now, what do you have in store for us today?”

“Camping of course! After all the talk about camping last time, it would be a crime not to do it now on our second date!” At the mention of the occasion, and after realizing how loud her voice was, the lavender mare couldn’t help but blush, making her partner giggle. “Sorry, didn’t mean to proclaim that to the whole town.”

“Don’t be...” Sunny said, a sly smile on her face. “...I want the whole town... Nay. I want the whole of Equestria to know that you are mine.”

After hearing these words, Twilight couldn’t help but sweat and blush even brighter. Twilight still hadn’t gotten used to the idea of publicly displaying each other’s affection, let alone loudly proclaiming it to everypony around them. Sure, talking to one another and hugging in public was something she was comfortable doing, but that’s because such things were activities that could also be done with friends.

But shouting that she was on a date with the most beautiful pony in Equestria, well that was an entirely different level.

It wasn’t like she was embarrassed going out with Sunny, in fact it was quite the opposite, as she felt happy knowing that the wonderful unicorn had chosen her. No, it wasn’t embarrassment, but instead it was her preference towards privacy regarding such important things in her life. She was the kind of pony that preferred to keep her private life to herself, friends, and family only. She didn’t like being placed in the spotlight and, being an alicorn princess, that was a hard thing to do.

The last thing she wanted was to attract the paparazzi and fans toward her and Sunny. She already had the feeling the local newspapers were catching wind of her date last week, so it was only a matter of time before they start stalking the two of them. Because of that, she wanted to keep their attention as far away as possible, and, she knew, that openly proclaiming her dates won’t help that.

Feeling slightly embarrassed, as her ears and cheeks burned red, Twilight gave a sheepish smile and tried to stammer out a reply.

“Well...ummm...maybe declaring it the whole of Equestria is a bit too early at this stage don’t you think?”

Sunny giggled in reply and nodded. “Yea... You’re just so easy to embarrass you Princess of Blushing.”

“Ha...ha...at least somepony is happy about my embarrassment.”

“Of course! Because you always look so cute when you’re flustered, it makes me want to kiss your blushing cheeks.”

“Wha...what?” Twilight said, feeling her ears and cheeks glow an even brighter red as the unicorn stared at her with an amused smile. “You’re never going to stop doing that, aren’t you?” She finally said, an exasperated look on her face.

“Never!”

Rolling her eyes, Twilight soon let out a small chuckle as she slowly started to regain her composure. “Anyways, how was the train ride?”

“It was quite-“

Before Sunny could finish her sentence, a loud growling sound echoed by them. Turning towards the unicorn, Twilight saw her blushing red, with her ears pressed back in embarrassment. For a moment, the lavender alicorn couldn’t help but stare at awe, as she realized just how cute the other mare was while blushing. It was then that she realized why Sunny teased her a lot.

“Sorry about that.” Sunny said. “I may have skipped breakfast to catch the early morning train here.”

Stopping her gawking and shaking her head, Twilight decided to be the better mare and not tease the unicorn. At least, not now.

Instead, Twilight beamed with a smile and proudly gestured to the unicorn to follow her lead.

“Well, have no fear, because I have prepared for this exact circumstance.”

“You have?” Sunny asked, an amused look on her face.

“Yes!” She chirped, as she went down the mental list of the itinerary she had planned out. “I asked one of my friends at Sugarcube Corner to whip us up some breakfast before we go out camping, so there should be some delicious pancakes and hot cocoa waiting for us there.”

“Oooo, I love pancakes!” Sunny said, her eyes filled with joy as she skipped in place. The sight of this only made Twilight’s heart beat fast, as she wondered how a pony could look so cute by doing such a simple act.

“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go before they get cold.”

The trot from the train station to Sugar Cube Corner was not that long, but it was enough for the two to catch up on each other and learn how they spent their week. Twilight was quite interested to learn that Sunny’s freelance job currently had her writing an article on why Celestia’s early economic reforms had helped pull Equestria out from depression and into a new age of growth after the chaos sowed by Discord’s reign. This was a history topic that piqued a lot of her interest, and she was sure that she could help the mare out if she needed any assistance.

Sunny seemed to be very adamant at pointing out how Celestia’s system was superior to all and how it should have been adapted by the pony tribes earlier. Although Twilight would have liked to point out some flaws in Celestia’s old economic system, she decided that now wasn’t really the right time to debate over such things and instead listened and marveled at how much the other pony knew about this part of Equestrian history.

Arriving at Sugar Cube Corner, Twilight was kind enough to open the door for Sunny and usher her inside. However, as the two entered, both alicorn and unicorn were surprised at being greeted by a shower of confetti that seemed to erupt from everywhere.

Eyes wide and confused, Twilight looked around in panic, before having her eyes fall upon a large banner that hung on one of the walls. “Happy Second Date to Twilight and Sunny”, the banner said, for everypony to see.

Staring at the banner, Twilight felt confusion suddenly turn into frustration, as she realized what this was. To her, it seemed like a certain pony went against her wishes and decided to throw a little party directed towards a certain date that she did not want to become public knowledge yet.

As if to further reinforce her suspicions, the certain pony in question suddenly popped out from behind the store’s counter and waved at her excitedly. This was followed by her friends greeting her and Sunny with enthusiastic and proud smiles.

“Congratulations you two!” A pink coated and maned earth pony said, which was echoed by everypony else

To this, Twilight could only reply with an annoyed, and loud, scolding yell.

“PINKIEEEEE!”

“Sorry again about the surprise party, Twi, I just couldn’t resist.” Pinkie Pie apologized, although a mischievous smile still stayed plastered on her face.

To this, Twilight gave a roll of her eyes, before eventually shaking her head. Sighing, she then gave the earth pony a small smile, as she felt her frustration slowly melt away.

“It’s alright, Pinkie, I can’t stay mad at you. At least it was only us who were here to see it.” Twilight finally said, noting how the party pony at least made sure that only their close friends were there to greet her, while also momentarily barring the entry of any outsiders from the store while the short party occurred.

Turning towards Sunny, she gave the unicorn an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry that you were thrust into something like that. I guess my friends are a little bit too enthusiastic about the fact that I am now dating somepony.”

Glaring at her gathered friends, she watched as each one of them gave her sheepish smiles.

“Hey, don’t blame us.” Rainbow Dash said. “Seeing an egghead go on a date is a once in a lifetime event. We were already bummed out that we missed it last time, so we’re making sure that we get to see this one.”

Twilight wanted to speak up and point out that their second date hadn't even technically begun yet, but before she could Sunny spoke up from beside her.

“Well then, I think we’ll just have to go on more dates to make the occasion less of a rarity.” The white coated unicorn mare said with a giggle.

To this, Twilight felt her eyes widen, as her ears and cheeks suddenly felt hot.

Burying her head in embarrassment, she tried her best to shut out what was going around her. However, her attempts were fruitless, as the bombardment from her friends continued.

“Please don’t tell me you girls are going to stalk us all day?” She eventually said, knowing that such a thing was not above them.

“Of course not, darling.” Rarity said, giving her a reassuring smile. “We were just here to greet your date and wish you two luck before you go out camping. Besides, we all wanted to meet this wonderful mare you couldn’t stop talking about all week.”

Once again, Twilight found herself blushing madly red, as her friends seemed to have the intent of humiliating her in front of Sunny.

“Celestia, kill me now.”

“Be careful what you wish for, Princess.” Sunny remarked with a giggle, but the meaning of the joke seemed to be lost to Twilight.

Giving out a sign, she then stared at each one of her friends and shook her head.

“Well, I guess since we’re all here now seems like the perfect time to introduce you all to Sunny.”

“A pleasure to meet Equestria’s heroes.” Sunny said with a smile. This was returned by Twilight's friends, who enthusiastically greeted her.

However, after initial introductions, the flood gates soon burst open. Rushing out in one large wave, Twilight was unable to comprehend what had just occurred, let alone prevent it from happening. Almost all at once, her friends crowded and bombarded Sunny with questions.

Staring at them, and feeling embarrassed from her friends actions, she felt paralyzed as she looked on and listened in horror at the questions they asked the poor unicorn.

At first, Sunny seemed overwhelmed, if not nervous about each question. Hesitating a bit, as if thinking her response through before speaking, she initially gave slow and well-thought reponses. But as the question kept on coming, she soon relaxed a bit and Twilight felt a bit happy seeing how comfortable she was with her friends.

However, the lavender pony did frown upon the fact that their conversation soon moved away from Sunny life and started focusing more towards her. To be more specific, her friends soon began talking about the many quirks and embarrassing moments the alicorn has, as if they were intent on humiliating her in front of her date.

Of course, Twilight knew that it was all good natured, and yet she couldn't help but glare at her friends as she blushed red like a tomato. From claiming she was a pancake to the many panic attacks over simple things, they told it all, much to Sunny’s amusement. Twilight couldn’t help but groan at the idea that the unicorn was now going to use this new information to tease her with later.

By the end of the conversation, Twilight felt like she was feeling sick from how hot she was from embarrassment. Luckily for her, her friends couldn’t keep it up forever and had to soon leave to do their own chores and tasks for the day.

“So, you're ‘Pancake’, huh?” She said in a teasing tone, once the two of them were left alone at the table.

“Oh, please, don’t remind me of that…” The alicorn groaned in dismay.

Seeing a mischievous smile form on the unicorn’s face, Twilight watched her wearily as she leaned forward till her muzzle was up against her ear. “May I remind you that I love eating pancakes.”

Twilight could only squeak in surprise as a reaction.

Breaking through a thick layer of foliage, Twilight let out a sigh of relief to see a flat open clearing in front of them. Turning towards her date, she saw the equally relieved expression on the face of the unicorn, as she smiled, before plopping herself on the ground, tired and exhausted.

Giggling and shaking her head, Twilight offered her hoof to the unicorn.

“So, do you still want to lead the way next time?” The alicorn asked, as she helped the other mare up.

“No!” Sunny said, eyes wide as stood rigid and firm. “Never again! I’ll leave the maps to you from now on.”

For the past two hours, the two of them had been wandering around the Everfree forest, going through rough paths and detouring through thick patches of jungle trying to find their chosen camping site. Normally, the trek to the site would have been an easy trot, since Twilight had made sure to meticulously study the trails and mark it well on the map. However, due to Sunny’s insistence, Twilight agreed to let the unicorn navigate them through the forest.

The lavender mare had to admit that she was a bit hesitant at first, knowing that the Everfree forest was still a danger to get lost in, even if the Tree of Harmony was taming some of the danger it posed. But Twilight was weak and was unable to resist the enthusiastic begging eyes of the other mare, who wanted to navigate a camping trip for the first time.

Both Twilight and Sunny would soon regret the decision quickly, as it turned out the unicorn was bad at following maps. Ending up in muddy paths, heavily forested areas, and narrowly avoiding a patch of Poison Joke. Only after the unicorn admitted defeat and accepted Twilight’s help did they manage to get back on track and arrive at the campsite sometime past noon.

Now, tired, dirty, and hungry, all the two wanted to do was set up camp and relax after their journey. Managing to drag themselves to the center of the clearing, the two wasted no time at dropping their bags and laying down.

“Let’s take a fifteen break before we set up camp.” Twilight said, as she began the tough task of removing twigs, leaves, and mud from her mane, fur and wings.

“I think we’ll need to clean ourselves up first before we can do anything, Pancake.” Sunny said. Looking up towards her, Twilight saw the unicorn using her magic to pull off leaves that had been glued on her normally pristine white fur.

“Need any help?” The unicorn asked, noticing the alicorn’s stare.

“I think we both do.” Twilight said, giving out a chuckle as she realized how ridiculous they both looked at that moment.

Sunny nodded, before turning her head to the side. Moving her gaze towards the same direction, Twilight soon noticed a small pond that was a few hooves away from their camp site. Realizing that it could prove useful, she turned her head back towards Sunny, who was now smiling with excitement.

“Let’s go!” She said, before galloping towards the pond.

Giggling at how impulsive the unicorn always was, Twilight soon followed close behind the mare until they were both jumping into the pond, splashing water everywhere. Giggling, Sunny soon gave Twilight a mischievous look and started splashing water at the alicorn.

“Hey!” Twilight said. “I thought we were supposed to be cleaning up?”

“Yea, but there’s no reason not to have fun while doing it.” Sunny said, before using her hoof to splash water at Twilight again.

The alicorn rolled her eyes at this but then grinned. “Well, in that case…” She then used a wing to scoop up water and shove it towards the unicorn’s direction, soaking her more than she already was before. Getting into the spirit of things, the two mares spent the next few minutes waging war with one another, as they acted like little fillies lost in the fun.

It was only when they felt their exhaustion take over once more did they finally settle down and begin focusing at the task of removing the twigs in their manes, as well as washing away the mud mated on their fur. Mainly minding each other’s business for the moment, they soon cleaned themselves up before wading to the side of the pond to get dry.

Once out of the water, Twilight couldn’t help but twitch her wings, as she felt the fether ruffled after the quick cleaning session. Sighing and knowing what had to be done, she prepared herself for the tedious task of preening.

However, as she was about to stretch her wings and reach behind herself to fix her feathers, Twilight momentarily glanced towards the direction of the mare in front of her and soon felt her gaze stay. Staring at Sunny, the alicorn couldn’t help but marvel at how wonderful she looked. Thanks to the water, both her mane and fur were soaked and matted down, which gave off a certain beauty that Twilight found hard to keep her eyes off.

For the first time since they got into the pond, Twilight just realized how intimate the situation they placed themselves in was. Ponies don’t normally bathe in front of one another, not unless they were with somepony special. Then again, Sunny was special to her. But she wondered if the unicorn viewed things the same way.

Finding herself staring for far longer than she would have liked, she quickly attracted the attention of the other mare, who gave her a small smile. Staring at her eyes, Twilight found herself holding the gaze, until she noticed Sunny’s attention move towards something else.

“Would you like me to help preen your wings?” The unicorn suddenly blurted out, catching Twilight by surprise. That was something she had never expected.

Suddenly feeling shy, she fidgeted her wings and held back a reply. Darting her eyes left and right, Twilight soon fixated her eyes on the other mare’s face again to see that she too was now blushing, as if she now realized the implication of what she had just said. Had her delayed response made things awkward?

“I…” Sunny began, as she hesitated for a bit. Twilight was then surprised to see a blush form on her cheeks as she looked down at the water. “...I’ve preened other ponies before, so I think I can help you with it…if you would like that is.”

“Oh.” Twilight didn’t know why, but she felt somewhat jealous at the idea that Sunny had been so intimate with a pony like that. However, would she allow her the same opportunity?

She had never allowed anypony to preen her wings before. Even back in the day when Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were trying to teach her about proper wing maintenance, she had not once allowed her friends to preen her wings.

But she trusted Sunny. She felt safe with her and she was willing to lower her walls for her. She didn’t argue with the idea of her preening her wings, because she saw nothing wrong with it. Because of that, Twilight nodded her head and gestured to the unicorn to move towards her.

Moving towards her, Sunny soon placed herself beside Twilight’s left side. Feeling nervous, yet wanting to continue, Twilight lifted her wing, exposing her feathers to other mare. Quietly the alicorn waited until she felt the mare’s muzzle move closer until a tingling sensation shot through her.

Twilight let out a squeak at the sensation, causing Sunny to pause and give a glance of concern.

“Are you okay? Did I pull on a feather too hard?”

“No!” The lavender pony shouted in excitement, before softening her voice. “No…it’s just, I’m not used to being preened.”

Twilight noticed a blush form on the unicorn’s face, which she tried to play off by smiling and giving a confident reply. “Don’t worry, Princess, I’ll be gentle, I promise.”

The alicorn only nodded in reply, as she soon felt Sunny continue the task. Trying her best to relax, she found it hard to fight off the heavy beating of her heart. This was supposed to be a simple preening to fix her feathers and yet she was making it feel more intimate than it was supposed to be.

Feeling the unicorn’s mouth nibbling at her, she felt excited at having her so close. She had never had this happen before and was not too sure how to appropriately react. However, Sunny’s gentle and soft work managed to help a bit, as Twilight felt her feathers rearrange properly and neatly.

She soon noticed that the unicorn was doing things slowly, making sure to get each individual feather correctly. Whether she was doing this with the intention of making Twilight more flustered or so that the whole thing would be more gentle and comfortable, the alicorn was not sure. Whichever reason it was, the slow pace allowed the lavender pony to get accustomed to the feeling, as her heart rate slowed. She was now getting accustomed to the sensation.

Feeling the tension from her body leave, Twilight soon began to enjoy having her feathers moved around by their other mare’s careful work. She felt embarrassed to admit it, but it seemed like Sunny was doing a better job than she ever had before.

By the time the unicorn finished with the right wing and moved towards the left, Twilight knew that she would have to ask her to do this again someday.

Twilight and Sunny lay comfortably on a blanket between their tent and the warm campfire. With their backs on the cozy blanket, they both gaze up at the beautiful night sky. Studying the stars and the stunning beauty they hold, Twilight couldn’t help but be awed at the site. It looked as if Luna made the night especially beautiful tonight, as the sky seemed to look like a wonderful masterpiece.

Sighing from her spot, she turned her head to look at Sunny, who seemed to be enjoying the view as much as her. The alicorn kept up this gaze until the unicorn next to her noticed and smiled.

“Thank you for this, Princess.” She said, her voice giving a genuine tone of joy. “I really enjoyed this day.”

“Me too.” Twilight, knowing that it was the other mare’s presence that made this trip amazing. “I hope we can do this more often.”

Sighing, Sunny nodded. “I know.” There was a hint of sadness in her voice, which made Twilight frown in concern. “I’m sorry I couldn’t make this trip longer or limited our camping location to the Everfree forest. If I didn't have so many important work-related matters to attend to at Canterlot, I assure you I would have extended my visit to more than just two days.”

“Sunny, it’s okay.” The lavender pony said in a reassuring voice. “I understand, so there’s no need to apologize. However, it does mean that you owe me another date.”

“Oh, guilting me to another date are we?” The unicorn said. “But of course, I accept!”

The two mares then giggled before letting their laughter echo into the night. They soon returned to gazing up at the stars, as they both enjoyed each other’s company. However, after a while, Twilight soon found herself thinking.

Laying there beside Sunny, she couldn’t help but feel something strong raging inside her. It started from her heart, yet clouded her mind with thoughts she had never imagined before. Images of her and Sunny doing this again, of her and Sunny walking side by side, of her and Sunny spending nights together, of her and Sunny being together, all of these and more filled her head.

As her thoughts distracted her, she failed to realize her body seemingly moved on its own, as she scooted slowly to the side until she was pressing up against the other mare. This brought the alicorn back to reality, as it also attracted the attention of the unicorn.

Turning towards Twilight, and taking her actions as a signal, Sunny quickly pressed up against her and brought a hoof across her chest to pull her into a hug. Twilight blushed at this but said nothing. Instead, she did what she thought was only natural and turned to return the hug. Now facing each other as they lay, the alicorn soon found her muzzle nearly touching the other mare’s own.

Letting the moment play on, Twilight stared at Sunny, as the other mare stared back at her. The alicorn’s mind was a storm of thoughts at the moment, as so many things circled around her head. Not to be outdone, her heart tried to keep up with the pace by beating so fast that it seemed that even Sunny could feel it.

Sunny really was a mare that Twilight liked, maybe even more than simply like. There were so many things about the unicorn that made the alicorn complete. Nopony had ever made her feel like that before. Being with her truly made her happy.

Twilight felt a connection form between them and she wanted to keep it going.She didn’t want to let the other mare go. She didn’t want to lose what they had. She wanted the connection to grow and she knew that such growth would have to result from one of them taking the next step.

She wasn’t sure if Sunny wanted to take that step, but Twilight was sure that she wanted it.

Maybe she was rushing, maybe she was not, whichever one it was she knew what she was feeling was right. She had to do this, she had to follow her heart.

“Sunny…” Twilight began, her voice a bit shaky from nervousness. “...may I ask you something?”

The unicorn raised an eyebrow out of curiosity. “Oh? What is it?”

“Will…” She paused, feeling her throat dry out. She wondered if it was like this for everypony. Was it really this hard? “...will you…”

She bit her lip, then looked at Sunny’s eyes. Her eyes were beautiful and Twilight knew that she wanted those eyes to be a part of her life.

“Will you be my marefriend?” She finally squeaked out, before closing her eyes shut in fear. She was scared of what the reply would be; she was scared that it would be rejected.

However, instead of a negative response, Twilight felt a hoof gently brush her mane.

Slowly opening her eyes, the lavender pony saw a wide smile on the other mare’s face.

“I would love to be your marefriend, Twilight.”

With that Twilight pushed her muzzle against Sunny’s and kissed the unicorn on the lips.

Author's Note

Chapter 7: The Sparkle Household

To say that Sunny was nervous would have been an understatement. She was scared. No. She wasn’t just scared, she was outright terrified. Standing in front of the Sparkle Household, she had to use all her mental strength to fight off every urge to turn around and leave.

Now, meeting the parents of a special somepony was nothing new to her. She had done this plenty of times before. However, it had been ages since she last did something like this, and she clearly remembered that during the last time it happened, the parents were more afraid of her than the other way around. She was used to being in a position of power, to be the one admired and awed at by the ponies in the room. Although she never liked it, constant repetition made it so that she had forgotten how it felt like to be the one under.

Sensing her feelings and trying to ease her worry, Twilight leaned against Sunny in hopes of comforting her. The scent of the alicorn and the feeling of her warm body often made the white mare’s heart flutter with joy and distract her from any other thought. However, it didn’t seem enough this time. The nervousness still swirling inside, as she wondered what may lay behind the door in front of them.

“Do you think they’ll like me?” She asked, as she felt her throat was getting dry.

That question was the thought that circled her mind the most. She was scared that Twilight’s parents would not like her. She was scared that her parents would not approve of their relationship. She didn’t know what her parents wanted for her daughter or if she met any of the qualifications they had set for their daughter’s partner.

Were they okay with Twilight being with a mare or did they want a stallion? Would they approve of her job as a freelance writer or did they think that such a job was beneath their daughter and family name? Will they think that them meeting at a bar was sinful? How would they react when they learn that their daughter was drunk when she asked her out? Will they think that Twilight just made a mistake choosing her? Will they think that she was a gold digger who was only after the alicorn’s position and wealth?

All those thoughts plagued her mind, as she felt restless and worried. She knew that any disapproval from Twilight's parents could spell the end of their relationship and Sunny was not prepared to be separated from the mare she really loved.

Of course, she had been in previous relationships where that was the case. But once more, that was where her position of power helped. Regardless of the opinions of the parents, she and her previous partners would get what they want, because nopony would dare question or counter her decision. However, that was not the case here. She had no power now. Sunny was just a unicorn. It was up to Twilight’s parents to decide.

Sure, they were both mature mares who could make their own decisions. But, Twilight was a pony close to her family and Sunny would never deprive her of that just for her sake.

Because of that she knew she had to make a good impression.

“Of course they would like you.” Twilight said in a reassuring tone. “What’s there not to like? Besides, my parents are kind ponies, they won’t bite.”

“Yea, Twilight’s right!” A certain baby dragon said, making Sunny look down towards Spike, who was holding a massive box for his size. The young drake had taken a liking for Sunny and the unicorn was proud to consider him as a friend after their first meeting at the end of her third date with Twilight. Of course, he wasn’t much of a fan of the unicorn’s constant public display of affection towards the alicorn, but that didn’t seem to lessen his view of the white mare, or at least that’s what Sunny told herself. “Mom and Dad are the best ponies out there, I doubt you can do anything to make them think badly of you.”

Sunny would have liked to agree with them, but she was never really sure. Something inside of her knew that she had met those two ponies before. Yet she never really got to know who they truly were, aside from the usual supportive and protective parents you would see from the outside.

Slowly nodding her head, Sunny did her best to compose herself. A sudden mechanical clicking sound, however, brought the tension back all over her body. Looking forward, the door in front of them unlocked and opened to reveal two excited ponies who couldn’t contain the joy of seeing their daughter again.

“Twilight! Spike!” They both said, as they rushed forward to cover both the alicorn and the dragon in a big hug.

Suddenly feeling out of place, Sunny looked on as they both held her into a tight hug.

“It’s good to see you two too.” Twilight said, returning the hug by wrapping her wings around them.

“It’s good to be back here.” Spike added, as he did his best to stretch his arms far enough to give a big huf.

Then, as they all pulled back from the heartfelt greeting, Twilight gave her father a wide smile. “Happy birthday, Dad!” This was followed by Spike giving his own greeting.

“Thank you, sweetheart. Thank’s little bud.” A blue unicorn stallion replied. “I’m so happy that you two could make it, even with your busy schedule.”

“Are you kidding, Dad? Of course we would never miss your birthday!” Twilight said with a giggle.

Standing there to the side, Sunny couldn’t help but smile at the sight of Twilight’s family. For a moment she forgot her fears and watched at how warm and loving they were to one another. She had to admit, it was sweet and cute.

However, her smile soon turned into a sudden frown, when she noticed that the light gray unicorn mare in front of her suddenly glanced towards her direction.

“Night Light, it looks like Twilight and Spike didn’t come by themselves.” She said, as she gestured towards the white unicorn.

Feeling everypony’s attention now on her, Sunny tried her best to give a smile, as she nervously introduced greeting Twilight’s parents with a somewhat shy wave of a hoof. She felt embarrassed for being so nervous, as she blushed and tried to maintain eye contact with her marefriend’s parents.

“Hello, there...” The stallion known as Night Light said with a friendly smile. “Hmm…forgive my memory, I don’t want to sound rude, but I don't recall meeting you before. I’m assuming you’re a new friend of our daughter?”

“Oh, well you see…” Sunny began, as she switched her glance between the ground and her marefriend’s parents. She was hesitating as she felt her fears roll across her mind once more. Was it the right time to say that she and Twilight were together? Will they be accepting? Will she be allowed inside?

Before Sunny’s fears could fully drag her mind further down, a short glance towards Twilight’s parents revealed to her a reaction that she did not expect. Hoped for, yes, expected to actually happen, no.

“Oh my Celestia, could it be?” The light gray unicorn said to herself, as she looked at Sunny with wide eyes. Looking back at her, the white unicorn watched as the gray mare’s eyes turned from the expression of surprise to sudden joy, as a smile grew and grew on her face. “I can’t believe this, hon, but I think our Twilight brought a date with her!”

Somehow the mare knew they were more than just friends. Sunny was unsure how, but she would have guessed that it was just an instinct mothers may have.

Upon hearing what his wife said, the stallion’s eyes suddenly turned wide, as he glanced back and forth from Sunny to Twilight, as the alicorn mare planted a hoof on her face in frustration and embarrassment. Unsure what to do Sunny remained silent as she shuffled her hooves on the ground. She wanted to make a good impression, but right now she had no clue how to react to the developing situation. This was a first for her, as she didn’t think she had been placed in a position like this before.

“Well, don’t be rude, sweetheart.” The gray mare finally said, breaking the silence. “Aren’t you going to formally introduce us to this nice young mare you’re dating.”

Immediately both Sunny and Twilight blushed at this, as they were placed into the spotlight of the two parents whose eyes were now twinkling with excitement.

“Dad and mom…” The alicorn began. “...I would like you to meet Sunny Beam, my marefriend.”

“Marefriend!” The two excitedly shouted in joy.

“Oh, this is even better than I expected.” The gray unicorn exclaimed. “A marefriend! Twilight actually managed to get a marefriend!”

“This is the best gift you can ever give me, sweetheart.”

“Dad…our relationship isn’t a gift for you. We got you an actual gift right here.” Twilight explained, gesturing towards the box Spike was carrying. However, her words were lost to them both, as her parents seemed to be doing their own small celebration.

Moving towards Sunny, the two placed themselves on both her sides, catching the unicorn by surprise. Trapped between the two, she allowed herself to be shuffled inside the house, as the two bombarded her with an array of introductions and questions.

This was not what she had expected, but she preferred this than what her mind conjured up.

“So, Sunny, I’m Twilight Velvet, and that’s my husband, Night Light. Now, let me be the first to welcome you to the family!”

“Welcome me to the family?” The white unicron said, trying her best to keep up.

“Why, of course!” Night Light said from the other side. “You’re Twilight's marefriend and that makes you a part of the Sparkle Household. So please, be comfortable and think of this as your own home.”

“Oh…thank you.” Sunny managed to say, as she actually felt warm and happy to hear that.

“Now, tell us, how did you and our little encyclopedia meet?” Velvet asked. “Was it you who asked her out or was it Twilight?”

At this the stallion on her other side chuckled. “Oh, hon, as much as I love our sweetheart, I doubt it that she’s the type of pony who would make the first move.”

“Hey!” An annoyed remark came from behind them, but was ignored by the two.

“Actually, it was Twilight that made the first move.” Sunny admitted.

To this the eyes went wide and Sunny swore that it looked as if they would flip.

“You need to tell us everything!” Velvet said, as she shoved her face forward till it was up close against Sunny’s.

“Um…well…where to begin…” Sunny said, her eyes darting left and right as she tried to think which parts of their story she should omit from Twilight’s parents. Their encounter at the bar was cute and sweet, that is true, but it may not be the type of romantic story her parents were expecting. She has to thread this carefully or else get an unfavorable reaction from the two unicorns, who might get overprotective and assume that she took advantage of their daughter’s intoxicated state.

“Can we at least wait until dinner before we talk about this?” Twilight said, as moved towards them and distanced her mother from the white unicorn. “Sunny and I just got here and I think you’re making her uncomfortable, which is a rare sight to see to be honest.”

Chuckling, Night Light scratched the back of his head before giving Sunny an apologetic look. “Oh, okay, I guess we did get a bit carried away. Sorry about that, Sunny.”

“It’s alright.” Sunny said, giving a small smile as she finally regained her composure.

“We need to get dinner ready as soon as possible! I still have so many questions to ask!” Velvet suddenly blurted out, nearly charging towards the kitchen.

Smiling and shaking his head, Night Light made a few steps towards the kitchen before briefly turning towards the newly arrived couple.

“Shining Armor and Cadance are in the living room. I’m sure they’ll both be happy to see you.” Then, turning towards Spike, she gave him a knowing smile. “Want to help Velvet and I cook dinner? I’m sure she’ll let you sample each dish to taste test them for quality.”

“Count me in!” The drake said excitedly, before setting aside the large box he was carrying and bounding for the kitchen.

All three of them laughed at this. Night Light then looked back towards Sunny and nodded towards her.

“Once again, welcome to the family, Sunny.”

With that he trotted towards the kitchen, leaving the two mares alone in the main hall of the household.

Standing there and breathing a sigh of relief, Sunny soon felt Twilight press against her, as she gave the unicorn a concerned look. “Are you alright?” The alicorn eventually asked.

“Yea.” Sunny said with a nod. “I think I’m alright. Shocked, but I’m good.”

Twilight let out a short chuckle, before giving an apologetic look. “Sorry about my parents. They can be a bit in your face sometimes. But they do mean well, they’re just over excited when it comes to topics like this. Every family gathering, they would ask me if I found a special somepony yet. Well, now that I have, I guess they're as happy as I am that there is now somepony as great as you in my life.”

Sunny smiled at this, finding what she said sweet and heartwarming. It made her feel happy knowing that the other marehad the same feeling as she did. No matter how many times the alicorn reminded her of her love, each time always felt special.

Twilight was her and she was Twilight's. There was nothing more she wanted than that. She did not want that to disappear.

Nuzzling the mare beside her, she let out a relaxed sigh, happy to know that Twilight was with her and that her family was, so far, had accepted their relationship.

“Aha!” Came a cry ahead of them, making both mares pull away and jump in shock. Shooting her eyes towards the direction of the sound, Sunny soon saw the head of a pink alicorn pop out from what she assumed was the living room. “I knew I could sense the love of a new couple nearby!” The alicorn said, before walking along the hallway where Sunny and Twilight stood.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, Cadance to friends and family, gave a broad smile as she approached. Staring at the alicorn, Sunny could see an evident bump could be seen on her belly. Despite this, she still held the same beauty and grace that made many ponies admire her. Following behind her, Sunny saw a stoic white unicorn stallion whom she quickly recognized as Shining Armor, her marefriend’s brother.

Inside her mind, Sunny wondered how these two would react to her presence. She had already had a favorable reaction from the parents, but now the question was whether Twilight’s brother and sister-in-law would be the same. They were kind ponies, everypony in Equestria knew that, but brothers can get overprotective, especially towards their younger siblings.

“Cadance!” Twilight shouted in joy, before bounding towards the mare.

Sunny was then able to witness the greeting special Twilight and Princess Cadance shared between each other. She had to stifle a giggle at the sight, as she found the old foalhood ritual both cute and funny.

“I'm glad to see you again, Twilight.” Cadance said, pulling the younger alicorn into a hug.

“I’m glad to see you too.” The lavender alicorn said as she returned the hug.

Pulling away from the hug, Cadance then gave a cheeky smile towards Twilight. “So, it seems like you brought a mare with you.” She said, her voice sounding giggly. “Care to introduce us to her?”

Looking away from Twilight, Sunny watched as the pink alicorn’s eyes fell on her. At first her face held a curious and excited smile. However, after lingering her gaze on her, the smile momentarily fluctuated and disappeared, before returning again.

This made Sunny raise an eyebrow, before a shot of fear ran through her. Did she know?

Trying her best to act as if she was alright, the white unicorn mare returned the smile and waited for Twilight to introduce her.

“Oh…he…he…you see…” Twilight began, stuttering a bit as she blushed. For a moment this distracted Sunny, as she couldn’t help but think of how cute her marefriend was when nervous. It never fails to get her. “...this is Sunny…she’s my marefriend.”

Cadance smiled at this, looking at Twilight with a genuinely proud gaze. She then looked at Sunny and when she did her look changed. It wasn’t obvious, but the white unicorn mare could see it. The smile was different and the gaze suspicious.

“A marefriend?” Shining Armor suddenly shouted, coming in between Sunny and Candace, thus shifting her attention to him. “My little sister now has a marefriend? How long has this been going on? Why didn’t you tell me immediately?”

“Well, why didn't you immediately tell me about your wedding?” Twilight retorted.

“There is a reason behind that and you know it!” Shining Armor told Twilight, before fixating his attention towards Sunny. Trying to look tall and tough, the unicorn mare watched as Twilight’s older brother tried to assert his dominance.

“Now listen here you…” He began, his voice suddenly sounding much deeper than earlier. Upon hearing this, Twilight could only let out a groan of exasperation, while Sunny quietly and curiously looked on and listened. “...I don’t know you, but I would like, and will, get to know more about you. Whether I end up liking you or not, it’s clear that my little sister has feelings for you and I would not prevent your relationship if it means she’s happy. However, let’s make one thing clear. Never, ever, hurt her. Do you understand?”

Sunny was not at all intimidated by this, but she knew that if she wanted his favor then she would have to act the role he was placing her in.

“Yes, sir.” She replied in a firm tone.

“Good.” Shining Armor said, keeping his face neutral. However, as he moved back towards Cadance’s side, Sunny was able to see his expression change to glee as he softly said:

“I always wanted to do that.”

“I know.” Cadance said with a giggle. “I remember you practicing it a lot when Twilight was a teenager. You were so dismayed when you thought that she will never get a special somepony.”

“Wait what?” Twilight asked in surprise.

Sunny had to giggle at this. “Based on what I’m hearing so far, it seems like you were saving yourself for me, Pancake.”

“As happy as I am that you came into my life, I was not specifically saving myself for you.” Twilight said, as she rolled her eyes. “That doesn't even make sense, I didn’t even know you existed till we met at the bar! Even then, I was too drunk to know who you were other than a very beautiful mare I wanted to date.”

Sunny slightly blushed at the compliment, but was soon distracted by Shining Armor, who spoke and glared at them suspiciously.

“A bar? Drunk? What do you mean by that?”

Glancing at each other, both Sunny and Twilight knew that the circumstances of their first meeting was now revealed and they could not possibly hide it now from the questioning later at dinner.

“Umm…spoilers?” Sunny managed to mekely say.

The dinner went better than she had expected. It was just how you expected any family birthday party. Singing, good food and amazing cake. For Sunny, it was fun and she felt welcomed. Despite being a stranger to most of the ponies there, they acted as if she had been a part of their family the entire time. This was no grand part, in fact it was quite the opposite, yet she enjoyed every bit of it. With only a small group of ponies present, it felt more tight knit, thus making it more meaningful.

Of course, Sunny and Twilight couldn’t beat around the bush forever and in the end, once everypony was settled down and the birthday cheers subsided, they eventually had to tell their story. Once more, the white unicorn was a bit nervous when this happened, especially at the start when she had to explain that they met at a bar while Twilight was drunk.

At first, she expected Twilight’s parents to look at them disapprovingly at that part. However, they didn’t react badly to it. They didn’t like the idea of their daughter getting drunk and picking up mares, but in the end they found it amusing and were happy to know that she chose Sunny, who they stated was a charming, sweet, and beautiful mare.

This compliment only made the unicorn blush, as she tried to bury herself in order to hide the embarrassment. Despite that, it was welcoming to know that she was accepted well into the Sparkle family. This did a lot in throwing away her earlier fears, as she now felt more at ease with this new family she is now a part of.

However, despite the acceptance of Twilight’s parents and brother, there was still one pony whom she felt daggers of suspicious glances from.

All throughout the dinner, Sunny could tell that Cadance was pretending. She didn’t think anypony else noticed, but she felt the alicorn glare at her the entire time, as if she was studying her and trying to find something. This only made Sunny feel uneasy towards her. She feared what the other pony was thinking about her.

After dinner, the ponies and dragon soon cleaned up the table, before moving to the living room to relax and continue their conversations. Twilight, Spike, Cadance, and Shining Armor were busy catching up since their last meeting, while the Sparkle parents, from what Sunny could hear, were busy talking about their daughter and how happy they were that she finally found somepony. Knowing that they were talking about their relationship only made the unicorn blush once more, but she was glad that it was something positive.

At one point, she took an opportunity to go to the bathroom and politely excused herself from the group. However, not being too familiar with the house, Cadance stood up and offered to show her the way.

This only made Sunny gulp in apprehension, as the alicorn was the last pony she wanted to be left alone with during that moment. However, with no other choice, she gave a small smile and pretended that there was nothing wrong.

Once the two were out of eyesight and earsight, the alicorn quickly turned her face towards the unicorn, giving her the same fake smile she had been showing her all night.

“So, Sunny, do you mind me asking you something?”

“Umm, sure?” The other mare replied with caution.

“Now, I need you to answer truthfully.” Cadance said, the smile now disappearing as a frown took its place. Beneath her chest, Sunny could feel her heart pounding fast. She did not like where this was going. “Why are you lying?”

“Lying?” Sunny said, as she felt a cold sweat roll on the back of her neck. “I’m not lying to anypony.”

Cadance let out a short laugh as she shook her head. “You say that and yet you’re even lying to yourself. Fine, don’t answer my question, but let me tell you something. I am the Princess of Love, and as the Princess of Love I specialize in anything love related, obviously. Now, the moment I saw you, the moment I got a good look at you, I noticed something. All ponies have a certain signature for their love. It is always unique and easily distinguishable from any other pony’s signature.”

As Sunny listened, she couldn’t help but feel uneasy as she didn’t like where the alicorn was going. However, she didn’t say a word and allowed her to continue.

“Now, your signature is familiar and I recognized it from somewhere. It was the same one a certain Solar Princess gave off when she was with her sister, her friends, or even when she was in front of her subjects. Now though, this signature of love is burning as intense as the very sun she controls, and I see it in you. So tell me, Aunty, what are you doing dating Twilight?"

Inside her mind Sunny was cursing. She should have known better and realized that the alicorn of love would have recognized her, love magic was her speciality afterall. Although, she had to admit that she did not expect to be recognized through her love.

Then again, there was no avoiding this encounter. Sunny would have never said no to Twilight’s invitation to attend her father’s birthday. Besides, sooner or later, she would have encountered the Princess of Love while being with Twilight. She just wished that the alicorn had not found out, since the more ponies who knew the secret the more complicated things would get.

Letting out a sigh, the unicorn hung her head in defeat before looking back at the patiently waiting alicorn.

“Alright, Cadance, it’s me.” She admitted, feeling ashamed at being caught. “Just please, keep quiet about it and don’t tell Twilight.”

Sunny didn’t know what Cadance’s intentions were and she feared that she was going to tell her marefriend about the discovery. The unicorn had plans on telling the alicorn eventually, but not now. She wasn’t ready yet, and she believed that the other wasn’t ready also. But then the question was, will there be a time when they will ever be ready?

“I knew it!” Cadance said, with a proud smile. But this quickly turned into a frown. “Aunty, what the hay are you doing pretending to be some unicorn named Sunny?”

“Umm, being Twilight’s marefriend?” She responded sheepishly.

Cadance rolled her eyes at this and gave a frustrated grunt. “I know you're Twilight's marefriend. But my question is why are you in a disguise?”

Looking around them, Sunny made sure that the two were alone before revealing the truth.

“It’s a long story… But the short version of it is, I was out at the bar after a long day dealing with nobles. You know how they can be a pain in the flank and all. It’s been my tradition to go out as Sunny in order to relax and unwind and during this a certain drunk alicorn did a bold move and asked me out.”

“Just like what you told us earlier?”

“Yes, exactly like that. All of that was true.”

“I see.” Cadance said, nodding her head and processing what she learned. “Why didn’t you just tell her immediately? You two could have gone out with you being yourself.”

“Cadance, this is Twilight, she would have never have acted as herself if she was with Princess Celestia.”

The alicorn frowned at this, but nodded. There was a momentary pause and Sunny felt nervous at what the pink mare might say.

“You love her, I can feel it.” She eventually said. “You both love each other. But, Aunty, this lie can’t continue. I don’t need to sermon you on this, but I know you’re aware that relationships should not be built on lies.”

“I know…” Sunny said, letting it trail on. “I never meant for the lie to go this far. But, I got scared. If I tell her, who knows how she would react and…I’ve fallen for her. I love her. You know that, you said it yourself. I’m scared that I might lose her if she knows the truth.”

“Well, you’re going to lose her if she finds out the truth on her own.”

Sunny bit her lip as she felt it quiver. That had been her fear and the source of her nightmares all these weeks they have been together. Holding back her emotions, she tried her best to remain calm. But deep inside her fears nagged at her.

Twilight loved Sunny, and Sunny loved her in return. But was that love strong enough to withstand the revelation? Will she continue to see her the same way? Will she love Celestia as she loved Sunny? There was too much uncertainty and that frightened her.

“Cadance…I don’t know what to do.”

The pink alicorn looked at her with a sad expression, before placing a reassuring hoof on her shoulder.

“You need to tell her the truth as soon as possible. She loves you and I can’t be certain how things will play out, but I know that a love this strong can get through almost anything. But I’m not going to lie to you Aunty, you will hurt her. I think you know that already. Once she learns about it, she will feel betrayed and you will lose whatever trust you have built now.”

Sunny felt her eyes water at hearing this. What she was saying was true though and the unicorn had to be strong to accept that fact.

“She’ll try to push you away after learning who you really are, but that doesn't mean her love for you will simply disappear. It will still be there. You need to work things out and regain the trust that was shattered. It will be tough, but you need to be strong and reassure her that your love for her was not a lie.”

The white unicorn nodded, as the feeling dread for the day was already swirling inside of her. Unable to utter a word due to her emotions, she simply continued to nod.

“It’s going to be okay, alright, Aunty?” Cadance said in a reassuring tone. “You don’t have to tell her now, but please don’t wait too long.”

“Okay. I know, Cadance.” Sunny said, although she withheld saying when she will finally tell Twilight. In all honesty, she didn’t know when it would be.

“Good.” The alicorn simply said. “Now come on, the bathroom is this way.”

When the two returned to the rest of the family, Sunny could still feel the bite of sadness within her. Although she tried her best to act normal and happy, she could feel that Twilight was sensing something different about her.

“Is everything alright?” The lavender alicorn asked with strong concern plastered on her face.

“Yea.” Sunny said, trying her best to muster a genuine smile. “Everything is alright.”

Twilight didn’t seem convinced by this, as the worried look continued to show on her face. However, much to the unicorn’s relief, the alicorn didn’t press things further.

As the rest of the day went on, Sunny kept on thinking about her problem. When she got back to her chambers, Celestia couldn’t help but cry out of fear, since she knew that she would end up breaking Twilight’s heart.

Chapter 8: Aurora

Twilight sat alone by the table with a frown on her face. Sunny had been late to dates before, but she had never been late for this long. It had been nearly an hour since their agreed upon time for their lunch had passed, and yet there was still no sign of her.

This would have been their second date in open public. As their relationship continued and became stronger, Twilight started feeling more and more comfortable with dating Sunny. Although she still didn’t like the idea of paparazzi swarming her and Sunny wherever they went, which thankfully hasn’t happened yet, she was at least warming up to the idea that she should no longer be so embarrassed when somepony saw them being affectionate to one another. Because of this, Twilight felt okay at having another restaurant date with her marefriend.

However, there was a problem. Sunny hadn’t shown up yet and the alicorn was starting to fear that she might never come.

Feeling her heart ache, Twilight’s mind initially wandered to thoughts of concern, before drifting off to thoughts of dread. Did Sunny stood her up? Does she no longer love her? Had her marefriend abandoned her?

Letting out a sad sigh, the alicorn had to fight off a devastated and broken look from forming on her face. Feeling her heart race, the world around her seemed to get blurry as sadness took over her heart. By this point, she no longer hopefully glanced towards the door, hoping to see her marefriend come in. No. Instead, she felt weak as she sat there alone.

She didn’t understand how this could happen and she wondered if she had done something wrong. Thinking back, she desperately tried to recall any mistake she might have made. Their last meeting, at least to her, seemed to have gone well enough. Although Twilight did remember that Sunny felt a bit off at the end of their visit to her parents, everything else had seemed to have gone well. Besides, Sunny sounded like her normal self in the letters they exchanged over the week. So what had gone wrong?

Surely it couldn’t have been a spontaneous decision by her marefriend that she no longer liked her? Right? That thought plagued Twilight’s mind, and despite her best attempts to dismiss it, the idea kept on returning. She knew that their relationship was still young, and despite their good chemistry, it still wasn’t as firm as longer relationships. Because of that, she always had this fear that it could all suddenly unravel and disappear.

Frowning deeper, this time in frustration, the alicorn gritted her teeth in annoyance. She was so confused and she didn’t like the feeling. She was a pony who wanted to understand and know everything, and yet what was happening right now was hard to figure out. Why was she here alone? Why hadn’t Sunny come?

She wished she knew what had happened. She wished she could know if it was because of something she did. If it was her fault, then she was determined to fix it and work things out with Sunny.

Twilight loved Sunny and she didn’t want to lose her, not after all the time and fun they had together. Because of that, she once more thought back on the events of the past week and tried to find any fault in her actions.

Had she rushed the other mare? Was introducing her to her parents too soon? Sunny had said that it was a good idea, but had she been lying? Maybe she was not comfortable with it at all and only said yes out of pressure. Had Twilight intimidated the unicron?

However, what if it was something else? Was she lacking in providing Sunny with anything? Or had she become boring for the other mare? That couldn’t have possibly been true, and yet she felt anxious at the thought.

What was happening? Where was Sunny?

So many of these questions whirled in her head that she felt dizzy and close to exploding. She didn’t know and didn’t understand what had happened. All her emotions were attacking her, as her mind tried to seek for answers. She was close to bursting into tears right then and there.

“Princess Twilight?” A sudden voice next to her said, pulling the alicorn out of her thoughts.

Caught by surprise, Twilight suddenly paused from her panicked thinking and turned her head towards the pony who called to her. Trying her best to give a composed look, the lavender alicorn looked and stared at an unfamiliar light blue unicorn mare.

Giving this pony a quick study, Twilight noted that she had a long smooth dark blue mane and teal-colored eyes that stared curiously towards her. Seemingly biting her lip, the pony seemed to have felt awkward in front of the alicorn.

Shoving aside any hurt emotion she was feeling at that moment, Twilight gave the pony the best calm smile she could make. “Hi. Umm…can I help you?”

“Ah, yes.” The light blue pony said, nodding her head hesitantly. “Actually, I’m here to deliver a message from my sister.”

“Your sister?”

“Yes, Sunny Beam.” The unicorn replied, making Twilight’s heart come to life upon hearing her marefriend’s name. Not staring intently, the alicorn did her best to restrain herself and not bombard the pony in front of her with a volley of questions.

“Sunny’s your sister?” Twilight said, as she carefully searched her thoughts. Suddenly, a bright look erupted on her face “Oh, so you must be her younger sister, Aurora!”

“Really, Aurora?” The unicorn muttered, with a bemused look on her face. However, this was suddenly changed to a look of panic, as she suddenly gave an eager nod. “I mean…yes! I’m Aurora. It’s nice to finally meet you, Princess Twilight.”

“Please, just call me Twilight.” The lavender pony said with a wave of a hoof. “Anyways, what did you say Sunny’s message was?”

“Ah, yes, my sister’s message.” Aurora said, nodding. “She wants to apologize for not being here today. She is really sorry and says that an emergency occurred at one of the publishing companies she’s working with. She had to rush there earlier today and would probably be there for most of the day. Sunny really regrets not being able to go and promises to make it up next time.”

Twilight nodded along as Aurora explained the situation, but deep inside she felt relief and joy overcome her. All her fears had been wrong, and it seemed like what occurred was an unavoidable emergency. Slowly feeling better, Twilight gave a little smile, as she realized that Sunny had not abandoned her.

At that point, the alicorn wasn’t even angry or sad that her marefriend couldn’t be there that day. No. Instead, she was glad to know that she had not been left behind and that she was still in a relationship with the beautiful, funny, and quirky unicorn who owed her big time the next time they met.

Allowing herself a brief moment of internal rejoicing, her thoughts soon returned to the world around her, where the light blue unicorn stood and worriedly stared at her silent state. Feeling embarrassed, and realizing that Aurora had been standing there the entire time, Twilight suddenly gestured for the other pony to have a seat.

“I’m sorry, how rude of me.” Twilight apologized. “You must have come all the way from Canterlot just send me that message. Please, have a seat, Aurora.”

“Oh, no, it’s okay, Twilight. I don’t want to be a bother.” Aurora replied, as if making a gesture that she was ready to leave.

“Nonsense. I know from personal experience how tiring those train rides from Canterlot could be. Besides, there’s no use letting these seat reservations go to waste, so might as well use them.”

“I can’t possibly intrude.” The unicorn stated.

“You’re not intruding, I promise.” The lavender pony said, giving a warm smile. “You’re Sunny’s sister, and I can’t let my marefriend’s sister starve to death after going on a journey to deliver me a message. Besides, this is a perfect opportunity for us to get to know more about each other. Your sister has told me many stories about you.”

This seemed to have caught the unicorn’s interest, as Twilight saw the unicorn raise a curious eye. “Has she now?”

“Why of course! She says that you’re the best sister a mare could have.” Twilight said, deciding it was for the best to avoid mentioning the various complaints Sunny had towards her sister.

“Is that all that she’s mentioned about me?” Aurora asked curiously, as she gave the alicorn a firm stare. Feeling nervous now, Twilight felt a couple beads of sweat roll down her face. She did not want to betray Sunny by revealing things she didn’t want her sister to know, but at the same time, there was something intimidating about the unicorn before her that scared her a bit. Despite being an alicorn, Twilight felt that there was some great strength behind Aurora that was warning her to tell what she didn’t know.

Biting her lip, Twilight tried to think of a way to escape the situation. But before she could, the light blue alicorn spoke up once more.

“How about this, if you tell me what Sunny has been saying behind my back, I’ll tell you all the silly and stupid things my sister has done while we were growing up. Sounds good?”

Twilight thought about this for a moment before smiling. So far, despite the hidden intimidating aura, she was liking Aurora.

“You got yourself a deal! Now, take a seat and order some food, I think we’ll have a lot to talk about.”

“Chickens?” Twilight said, trying to hold back her laughter. “Why is she so afraid of chickens?”

“I have to admit, the one may have been my fault.” Aurora confessed, although without a hint of regret in her voice. “You see, when we were younger, my sister and I visited a quaint little farm. At one point, my sister decided to go see the chickens.” The light blue pony paused for a moment, as Twilight noticed a mischievous grin form on her face. “Well, being the prankster I was, I may or may not have tossed a bag of chicken feed on her, which may have resulted in the chickens chasing her around as they try to peck on the feed on her fur and mane.”

“You are one evil pony, you know that?” Twilight said, shaking her head, but at the same time trying to stifle her giggling.

“Thank you, I do try my best.” Aurora said with a proud smile on her face. Then, glancing towards a nearby clock that hung on the restaurant's wall, she gave Twilight an apologetic look. "Anyways, I had a grand time talking to you, Twilight, but I think it's time for me to go now. Although I am in no rush, I still do have some duties to attend to back at Canterlot.”

Looking at the same clock that hung on the wall, Twilight soon realized what time it was. She and Aurora had ended up talking to one another for three hours, which surprised the alicorn, since it felt much shorter than that.

“Oh, wow!” Twilight exclaimed, slightly embarrassed for occupying so much of the unicorn’s time. “Sorry about that, I didn’t realize we’ve been talking that long.”

“Don’t worry, it was time well spent.” Aurora reassured me. “Now that I know what my sister has been saying behind my back. She’s got a lot of explaining to do once I see her later.”

Twilight giggled at this before shaking her head. “Please don’t be too hard on her, she might break up with me because of this betrayal.” She joked.

“I doubt that she will break up with you over such a trivial matter.” Aurora said.

“Yea.” The alicorn said with a smile, as she let the word trail. There was something about the idea of Sunny breaking up with her that unnerved the Princess, even if it was a joke. Because of this, her smile faded for a second, before quickly returning. However, this was not missed by the blue unicorn, who gave the lavender pony a quizzical look.

“Is there something wrong?”

“No, none at all.” Twilight initially scoffed, before frowning once she saw that the unicorn was not convinced. “Well, I’m not sure. I just have this fear that someday I might do something wrong that would make her break up with me.”

Looking down, Twilight couldn’t help but let those fears plague her mind once more. Sunny was the first pony she loved this much and she was terrified of losing her. All possible reasons that may result in losing her, whether small or big, worried her so much.

She didn’t want to lose Sunny and she hoped that her fears were just her anxiety playing tricks on her.

When she finally looked up and stared back at Aurora, she saw the unicorn giving her a gentle look. For a moment, the two were silent, both lost in their own thoughts. Then, the blue unicorn finally spoke up.

“Listen, Twilight.” She began. “I just want you to know that my sister loves you very much. I understand your fear of losing her, it happens to all of us, even to her. But be confident in yourself. There is nothing about you that my sister does not love and I know in my heart that she would never break up with you for no reason. Trust me when I say that you are the mare she loves and would love to continue being with.”

Hearing this lifted the lavender alicorn’s spirits, as she started feeling a bit better. Slowly, her fears started to drift away thanks to the reassurance. Although this didn’t mean that it was completely gone, she at least felt less anxious now.

“Thank you, I think I needed to hear that.” Twilight eventually said.

Aurora smiled back at her. “I have to thank you too, Twilight, for making my sister happy. I have never seen my sister so happy and in love before, and it’s all thanks to you.”

This made the alicorn bushed, as she looked away. Deep inside, her heart was racing fast, as the thought of Sunny being that much in love with her made her feel so important and special.

“Does she really fear that I might break up with her too?” Twilight asked, once she calmed herself down. Remembering what Aurora had just said, the lavender pony found it interesting that a pony as calm and confident as Sunny worried as much as her.

“Oh, yes, she does.” Aurora said, shaking her head as she smiled. “I had to calm her many times already and reassure her just like what I just did to you.”

“Really? Twilight said, her curiosity rising. “Is there any reason why she’s so worried?” In her mind, she was wondering if the same irrational fears plagued her special somepony too. If so, then she would do her best to reassure her and comfort her the next time they met.

Looking at the blue unicorn, Twilight saw the expression on her face changed to something that displayed hesitation.

“As much as I want to tell you about her fears, I believe that I am in no position to tell you about them. You’ll have to ask about it yourself.”

“Oh.” Twilight simply said, a bit disappointed that she wouldn’t get to know just yet.

“Twilight…” Aurora began. “My sister loves you, never forget that. No matter what happens, always remember that she loves you, okay?”

Twilight nodded and smiled at this. However, as she stared at Aurora’s eyes, she couldn’t help but see a hint of fear and worry in them, as if she knew something that she wasn’t willing to tell.

The two of them eventually paid for their meals and left the restaurant. A few more conversations followed as Twilight escorted Aurora to the train station, but the alicorn couldn’t help but have her mind elsewhere. There was something that Aurora said that bothered her.

For some reason that Twilight couldn’t explain, it somehow felt like Aurora was trying to prepare her for something.

Author's Note

Wow, look! An update after over a year! Yea, sorry about that... 2023 had been a busy one for me. But I'm back now and I plan to finish this story!

Chapter 9: Fears

It caught her by surprise. One moment Twilight was laughing and enjoying her company as they had dinner, the next she was frowning and looking at her with a face of disgust. This not only shocked Sunny, but also gave her a hurt feeling inside. She had never seen Twilight give her such a look before. Sure, the alicorn had given her scolding looks when the unicorn teased her, but never had the lavender pony given her an expression like the one she was seeing now. It was worrying and it brought a feeling of unease through her.

Studying her marefriend and giving a very concerned look, Sunny stared at Twilight’s eyes to see if she was trying to pull a prank on her. But she kept up her disgusted gaze at her, as Sunny’s smile faltered.

Sunny could feel her heart drop from the sharp look, as a bad feeling began to brew inside of her. Immediately, her mind began to wander as she tried to figure out why she was giving her such a stare. Did she do something wrong? Was it something she said? Had she forgotten something.

These questions circled in her head until the source of her concern began speaking.

“I can’t believe you lied to me.” She said in a tone that revealed the anger she felt within.

Upon hearing this, Sunny’s eyes immediately dilated in fear, as her ears flattened in nervousness. Feeling herself suddenly sweating, she couldn’t help but dart her eyes left and right, choosing to look anywhere but the pony in front of her.

Biting her lip, Sunny hesitated. She had a growing feeling that she knew what Twilight was talking about, but she hoped and wished that she was wrong. Feeling her heart beat fast and trying to calm down her shaking hooves, Sunny tried to reform her smile as she fixed her eyes back at the alicorn in front of her.

"What do you mean, Pancake?" She nervously asked, trying to faint ignorance.

Instantly, Sunny saw Twilight's eyes switch from an expression of disgust to one of pure anger. The unicorn's forced smile collapsed the moment she saw that, as a whole wave of fear and sadness hit her.

"Don't you dare call me that again!" The alicorn bellowed, before letting out a long groan of frustration. “You know what you did. You lied to me, Celestia.”

Celestia couldn't help but freeze in her seat upon hearing her true name. Suddenly, everything around her seemed to be crashing down, as she stated at Twilight with fear and hurt.

“Twilight…” She began, before suddenly stopping as she felt her throat dry up. Letting out a cough, she tried her best to regain her composure, but found the task difficult under the rage filled gaze of the lavender pony in front of her.

“Listen…Twilight…let me explain…” Celestia eventually managed to say, before suddenly being cut off by the angry alicorn in front of her.

“Explain what? That you lied to me? Tricked me into believing that you were somepony else?”

Hearing this being spat out by somepony she loved, Celestia couldn’t help but hang her head, as she closed her eyes and tried to prevent her tears from spilling. How did she find out? How was she going to explain to Twilight why she did it?

Opening her eyes, she tried to will herself to look up and meet Twilight’s gaze. However, before she could do so, she noticed a small bit of her multicolored mane flow into her view. Immediately, her eyes went wide upon seeing this. Unable to help herself, she began inspecting her body in order to have the growing suspicion within her be confirmed. Her disguise spell had failed.

Frowning, she wondered how it could have failed. That had never happened before and yet it did.

Seemingly noticing her frown, the alicorn in front of her let out a growl of annoyance.

“What, sad that your disguise is gone?” She said in an icy tone.

Snapping away from thoughts on how her spell failed, Celestia stared back at Twilight and tried to explain herself. But before she could utter a comprehensible sentence, a sharp pain suddenly erupted on her left cheek.

It had caught her off guard and she found herself staring blankly to the side. Slowly, with a shaky hoof, she touched the source of the pain and felt it sting. Twilight had slapped her. Suddenly the tears she tried to hold back finally began to spill, as she felt a stream suddenly roll down her face.

“Twilight…” She managed to utter, as she turned her head to once more face the angry lavender pony.

“You’re pathetic, Celestia.” Twilight hissed. “You’re pathetic for lying to me and you’re pathetic for crying right now when you’re the one who's at fault.”

Celestia opened her mouth to speak, but found no words to say.

“I can’t believe I ever loved you. You’re an old alicorn who just likes to manipulate those close to her.” Twilight spat, breaking the white alicorn’s heart even more.

“I…I’m sorry…” The Solar Princess cries out, as her tears rained down and her body shook from the emotional pain her sadness brought. She had ruined things, she had broken Twilight’s trust. Despite the pain her words brought, she knew that all she said was true. She deserved this.

“ENOUGH!”

The cry came loud, as that single word suddenly echoed in Celestia’s ears. For a moment, she was brought away from her sorrow, as she curiously looked around for the source of the cry. To her surprise, the world around her suddenly disappeared, as it all faded into shadows. Looking at Twilight, she watched on with surprise as she dissipated and joined the shadows as they disappeared.

Eventually, the world around her became nothing but an empty white void. She felt alone there and for a moment fear and uncertainty riddled her mind. However, a familiar looking blue alicorn soon manifested and instantly calmed her.

The moment she saw her sister Celestia couldn’t help but rush up to her and pull her into a tight hug. The pain of everything that had just occurred was just too much and the white alicorn ended up crying and soaking the younger princess’ fur with her tears.

“It’s okay, Tia, it was just a nightmare.”

“A nightmare that could come true…” Celestia finally managed to say as she calmed down a bit. Pulling away from the hug, she sat in the empty void they were in, as images of the nightmare flashed before her eyes.

“Now, sister, I doubt that Twilight is capable of becoming so harsh. What you saw was just a creation of your own fears.”

Celestia was silent for a moment.

“Luna…I’m scared…” The white alicorn eventually said. “I’m scared of losing her… I’m scared of what she might say… I’m scared that she will hate me forever…

“You must tell her eventually, Tia. Preferably soon. The longer you hold this facade, the more painful it will be once she learns the truth.

Celestia hung her head upon hearing this, as her ears dropped in sadness.

“A relationship cannot live on a lie, Tia, you should know that.” The younger alicorn said sternly.

“Funny, Cadence said something similar…” Celestia said, as she looked up to meet Luna’s gaze. She could see that the Lunar alicorn’s eyes were filled with worry.

“She and I are not comfortable with what you’re doing. We understand why you’re doing it, but we also feel sorry for Twilight. I have been patient with you, but I must stress the urgency of revealing it to her.”

“I’ll tell her eventually…” The white alicorn began. “I’m just not ready yet…”

“And when is this eventually you speak of?” Luna asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Soon…”

“No.” Her sister said, as she shook her head. “That’s not good enough, Tia. This delay has been hurting you and I need you to promise me that you’ll tell her in your next meeting tomorrow.”

“Luna…I can’t…”

“Yes, you can. You need to be brave, Tia.”

Unable to reply, Celestia just looked away from her sister. However, what her sister said was true. The fear and anxiety of what may occur had been plaguing her thoughts more and more recently. Even Twilight was beginning to notice it whenever they were together. She knew she had to face her fears, no matter what the outcome.

“Fine.” She said. “I’ll tell her. But only after I spend one more full day with her. If things turn…sourly…I want us to at least have one last good day together.”

“Good enough.” Luna said with a sigh. Then, looking back at Celestia, the younger alicorn gave her a concerned look. “Get rest, sister, you have a big day tomorrow.”

“I’ll try…” The white alicron said, as she looked down to try and hide the fear that was showing on her face. The thought of the nightmare recurring frightened her and she wished that she could just wake up now and stay awake till she had to raise the sun.

Feeling a hoof on her shoulder, Celestia looked up to see Luna giving her a gentle look. “Worry not sister…” She said. “...I’ll make sure that you’ll have gentle dreams for the rest of the night.”

The older alicorn smiled at this and once again pulled her sister into a hug. “Thank you.”

“No need to thank me, sister, it is my duty after all. Now close your eyes and once you open them again you will find yourself in a sweet dream.”

Celestia nodded and did as she was told. Waiting for a couple of seconds, she opened her eyes to find herself laying on a blanket with Twilight comfortably snuggling up to her. Smiling at this, she snuggled closer to Twilight, as she couldn’t help but be thankful for having a wonderful sister like Luna.

Sunny couldn’t help but feel nervous as she trotted beside Twilight. The moment she dreaded came closer and closer as each second passed. Glancing towards the alicorn beside her, she saw the mare smile happily, as she hummed the tune of a love song that they both liked. Smiling at the beautiful sight, the white unicorn couldn’t help but feel so much love for her marefriend. She was all that she could have ever wished for and it made her happy to be with her. Too bad the moment that might break it all fast approached them.

They had an amazing day. Visiting her at Canterlot, Twilight treated Sunny to a wonderful date, as they watched a movie, galloped around the park like little fillies, and even went antiquing at some of the city’s oldest shops. Sunny had to admit, antiquing was not her cup of tea, but to see her marefriend so happy while explaining the history behind each artifact did make the whole experience very enjoyable.

Finally, they ended the day by heading to the same bar they first met at, the Atrium. It was hard to believe that it was more than a month since the night they had met. Twilight always got embarrassed whenever the unicorn reminded her how forward she was that night, but in the end the alicorn would always admit that her drunken state had brought her the most important mare in her life. The thought of that made Sunny smile and for a moment she forgot the worry she had been carrying inside of her all day.

But now that the sun had set and the perfect day was over, she couldn’t help but feel the feeling slowly creep back. She was scared and she tried her best to be brave and do what she knew she had to do.

Trotting along a quiet sidewalk, the two ponies took their time as they made their way to Sunny’s apartment. With Twilight staying in the city for the weekend, the unicorn thought that it was only right to let her stay with her throughout her stay. However, a voice in her head was whispering to her that the planned overnight stay would not last long after she confessed the truth.

The closer they got to her apartment, the louder the voice seemed to be. Over and over, she could hear it pester her mind, flooding her with words that she didn’t want to hear during that moment.

‘She’s going to leave.’

‘She will be disgusted with you.’

‘She will never forgive you.’

‘You will be alone forever.’

Sunny did her best to fight this awful voice and shove away its words, but no matter how hard she tried they kept on coming louder and louder. Eventually, the troubled expression she was making as she fought this internal battle must have been very evident, as Twilight suddenly stopped and turned to her with a worried look.

“Are you okay?” She asked, a concerned frown plastered on her face.

Feeling unsure of herself, but knowing that she had to act calm till it was the right moment to tell her, Sunny simply nodded and did her best to look happy.

“Yup!” She said, as she internally cursed herself for sounding suspiciously happy. “Never been better.”

“Are you sure?” The lavender alicorn insisted. “You look a bit troubled for a second. Is there something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong.” Sunny tried to assure her marefriend. Then, looking around, she realized where they were and saw that they were near her apartment already. “Hey, look, there’s my place! Race you there, Pancake!”

With that, the white unicorn began galloping towards a single-story apartment and the purple door that led into it. From behind her, she could hear the surprised shout of the alicorn mare she had just challenged.

“Hey, no fair! I don’t even know which place is yours!”

Hearing the sound of hooves galloping behind her, Sunny momentarily forgot her internal worries, as she concentrated on winning the small race. She knew that it was not a good solution to the problem that plagued her, but she was bent on enjoying every last moment of this date they had, because she knew that it may become the last.

Eventually turning from the sidewalk and racing towards her apartment’s entrance, she gave a triumphant smile as she stopped just before the door. Turning around, she got ready to brag about her small victory. However, just as she was about to face her marefriend, the unicorn suddenly felt something impact her, as she was suddenly pushed back. Closing her eyes in shock and pain, she suddenly found herself tumbling on her back. Momentarily confused, she tried her best to find her bearings and soon realized that she was now laying on her back.

Opening her eyes slowly, she was surprised to see a pair of purple eyes staring directly at her. She then felt something pressing against her muzzle and soon realized that the alicorn’s nose was pressing against hers, while their lips touched in a kiss. Through her peripherals, the unicorn also noticed her head was right between the alicorn’s hooves.

Realizing the position they were in, Sunny couldn’t help but smile as Twilight pulled her head back and broke off the unexpected kiss.

“My, my, my, Pancake, I didn’t know that you wanted to be the top.” The unicorn teased.

“Wha…what?” The alicorn asked, as Sunny watched her eyes dilate and cheeks blush a bright red. Eyes staring down at the unicron, the alicorn then saw the position they were in and immediately let out an embarrassed squeak.

“Oh my, Celestia, I am so sorry!” Twilight apologized, as she immediately hopped off from the intimate looking position. “I was galloping too fast… You suddenly stopped… I couldn’t control my speed…”

The frantic attempts to explain what happened continued as Sunny got up and dusted herself off. Turning to the panicking lavender pony, she couldn’t help but smile at how cute the other mare was during such momentas. Twilight really was a beautiful mare and she felt so lucky having her.

Wanting to calm down her worried marefriend before she ends up hurting herself from overexplaining, Sunny slowly leaned towards the alicorn and placed a gentle hoof on her shoulder. Moving her head closer to the mare, she eventually brought her muzzle towards her ear and let out a soft whisper:

“Don’t worry, Pancake, I think I like having you on top.”

With that, Twilight suddenly went silent, but her blush grew even brighter. Stunned and suddenly frozen, the lavender pony simply stared at the unicorn, unsure what to say.

Giggling, Sunny shook her head and moved to unlock her apartment door. Once open, she took a step inside and gestured for her marefriend to follow.

“Come on, Pancake, don’t just stand there. It’s not healthy standing out in the cold night when you can have me keeping you warm in bed.” She said with a wink of the eye.

Snapping out of her moment of shock, the lavender alicorn shook her head and started to step inside.

“You know, you can be mean sometimes with all that teasing you do.” Twilight eventually said, although a small grin could be seen on her face.

“You know you like it!” Sunny said, as the alicorn trotted inside and closed the door behind her. “Anyways, welcome to my home! It’s no castle, but it’s cozy.”

The apartment was the only one she and her sister could find in the competitive market of housing. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room, the rent for the place was quite expensive. Deep inside, the conservative part of the unicorn regretted spending so much for an apartment that was barely used.

“Thanks again for letting me stay for the weekend. Are you sure your sister is okay having me here? It’s her apartment too, right?”

“Oh, Aurora likes you so she wouldn’t mind. She would be welcoming you here herself if she wasn’t away in Baltimare for work. Speaking of her, I forgot to ask something. Did you two talk about anything when you met last week?” Sunny said, giving the alicorn a suspicious glare.

“Oh, nothing important…” Twilight said, but the mischievous grin on her face did not convince Sunny.

“Really?” She prodded.

“Of course, my little scaredy chicken…” The alicorn said with an evil grin, as she emphasized the last word. This made Sunny’s heart drop in realization at what she just heard.

“No…” The unicorn began, eyes narrowed at her marefriend. “She…she told you about the chicken incident, didn’t she?”

“Maybe.” Twilight said, her grin still present as her eyes looked away from the unicorn.

Sighing, Sunny rolled her eyes as she hoped that her sister didn’t spill any other embarrassing stories about her. However, knowing her sister, she doubted that she didn’t tell Twilight everything.

Settling in the apartment, the two eventually ended up on the sofa, chatting away about the rest of their week and their plans to do next week. However, the moment they started talking about future plans, Sunny couldn’t help but feel a wave of sadness hit her. Will there be a next week?

Once more, the voice in her head began telling her about the terrible outcomes that would occur the moment she confessed. Fighting back the feeling, she tried to concentrate on her marefriend, but it was too hard.

‘It’s all over now.’

‘Say goodbye to the mare you love.’

‘Are you prepared to be hated by Twilight?’

As the seconds passed, it became harder and harder to hold back her emotions as each word was said. Eventually, the discomfort she was feeling from inside must have shown, as the alicorn looked at her with concern once again.

“Hey, is there something wrong?” She asked with a frown. “You’re making that look again.”

“Look?” Sunny said, before biting her lip. “What look?”

“That sad and worried look.” Twilight said plainly. “The one you’re doing now. Is there something wrong? You know you can tell me anything, right?”

Staring at her for a few seconds, Sunny gazed at Twilight’s eyes. Filled with concern and sparkling with that love that she always gave her, it hurt the unicorn to know that the would probably never give her the same loving look after tonight. However, she knew her sister and nephew were right. She couldn’t hold it back any longer. If she waited, the pain for both Twilight, and herself, would just become worse. She needed to do it now.

“I…” Sunny began, before hesitating. She was beginning to realize how nervous and scared she was. “...I need to tell you something…”

This seemed to make the alicorn in front of her curious, as she raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, what is it?” She asked patiently.

“You see…” The unicorn continued, gazing at Twilight's eyes, before turning to look to the side, and then looking back again to Twilight. “...I…I’m…”

She wasn’t sure how to do this. She was terrified. It was getting harder and harder as each second passed and she could feel her heart beating so fast that it seemed that it was about to burst out of her chest.

Giving Twilight one last look, she couldn’t help but think how much she will miss her if things turn for the worse. Moving her stare from the alicorn’s eyes and to her lips, she couldn’t help but think how much she would miss kissing her. Twilight’s soft and perfect lips always made her so happy when it touched hers.

Unable to resist, she suddenly leaned forward and pressed her lips against the alicorn’s. One more kiss, she told herself. She wanted them to enjoy one more kiss before confessing.

She felt Twilight stiffen from the suddenness of her actions, but soon enough her body relaxed as she kissed her back with affection that surprised the white unicorn. Eventually, the two got caught up in the kiss, as they kept their lips pressed together longer than they usually do.

What started out as one last kiss quickly spiraled into something different, as Sunny got lost in the passion and quickly forgot everything she was worrying about. Inside, she told herself to stop, to pull away and tell her now. But her heart was drowned in the love of the moment, as she was surprised by the alicorn when she placed both of her hooves on the unicorn’s shoulders.

Suddenly, the unicorn found herself lying on the sofa, as the two ponies began to share an intimate moment.

When the passion and love reached its peak, the two mares fell asleep wrapped in each other’s hooves. Sunny had completely forgotten about her important confession. Lost in the beautiful moment, the unicorn couldn’t help but pull her marefriend closer towards her as she went to slumber.

However, sleep didn’t last long, as the sudden sound of breaking glass caused her to suddenly open her eyes. Confused, she began looking around the room, as she felt Twilight slowly stir awake also.

Looking left to right, she then noticed that one of the nearby windows was broken, with glass spread all over the living room floor near it. Frowning, Sunny didn’t like this as she quickly concluded what it meant.

As if to prove her suspicions right, a voice suddenly spoke from right behind the sofa. Quickly turning her head, she narrowed her eyes as she saw an unfamiliar looking pinkish-purple unicorn looking down at them. With a determined look in her eyes, she spoke to them with a tone that Sunny did not like.

“Oh, don’t let me disturb you two love birds. How about you both go back to sleep now, okay?”

With that, the unicorn’s horn glowed and before Sunny could react the world around her suddenly went dark.

Chapter 10: Flames

Twilight slowly opened her eyes and saw Sunny right in front of her. However, something was wrong. There was something in the alicorn’s mouth and as she tried to bite down on it she recognized the material to be cloth. As her eyes began to focus and give her a clearer view of the situation, the alicorn suddenly felt panic shoot through her body. Sunny had her hooves bound together with rope, as she lay on a mattress a few hooves away from her. Staring a bit longer, she also noticed that the mare was gagged with cloth and had a magic inhibitor ring on her horn. This was not right and Twilight instinctively made a move to reach her marefriend.

Yet she couldn’t.

The lavender pony soon realized that it wasn’t only Sunny who was tied up. Looking towards her hooves, she saw that she too had been tied up. A quick glance at her back also revealed rope tightly tied around her, preventing her from using her wings. This was not good and she could feel her heart beat fast in panic.

An attempt to use her magic to untie the rope revealed to her that it wasn’t just Sunny that had a magic inhibitor ring placed on her. Upon noticing this, the alicorn princess frowned. She realized that the inhibitor ring placed on her must have been powerful. An average magic inhibitor ring would not have been able to hold back the powerful magic of an alicorn, even one who was as young as Twilight.

She wasn’t sure who made such rings, but she could guess that such powerful inhibitors were not easy to get. This made her worry even more, because it meant that whoever took them clearly had access to powerful resources. She wondered who could have possibly taken them, as she began to recall the events before she woke up.

Twilight remembered the night with Sunny, their date and their moment in her apartment. Then she remembered falling asleep and then stirring awake at one point. Focusing on that last memory, she remembered hearing a voice. She couldn’t remember what exactly the voice said, but something inside her said that the voice was familiar. Why was it familiar to her? Whose voice was it?

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she found it hard to remember where she had heard the voice before. Annoyed at this, she tried to push away the thought for now. Deciding to momentarily set aside the task of figuring out who their captor was, she instead focused on figuring out a way to get out.

Looking around her, she tried to see if there was anything in the room that she could find useful. However, the room was bare, with nothing other than but a lightbulb on the ceiling and the mattresses she and Sunny were laying on. Off to one side, a large wooden door could be found, but the alicorn already expected it to be heavily ladened with locks.

Turning her attention back towards Sunny, she could see that her marefriend was still knocked out, eyes closed and unaware of the situation they were in. Desperately, she wanted to call out to her and wake her up. Maybe together they could think of a plan to get out of the situation they were in? However, with cloth in her mouth, all she could do was make muffled screams, as she squirmed on the mattress she was on.

Closing her eyes and letting out an annoyed grunt, she tried her best to start thinking of a plan to get them out of there. In her mind, she was more worried for Sunny’s safety than her own. Her marefriend was only a few hooves from her and yet she was out of reach. The alicorn hoped that the unicorn was alright and she desperately wanted to get her out of this terrible place.

However, no matter how hard she formulated a plan, she couldn’t think of one. She had no magic to help her and even the simple use of her hooves and wings were unavailable. There was also nothing in the room the could prove useful for escape. She was trapped, they both were.

Laying there helpless, she felt anger and worry fill her heart. She wanted to try and squirm around again in hopes of loosening the rope and maybe freeing a hoof or a wing, but she quickly decided against it. The rope was tied well and tightly, she would just end up wasting energy attempting such an act.

So, there she laid in silence as she waited. She didn’t know what she was waiting for, but she did. Maybe their captor would come or maybe rescue would come. At that moment she preferred any of the two options than to be left in the silence of her thoughts.

Feeling lost, she simply stared at the ceiling and allowed herself to be lost in thought. She wondered what Sunny would think once she woke up. The alicorn doubted that the unicorn would be scared. She was a tough pony and did not scare easily. Despite this, the lavender pony felt hurt knowing that she was unable to prevent this from happening.

Twilight believed that she had failed to protect Sunny and the thought of that made a tear drip from her eye. Her marefriend was there, tied, gagged, and deprived of her magic, and the alicorn felt it was her fault. Twilight was the stronger pony, she was the one that had powers beyond an average pony could imagine, and yet she was unable to prevent them from being captured. The more she thought of this, the more tears streamed from her eyes.

What would Sunny think of her now? Would she think that she was an incapable pony? Would Sunny think that she was incompetent?

All those worries circled in her mind as she suddenly felt useless. It hurt knowing that she was unable to protect the one she loves.

Lost in her emotions, the alicorn was only distracted from her sadness when the sound of the nearby door unlocking attracted her attention. Raising her head a bit, she suddenly turned her gaze towards it to see it slowly swing open. Once fully open, the alicorn was then confused to see a pair of glowing eyes appear behind a background of darkness.

Confused, Twilight kept her eyes fixed on the glowing pair, as a silhouette of a pony emerged from the darkness. As the pony entered the room, the alicorn studied the form to see pinkish-purple fur and a dark purple mane with a teal stripe running along it. Seeing this and immediately recognizing who it was, the alicorn’s eyes widened in realization as one thought entered her mind.

Starlight Glimmer!

It had been months since she last saw her and after such a long time without an encounter she had honestly thought that she would never see her again. Yet here she was, entering the room with a devious smile on her face.

However, to make things worse, Twilight noticed something that she really did not like. Around the unicorn’s neck was an artifact that the alicorn had not seen for a long time. Made out of dark gray steel, bearing a red gem, and shaped in a form of the most powerful pony race, the lavender pony starred with fear at the Alicorn Amulet that was now around Starlight’s neck.

It had been years since she saw that dangerous artifact and Twilight was sure that it was safely locked away at Canterlot Castle. Yet here it was, in the possession of a pony she could only label as dangerous. Somehow, Starlight must have learnt about the amulet and found a way to steal it.

This was bad, this was really bad.

Watching Starlight approach her, Twilight looked on with uncertainty as she wondered what the unicorn’s plans were. The alicorn knew that the unicorn hated her and her friends, since their last encounter ended with the unicorn losing control of her village and rejecting any concept of friendship.

Twilight had hoped that during the time since their encounter at the village, Starlight had learned the value of friendship and had chosen to give up her old ways. However, by the look on her face, there was no doubt in her mind that Starlight had not yet changed.

The alicorn could tell that the unicorn wanted revenge. How she’ll get that revenge was not clear yet, but Twilight was already fearing the many possibilities, especially now that the unicorn had a dangerous and powerful artifact with her.

Once the unicorn was standing directly in front of her, Twilight gazed up to see a mischievous grin on her face.

“Ah, Princess Twilight Sparkle…” She said, as her grin creeped into a smile. “…I’m glad to see that one of my guests is finally awake.”

Scared, yet deciding to hide her fear, the alicorn gave her captor a defiant look. Feeling that this wasn’t enough, she also let out a couple of curses meant for the unicorn, as she slowly started to feel a boiling anger towards her for involving her marefriend in this. However, the cloth gagged in her mouth muffled anything she had to say, as the unicorn laughed and looked down on her.

“Oh, I’m sorry, what was that?” Starlight said, the smile still on her face. “Here, let me help you with that.”

In a flash, the cloth was suddenly pulled out from the alicorn’s mouth as the unicorn used a red aura of magic to violently tug on it. Letting out a brief pained cry, the lavender pony glared as her captor, as she felt that sudden action pull a bit on her teeth.

“Why are you doing this, Starlight?” Twilight eventually said, after making a quick check with her tongue to make sure that all her teeth were still in place. “Let us go.”

“Oh, you can’t be that stupid, Princess? Do you really think I’ll let you go if you ask nicely?”

Twilight only grunted at this and chose not to answer. Fixing her eyes on the Alicorn Amulet, she shook her head and looked at Starlight in the eyes.

“That thing is going to corrupt you.” She warned. “You need to take it off before it’s too late.”

Starlight merely laughed at this, as she shook her head. “Please, Princess, I'm not going to fall for your tricks. This amulet has given me power…more power than I had before. If you think I’ll give it up so easily, then think again!”

“Starlight, I’m serious.” The alicorn said in a stern tone. “I have seen what that amulet can do. It will slowly corrupt you and take over your mind!”

“I think you’ll find that I have a very strong mind, Princess. No amulet, no matter how magical it is, could corrupt me.” The unicorn said, the arrogance in her voice evident and clear. “Now…before we get distracted, how about we focus on why you’re here?”

Realizing that she wouldn’t get through to Starlight by arguing with her, Twilight just nodded in response. She needed to find a way for the unicorn to remove the amulet. Remembering her past encounter with it, she knew that the only way to get it off was for the bearer to willingly remove it. This was a hard task. During the previous encounter, she and her friends had to resort to elaborate tricks to do it. But she didn’t have the same resources now. Because of that she needed time to think, so she hoped that by letting Starlight talk she would gain the needed time to plan.

Smiling at the alicorn’s willingness to listen, Starlight then began to pace in front of her, as she made occasional glances towards the lavender pony as she talked.

“Ever since you and your friends kicked me out of my village, I wanted revenge. At first, I didn’t know how to get it, but after watching you for months, I finally saw an opportunity the moment I saw you date that little unicorn over there.”

Twilight suddenly felt creeped out at the thought of somepony stalking her. The alicorn wanted to speak up and complain, but ultimately decided to hold back her tongue. Interrupting her captor wouldn’t help her situation. So instead she kept quiet, listening and trying to think of a plan.

“I’ve been watching you and your little marefriend over there for three weeks now, waiting for the perfect opportunity to get you both.” Starlight informed the alicorn. Twilight wasn’t liking what she was hearing, as it kept on distracting her from formulating a plan.

“Finding the right time proved to be hard, but I eventually got it and abducting you two proved far easier than expected.” The unicorn continued, before giving a mock sorry look. “I know that what I did interrupted your plans for the weekend, but I think I have more bad news for you.”

“And that is?” Twilight inquired.

“I think I need to break you two up.”

This caught the alicorn by surprise, as she stared at the unicorn with confusion and concern. “What…what do you mean?” Inside, there was a growing dread in her, as she felt she knew where the unicorn was going.

Starlight then smiled and Twilight felt unnerved by the combination of growing red eyes and the evil looking expression on her face.

“You and your friends took away my village from me…something that I worked so hard on and was dear and precious to my heart.” She said, as her tone became colder and colder as she went on. “So, just like how you took away something precious to me, I’m going to take away something precious from you.”

With that, the unicorn turned her head towards Sunny, who was just beginning to stir awake from her sleep. Twilight felt a cold chill run down her spine as she realized what the unicorn was implying. Staring at Sunny, she soon saw the white unicorn’s eyes grow wide with shock, as she stared at Starlight, before looking towards Twilight. For a brief moment their eyes met and saw the panic in her eyes. The alicorn couldn’t help but feel her heart break as the unicorn desperately gazed towards her, almost seemingly pleading for help.

Turning her gaze back at Starlight, Twilight gave her an angry look and stared daggers at her.

“Don’t you dare lay a hoof on her!” The alicorn hissed acidly, as squirmed feverishly in an attempt to escape her bonds.

The unicorn gave a short chuckle in response. “Fine.” She said. “I prefer using my magic anyways.”

“NO!” Twilight screamed in the Royal Canterlot Voice. Yet its power barely phased the unicorn wielding the evil amulet.

“I think I know the perfect spell for your little Sunny over there.” The unicorn said with a laugh.

Unable to stop her, the alicorn watched with pure horror as Starlight began to cast a spell on Sunny. Trapped and useless, she looked towards Sunny and saw her be engulfed by a red aura of magic.

Panic filled Twilight's mind while her heart raced fast. She desperately wanted to break free and save her marefriend. But she couldn’t. She was unable to save Sunny as the red aura suddenly burst into flames that engulfed the white unicorn’s whole body. A wave of heart could then be felt in front of her, as her marefriend burst into intense flames. Watching on the alicorn started to cry as she found herself unable to look away from the terrible sight.

Sunny felt the flames. It was painful, but she had experienced worse before. The spell casted was strong, but not strong enough to severely hurt her.

The Alicorn Amulet held powerful and great magic, that was true. But it was nothing compared to the mature alicorn magic she held within her. Sure, its sudden use caught her by surprise earlier and managed to knock both her and Twilight out, but now that she was fully awake and able to concentrate her magic, it was weak.

Glancing at the artifact while she was still engulfed in flames, she frowned at the fact that it was in the possession of some random pony. Clearly there had been a major security breach at Canterlot Castle, one that had not been noticed by the E.U.P. Guards. An investigation and inquiry would have to be conducted later on and she made a mental note to do so as soon as possible.

Returning to the situation at hoof, she started examining herself and noticed that the rope that had bound her hooves and the cloth stuffed in her mouth had now been burnt to dust. Meanwhile, the magic inhibitor ring on her horn was beginning to melt.

She almost rolled her eyes at the inhibitor. Based on how it felt on her horn, the inhibitor seemed to be one that was made for average unicorns. Something as simple as that could not block the large storage of magic within her. Had it been in place when she tried to use magic, it would have quickly cracked.

Looking away from the amulet and its bearer, Sunny’s eyes soon focused on Twilight. The alicorn was terrified and she felt her heart break to see the distress on her marefriend’s face. In her eyes was a mixture of fear and worry that she had never seen before. Staring at her and trembling, it was clear that the alicorn was being scared by the sight in front of her.

Sunny was troubled by this.

Although Twilight's reaction showed that she truly loved her, Sunny did not like to see her marefriend in such pain. Right now, Twilight was hurting emotionally and she could only imagine what kind of mental wound the sight before her was making. From the alicorn’s perspective, Sunny was being killed. No, not just killed, she was being burnt to death by a spell that was made to mimic and contain the heat of the Sun onto a single target.

Luckily for Sunny, the Sun was a domain she was familiar with. However, Twilight did not know that. The young alicorn did not know the true power within her.

This brought up another concern to Sunny, as she knew that once the spell was done, Twilight would see her alright and unharmed. Of course, she knew that the alicorn would feel relief at first, but after that she would be confused. After all, no normal unicorn should be able to survive such a deadly spell from the Alicorn Amulet.

It seemed that the moment to confess had now been forced upon her. The circumstances were far from what she wanted, yet there was no turning back now. In her mind, she cursed herself for not telling the alicorn earlier. To do this here, after witnessing something that brought so much emotion from her, might break Twilight inside. If that were to happen, Sunny knew that she would not be able to forgive herself for causing it.

Frowning, and lost in thought, she was only pulled away from her internal struggling when she noticed the pain begin to ease slightly. Eventually, the feeling of heart started to dissipate, as the spell casted on her ended, leaving her staring at two shocked ponies.

Turning her eyes back towards the unicorn bearing the Alicorn Amulet, she could see her eye twitch, as her mouth hung open in disbelief. Switching her gaze towards the alicorn, she saw that Twilight was equally shocked, as wide eyes and dilated pupils stared at her with uncertainty.

Sighing, Sunny tried to figure out what to say as she began to stand up from her position. This would be a hard explanation and she knew that she would have to tell Twilight the truth once the shock subsided from the alicorn.

Once again the white unicorn stared at the ponies before her and waited for them to say something. But they didn’t. They just stared, both still holding a look of shock. An awkward silence now engulfed the room, once which she didn’t know how to break.

However, Sunny realized that the inaction suddenly opened an opportunity to them. With the amulet bearing unicorn still in shock and disbelief, she now had the chance to rush towards Twilight and teleport the two of them out of this room they were trapped in.

She knew she needed to act fast to do this, but if she was quick enough it was guaranteed to work. Deciding not to waste anymore time, she began to take her first step and prepared to rush towards the alicorn in front of her.

But before she could get far, she was interrupted by the sudden casting of a spell on her. Almost immediately, she noticed that it was the same spell casted on her earlier.

Once more the pain came and once more it barely did any damage to her. Halting in her tracks, she decided to stay put, not wanting to get close to Twilight while the spell was still on her. Although she knew that the intense and deadly heat would only affect her, the residual heat that it created, although not as dangerous, could still burn surrounding things if it was close enough. This was proven true by the fact that the mattress she was on earlier was burnt after the first casting and she didn’t want Twilight to experience the same fate.

For a moment, she contemplated approaching the amulet wearing pony and let her feel the heat. But she decided against it. She doubted that the pony would let her get close and she might end up using magic to shove her away and towards Twilight in an attempt to push her away. There was a likely chance of it occurring and she didn’t want to risk it.

As she waited for the spell to end, Sunny took the chance to formulate a new plan. She couldn't rush up to Twilight now, the amulet bearing unicorn might hit her with the spell if she did.

Having noticed the magic inhibitor ring on Twilight’s horn, and seeing that the alicorn had not once casted magic, she concluded that it must have been powerful enough to block her magic. Because of this she realized that Twilight would most likely be unable to shield herself if the spell was targeted on her. Sunny did consider the idea of casting a shield on the alicorn if she was targeted, but she was afraid she might be unable to do so in time if that happened.

Although an alicorn’s body would be strong enough to survive such a deadly spell, a young alicorn like Twilight didn't yet have the maturity and power to prevent severe damage from being inflicted. Sunny knew that if Twilight was hit, she would be unable to trot it off like her.

Frowning, she found their situation becoming increasingly more difficult. It seemed that there was no way to escape without Twilight potentially getting hurt. There was also no chance for them to convince the unicorn to remove the amulet willingly, since she seemed really determined to make use of its power.

However, a plan suddenly popped into Sunny’s mind, one that had to be executed delicately.

Waiting for the last bits of the spell to dissipate, she allowed the flames to disappear before turning towards the amulet bearing unicorn.

“Listen, you should really stop doing that, it’s getting really annoying now.” Sunny said in a mocking tone.

In response, the unicorn fired another burst of magic and hit her with the same spell again. Sunny couldn’t help but smile at this reaction, she was reacting the way she wanted her to.

“You’re seriously wasting your time with that.” Sunny continued once the spell ended.

However, the unicorn did not listen. Once more Sunny was hit again, and once more she came out unharmed.

“This is becoming really boring.” The white unicorn said in a nonchalant tone.

In response to the last remark, the amulet bearing pony let out a long and loud frustrated cry. Giving Sunny an angry glare, she stomped her hoof on the ground as she vented out her rage.

“This thing is completely useless!” She screamed, as her voice echoed within the room. Then, with her magic, she ripped the amulet off of her neck and violently tossed it onto the floor. “It can’t even harm a simple unicorn!”

Seeing this and knowing that this was her chance, Sunny quickly used her own magic and casted a spell on the unicorn in front of her. Before their captor could react, she was suddenly wrapped by Sunny’s magic, which bound her hooves, gagged her mouth, and covered her horn with a field that acted as a magic inhibitor. It was a useful apprehending spell that she had developed herself and she was proud to finally be able to use it successfully.

Satisfied that their captor was no longer a threat, the white unicorn then used her magic to pick up the fallen amulet and place it on the floor before her hooves. Then, lifting her hoof, she did what she believed should have done a long time ago.

Slamming a heavy hoof on the Alicorn Amulet, she hit it with such great force that it was destroyed and crushed to pieces. Once she was sure that the remaining shards posed no more threat, she then lifted her head and looked towards Twilight. Seeing her, Sunny noticed that the poor alicorn still held a look of confusion on her face.

Rushing towards her, she wasted no time at pulling away the magic inhibitor rings on her horn, before removing the rope that kept her tied. Once free, the alicorn sat up on the mattress and placed a troubled glance towards the unicorn.

“How…” She began, as Sunny felt Twilight’s glare at her. Looking back at the alicorn’s eyes, she felt saddened to see a hint of caution in them, as if the mare did not know her. “How did you do that? How did you survive a spell from the amulet? How did you destroy it so easily with your hooves?”

The barrage of questions continued and seemed to have no end. Pressing her face against the white unicorn, the lavender pony suddenly stood up and flared her wings. Clearly the shock of the events that had unfolded in front of her was just now processing in her head.

Feeling the pressure from the questioning, Sunny tried to avoid Twilight’s gaze. Deep inside she could feel the anxiety build up inside her.

Hoping that she may still excuse herself from the dreaded moment, the unicorn decided to risk a lie.

“It was a fake amulet.” Sunny said, trying to sound confident. However, she could feel her hooves shake beneath her.

Twilight narrowed her eyes at her and gave her a frown. From all the time she knew the alicorn she knew that this was a bad sign.

“That was not a fake amulet.” The lavender pony said sternly. “I could feel it, I sensed its power. It was the real thing and you managed to deflect its magic as if it were nothing. So, tell me, how did you do it? Is there something you haven’t been telling me?”

Sunny looked at Twilight and hesitated. Biting her lip, she knew that this was the moment she had avoided for so long. She was feeling the fear, she was feeling the sadness. it was all mixing inside her and it felt terrible. She wanted time to pause. She wanted to avoid this moment. But she couldn’t. It was here and she had to face it.

Taking a deep breath, Sunny looked at Twilight one last time before closing her eyes. She then began concentrating, as she allowed her disguise spell to fade. Feeling it disappear, she then allowed her wings to spread and her mane to flow bright and vibrant. She was herself again, she was in her true and natural form.

No more walls, no more facade, this was her.

Once she opened her eyes, Celestia anxiously looked at Twilight. The lavender pony stood there and stared back at her with surprise. Folding her wings, the young alicorn looked on and slowly sat on the floor. For a moment her mouth opened to speak, but quickly closed, as her pupils darted at every part of the white alicorn that stood there.

Waiting for a response from the other alicorn, Celestia stood there patiently, as her heart beat fast inside her chest. She was afraid of what Twilight had to say, but she knew she had to take it no matter how bad it was.

Yet Twilight remained silent. She did not say a word and just stared with the same shocked expression on her face.

Feeling worried, Celestia lifted a hoof in an attempt to reassuringly touch her shoulder.

However, before she could do so, Twilight suddenly drew her body back, as she gave the Solar Princess a betrayed expression. Staring at this gaze, Celestia could feel her heart break.

Looking away from the older alicorn, the lavender pony then engulfed herself in a bright flash of magic. In a blink of an eye, Twilight teleported away. In the split second before the flash blinded her, Celestia could swear that tears were dripping from the younger alicorn’s eyes.

Sighing, the white alicorn sat down and hung her head. It didn’t take long for her own tears to drip down.

What had happened hurt worse than her nightmare.

Chapter 11: Hurt

With a bright flash of magic Twilight appeared in her bedroom. Tears were streaming down from her eyes and she didn’t waste time burying her face into the stack of pillows on her bed. She felt like her heart had been torn to pieces, as the sadness and betrayal within grew and spread throughout her body.

Wailing into the pillows, she desperately tried to push away the pain she was feeling inside her. Her emotions were boiling within her and she was having a hard time understanding the feeling it was creating. She hated it. She hated it so much. The sensation was terrible, yet she couldn’t get rid of it.

It was hurting her so much and she was unable to control herself as she continued to cry out from the pain. She felt lost and she couldn’t find any escape to the sadness she was drowning in.

The night had been a roller coaster of events. However, she could care less about the kidnapping, and she could care less about Starlight. She didn’t think or worry about those at the moment. The only thing that was bothering her was the sight of Sunny transforming to Celestia.

No, it wasn’t that. Sunny didn’t transform into Celestia, because Sunny was Celestia the entire time. That revelation was still shocking and unbelievable, yet she saw it happen right in front of her.

Shutting her eyes and trying to control her tears, she repeatedly muttered to herself over and over again.

“Please…please let this be a nightmare…” She told herself. “Please let this be a nightmare…”

There was nothing more she wanted than to wake up from the terrible nightmare she hoped she was in. Holding her eyes shut, she wished that once she opened them she would see that she was still wrapped in Sunny’s grasp. She wished to feel her warmth next to her and see that face she loved so much. She wanted to leave the nightmare and be with her marefriend.

Twilight didn’t know how to get rid of the pain, but if she woke up to see Sunny next to her, then she knew she would be alright.

However, as she opened her eyes, all she saw were the pillows around her, as tears soaked her cheeks.

Desperate, Twilight closed her eyes again, only to open them to see the same thing. Frustrated, she kept on closing and opening her eyes, hoping to be next to Sunny. But it didn’t happen. She was alone in her room with only her pillows hugging her.

It hadn’t been a nightmare, what she witnessed was true. Suddenly the images of that terrible moment began flashing in her mind. Right in front of her Sunny had revealed her true self. The white unicorn that she dated, shared secrets with, and loved turned into the alicorn princess whom she had always acted professionally in front of.

Sunny was Celestia. The Solar alicorn had been her marefriend. Twilight had been lied to. Slowly accepting the truth, she couldn’t help but burst into tears once more.

As she cried, the terrible feeling inside her began building up again, before hitting her with an intensity worse than before.

She felt betrayed. Celestia had lied to her. The Solar alicorn had pretended to be somepony else and told her lies about her life. The lavender pony couldn’t believe Celestia would do such a thing, yet she did. She deliberately lied to Twilight for more than a month. That was what hurt the most.

Thinking of it hurt so much and all the crying didn’t make her feel better. However, as she cried, a new feeling began building up inside of her. Suddenly, Twilight felt angry.

Screaming, the lavender pony started flailing her hooves in rage, as her anger focused on the pony who had hurt her. She couldn’t believe that Celestia did this to her. She couldn’t believe that the alicorn she had looked up to the most would do something like that to her.

Unable to control her actions, she soon began using her magic to levitate and throw around the pillows that surrounded her.

She hated Celestia. She hated her for lying. She hated her for breaking her heart.

Twilight had really thought that Sunny was the pony meant for her. She had thought that Sunny was the most wonderful mare in Equestria. She had really thought that she was safe with Sunny. However, it turned out that Sunny was not real. The lavender pony felt like she was just part of a game the Solar Princess had been playing.

She wondered what their relationship was to Celestia. Was it just a game, a brief moment of fun while getting away from her duties at Canterlot? Had she really loved her or had that been a lie also? Why hadn’t she just told her the truth from the start and saved her all the embarrassment?

Screaming, Twilight slammed her head on the bed. Still feeling the rage within her, she kept slamming her head as her tears kept on streaming. She was angry, she was sad, she was confused.

Eventually, the alicorn felt tired and stopped. She felt tired, both physically and emotionally.

Sighing, she tried to wipe away her tears, but they just kept on coming. Deep inside, she was missing Sunny. For a moment, she thought that maybe she could turn back time and enjoy one last moment with her.

But this thought was quickly thrown away. There was no Sunny, she didn’t exist. Sunny had been nothing but a lie and it hurt knowing that.

Sighing, she buried her head under the last pillow left on her bed.

The alicorn kept her head buried until the sound of her door opening caught her attention. Suddenly she felt her heart stop, as she wondered who it could be. Deep inside she hoped that it wasn’t Celestia standing there.

Feeling hesitant, she stayed still and kept her face covered.

“Hello?” The alicorn heard Spike’s voice call out. At the sound of the young drake, the lavender pony lifted her head from under the pillow and turned towards him. Looking at Spike, she saw the shocked expression on his face the moment he glanced at her and saw her bad state. “Twilight! Why are you back early? Are you okay?”

“No…I’m not alright…” She said, as she felt that she would never be alright again.

Twilight didn’t know when Cadance arrived, but one morning she was surprised to see the six-month pregnant alicorn standing by her bedside. Pulling her head up and looking at the pink alicorn standing in front of her, the lavender pony stared at her with bloodshot eyes.

She was tired. She couldn’t remember how long she had been feeling miserable in her room, but she knew that it had been days. Unable to feel anything but sadness she had shut out both Spike and her friends. She was in no mood to talk and recount the pain she felt. All she wanted was to be left alone. Although she appreciated her friend’s efforts to comfort her and make her feel better, the alicorn knew that she wasn’t ready yet. She needed time and space.

For the most part they respected her wishes. Aside from occasional visits to check on her and drop off some food, they mostly left her alone. However, the presence of her sister-in-law told her that one of her friends decided to call in reinforcements.

“Who told you to come?” Twilight eventually asked, trying to wipe away the tears still on her face.

“Spike told me, he sent me a letter.” Cadence informed her. Then, moving forward, she sat on the bed next to the lavender pony. “He was getting worried about you. He said you haven’t left your room for three days now and that you refuse to tell him or your friends what’s wrong.”

The lavender alicorn merely gave a grunt in response, as she planted her chin on her pillow. “I’m fine.”

“You’re not, Twilight.” The other alicorn said, as the young alicorn felt a gentle hoof on the lavender alicorn’s back. “You’re hurting…” Then there was a pause, as if the pony was hesitating. “I’m guessing that Celestia finally told you?”

This caught Twilight by surprise, as she suddenly lifted her head and turned to face the pink alicorn. Staring at her with disbelief, she felt a familiar sensation rise up from within her after what she had heard. Once more she felt betrayed.

“You…you knew?” The lavender alicorn nearly shouted, as she stared at her with accusing eyes. It seemed like everypony was keeping secrets from her.

Slowly, Cadance nodded her head. “I did, Twilight, I’m sorry. I would have told you, but Celestia made me promise not to.”

“Great…” The younger alicorn muttered before burying her head under her pillow as she tried to hide her shame. “Who else knows?” She eventually managed to say.

“Just me and Luna.”

‘Luna knew it too?’ Twilight thought with surprise and embarrassment.

Thinking about it now, she couldn’t help but frown as she began to realize who Aurora truly was. She felt like a fool for not realizing it sooner.

The thought of the two other alicorns knowing, while she was left clueless, made her feel embarrassed. She hated the idea of being out of the loop. All that time, while she had felt happy being in a relationship, the three alicorns held back the truth from her.

Sighing, a tear started dripping from Twilight’s eye, as she felt a new wave of sadness cover her heart. “Just leave, Cadance. I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I want to be alone.”

Cadance did not reply to this, but Twilight felt her lift herself from her bed. The sound of hoofsteps then echoed from her room as the other alicorn trotted away.

Twilight wanted to be left alone, that felt like what she wanted. She didn’t need anypony by her, that’s what she told herself. But she didn’t like it. She hated being alone.

She felt so sad inside as her heart and mind wanted to understand what had happened. But it felt so hard doing it alone.

Just as the sound of her door opening hit her ears, the lavender pony let out a shaky cry.

“I…” She let out, unable to continue as she felt her body shake from uncontrollable sadness. “I don’t understand why she did it. I don't know what she wanted from me. I don’t understand why she lied to me...”

With that her floodgates broke again as she began crying uncontrollably. It always felt too much, she couldn’t describe the feeling inside her, but it always felt too much for her to handle. She had never felt this bad in her entire life and she wondered if the feeling would ever fade. It seemed to only get worse as the minutes passed by.

Feeling torn and helpless got lost in her tears. However, the sudden sensation of a hoof on her back momentarily halted her sobbing, as the lavender pony looked up to see Cadance sitting next to her again. Without hesitation Twilight quickly sat up and wrapped her hooves around the pink alicorn.

After all the years since the elder princess had babysat her, Twilight still felt some comfort at the other alicorn’s warm hug. It felt like it was exactly what she needed during that moment.

“It’s okay, Twilight, just let it all out.” Cadance said in a soothing tone. “I’m just right here.”

Allowing herself to get lost in her emotions, Twilight held on to Cadance and kept on bawling out the pain she felt. The hurt, the fear, the sensation of betrayal, and the confusion she felt all merged and came out as tears.

She didn’t know how long she cried, but once it began to slow down, she felt exhausted. Pulling back from her hug, she looked at Cadance and saw the alicorn give her a concerned look.

“Feeling better?” She asked.

“No…” Twilight responded, slowly shaking her head. “I…I just can’t believe she did that to me.”

The pink alicorn slowly nodded at this. For a moment Twilight saw another moment of hesitation from the other alicorn, who eventually let out a long sigh.

“Celestia wanted to experience true love.” Cadance began, as the lavender pony listened intently, although a frown still lingered on her face. “She wanted to be herself and not some princess everypony looks up to and praises all the time. If she hadn’t put on the disguise, then you would see nothing but Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria, not Celestia, the pony. She was afraid that she would not experience the true love she wanted if you couldn’t see past her title.”

Twilight nodded, but inside she still did not feel at ease. She still felt hurt, especially knowing that Celestia didn’t believe she was capable of seeing past her position. It gave her the impression that the Solar Princess thought that she was incapable of treating her as a real pony. Did she really think Twilight was that shallow?

But wasn’t she right?

This caught Twilight by surprise, as a part of her argued in favor of Celestia’s thinking. For a moment a voice in Twilight told her that Celestia’s actions made sense. Afterall, the lavender pony often looked up to Celestia as a princess more than anything else. Remembering their past interactions, she recalled the times where she would always treat her formally and please her request no matter what. Wasn’t that exactly what she was avoiding?

Although she had toned down in recent years, Twilight still held back when it came to her. There was still this imaginary barrier that separated them, a wall that excluded Celestia from seeing the other half of her life. This barrier also prevented her from seeing Celestia’s other half, one that didn’t involve formality and royal duties, but was instead filled with love for camping and pastries.

Was that what Celestia wanted? Did Celestia want to get rid of the barrier, so that Twilight could see her side and vice versa?

“She never wanted to hurt you-” Cadance continued, pulling Twilight away from her thoughts. “-I can promise you that the love she gave you was real. I felt it and it was intense and concentrated all towards you.”

Still unable to say anything about what she was learning, Twilight merely nodded her head. She had a lot to think about, yet she didn’t know where to begin.

Cadance started at Twilight for a couple of seconds before giving her a serious look.

“I’m not telling you to forgive her, but I just want you to understand her perspective.” She said. “Take your time deciding, take as much time as you need. You’re a strong mare and I know that you will eventually get through this. But always remember, you don’t have to be alone, Twilight. You have me, your brother, Spike, and your friends. You’re hurting and we all want to help you feel better.”

Twilight nodded once more, before staring at Cadance. Then, with a quick movement, she pulled the alicorn into another hug.

“Thank you.” She said, feeling grateful to have a sister-in-law like Cadance.

Twilight was still hurting. She was still angry at Celestia. However, for once since that terrible night, she no longer felt alone.

Chapter 12: Aftermath

It felt like the longest month in Celestia’s entire life. Although she tried to get through her days normally, the memory of that terrible moment never failed to always flash in her mind. Every time she closed her eyes she could see Twilight in front of her, the look of shock and disbelief plastered on her face. Then she remembered how that shocked look turned to one of hurt, as the lavender pony refused to have her in her sight.

Remembering this the white alicorn could never help but freeze in place, as her heart started beating faster. Despite the time that passed, the hurt of that event still felt fresh. Her heart ached, both from guilt and loneliness. She believed that for a second time in a lifetime, through her own selfishness, she managed to hurt somepony she loved.

Most days Celestia just wanted to be left alone. She wanted to lock herself in her personal chambers and let out the pain constantly harassing her. The desire to bury her face with pillows and cry for hours was always there and she wished that she could just spend her days like that.

Celestia wanted to shut the world away, to be just by herself. The pain felt so much sometimes that it seemed so hard to do her normal tasks. All she wanted was to do was be alone with her sadness.

But she can’t. No matter how much she wanted to, she knew that she did not have the privilege.

She was a Princess, one of the senior Princesses of Equestria, her role was too important to be set aside. Her duties cannot be neglected, no matter how much hurt she felt. So, she tried to put on a facade and pretend everything was okay. Keeping her pain to herself, she went on as if she was not breaking inside.

Although she could feel the castle staff were unconvinced, the nobles didn’t seem to suspect a thing. That was good enough for her, so she kept it up every day.

However, it was tiring. That afternoon, just like many other afternoons over the past month, Celestia felt like collapsing from both physical and emotional exhaustion. All the work and the emotional shields she had to maintain sucked up so much from within her. However, once her main royal duties were done, she managed to save enough strength and energy to get herself up and seal herself in her room, where no pony dared to disturb her.

Drained and constantly feeling sorrow within her, she would drag herself towards the balcony outside her chambers, where she sat and stared at her Sun. Low in the sky, it gave a magnificent sight of beauty and grace. But despite the wonderful image it presented before her, Celestia was unable to smile or admire it. It only reminded her more of something she missed so badly.

Staring at the glowing ball in the sky as she willed it down, she began recalling her camping date with Twilight and how the two of them watched the Sun set. With her duties taken up by her sister, she was able to enjoy that wonderful moment with her date, as the two of them cuddled and relaxed in their own world. It was a happy time and she wished to feel that joy again.

But she couldn’t.

Sighing, Celestia tried to push the memory away and instead focus on her duty of lowering the Sun. Lowering it slowly, the land before her soon darkened until the Sun disappeared beneath the horizon. With this final duty done, and with Luna’s Moon rising, Celestia sat at the balcony in silence.

Feeling cold and lost she continued to sit there until the first drops of tears began dripping from her eyes. Finally free from her duties and alone to herself, she could let her walls fall down and release the hurt and sadness she had been holding back all day. No matter how many times she cried over the past month the tears never seemed to never stop falling.

As she cried, all she could think of was Twilight. She missed the lavender alicorn badly and wished that she was with her again. She wanted to hear her again and feel her hugs and her kisses. She wanted to be loved and give love. But how can she do it now when the pony she loved hated her?

Remembering this only made her heart ache more, since she knew that Twilight would never want to see her again. What she had done to Twilight was unforgivable and she knew that the younger alicorn would never want to see her again.

Many times during the weeks following the terrible moment, Celestia had gone to Ponyville in hopes of being able to talk to Twilight. The Solar Princess wanted to apologize and make things right between the two of them. However, every time she tried to visit her the white alicorn was blocked by either Spike or Twilight’s friends.

"She isn't ready yet." They would say.

"It's probably best that you leave." They would then tell her, trying their best to be respectful. But deep inside Celestia knew that they were not happy with her.

Eventually the Solar Princess had given up on her attempts to visit and apologize. Eventually she had to accept the sad fact that Twilight no longer wanted her in her life. At most, the only interaction between them would be during formal occasions when princesses needed to meet. However, she didn’t plan on raising her hopes high during such occasions, because she expects that their interactions would be nothing but cordial and for formalities sake only.

Their relationship would never be the same again and she knew it. Whether it’s romantic or between friends, it is gone now.

Sighing, Celestia looked up at the night sky before wiping away the last stream of her tears. She still felt terrible inside, but was a bit better than she was earlier.

Glancing back towards her chambers, she managed to catch sight of the pile of paperwork on her writing desk. Knowing that many of the files there were due to be read, the Solar Princess began mustering the remaining energy within her in order to read and sign them.

However, before she could get up, a familiar looking pony caught her attention. Looking up at the night sky, she saw a dark blue alicorn slowly descending towards her. Keeping her gaze towards this pony, she watched as her sister glided down and made a soft landing just in front of her.

“Sister.” Luna greeted the older alicorn. “How are you this evening?”

“I’m fine, Lulu.” Celestia lied, as she gave her younger sibling a small smile.

Luna gave the white alicorn an annoyed and displeased look. “That doesn't work on me, Tia.” She said. “You may fool the nobles with that fake smile of yours, but I know you, sister. You’re troubled and I think I know the reason why.

Celestia merely remained silent. There was no use lying further to Luna, she would just see through them immediately. Looking at the dark blue alicorn, the Solar Princess’ smile quickly wavered, as a frown replaced it.

“It hurts thinking of her…” She admitted.

“You and I both knew this would eventually happen, sister.”

“I know, but I didn’t expect it to hurt this much and this long.” The white alicorn said as she fought hard to prevent her tears from falling again.

Before a single one could drop, the dark blue alicorn suddenly rushed towards Celestia and pulled her into a hug. Unable to help herself, the white alicorn wrapped her hooves around her sister and buried her face on her shoulders. Without hesitation, she then began crying again, as her younger sister tried to soothe her as best as she could.

Hugging her sister tighter, the older alicorn allowed her tears to pour out, as she felt the other alicorn’s hooves gently path her back. Celestia had been hurting alone for so long that it felt good to finally have somepony there to comfort her.

She felt thankful for Luna, as she felt easier knowing that there was somepony to be there for her. Although her heart was filled with sadness, there was this small portion within her that felt at ease knowing that she may not be as completely alone as she initially thought.

Eventually, Celestia pulled back from the hug, as she once again wiped the tears from her face.

“Problems of the heart are never easy, whether it's about enduring them or resolving.” Luna eventually said.

Celestia slowly nodded her head at this. “What am I going to do, Luna? It feels like I ruined everything.”

“You made a mistake, Tia, we can’t deny that.” the dark blue alicorn told her. “But mistakes can be fixed, no matter how bad they are. I know you’ll find a solution and eventually work it out with her. I may not know how to fix your relationship with Twilight, but I am here for you, Tia. You don’t have to be alone while you’re hurting. If you need a shoulder to cry on or somepony to talk to, I’m always here.”

“Thank you, Lulu.” Celestia said, before pulling her sister into a quick hug.

It was times like this where she was grateful to have Luna by her. Her young sister always seemed to know how to ease her pain.

“Now…” The Solar Princess began after breaking the hug. “...did you really just come here to comfort me or was there something else?

At this the Lunar Princess gave her a sheepish smile. “Well, you see, Tia…” She began, as she looked down and shuffled her hooves. “...I wanted to ask your permission for something.”

“Oh? Permission for what exactly?”

“To have my own personal student.” The younger sibling said.

“A personal student?” Celestia asked, surprised. She had not expected that. Ever since her return, Luna had never asked for something like this. Of course, she wasn’t against the idea, but it did make her curious why her sister suddenly wanted to take such a responsibility. “And who will be your personal student, if I may ask?”

The dark blue mumbled a reply, one that the older alicorn could not understand. Squinting her eyes, the Solar Princess gave her sister a questioning look.

“I’m sorry, Luna, I didn’t quite catch that. Can you repeat that for me?”

“I’m…” The Lunar Princess said before hesitating. Then, looking directly at Celestia, she took a deep breath. “I want to take Starlight Glimmer as my personal student.”

Upon hearing the name, Celestia’s eyes instantly went wide. How can she forget that name, especially after what she did? To say that she was displeased upon hearing it again was an understatement.

Remembering what the unicorn was capable of doing, Celestia frowned and glared at her sister. Recalling a conversation she had with the dangerous pony after her capture, she remembered how the unicorn spat out insults at her before swearing revenge. Even in defeat that pony was still determined to get back against those she disliked.

Although Celestia was a forgiving princess, there were times where she had to draw the line. This was one of those times. Her impression of Starlight, especially after what she did to her and Twilight, were not favorable. To her Starlight was a threat to the kingdom that should be locked away for the safety of Equestria and its ponies.

“No, Luna.” The elder alicorn sister. “You are not going to have her as your personal student.”

“Celestia, listen.” Luna said, trying to plead with her. “Hear me out sister.”

“There is nothing to hear out.” The Solar Princess said sternly. “She is a very dangerous pony and should remain imprisoned. Have you forgotten that she tried to kill me?”

“Please, sister.” The younger alicorn said, rolling her eyes. “You and I both know that the Alicorn Amulet was barely able to hurt you, let alone kill you.”

“That’s not the point, Luna. It was her intentions that showed how evil she was.”

“But she’s not as evil as you think.” Luna informed her, making Celestia raise an eyebrow.

“Luna, what makes you think she’s not evil?”

“I talked to her.” The dark blue alicorn admitted. The elder sister was displeased at hearing this, but she tried to keep her patience and allow her sister to continue. “I visited her last week. At first it was just out of curiosity. I wanted to know how she broke into the castle, so that we can better improve our security. Initially she was uncooperative and harsh in her language. But after she got that out, she began crying.”

This raised Celestia’s interest, as she urged her sister to continue.

“Seeing her cry was the last thing I expected, but she did. She began complaining how her life ended up like that. So I urged her to talk more, and she told me how her friend was sent away to Canterlot because he earned his cutie mark, leaving her alone. She told me how she believes cutie marks break friendships and that without cutie marks friendship would remain forever. She’s not evil, Celestia, she’s just hurt and misguided. Her emotions are driving her to do wrong so that she won’t be hurt again.”

Pausing, Luna looked down. Once she looked up, Celestia noticed that her sister’s eyes were becoming teary.

“I see myself in her, Celestia. She isn’t evil, she is just hurting over the loss of her friend. She’s just lonely and needs a friend. I think I can be that friend for her.”

The white alicorn nodded, but a frown was still plastered on her face. She understood what the other alicorn was trying to point out, but she was still afraid of what the unicorn was capable of doing. For all she knew, what Starlight had told her sister was a lie in order to get out of her imprisonment. “I don’t know, Luna…”

“Tia, I sense in her the same sadness I felt when I became Nightmare Moon.” Luna said, making Celestia feel a hint of sadness as she remembered her own failure to stop her sister’s pain. “She can be helped, but she needs a mentor and friend to guide her. Sister, you were willing to forgive me after what I’ve done in the past, so I’m asking you to forgive her also. Please, she needs it. If we leave her imprisoned, the seeds of hate and anger already planted within her. If left unchecked, they would just grow and grow, and I fear that we would eventually be unable to stop it.”

The Solar Princess hesitated to give a reply. Biting her lip, she knew that bringing Starlight out of imprisonment was a dangerous risk to take. If she went back to her old ways, there was no telling what she would do next. Brilliant and powerful in magic, the unicorn could hurt more ponies. However, she trusted her sister. If what Luna said was true, then maybe Starlight could be taught about true friendship. Besides, what her little sister said was true. Hate left unchecked would only grow out of control.

“Fine.” Celestia eventually said. “I’ll allow you to take her as your personal student.”

Before the white alicorn could continue with what she wanted to say, the Lunar Princess suddenly pulled her into a hug. Holding her tight, she let out a gleeful cheer, as she thanked her sister.

“Thank you, Tia!” She said happily. “Thank you, so much!”

Sighing, Celestia gave a smile and hugged her back. “This doesn't mean I won’t be keeping a close eye on her.” The older alicorn added. “I still think she’s dangerous. If she does anything that leans towards something evil, she’s going to the dungeons, understood?”

“Of course, sister.” Luna said, as she finished the hug and pulled back. “I promise, Tia. I will help her. She will become a better pony.”

“I hope so…”

The two remained at the balcony for a couple more minutes, talking about one another’s day, before eventually parting. Excusing herself, Luna bid the elder alicorn goodnight, before flying off to conduct her nightly duties. Celestia, on the other hoof, went back inside her chambers and started reading and signing the stacks of paperwork on her writing desk. It was the only thing she thought she could do to distract herself.

Shoving away any feelings of hurt and sadness she may still feel inside her, she concentrated on the various bureaucratic issues and problems that needed to be resolved in order to keep Equestria running. Lost in this boring tedious task, she failed to notice the sound of hooves landing on her balcony.

It was only when she started smelling alcohol nearby did she turn her head away from the paperwork and look towards her right to see an angry looking lavender alicorn.

“Twilight?” Celesita asked, eyes wide in shock. “What are you doing here? Are you alright?”

Shock soon turned into concern as the elder alicorn studied her visitor. Twilight was drunk, the Celestia could smell it.

Twilight gave her a goofy smile, before letting out a loud hiccup. Then, taking a shaking step forward, the younger alicorn stared at Celestia and giggled.

“Me and the girls were drinking, trying to unwind. Pinkie thought it was a good idea, especially after what you did to me.” Twilight said, as the smile on her face slowly began to disappear. “I felt so angry, you know? After a while, I decided to give you a piece of my mind! To tell you how much of an awful pony you are.”

At that point Twilight tripped and planted herself on the floor. Worried, Celestia quickly rushed towards the lavender pony and tried to help her up with a gentle hoof. However, the young alicorn just shoved it away and instead did her best to look up at the concerned pony staring down at her.

“I…I tried to teleport here-” Twilight began, as she did her best to speak in her drunken state. “-but I ended up at some rooftop in the Canterlot suburbs. So I started flying from there to here. But I ended up getting lost on the way. So, I kept on flying and now I’m here and I have a couple of words to say to you!”

“Twilight, I don’t think this is the best time.” Celestia said, worried at how drunk the other pony was. “How about I bring you to one of the guest rooms so you can rest and we can talk tomorrow instead?”

“No.” The lavender pony said sternly, as she sat up and stared daggers at the older alicorn. “I need to say this now and you need to hear this now.”

Twilight, please-” Celestia began, but was immediately cut off.

"Do you know how I felt after you removed your disguise?” Twilight said, and Celestia noticed tears beginning to form in the pony’s eyes. This struck Celestia hard, as she bit her lip. Her heart was beating fast, and she could feel all the pain she had felt over the past month suddenly hit her in that moment. She couldn’t find any possible reply to that question, and she knew that Twilight wasn’t expecting one.

“I felt betrayed.” The lavender alicorn continued. “I felt betrayed, not just because you lied to me, but because you thought that you had to lie to me in order to know me."

Hearing this made Celestia look away in shame, as she felt her own tears forming in her eyes.

“I felt that you didn’t trust me, that you thought I wasn’t flexible. It was insulting.”

The white alicorn found it hard to look at the lavender pony in front of her. Despite this she kept her gaze forward. For a moment the two alicorns’ gaze met. This made her heartbeat increase even more. Deep inside Celestia was fighting back tears and trying her best to prevent them from spilling.

Twilight stared at her with a mix of anger and disgust. Celestia wanted to speak, to apologize, but no words came. She was afraid and felt that there were no words to excuse what she had done.

Eventually it was the other alicorn that broke the short silence.

“Staring into your eyes now, I remember how you lied to me and how you broke my heart with that stupid secret of yours." Twilight angrily said, as tears now began dripping from her eyes. Getting up and approaching Celestia, the smaller alicorn jabbed an accusing hoof on her chest.

“You hurt me. You hurt me in a way nopony has ever done before.”

For a moment Celestia froze. She didn’t know what to do and she didn’t know what to say. All she was able to do was stare silently at the pony she loved and betrayed. It felt like torture.

“For the longest time I felt hatred. I never thought I would be able to feel such a thing.” Twilight said, momentarily looking away.

Celestia wanted nothing more than to bury herself in shame and guilt during that moment. She knew that she had done a lot of bad things in her lifetime, but the one she did to Twilight felt like the worst one yet.

Looking at the lavender pony, she watched as she wiped her tears and stared back at the white alicorn, their eyes meeting once more.

“I hated you. But…” There was a sudden falter in Twilight’s voice. “...I also missed you.”

Celestia’s heart momentarily fluttered at that. Did she hear that right? Did Twilight misspeak?

No.

Twilight said she missed her. Was that true? Did she really mean it?

“Looking into your eyes doesn’t just hurt because of what you’ve done. It hurts because of the memories I also remember, the times spent that are now gone. I missed those days. I missed you.”

Sighing, Twilight shook her head and sat down on the floor.

“I understand why you did it…” She said. “I talked to Cadance and I admit that I did treat you differently before. Our relationship back then was professional and no matter how many times you tried to get closer to me, I always fought back and tried to keep it at a distance. Back then, you were the Princess, my mentor, and that did prevent you from getting to know me more. So, I understand why you had to hide your true self. But that’s still no excuse for the pain you brought me. I wish that you could have admitted the truth immediately and not keep it for so long.”

At that moment Celestia finally found her voice. All the emotion building up inside her couldn’t be contained anymore and it came out all at once. With tears streaming from her eyes, she looked at the younger alicorn and finally gave the apology that she had wanted to say for so long.

‘I’m… I’m so sorry, Twilight.” The older alicorn managed to say as she cried. “I never meant to break your heart. I wanted to tell you immediately… But…I was afraid. I was afraid that it would end up with you breaking up with me because you didn’t want to date your mentor. I started falling for you and as time went on it became increasingly difficult to tell you. I realized there was no way of doing it without breaking your heart. I’m so sorry that I hurt you so much.”

Shaking her head. Celestia tried to take a deep breath, but struggled to do so between her weeping. Her eyes were blurry now, completely covered in tears. Twilight was a mere silhouette in front of her. But she saw that silhouette move closer towards her and place a gentle hoof on her chest. This managed to help calm down the white alicorn, who started to ease her crying.

“I…” Celestia said, her voice shaky. “I understand if you don’t want to be with me again, in the intimate relationship we once shared I mean. But…I do hope you can forgive me somehow. I hope that we can be friends at least, if you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”

As the tears cleared from her eyes, Celestia got a better view of the alicorn in front of her. She could see the uncertain frown on the other pony’s face.

The next few moments felt like an eternity.

Celestia feared what Twilight had to say next, but prepared herself for the worse.

She waited, and waited, until, suddenly, Twilight leaned forward, raised her face, and kissed Celestia on the lips.

This caught the Solar Princess by surprise, as her eyes widened at the sudden action. However, the feeling of those familiar loving lips against hers quickly eased her emotions, as she soon reacted by returning the kiss and wrapping her hooves around the smaller alicorn.

The feeling of love and comfort that she thought she had lost all suddenly came back. For the first time in a month, Celestia felt complete again.

Letting her emotions overtake her, she suddenly lifted the younger alicorn with her magic and, in one smooth move, she moved both Twilight and herself to the bed. The next few moments were filled with pure passion and love, the same one they both gave during that night in the apartment.

When it was all over, both alicorns were wrapped in each other’s hooves. However, as Twilight slept comfortably in Celestia’s grasp, the latter was too troubled to fall asleep.

Keeping a tight hold on Twilight, she stared at the lavender, afraid to close her eyes. She was scared that if she closed her eyes, Twilight would no longer be there. Celestia was afraid of losing Twilight again and she knew that despite what just occurred, there was still a chance of that happening.

The lavender alicorn has come to her drunk and far from a clear state of mind. As she lay there in silence, Celestia’s mind couldn’t help but wonder if Twilight’s words and actions were true or if they were influenced by her intoxicated state. Could the alcohol clouded her judgment and made her do things that she would regret in the morning?

The thought of the morning scared Celestia. When it comes, will Twilight choose to stay with her or will she say her actions were all a mistake and quickly leave her?

Feeling restless and worried, she found no sleep that night. Instead, she spent the time staring at Twilight. Her peaceful form slept soundly in Celestia’s hooves, as the Solar Princess felt a mixture of love and dread from the sight. She wanted more of this, but knew that it could all soon disappear.

She tried to engrain that image in her mind, since she didn’t know when she’ll be able to see such a sight again.

As the night went by, she stayed like that and kept on praying to the universe, wishing that morning would never come.

Eventually, however, she knew that it was time for her to get up and raise the sun.

The night passed by faster than she had wanted. Desperately, her mind told her not to get up, to keep the night going, to keep Twilight in her grasp. But she knew better than to do that. The night had to end and she and Twilight had to face the events that occurred.

Gently, Celestia tried to slide away, hoping not to wake Twilight as she did her royal duty. Maybe, if she moves quietly and quickly enough, she can raise the sun and return to bed without waking the other alicorn.

However, the slight movement of her hooves away from Twilight was enough to stir her awake. Slowly, the lavender pony began to open her eyes, but quickly shut them as she winced in sudden pain. Celestia realized that last night’s drinking must now be imparting its consequences on the younger alicorn.

Watching in silence, and biting her lip in anticipation, Celestia looked on as Twilight let out a groan of pain before taking a deep breath. In doing this, she must have noticed another pony’s scent next to her, as she quickly opened her eyes and looked on in shock at the white alicorn lying beside her.

Celestia stared back, trying her best to stay calm and composed. However, deep inside, her heart was racing, as her mind panicked.

Looking at Twilight and watching her, she waited for her to say something. But the other pony remained in silence. Studying her expression, and watching her eyes grow wider and wider, the Solar Princess soon realized that the other pony was deep in thought, most likely trying to recall the events of last night.

Letting out a short breath, and unable to wait any longer, Celestia decided to finally speak up and break the agonizing silence.

“Listen…” Celestia began. “...last night you…”

“No.” Twilight said suddenly, cutting her off. “I remember.”

Celestia merely nodded at this, as she looked at Twilight with worried eyes.

By now it was clear that the lavender alicorn was fully awake and had fully grasped the situation. Looking back at Celestia, Twilight’s earlier bewildered look was soon replaced by a calmer one. The Solar Princess felt a bit more at ease at seeing this.

“Listen, Su… Celestia.” Twilight began, as the white alicorn listened intently. “What I said and did last night was true, every bit of it. I was drunk, yes, but my actions weren't because of the alcohol. I chose to do that with you, because I love you. I know that, both in my mind and heart. I love you. I love you so much that when you lied to me, it stung so bad. I felt that you betrayed that trust I gave to you…”

There was a pause, as Twilight looked away, tears in her eyes. By that point, Celestia was feeling tears forming in her own eyes too.

Placing a gentle hoof on Twilight’s cheek, Celestia tried to comfort her. The lavender alicorn looked back at her and smiled at this.

“I love you, and that’s why it hurts so much.” Twilight continued. “I love you, that’s why I forgive you and chose to give us another chance. I hope that you can forgive me too for pushing you away this past month and-”

Celestia couldn’t take it any longer. Hearing Twilight forgive her had made the dam of emotions burst within her. In a quick move, she pushed herself closer towards the lavender alicorn, before pulling her into a tight hug.

Crying as she held her love in her hooves, she couldn’t help but notice that Twilight was crying also. They were both overwhelmed by their own emotions, but now they had each other for comfort. The two alicorns spent the next few minutes in that position, hugging and crying, enjoying each other’s embrace.

Finally, they were reunited again.

“No more lies, I promise, Pancake.” Celestia managed to say between tears. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Celestia.”

With that the two were together again, with no more facades separating them.

Epilogue

Once in a while, after a tough day at Day Court, there was nothing more Celestia wanted to do than relax. To forget work and stress and replace them with a soothing and enjoyable sensation, that was what she yearned for the most during those headache inducing times. In days where she encounters a peskier than usual noble, or days where she goes through trade deals that take hours upon hours of boring negotiations, a moment of relaxation is all she wanted in order to clear her mind and prepare herself for the next day.

On days like that, when she badly needed to vent out the stress and calm her mind, her marefriend was always there, ready to take her out on a date.

Entering her personal chambers, Celestia was happy to see Twilight sitting by the balcony, calmly reading a book as she waited for her. Moving towards the lavender alicorn, Celestia wasted no time sitting next to her, before burying her chin atop the smaller pony.

“Another tough day in court?” Twilight gently asked, as she gently brought her book down.

“Ugh, you have no idea.” The white alicorn said with a sigh. “Can’t I just have you replace me as Senior Princess?”

“Thanks for the offer, but no thanks!” Twilight replied with a giggle. “Managing Equestria is your duty, while friendship problems are mine.”

“Please…” Celestia begged.

“No can do, my Scaredy Chicken.” Twilight said, with a firm shake of the head.

“Ugh, fine.” The Solar Princess sighed, defeated.

“Aw, don’t be so sad now.” The lavender alicorn said, as she moved to remove herself from under the older alicorn and face her instead. “How about we go out on a date tonight, so you can forget about this bad day?”

Hearing this, Celestia’s ears perked up, as she looked at her marefriend excitedly.

“Oh, that sounds lovely! Where do you want to go tonight? A bar perhaps?”

Twilight smiled, but shook her head. “So you can take up a disguise again and seduce me? No way!”

Celestia raised an eyebrow at this and gave her a sly look. “Yea? Well, last time I checked, it was you who asked me out.”

Twilight playfully slapped the white alicorn for that remark, as she giggled. “It’s not my fault you chose such a cute disguise. Although, I do prefer seeing you now than that.”

This made Celestia smile, as she leaned down to kiss her marefriend. Not missing a beat, Twilight returned the kiss.

“I love you, Pancake.” Celestia said after the kiss.

“I love you too, Scaredy Chicken.” Twilight replied, before giving her a big grin. “Now, how about we go to Hay Burger?”

“Hay Burger again?” The white alicorn asked, giving her a questioning look.

“It is a special place after all.” Twilight said, as she got up and allowed her wings to spread. “Now come on, the last one there has to buy dessert!”

With that the lavender alicorn jumped up and flew away from the balcony.

Savoring the moment, Celestia watched as the pony she loved raced towards the restaurant they frequented over these past months. As she did, she couldn’t help but remember the first time they went there together. This made her smile widely as she got up.

“Yes…yes it is.”

With that, Celestia hopped and flew to catch up with her marefriend. As they soared through the sky, those in the city below couldn’t help but hear the sounds of giggling from the two alicorns, as they tangled and enjoyed each other’s company up in the night sky.

Although their relationship started with a lie, the two of them knew that it led to something beautiful that completed them.

Author's Note

Hey, everyone! Well, that's it. Finally, after years, this story is at its end. I can finally mark this story as complete. It's been a long journey, hasn't it?

Enchanted to Know You is, without a doubt, my most popular story. I believe this ended up getting featured with every single chapter I added, and I just want to say that it was all because of you.

All of you who read this story led to its successes. Despite the numerous periods without updates, you constantly returned to this story and kept on leaving positive comments. Reading all your comments always encouraged me and made me so happy. Thank you. Thank you for sticking with me after all these years.

I know some of you have been here since Chapter 1 was posted way back in 2021. Some names who commented back then are still here now. I'm talking about you Xalok and Stahlseele. There are also those who joined in later, but also kept up constant support. I'm looking at you MoonWhisker, stag the story teller, Omnishifter, Glo, fluttermoontree, and many more!

Honestly, I'm thankful for everyone who read and supported story. Words cannot express the joy it brings me. I know I can't personally thank everyone here, but I just want you all to know how much you have helped in giving me confidence to continue this story and seeing it all the way to the end.

Thank you, everyone! I hope to see you all again in future stories!

Chapter 1: The Bar

Once in a while, after a tough day at Day Court, there was nothing more Celestia wanted to do than relax. To forget work and stress and replace them with a soothing and enjoyable sensation, that was what she yearned for the most during those headache inducing times. In days where she encounters a peskier than usual noble, or days where she goes through trade deals that take hours upon hours of boring negotiations, a moment of relaxation is all she wanted in order to clear her mind and prepare herself for the next day.

On days like that, when she badly needed to vent out the stress and calm her mind, she would indulge herself with a night’s worth of de-stressing and relaxation.

Many ponies often wondered what the Solar Princess’ preferred method of relaxing was, and it was always an interesting debate among castle staff and nobles what the alicorn Princess did to unwind. She was naturally a private pony, and never liked to divulge such things. However, this didn’t stop ponies from guessing. Their guesses often came towards things like long warm baths to quiet moments of reading, but unbeknownst to them, these guesses could not be farther from the truth.

Celestia’s preferred method of relaxation was something that many would deem unbecoming of a princess, for during nights of loosening up and de-stressing, her favorite activity to do was to hit the bars of downtown Canterlot and drown her stresses away with the hardest alcoholic drinks they could offer.

Being an alicorn with centuries of life under her wing, it often took a lot of alcohol to fully waste her mind, but getting drunk was never her goal when she went out. It was the warmth and sensations of alcoholic beverages that she was after, as these drinks often make her feel good and ease the tension within her. Officially, she was a red wine pony. Unofficially, hard cider was her favorite.

The bars she chose were often random, and she rarely visited the same bar consecutively. It wasn’t just the alcohol that she wanted and liked after all, as she also desired the different atmosphere each bar had to offer. If she just wanted a drink, then she would have just ordered a personal bar room to be constructed for the castle. But drinking was not the only thing she was looking for.

She wanted the environment, the atmosphere and life a bar house radiated. She wanted diversity too, to encounter a different world every time she went out. To visit the same place over and over would just be boring for her, and she liked the excitement different places brought. From exciting party themed bars that had ponies dancing left and right, to mellow and chill bars that give calm and slow music, she had no single taste and her choice often depended on her mood during that night.

Whenever a new bar in Canterlot opened, it was always guaranteed she would go there to unwind, wanting to see what new environments the place had to offer. She was adventurous that way and this side of her was unseen by anypony, even her sister.

She preferred to keep this part of her a secret, not only because she was a private pony, but also because she knew that there would be negative backlash from both the nobility and the public. She was sure the citizens of Equestria wouldn’t be too happy if they learnt that their supposedly stoic and divine princess liked to hangout in bars after a bad day at work. It would be a big scandal, and the newspapers would have a field day. Not only that, she was certain Luna was going to chew her out and lecture her about proper regal behavior.

Because of this need for secrecy, she was prudent enough to use a simple disguise spell whenever she went out. To the ponies who encounter her in the bar, they don’t see Celestia the alicorn princess, but instead a simple white furred and pink manned unicorn by the name of Sunny Beam.

One night, after Princess Celesita had a particularly rough meeting with Canterlot nobles about funding for a statue of their heroic forefathers, Sunny Beam went out to unwind. With saddle bags decently filled with bits, she teleported out of Canterlot Castle and arrived unnoticed at the downtown area of the city.

Trotting through the streets and basking on the wonderful nightlife of Canterlot, Sunny smiled to herself as her head swiveled left and right, trying to find a nice place to drink at. All around her, ponies of different backgrounds roamed the streets, seeking various things to do for the night. It was only ten o’clock in the evening on a Friday, still very early into the night. Based on past experience, she knew that there would be more ponies out as the night went on.

She smiled wider at this though, knowing that Luna would greatly appreciate knowing that so many ponies loved her night. Times have changed, and the night was as alive as the day. Sunny would have personally told Luna how lovely ponies were during her nights, however, Sunny didn’t know the Princess of the Night on such a personal basis. Besides, she probably knew it herself, seeing how happy she is during Night Court, especially when compared to how she was a thousand years ago.

Humming to herself as she went by, Sunny soon encountered a place that attracted her attention. Beaming with lights and having a steady flow of ponies entering, the place, a bar house, looked simple in design, yet radiated elegance and beauty. Stopping and studying this place, she could read a simple sign saying: ‘Grand Opening’, which was strung above the bar’s name that said: ‘The Atrium’.

Curious, Sunny managed to peer a bit through the large arching door and see a beautiful room decorated with large aquariums, while being illuminated by a bluish sea tone light. Liking the place already, and pleased with the calming yet exotic environment it had, she made her final decision and chose this place as her hangout for the night.

It didn’t take long for her to find a sit on the bar front and order her first round of many. Laying her saddle bags on the floor and sighing in relief, she took a sip of the glass of strong cider and allowed her body to ease and relax. After the snobbery and fake praises she heard all day, the taste of alcohol in her tongue, and the warming glow it brought, was just what she needed to feel better.

Slowly enjoying her drink, she soon began looking around, letting her gaze first study the various fish swimming in the aquariums in the walls, before looking around to observe the different ponies drinking and enjoying their time. Part of the fun in going to bars was the different characters she met, and she was always interested in listening to the different stories they had to tell. After hearing pompous self centered stories from nobles, the honest working pony’s tale was something she desperately needed to erase the aftertaste of the mind numbing arrogant boastings the nobles had left her.

Scanning the room and seeing the bar almost packed, with many tables occupied by different groups, her eyes soon fell upon a certain nearby table, whose ponies she immediately realized.

Laughing, eating, drinking, and having a good time, Sunny saw Princess Twilight Sparkle and her friends seated on the other end of the room. Staring a bit longer, Sunny also noticed that along with her best friends, Twilight was also accompanied by her friends from Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.

For a moment, Sunny seemed to be lost in thought, as if she was trying to remember something. Soon enough though, the unicorn smiled before shaking her head. Just the other day, Princess Celestia had received a letter from Twilight, informing her that the latter would be taking her Ponyville friends to meet her old Canterlot friends. They must have chosen this newly opened bar to have dinner in and hangout.

Most ponies would have been thrilled to find a princess in the bar they were drinking at, but not Sunny. It was nice to see Twilight was having a good time, but it was not her business to mind. This place was a decent place for a down-to-earth princess like her to hangout, and Sunny believed that she made the right choice here. She would let her be, as she enjoyed her own night, as she was sure the modest young princess would never do anything to embarrass herself in such a public place.

Soon enough, after another glass of hard cider, Sunny got into a conversation with a mare who worked as a librarian of a large public library in downtown Canterlot. Lost in the conversation, she completely forgot about Twilight, as she learnt more about the crazy happenings that could occur in a day inside a library. For one thing, she never knew that so many ponies confuse libraries with bookshops and inquire how much certain books were.

As time passed by, however, her newfound friend soon had to go, thus leaving Sunny alone with her tenth glass of hard cider. An hour had now passed since she arrived, and although she was entertained by her librarian friend, she found that she was still in the mood for another conversation.

Finishing her glass of alcohol, before ordering another, she was just about to look around to see if there was another friendly face who would occupy her time, when she was suddenly surprised by the sight of Twilight sitting on the bar stool next to her. Looking at her and staring at the alicorn, she noticed the nervous smile on the mare’s face, as her head tilted down and eyes darted left and right, as if trying to look everywhere but directly at her. Studying her for another second, Sunny soon noticed the obvious blush on the alicorn’s face, as well as the steady sway of her body as she shot there. There was no doubt about it; Twilight was drunk right in front of her.

She had never seen Twilight this drunk before, and although her inner self knew that the mare had been slightly tipsy during a couple of parties in the past, it had never reached levels as bad as this. Obviously the younger alicorn still lacked the strength to handle her alcohol. Because of that, she worried if the young mare was okay.

“Um, hello?” Sunny asked, unsure how to deal with the situation.

Looking up, Twilight suddenly froze, as she locked her gaze upon Sunny. Looking unsure and seemingly caught off guard, the lavender alicorn soon started to shift uncomfortably in her seat, before taking a quick glance behind her, as if contemplating a retreat. Finally though, gaining some confidence, Twilight took a deep breath, before firmly staring at Sunny, making the other mare a bit confused as to what she was planning.

“Hi!” Twilight yelped in reply, as a flustered look erupted on her face. Sunny didn’t think it possible, but the mare in front of her seemed to blush redder now.

An awkward silence then came upon the two, as Sunny stared at Twilight and watched her break eye contact, before nervously playing with her hooves. As the seconds passed, she started to mumble something, which Sunny found hard to understand. Whether it was because she was drunk or whether because she was nervous, the words she was trying to say came out muffled, forcing the unicorn to inquire what she was saying.

Embarrassed, Twilight tried to give her best apologetic smile, before straightening up and clearing her throat. This, however, did little to hide the fact that she was still very much drunk, as her body ever so gently continued to sway left and right.

“H...Hi! Again.” She began awkwardly. “I’m Princess Twilight, although you probably know that already. Not that I’m trying to boast or anything...” Deflated, as she realized she was making a fool of herself, the alicorn tried to find the right words, only to fail even more. “What I’m trying to say is, I would like to introduce myself to you and become your princess.”

Almost immediately after she said that, Twilight covered her mouth with her hooves, as her eyes widened and cheeks blushed even more fiercely. Sunny on the other hoof was slightly taken aback by the bluntness and suddenness of what she was told, as the unicorn mare stared at Twilight with growing curiosity.

“Oh my Celestia, I didn't mean it like that!” Twilight said, panic clear in her voice. “What I’m trying to say is that you look pretty and I like you.” There was a pause, before the mare suddenly slammed a hoof on her face and let out a frustrated grunt. “Ugh, no, that’s not right either!”

“Are you okay...Twi...umm...Princess?” Sunny asked, getting worried over the alicorn’s actions. Although the panicking was somewhat within her character, the pure bold and direct attitude to somepony who, from her perspective, was a stranger is certainly unlike her. In her mind, she knew it was the alcohol making her do this, but she still couldn’t help but feel concerned.

Sighing, Twilight nodded her head. “Yea, I’m okay... It’s just that...well...” She bit her lip for a bit, contemplating, before continuing. “You see...I know this may sound a bit weird, and I promise this isn’t just the alcohol talking, but I couldn’t help but notice you when you first got here, and I have to admit that I took more than a healthy amount of glances at you throughout the past hour. You’re white fur; it just looks so soft and warm that I want to cuddle up against you. Oh Celestia, did I say that last part out loud? I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to make it sound so strange! It’s just that...I am attracted to you! No! I mean, yes, I am! I’m sorry, the alcohol is making this harder, but I really am serious that I feel attracted to you.”

Seeing the alicorn fluster and panic brought a certain kind of amusement to Sunny, and she couldn’t help but grin at the sight. It was adorable to see her confess, and it made her look really cute. But she also wondered if the mare was really speaking the truth and she really did have some sort of feelings for her. If that was the case, then it could cause some problems, given her situation.

Half of her thought that she was just a random pony that Twilight’s drunken eyes had spotted, but another half of her told her that the mare really did have feelings for her. The shyness and flustered praise when talking to her must be coming from somewhere, so maybe she really did have a crush on her?

Before Sunny could further think about it though, Twilight asked her a question made her heart stop a beat for a second.

“Will you go out with me?”

Sunny had to admit, she lost track of Twilight’s mumblings for a bit, however, the sudden proposition she offered brought her back to reality, as the alicorn now waited for a response.

At that moment she could have said no. It was a simple act, and to do so would have avoided a lot of problems.

But looking back at the young mare and seeing those wide innocent and hopeful eyes, she found that her tongue began to twist when she was about to deny her.

She couldn’t understand why. Why was it so difficult? She knew Twilight was a grown mare, and she knew that she should be able to handle a simple rejection from a pony she barely knew, and yet Sunny couldn’t do it.

Looking at Twilight, and remembering the real mare behind the drunken facade, she wondered if she had ever been bold enough to ask somepony out before. She knew that the mare had never dated before, so did that mean she had never asked somepony on a date also? Or did that mean that she had always been rejected? Or maybe she was the one being asked out on dates and the one always rejecting them?

She really didn’t know this romantic side of Twilight, since the mare always kept it to herself. This was understandable, but now it made her curious. Her relationship with Twilight had always been more professional than anything else, and although they considered each other friends, there were still some parts of their lives that the other never knew about.

For starters, it was only now that she realized that Twilight was into mares.

Despite this, however, there were some things that were all too clear based on deductive concluding. She would have at least known if the lavender pony had dated, and she was certain that she has never had throughout her entire life. Books and studying had always been her thing, and recently royal duties as a princess most likely took up more of her time. She was always either too busy or uninterested to do dates, at least that’s what she assumed. It hurt her to know that Twilight never had the excitement of such social actions, and it also hurt her to think that she might break the heart of this hopeful mare. It may be a simple no, but there indeed was a possibility that this was her first time asking somepony out. If so, then it would ruin her psyche to be rejected.

But it wasn’t pity that made Sunny decide upon her final decision. No, it would be wrong to answer out of pity. It wasn’t just that. She respected Twilight too much to just say yes out of pity.

She cared for this pony, this mare in front of her. She knew her despite their professional relationship, and she knew that she wanted to know more about her. Essentially, she was starting to feel that she wanted this date as much as Twilight did. She longed to know more about her, as well as share more about herself. To be able to confide with somepony in such an intimate level, to share about herself to somepony who was interested. Luna was a good sister, and she appreciated her sibling, but sometimes it felt nice to be able to share things to somepony else, one who admired her, and one who might love her.

Although she didn’t know that she had this repressed desire, the moment presented to her managed to allow it to surface. Going into this, she thought of the proposed date as one step to better know the pony whom she had cared about for such a long time, as well as being an opportunity to finally let this pony know more about her. Because of this, despite knowing that it was going to cause problems, she said:

“Yes.”

Eyes widening bright, a goofy smile formed on Twilight’s face, as her wings opened up in excitement.

“Really?” She nearly shrieked, eyes staring as if in disbelief.

“Yes, really.” Sunny replied with a giggle, as the overjoyed Twilight to be even more cuter than the nervous one.

“This is great!” Twilight said, before unexpectedly grabbing Sunny’s face with her hooves and pulling her close so that their noses touched. “This is so great!”

Sunny couldn’t help but blush from this, as she stared directly at Twilight’s gleeful eyes. Now it seemed it was her turn to be nervous, as this sudden physical contact made her shy all of a sudden. This was something that she did not expect.

“I promise you that you won’t regret this.” Twilight said, before giggling uncontrollably. “Meet me tomorrow evening, say around eight o’clock, at the Hay Burger restaurant near the downtown plaza, okay?”

“O-“ Sunny was barely able to finish her reply when Twilight suddenly pulled away and rushed back to her table, where her friends, who were not as badly drunk as her, awaited her return. Based on their cheerful reactions, they had an idea or two on what Twilight was doing.

Shaking her head and giggling at this, Sunny soon turned around and stared down at her glass of hard cider. She was happy and she was glad to accept Twilight’s offer. Deep inside it made her heart pound and she had to admit that she was really excited for tomorrow. She had not been on a date for at least a century, and it made her feel happy to finally be one after such a long time.

She also realized that Twilight would get to know the real her for once, something that she could rarely show with anypony else, aside from her sister. There will be no formality, no titles, no worrying that she was princess. Tomorrow, she was just an ordinary pony who can talk about her real interests and desires. She could be free to be who she wants to be. For the first time ever, Twilight would get to see the other side of her, while she gets to see the other side of Twilight.

Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea after all.

But she was also worried, as she knew that she got herself into a big problem. She must remember that although she would be able to let out her true self, she would still end up lying to Twilight, as she hid a very important fact about her. To Twilight, she was about to date Sunny Beam, not Celestia.

Sighing, she chugged down her remaining drink and paid her bill. Then, taking her saddlebag and getting up from her seat, she began walking out of the bar, wondering how she was going to prepare for her date tomorrow.

As she got back on the streets, she couldn’t help but chuckle for a second, as she realized that in her drunken excitement, Twilight forgot to ask her about her name.

Chapter 5: The Little Sister

Sunny felt wild after that bold move. Never before had she kissed anypony on a first date. She usually was more modest than that, and yet she couldn’t help but do it. After what happened that night, after all the joy and excitement Twilight had brought her, it just felt natural to give her a kiss. It felt right, it felt perfect.

Skipping her way across the now quiet station platform, she gently hummed to herself as she went towards a dark and empty corner. Taking a moment to glance around her surroundings, she then allowed a flash of magic to engulf her.

Teleporting back to her chambers, Celestia couldn’t help but have the thought of the kiss remain lingering in her mind. Giving a wide smile as she thought of it, she momentarily hopped in joy around the center of the room, before jumping onto her bed and squirming in happiness as she lay there. The excitement of the feeling ran through her body, as she thought more and more about it. Feeling her heart beat faster than before, she did her best to suppress a shriek of joy, only to fail and force herself to cover her mouth with a nearby pillow.

Like a little filly who had just held the hoof of their crush, she felt love struck and lost in the thoughts of romance.

Soon enough, she then found herself giggling as she tried to recall the kiss and the events after. She could remember the shocked and goofy expression plastered on the younger alicorn’s face, as she tried to stammer out a response. Celestia had to admit that she looked quite cute like that and it had tempted her to give the other alicorn another kiss. But she managed to restrain herself. All in moderation after all.

Sighing in joy, she stared at her ceiling and allowed her mind to get lost in thought. Her mind quickly drifted towards the planned second date, as she wondered where they should go next. She wanted to do this again, to enjoy the same feelings, to be in the company of Twilight, the real pony who she was.

The date had gone better than she had ever expected. It was fun, relaxed, and heart opening. For the first time, she got to know about the real Twilight, the one she had been yearning to learn more about. Once the talking began and the thoughts and secrets got shared, she began to realize that there was so much more to Twilight that she had never known before.

Despite having known the mare for many years now, and despite all the conversations and letters they had exchanged, there had always been this filter, one built by a student and mentor relationship. Even now, as they stood now as equals, that filter did not disappear.

But now Celestia had found a way to get past that filter, and now that she was on the other side, she was happy to learn what was there. From the date, she learned that she and Twilight had so much more in common.

She never thought of Twilight to be the kind of pony who liked adventure and the outdoors, and yet it seemed she shared the same passion for adventure as her. It made her happy knowing that the younger alicorn wasn’t just all about locking herself in her study to conduct research. Thinking about this more, it made her realize that a camping date sounds like a good idea for next time.

Celestia loved going out and seeing nature up close. She always yearned for adventure, but was never able to find a pony to spend the same passion with. Most ponies she knew preferred the confines and luxury of the castle and although Luna would most certainly join her in such an adventure, her younger sister just didn’t share the same passion to fully enjoy it just like her.

Twilight, however, seems like the pony that she could spend it with. It was a surprise to learn that she wasn’t just the scholarly pony most ponies sees, since it was clear that there was an adventurous side to her.

Sighing in joy, she looked up at the ceiling and began imagining what a time such a trip could be. She could run around free, explore hidden trails, spend an exciting night by the campfire, and do it all with somepony she would like to be with. Letting her mind linger on to such thoughts and imaginations, she felt warm, happy, and complete.

The date, and many more dates she hoped to do in the future, opened something inside of her. It felt nice to finally be herself in front of somepony else. It felt nice to know that the real Celestia had not died after centuries of monotonous formalities. It felt nice seeing somepony enjoy her true self and not respectfully asking her to follow decorum. It felt nice that she got to spend it with Twilight.

After allowing her mind to explore the future for a while, and after she had sobered from all the excitement and joy, Celestia slowly got up from her bed and prepared to take a nice warm and relaxing bath to complete the night. As she got up and moved towards her private bathroom, she noticed a slice of red velvet cake on her writing desk.

Never to be the one to leave a cake unattended, she quickly levitated the desert towards her. A quick little snack before a bath never hurt anypony anyways.

However, as she levitated that accompanying fork towards the cake, a sudden thought entered her mind. When did she leave cake in her room?

Suddenly, she felt her heart drop, as she looked at the cake, before glancing around her room. Upon her initial scan, she didn’t see anything suspicious about her personal chambers. But, as her eyes moved towards the open balcony, a short breeze managed to push aside the curtains that shielded her room and reveal a dark blue alicorn sitting alone and gazing down at the quiet city below.

Celestia nearly dropped the cake at the sight of her little sister. Seeing the lonely sight she presented, the older alicorn couldn’t help but feel her heart beat fast once more. However, this time her heart pounded out of nervousness rather than joy. Quickly returning the cake on top of her writing desk, the white alicorn then slowly, if not hesitantly, trotted towards the balcony.

As if sensing her approach, Luna let out a cold question that almost froze Celestia’s racing heart.

“Where have you been, sister?”

“Now, Luna, I can explain.”

“Oh? Explain what, Celestia? The fact that you left the castle without anypony knowing? Or the fact that you lied to me?”

Turning around, Luna gave Celestia an icy stare. The older alicorn froze at this, as her very soul seemed to have been attacked. Looking at her eyes directly, the white alicorn could feel the emotion behind her sister’s eyes. Hurt, anger, and disappointment, all summed up in one stern look. She had seen that face before and knew that she had made a big mistake.

“Luna...” Celestia began, trying to find the right words to say. The situation was delicate, and she needed to explain things properly. Deep inside, she was cursing herself for not explaining things earlier, but it was too late now. The only thing she could do is hope that her sister would listen to her right now.

But what was she to say?

Trying to speak, she found that no words came out of her mouth. How was she to explain that she went out on a date? How was she to explain that she wanted to be free and be herself with somepony who she shared interests with? How was she to explain that she went out with Twilight?

“Luna, I didn’t want to lie to you.” She eventually said, but immediately regretted it.

“But you did, Celestia.” The dark blue alicorn said, her voice seemingly quivering in restrained anger. “I came up here to check up on you...to check up on you and give you cake. I know your work days have been hard, so I wanted to help you feel better. But guess what? I came to find an empty room.”

Celestia frowned deeply at this, but felt a jab of greater pain when she saw some tear forming on her younger sister’s eyes. Her heart felt shattered as she realized the terrible feeling Luna must have experienced.

“I’m sorry, Luna.” She said, each word bearing the heavy weight of guilt. At that moment she felt like the worst sibling in Equestria and knew that she deserved such a title. “I didn’t mean for you to find out this way.”

“Find out what exactly? Celestia, where did you go?”

“I...I went on a....” The last part of the line was mumbled and incomprehensible.

“I’m sorry, what?”

Celestia rarely showed her shy part, but when it came out it was obvious and clear. Embarrassed to admit the reason for her brief disappearance, and also a bit scared of how her sister would react to it, she somehow managed to keep her voice low and meek.

“I went on a date.” She said, her voice still quiet, yet somewhat enough for the other alicorn to hear.

Raising an eyebrow, Luna stared at Celestia as she tried to process what she heard.

“Excuse, but did you say you went on a date? As in, you snuck out of the castle just to have a date?”

Giving a nervous smile, Celestia nodded her head slowly.

This seemed to catch the other alicorn by surprise, as a moment of contemplation hit her. Her expression soon changed from one of anger to one shock and confusion. For a few tense seconds, Luna stared and blinked at her, seemingly unsure what to say. This only made Celestia feel more and more nervous, as she wondered what her sister was thinking. But she soon wished that the silent remained, as her sister started shouting at her with a scolding voice.

“YOU WENT OUT ON A DATE?” She yelled in the Royal Canterlot Voice, making Celestia wince at the violent sound.

“Not so loud! Other ponies might hear!” Celestia said in panic, not wanting word of her escapades to spread out.

“What, you don’t want the whole castle knowing that you lied to your sister and snuck out of the castle to go on a date?” Luna said with a roll of the eyes, although her voice was much lower now, yet still contained a venomous hint of anger within it.

“Listen, Luna, I’m sorry. I really am sorry.” Celestia apologized, looking back at the younger alicorn who seemed to be trying her best to contain her anger and frustration. “I know I should have told you, but if I did I know you wouldn’t have let me go out.”

“Of course I would have stopped you! Because going out on a date is a foolish idea, Celestia!” Luna remarked. “Princesses shouldn’t spend their nights frolicking around the city. Think of the image you have to maintain. What would the public think if they saw their Princess spending her nights like that? There would be an uproar!”

Now it was Celestia’s turn to roll her eyes. Although it was true that such practices were unbecoming of a Princess, Luna’s reaction to the situation was a bit over exaggerated. Despite the length of time since her return, some of the younger alicorn’s old world views were very outdated. It would have caused a scandal, sure, but not a gigantic controversy like Luna was suggesting.

“Luna, it’s okay, I made sure to put on a disguise to make sure nopony recognized me.”

The dark blue alicorn let out a frustrated snort at this. “Oh, sure, that makes the situation totally better. Let’s just ignore the fact that you still snuck out just to bed somepony.”

“That is not what happened!” Celestia said, her cheeks blushing red at the accusation. “It was just a normal dinner date. Nothing more than that.”

“Then why were you gone for so long? You were missing for hours!”

“Well...because we had fun… We enjoyed each other’s company so much that we lost track of time.”

The genuine tone in Celestia’s voice seemed to have gotten to Luna, as the white alicorn saw her sister’s face soften.

“Sister, I’m not saying that I am happy at what you did, but this pony you went on a date with, did he make you happy?”

“It’s a she, and she did.” Celestia admitted. “Luna, I felt free and happy being with her. We formed a connection, one that I never thought would have ever happened before. I know you and I share a bond, and as sisters we would always have that. But this relationship I formed with her is something else.”

Luna nodded her head in understanding.

“But is what you’re doing right, Celestia?” She ultimately asked. “You yourself said it, you were using a disguise. Do you think it’s safe to play with this mare’s heart by pretending you’re somepony you’re not.”

Celestia shook her head. “I wasn’t pretending, Luna. Although I was hiding my true physical form, the personality I gave was real. I shared who I truly was, and I was happy to see somepony so accepting of it. The date was something I wanted to experience for a long time and this mare is somepony I would like to spend more time with.”

For a moment a brief smile formed on the night princess’s face, as if her anger had been subdued.

“You’re starting to sound like a character from a theater play, Celestia, but then again you always were such a dramatic pony.” She said. “Clearly this date of yours has conquered your heart and, despite me not agreeing with this terrible idea of disguising yourself and sneaking out for a date, I guess I can’t really separate two ponies who have fallen for each other. Listen to me, I’m starting to sound like your niece.... Anyways, please promise me that there would be no more secrets, okay?”

“I promise, Luna, no more secrets from now on.”

“Good. The rest of your scolding can continue later, but for now, tell me who was your date and what were they like? Based on how loud you were shrieking, and how giggly you sounded earlier, it must be somepony who matches you perfectly.”

At this, Celestia gave a sheepish laugh, as she blushed red and looked away, unable to stare Luna directly in the eyes. “Well, you see, you actually know her...”

After a quick confession on who the other pony was, Luna gave out a reaction that shook the castle to its very foundations.

“YOU’RE DATING WHO?”

Sometimes Celestia had to wonder whether she was the older sister or if it was Luna. Sitting there at the balcony as Luna scolded her, she was at least glad to hear that her sister used a lower indoor voice than the one she had been using earlier. Nevertheless, the dark blue alicorn kept on pointing out the mistakes Celestia made and how an alicorn of her age should not act so childish and impulsive.

“To disguise yourself and date somepony is one thing, but to disguise yourself and date Twilight is a completely whole other thing in itself.” Luna said as she glared at Celestia. “She was your personal student, and currently a fellow princess and a close friend. I think I speak for her when I say that it's somewhat offensive to disguise yourself in order to go out with her. If you wanted to date Twilight then why not just court her yourself, you know, as Celestia, alicorn Princess of Equestria. Resorting to disguises just complicates things and would make it seem that you’re keeping secrets and lying to her, which you seem to be in the habit of doing a lot lately.

Celestia sighed at this and shook her head.

“Luna, you and I both know how Twilight is. She places me on a golden pedestal all the time. A date between Celestia and Twilight would be nothing but her faking herself. However, a date between Sunny Beams and Twilight is natural and true.”

Luna gave her a deadpan expression at this. “Really, Sunny Beams? Is that what you’re going by?”

“What, it seems fitting to me.” Celestia said in a defensive tone. “Anyways, I’m serious Luna. I know that this isn’t one of my best plans, but what happened tonight made me happy, and I’m sure it made Twilight happy too.”

“Will she still be happy when she learns the truth about how you tricked her?”

Celestia frowned at this. “Okay, I know that this lie is going to pose a problem, but I do intend on telling her the truth...eventually.”

“When would that be?”

“Just...” Biting her lip, Celestia thought for a moment and wondered. If she told her on their next date, it might be too sudden for Twilight and she might get embarrassed and angry at how she was fooled. However, if she delayed and waited for another time, then Twilight might feel her trust broken and get angry at her for it. She regretted admitting it, but at this point there was no right time to tell her anymore. “...just give me some time. I will tell her, but not now. She doesn’t need sadness to replace the joy we both share right now.”

Deep inside, despite her better knowledge, she hoped that maybe, just maybe, it might become easier to tell her once a firm bond has formed between her and Twilight.

Celestia could tell that Luna was displeased by this, but whatever her sister thought it was clear that she was holding it back. Instead, she gave the white alicorn a stern look, one that seemed to give a warning.

“Celestia, sister, be careful.”

“I will Luna, and I promise, I’m going to make things work. I care about Twilight and would never break her heart.”

Luna nodded, but the look on her face told her that the other alicon was unconvinced. Soon, however, the two sat on the balcony in silence.

It wasn’t until Celestia spoke up did the quietness break.

“Okay, so now that you know the truth, I would like to ask a small favor from you.”

“Oh, what is it, sister?”

“I kind of told Twilight that I live here in Canterlot and I think I may need to buy an apartment now in case she decides to visit in the future. So, would it be too much to ask for a bit of help on that one?”

Luna just stared at her after that and Celestia could swear she could see one eye twitch in irritation.