Clandestine love

by KevinBlu

Rating: everyone
Tags: Twilight Sparkle, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Romance, Fluttershy
Length: 9031

Sometimes, words are not needed to express those emotions.

Solitude is something nopony wants, and although life seems to want to lock us into that, our emotions can lead us to other things. Sometimes, words are not needed to express those emotions. Sometimes, the only thing we have to do is show them. We just need a catalyst to give us the courage to do so... and perhaps the advice of a goddess.

A Twishy fic, because they are my favourite pairing and there are not enough shipping of them. My first work in this fandom since I became brony.

NOTE: I am not a native English speaker, so be kind if you find a mistake (You'll surely find many)

Published 2012-09-11 09:34:04 UTC
Last updated 2012-09-11 09:34:04 UTC

Clandestine love

Clandestine love:

The surrounding forests of Ponyville aren't exactly the perfect place to live. There aren't many ponies living there. But still, there was one soul who chose this place as home: a pastel-yellow female pegasus, called Fluttershy. She was the forester of the zone and she rescued injured animal and treated them in her cottage, which was in the middle of Ponyville's forest. Her home was a huge old tree, which nopony actually knew how old it was. It was still alive, but in its interior it was completely hollowed, making it an excellent spot for building a house, especially for those who wanted to be in touch with nature. She shared her home with all kind of creatures, from rabbits and mice, to even falcons! But living in this house demanded a special treatment, different from others: she had to water her house twice a day (from the outside, of course) to keep it healthy.

It was quite unusual that some visitant came to her door (and she kind of liked that), but from time to time, somepony came from town to ask her if they could adopt one of her animal. She hadn't any problem with that; in fact, she was delighted to give to another animal-lover the opportunity to have one pet to love and care. She represented the element of Kindness after all, so she hardly denied something to anypony, even if she wanted to… that was more a curse than a gift.

The last syllable of her name, "shy", would describe her perfectly, if we had to do it with just one word. She didn't get out of her house very much, unless she had to go deeper in the forest for some reason or for fed her chicken. Only if it was really necessary, she would go to the city to do some shopping and return as quickly as she could.

But despite her apparently weakness, she was still capable of dealing with little critters and huge animals alike. She could make Manticores behave as kitties. She had developed a special relationship with nature and a unique ability to communicate with animals. That was her talent after all, and her Cutie Mark showed it.

If you didn't guess this yet, she wasn't a very sociable pony. Maybe being in a room with more than ten ponies would be one of the most frightening things for her, to the point of making her faint or giving her a heart attack! But life has plans for everypony and sometimes smiles at us, as it did with her. She giggle each time she remembered the moment when her life changed for good, the story how she ended up befriending the most extravagant and crazy group of ponies in all Equestria… her friends... her true friends.

How long had been since that happened? Three years? Maybe four?

It didn't matter. When we talk about friendship, time is always irrelevant, clocks are useless, the day and night have little importance, the only thing that matter is enjoying the moment with them. Time is a concept used by ponies that live in solitude and she wasn't one of those.

As Luna's creation rose in the dark sky of the night, the pegasus slowly approached to the window in the upstairs' dormitory. Stars were something that she made her feel really happy, but at the same time sad… a quite strange mix of feelings that seemed to intensified with the passing of days.

She… she wasn't one of those?

Her head turned over her shoulder, almost involuntary, in order to glance over the empty room. All of her animal companions had gone to sleep an hour ago.

She wasn't in solitude?

Yes… yes, she was…

Involuntary, her eyes focused in the empty, unmade bed in the middle of the room. It was too big for her, it was a queen size bed, the kind of bed which is supposed to be used by two ponies. She had to admit it, she felt very lonely during the nights, and even though she had a house full of animal's life, she knew that she wanted something different from that. She needed another kind of company.

She smiled, thinking in how wonderful would be her life if in that same moment, there would be a pony resting in her bed, waving a hoof, signaling that her presence in that bed was required. How magic would be waking up every morning in the warm embrace of another pony. How romantic would be spending entire afternoons lying in the couch, just hugging each other, hearing their heartbeat until falling asleep.

Yeah… that were lovely thoughts… but the reality was another.

As her mind returned from that perfect world she had invented, she realized of her situation: she was alone. She had not excuses for that, and she knew it, her shyness and cowardly had contributed to this. She was alone, but she didn't want to be. Still, she was and she wasn't doing anything to fix it.

There was somepony who had a special place in her mind though, but she just couldn't muster the will to tell her…

Yes, you heard right: her.

She wasn't going to fool herself; she couldn't deny that this feeling was too strong to be a mistake or confusion.

Fillyfooler might be the word which other ponies would use to refer to her if they find out, but she didn't care. She had spent each one of her eighteen years worrying about what other ponies thought and that hadn't take her to anywhere but a empty room, wishing to have somepony to share it. If her heart told her that she needed this mare to be happy, why she shouldn't listen to it?

Isn't that what adults teach you when you are young? To follow your heart?

That's easy to say, but pretty difficult to do. Her self-confidence lasted less than a moment.

Her gaze returned to the dark canvas where all pieces of Luna's art were exhibited to everypony's delight. Apparently, one particular star was shining too much for its creator taste. Once created, stars can't be modified. It's frustrating when that happens, since creating a star isn't easy at all, even for the Goodness of the Night. But it's not a complete lost. Something good still can be done with it: a shooting star.

For a few seconds, the star's luminosity increased a bit more, before falling from the sky, leaving a trace of light and disappearing in the horizon, making a spark when the star reached it.

Spark… sparks… sparkle

Sparkle…

The whole star's event had driven her mind away from her desire of a life's companion, but this suddenly thought had made her remember it.

The sounds of her hooves hitting against the floor as she made her way to her bed were almost inaudible. The blanket gave her a warm, yet insufficient embrace. It wasn't what she wanted, she needed something more. But her desire must not be mistaken by lust. She felt… she didn't know what she felt, but she knew it was something beyond simple body contact. How could she have that kind of thought when her cheeks turned red with only thinking in touching the other mare's hoof?

She sighed… despite the silence of that beautiful Autumn night, she wasn't going to sleep… she couldn't, even if he wanted.

She would have to stay awake until the next morning, with her mind dancing around the mare that owned her heart… again

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The citizens of Ponyville came back to life as soon as the Goddess of the day raised her proud position in the morning sky. Its golden rays shine through the windows of their houses, making of sleeping an impossible task.

Most male pegasus abandoned their cloudy refuges and set course to the well-famous Weather Factory, eager to arrive on time to their temporary job. With the Winter approaching, there was a lot of extra work, so that gave young colts the chance to earn a few extra bits.

Unicorns and earth ponies, on the other hand, hadn't anything to worry about except for enjoying a lovely sunny Saturday.

A city might be a rather strange place for a giant sequoia tree, but this one had been kept for a reason. It was the Ponyville's Library and, some years ago, it had become Princes Celestia pupil's home: Twilight Sparkle.

The lavender unicorn shivered under her blanket, muttering complains about having her beautiful dream interrupted by the sun light. A sneeze finally woke her up for good. Her head popped out of the blue cover as her amethyst eyes opened lazily. She knew she should have used another blanket.

Her front legs' hooves hit the wooden floor, making a characteristic "clop" sound, closely followed by her hind ones. Nothing was scheduled for today and that, rather than made her happy, made her feel annoyed. All her life was a routine and her like it like that… at least most of the time.

She went downstairs, making a stop in the bathroom to comb her mane, which looked more like a crow's nest than a mane. She giggled when she realized the resemblance to that, thinking in how Fluttershy would like to see it and…

As soon as that name appeared in her head, her mind began to fly.

She thought about how nice it would be if she actually was there. How nice it would be if that pegasus was the first thing she could see when she woke up every morning. Walking thought the forest, watching the autochthonous birds and enjoying the sunset together. And in the night, Fluttershy and her… in a small and very private place like the bathroom. Alone… only the two of them… in the shower…

She slapped herself when she started to dislike where her mind was taking her.

Well, she actually didn't dislike that thought at all, but it wasn't the moment to dream awaken; she had a day to start and many books she wanted to read.

The library seemed empty, even more than usual. Spike wasn't there, he had been called by the Princess Celestia to come to Canterlot because his services as letter-sender was needed. Princess Luna was in the middle of an important negotiation with the Gryphon's nation and her sister wanted to be aware of her progress. Apparently, the Royal Messenger caught feather flu and was unable to perform his duty. Princess Celestia had delegated to Luna the task to keep the Northern Nations' Commercial Alliance alive. Gryphon weren't happy with the prices of several goods this year and even when Celestia could have forced them to stick with the alliance, she quickly rejected that option. "Violence only generates violence, not solutions" she would say to everyone who disagree with her peaceful politic. And, in her maternal mind, she saw an opportunity for Luna to get finally involved in some state's important business. She was the co-ruler, after all. She had to do it someday!

The small kitchen seemed to be quite big that morning. With her magic she levitated a cup and a small plate out of the shelves and placed them on the table. Not wanting to wait, she used her magic to boil the water and filled the cup. A recipient with a yellow, thick substance floated out of the cupboard and landed on the table. Using a spoon, she added exactly 12 grams of honey to sweeten the water. A special mix of herbs, prepared by Zecora, was the final ingredient to her morning tea.

The warm liquid entered in the young mare's body in short sips, pleasantly contrasting the cold of that day. The feeling of her strength being restored by the tea made her feel ready to start her lectures, even thought when she didn't know what to read. But well, she was in library after all. If she couldn't find a book to read there, she probably should jubilate.

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The house of the young pegasus was filled with little forest's critters looking for the food that was provided to them by Fluttershy every morning. The forester was observing from a few meters above them, while they quench their hunger in the huge bowl in the middle of the room.

After giving Angel, her pet bunny, his special treat (Since he wouldn't accept regular food), she decided that she needed something to fill her belly too. She recalled that she had a carrot muffin in her cupboard. It wasn't one of her favorite, but it was better than nothing. Besides, she didn't feel like cooking and a simple tea wouldn't be enough.

She landed and trotted to her kitchen. There, she spread her golden wings again and hovered to the cupboard. But when she opened it, instead of finding her matutinal dessert, she only found a few crumbs. It didn't take long before she realized who was the responsible for that. She narrowed her eyes, while muttering the name of her pet bunny. Instead of being angry or mad with him, she quickly blamed herself. She thought that maybe she hadn't fed him enough and that was why she stole her muffin. So she decided that Angel's "punishment" was going to be a double ration that night.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a blinding pink light coming from the main room. She heard how her beloved animals run away, creaming terrified. Then a final and short sound resonated in her house. She immediately recognized this sound, it was the characteristic sound made by a unicorn teleportation's spell. She started walking to the main room, expecting to find Twilight there (she kind of wished it) and find out what she wanted. But instead, she found a little package, of the size and shape enough to be a book of several hundred pages. Few ponies knew this, but reading a good book was something she enjoyed very much.

Like any sane pony in that situation (Pinkie remains outside of this category), the young pegasus was pretty scared, but curious enough to approach to the package. Using her wings, she slowly untied the rope that held the envelope and removed both. The content of the package was, indeed, a book.

It hadn't got title, editorial or author; just a big blue heart in the cover. She opened it and in the first page it was written a message in ink. Apparently, it was a message for her, but the first lines were quite baffling.

"I am going to write this in the first page this time, I am sure that…. Oh, ponyfeathers! I am already writing!

…To my potential new sister.

You probably do not know me, but you do not need to. The reason why I am writing to you is because someone very close to me is having "feelings" for you. How I know? If I didn't, nopony would.

The point is that she is either scared or embarrassed to confess them to you, and this is something that bothers her very much. I don't know who you are; I just sent this book to the source of her feelings. I am not aware of your position about this, but as the Goddess of Love, it is my duty to make these things happens.

The book is a gift, read it please. Here, there are testimonies of the power known as love. If you are a bit like my sister, I'm sure you will enjoy this piece of literature.

As a last request, I ask you to at least think about it. I would love to see my sister happy with other pony in her life. I am sure that you would like to have a companion, right? Everypony needs one… or you do have one already? In that case, I apologize and ask you to forget you ever read this. You can keep the book though.

Without anything else to say, I end this letter"

Despite the strange circumstances in which that book appeared in her house, Fluttershy decided that if romantic stories were that was inside the book, she totally was going to read it. She rested in her coach, turned to the first true page of the book and began her lecture.

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Several books were attracted to her with magic, while the lavender unicorn entered to the main room of her house and accommodated herself in a pillow against the corner. Another cup of the herbal concoction landed at her side. Today's tea was better than other days, so much that it deserved a second cup. Her eyes focused on a specific book, one that she hadn't seemed before. It had no title or description, all it had was a blue heart on the cover. Maybe it was a new one that Spike had received it and put it in the section "Literature", from where Twilight took it.

As a mare of science, Twilight wouldn't normally read this kind of stories, unless she had to, like she did with "The mare in the moon". But this time, curiosity took the best of her and she found reading that strange book.

As expected, the heart on the cover of the book presaged what was printed on it. Romantic stories about heroes and damsels, forgiven loves and deceit, loyalties and betrayals. Stories written with so passion that once she started reading, the young mare was unable to stop. Some parts of the stories were more than just explicit, making the unicorn's cheeks lightened with carmesi blush, noticeable despite her purple fur.

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The morning turned into afternoon, and afternoon into night without hesitation. The last novel of the book, "Clandestina amore", proved to be worthy of being the last one. It was set on the Equestria before the Revolutionary War. In the text, it was narrated the story of two young lovers, both of them of very rich families, with a huge problem in their relationship: both of them were mares.

NOTE: the next will be the summary of the story Twilight is reading. It has nothing to do with my story, but I thought it would be a very good complement to the main story

In any case, you can skip this if you want, just scroll down until you see this: (~~~~~)

One of the mares was an alicorn, Princess Dawn's Child, who (like every other princess) was supposed to marry with the first wealthy prince that her parents could find. One day, while inspecting the castle barracks, she met Captain Dream's Wanderer, a young but brilliant pegasus officer who had been recently moved to the castle. They soon became friends, but that friendship soon blossomed in something more.

She book narrated a chain of romantic events that the two ponies shared: a chat in the barrack, a walk through the forest, a picnic and finally, a kiss after the Royal Gala. This last, instead of convincing the princess of her love, made her doubt.

Reluctantly to believe that she had that kind of feelings toward the soldier, the Princess asked for advice to her mother, Queen Crystal. She, however, didn't react as Dawn expected and got furious. Immediately, the Queen ordered to arrest Dream's Wanderer and sent her to the exile. Not withstanding the lost of her lover, the alicorn princess escaped that same night. They continued their life relatively happy together, missing her friends and family, but knowing very well that they couldn't be together if their returned.

But their happiness was very short.

One day, four months after their banishment, an old veteran of the already dissolved Pegasi's Republic, Commander Jacob Hurricane, came to their home bringing bittersweets news: freedom from Equestria's dictator but the possibility of losing her companion. Two sisters were reuniting an army to overthrow the actual ruler of Equestria, the god of chaos knew as Discord. In order to fulfill their part of the Three Nation's Pact, established only a few decades ago, after the Great Winter, all pegasus soldiers had to answer the call and participate in the war.

The worst side of the Princess came to light: if the revolution succeeded, Dream's Wanderer would be considered a war's hero and she would be allowed to come back to her throne and all the luxury of being a princess, which she really missed.

Wanderer was totally against the idea, she had been in the battlefield before and that was an experience she didn't want to repeat. But Dawn's Child convinced her to go, saying that it was the best for them and for their nation. With the promise of a glorious return, and after a passionate kiss, Dream's Wanderer flew away with Commander Hurricane; her date with destiny was approaching.

The story went by, passing thought several strong events such as the desperate defense of Stalliongrado during the winter campaign, the destruction of Coltantinopla and the tragic death of Commander Hurricane in that same battle. Finally, after two years of war, the sisters appeared in the battlefield for the first time, bringing six strange artifact with jewels incrusted that they called "Elements of Harmony". They chose four other ponies and gave them one of those artifacts to each one. Dream's Wanderer received the "Element of Loyalty" and the princess with the chosen ponies went to confront Discord. The chaos' soldiers didn't even try to touch them, as soon as they saw the "Elements", they run away, leaving their leader unprotected.

After a strong argued with the chaos' lord, trying to make him surrender peacefully (and failing in that), the princesses pronounced a few inaudible words. Wanderer noticed how the artifacts in their neck started to glow; her body lost its weight as it started to float in the air. She felt a strange magic flowing through her body, before it canalized in an enormous rainbow-colored beam. However, before the magic could hit him, Discord spread his wing and took off. Dream's Wanderer, as the good soldier she was, immediately realized what she had to do. With only a flap of her wing, she darted toward the evil god, smashing him against the floor.

The wrath of the "Elements" fell upon the god and the pegasus as well. The specific spell that the sisters had casted was one of the most powerful of the world. Discord waved his hand desperately, trying to avoid what he knew it was going to happen. His body began to stop answering to his brain's order. Every cell of his body began to turn into rock. It was really quick, he didn't feel anything.

The loyal pegasus suffered the same fate. Without all the elements, the spell couldn't be undone. They would have to wait several centuries until another Element of Loyalty was born. Both petrified creatures were now lying on the ground, while the princesses and the other chosen ponies gathered around, crying. Half in happiness, half in sadness.

The victory that day was bittersweet.

The Medal of the Free Equestria and the Medal to the Heroic Service in the Imperial Army arrived one day in a little box to Princess Dawn's house. Receiving such honors in a box and the fact that Dream's Wanderer wasn't there yet could only mean one thing: Her lover had fallen in the battle that liberated Equestria.

The story got darker and darker while it was coming to its end. In the last chapter, it was revealed that Princess Dawn's Child, trying to forget her dead love, had a daughter with a complete stranger. When this couldn't alleviate her pain, she committed suicide.

The alicorn filly was adopted by Queen Crystal, who took care of her for some years. But one day, the Queen went to the palace port, asked for the royal steamer and sailed toward the horizon. She never came back.

The teenage mare became Queen then, and renamed the kingdom of her Grandmother "Crystal Valley" in her honor.

When the sister who organized the revolution assumed the control of Equestria and became goddess, they decided to divide the duties with the others alicorns. Several gods were needed if they wanted an effective and fair control over the kingdom. The older sister took control of the sun, day and wisdom; the younger one of the moon, night and the protection of the lonely ponies lost in it.

As a kind of reward for the sacrifice her mother's companion, the sisters named the young queen Goddess of love, passions and desire; a gift even more powerful than the sisters' ones. A power that would live in her linage forever.

(~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~)

Twilight reached the end of the book, feeling devastated. How destiny could be so cruel?

When she turned what she thought was the last page, she found that three more had been added to the book. In them, she recognized the characteristic magic-writing of unicorn magic.

With only the first words, she understood it was a message for her.

"My dearest sister-in-law…

My dearest sister, Twilight Sparkle…

I am not very good writing messages, that why I sent this book. It has a collection of stories about love and passion and… I probably should have written this in the first page, not in the last… well, now that I started, I cannot come back.

As I was saying, this book contains several narrations of the force that nowadays belongs to me. You can think that they are all fake, fictions, only stories… the truth, however, is another. Why I am giving this to you? The last time we met, you were quite distant, lost, as if something was perturbing you… and I think I know what that is.

You have spent your whole life investigating the Magic of Friendship, but have you ever thought about taking that kind of feeling into a next level? Experiment the Magic of Love? After all, love is a very strong and special kind of friendship.

Tell me, do you have someone consuming your thoughts, as Shining Armors does with mines?

(This letter continues…)"

Twilight was perplex, how the hay could she know!? She hadn't spoken with anyone about that!

"I do not need your replied, since I know the answer. My powers cannot tell me who is he/she, but they can tell me that there is somepony in your mind and you cannot deny it!

I will not force you to do anything you do not want to do, but as the Goddess of Love, I have to at least try to bring lovers together. Could you at least think about it?

Since I do not know the nature of your desires, I included all kind of stories here. The last one is my favorite, but I still cannot believe she chose her throne over love! It unacceptable! Do not make the same mistake, Twilight. If you decide to open your heart to someone, and this someone feels the same way about you, hug him/her/it/whatever and never, ever, EVER let him/her/it/whatever go

When we talk about love, true love, all sacrifices are small compared to what you get

Even though I do realize that a tragedy is not the best way to encourage you to accept your love for another mare (if you have, of course), I hope the story still does its work.

Your favorite, and only, fillysitter,

Princess "Mi Amore" Cadenza.

(This letter continues…)"

Twilight found herself smiling. It was true that there was a certain pony, a pegasus, that occupied a very special place in her mind… Fluttershy… but they couldn't be together.

The fact that they were both mares wasn't something that bothered Twilight very much. They wouldn't be the first couple formed by two mares, there were already two more in Ponyville. What really, really worried her was what people could think about her mentor, Princess Celestia.

She had educated her, so if she turned to be a fillyfooler, maybe the other ponies would see the Princess as a bad influence. They would talk, invent rumors. The lie is faster that the truth. Ponies wouldn't believe that this was a decision made by Twilight, they would think that the Princess had forced her to do that, maybe even raped her when she was a filly.

She couldn't allow that people thought like that of her mentor due a simple thing like love. She turned the page to see the last part of the message.

"You are thinking about what people could think about you mentor, Princess Celestia, don't you?"

How the…?

"Ahrg! You are so predictable!

At least I hope you didn't think something stupid like 'love is a simple thing, it does not deserve it'"

This time, Twilight was actually scared.

"Believe me, Twilight. Your friends will support you in everything you decide to do, and bad ponies will say bad thing no matter what you do.

The point here is that you feel happy. If you do, then EVERYTHING else is irrelevant and invalid.

And, between us, I highly doubt that anyone would have the guts to say something about auntie Celestia. Not unless they are looking for a free trip to the moon!

I really hoped that these words have helped you to open your heart and let this magic enter to your life. I thought that a book was the best way to speak with you about this, since I know how much you like them.

…

But now that I helped you, can I ask you for a mare-to-mare advice?

You see, I just bought these erot-thingy underclothes as a special treat for Shining Armor and I was planning to wear it tonight. But this thing is really uncomfortable, especially back there, and I think it makes me look fat! Can you look and tell me…?

Oh, silly me! You can't see me, this is a letter!

I know! I will attach a photo of me wearing it at the bottom of this page, so you can opine!

Here it is…"

Twilight smashed the back cover of the book, closing it. That photo was something she really didn't wanted to see.

However, this book and the included letter had succeeded in something: made her doubt about her feelings toward the yellow pegasus. Were them wrong? Were them right? Fluttershy would accept this? Would she fell the same way? What if she didn't?

She did have some kind of feelings, romantics ones, but she never had considered to tell to anyone about this… knowing her fillysitter, it was very likely that the entire population of Canterlot was already aware of her secret (if we can call it like that)

Her stomach demanding food distracted her attention of those thoughts. A quick look thought the window showed that Luna's creation had arose in the dark sky of the night. She had been reading all day.

Narrowing her eyes, she took another cup of her special tea (Yeap, it was still hot) and climbed the stair to her bedroom. Another night in solitude was waiting for her, but while she was lying on the soft mattress, she decided that this was going to be the last one.

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As Fluttershy turned the last page of the book, she kind of felt relieved that was over, like if reading it was a sort of torture, when the reality was another: she really, REALLY had enjoyed it.

Contrary to what you could think, she didn't skip a single word. She read everything, even the most explicit parts that Twilight had chose not to read. Every single details was absorbed and recreated in her mind, replacing the tales' character for her special somepony and herself. When she finally closed the book, she had both wings completely erect and so hard that they could easily cut a pony into halves.

She spent almost an hour waiting for them to relax, but that didn't happen. Noticing that it was already dark, she chose to sleep there in the coach. Her face against the pillow, of course.

However, the next morning when she opened her eyes and looked to her back, she realized that they were still erected. She sighted in frustration. This embarrassing situation hadn't happened to her since school, when she had her first crush on somepony. She knew what she had to do, but it was going to be really unpleasant. But she had to go outside today and she definitively wasn't going to show up in Ponyville with her wings like that! Maybe Rainbow didn't care about ponies seen her having this sort of thing in public, and perhaps she was right since it was completely natural, but she did care.

After filling the bowl with animal's food for her guests who were supposed to arrive soon, she trotted to her kitchen. She took a bucket and filled it with water, then she walked to her small freezer and took a bag full of ice cubes, which ended in the bucket too. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the bucket with her hooves and poured its contents over her head and body. The experience was just as the first time: totally awful.

Her body started trembling violently as she released a loud moan as soon as the liquid touched her pelage. Her wings immediately shot closed tightly around her body, in an involuntary reaction to keep their owner warm. Her plan worked, her wings probably wouldn't separate from her body for the rest of the day... but she ruined her mane in the process.

Before she could go to town for doing her shopping, she would have to do a quick visit to her bathroom to "un-refresh" herself.

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Late that afternoon, Twilight was trotting across the main road of Ponyville. Her head bowed and eyes that denoted worry. During that day, she had visited each one of her friends, looking for advice, avoiding telling them Fluttershy was the one she liked if posible.

Rarity was at first reluctant to the idea of this mare-to-mare relationship, but as soon as Fluttershy's name was mentioned, she changed her mind very fast, not wanting anything else for her best friends but happiness… and she immediately rushed to offer dresses for the wedding. She also mentioned that Fluttershy had confessed to her that she wasn't sure about what kind of companion she was seeking. This filled Twilight with hope; Pinkie reaction was the same (well, Rarity didn't bounced on the walls and the roof, but you know Pinkie), only that instead of dresses, she offered a super-duper-extra-mega-especial-party! (Whatever that means); When Twilight told Rainbow about the possibly of being a fillyfooler, the blue pegasus only giggled, asked if that was all and said that she was really silly if she thought she was the only one. Before Twilight could demand explanations, Rainbow dashed to the skies with a big grin and disappeared from sight; Finally, Applejack Seemed not surprised at all. She said that she had already suspected that. When Twilight asked why, the farm girl only replied "personal and colorful experience", argument that left Twilight puzzled.

All this made her took a hard, yet important decision: no matter the consequences or the opinion of others, that day, Fluttershy would know. This was it, there was no turning back, she would finally tell Fluttershy how she felt. How many days she wished to have her by her side, how many nights she had desired to sleep in her warm embrace, how many mornings she would have given anything to see those beautiful blue eyes when she opened hers. But how she would do that? She didn't know but there was plenty of time to meditate it in the way to Fluttershy's house.

The potential beginning of her new life started when she crossed the town's portal.

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The sun was still on the sky, but it was obvious it wouldn't be there for very long. Thirty minutes maybe.

The pastel pegasus exited Sugarcube Corner with a package of her favorites muffins. She had bought everything she needed: food for her animals, fruits and vegetables (probably also for them) and muffins for her (although Angel surely would get one if he "asked"). This visit to Pinkie's workplace had been… different. For some reason, the pink earth pony had grinned at Fluttershy all the time (more than usual) and kept saying things like "I'm so happy for you", "Wait until the other find out, they will be so happy too" and "I never imagine this, but you two do look so cute together". Finally, when Fluttershy grabbed her bag of bits to pay, Pinkie insisted that the muffins were a gift for them. Fluttershy couldn't help but think the pink pony was implying things (Nah, really?). What did she mean with "you too"? Why she referred at her in plural? It didn't make…

The pegasus' eyes widened in fear. Maybe… maybe Pinkie had discovered the feelings she had for Twilight? No, it couldn't be! That was impossible! How could she...! Fluttershy then remembered something important: this was Pinkie Pie, and everything related to her is all but impossible. It's scary sometimes. Out of nowhere, she felt really uncomfortable when she noticed that there were a lot of ponies in the streets that day, not to mention the red color that her cheek had adopted. There was nothing else to do there, so she was now able to leave that crowded place. She felt relieved when she finally passed the portal that separated the town from her beloved forest.

But the way home was long and the night had no intention of being late. Luna displayed her black cloak over the sky of Equestria before the pegasus was even halfway. That night was different from the others because, for some reason, Luna decided not to raise her precious possession. The absence of stars that night was also notable. Ponyville's lamppost would surely illuminate the street enough to allow the citizens to walk through them, but in the forest, darkness was almost complete.

The young mare could barely see what was in front of her, but that was unimportant since she knew the way to her home by heart. But the dark did have an effect on her behavior. The soft noises that during the day she hardly noticed, seemed now to intensified menacingly. Her head turned from side to side, scanning the trees nearby, trying in vain to see the perpetrators of those noises.

She started to panic, while her mind formulated the worst possible scenarios: being kidnapped, being robbed, some mean pony wanting to rape her, the possibility of being devoured by a dragon, gangs threatening to hurt her precious animals, Photo Finish wanting her to model again!… and all kind of paranoids thoughts.

Such was her fear that she couldn't take it anymore and ran desperately toward her home. It wasn't so far, but she wanted to get there as soon as possible (And lock all doors and windows with boards and nails, if possible) The trees passed fast by her sides as she trotted through the forest, her head bowed and with her wings spread forming a V to cut the wind easily. Her eyes were closed since she didn't want to see the (imaginary) bad ponies. Her heart was beating faster and faster with each step and her body was starting to feel tired, but for no reason she was going to stop. Only a few tens of meters where left when she thought she saw a kind of sparkle a few meters ahead, but she didn't give it much importance.

Her head turned back to see if her pursuers were still following her. No one was behind. But how could that be possible if she...? Only then she realized: there was nobody behind her because there was no one chasing her from the beginning. She just had overreacted again. She sighed in relief, finally feeling safe, but she forgot a small detail: she was still running.

Her eyes went back to the front, but likewise, she bumped into "something". Her body and that something bounced on the ground a couple of times, banging against rocks and branches on the forest soil, until a bush stopped them. The blow was very hard, Fluttershy felt dizzy and her head hurt a lot ... but there was something that prevented her to think about that.

The "something" with what she had just bumped into provoked in her a sensation unknown to her, but strangely familiar at the same time. It felt soft and cozy, really warm and ... and there was something more. A strange warm liquid on her lips, a strange flavor, one she had never tasted. Maybe she had slipped and fell on a fruit in the ground? If so, it was a very tasty one. It was really sweet, but sour at the same time. The sensation that taste caused in her body was really pleasant, and for a moment, she lost in it, closing her eyes and savoring the "moment" for a couple of seconds.

A soft purple sparkle interrupted the pegasus' pleasure-full moment. Incredulously, she opened her eyes, only to meet another pair staring at her…

Her heart almost stopped.

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Twilight had successfully reached Fluttershy's cottage before the nightfall. The door was unlocked, which wasn't very odd. Fluttershy used to leave it like that to allow her animal to get in and out whenever they want. She walk in the cottage only to find out it was empty. No sign of the pegasus or her animals. That was certainly weird, she had expected to at least find Angel there. But she didn't worry very much, there were only a few places where Fluttershy could go without panicking, and none of them were very far so it was a matter of time before she return. In the meantime, she had time to think how she was going to confront her beloved pegasus. She sat on the couch, a few meters in front of the door, and started formulating her plan.

An hour went by and there was still no sign of the pastel colored pegasus. The night fell upon the forest and she was forced to turn on the fireplace and some candles. Thirty minutes more passed and Twilight lost her hope. Maybe Fluttershy had decided to sleep in another place that night. That wasn't common on her, but not impossible. She sighed with sadness. All the courage she was able to muster had banished and it was very likely that it was going to take a long time before she felt confident enough to try to confess her feelings again.

She closed her eyes and concentrated her magic on her horn. With a purple flash, candles and fire alike were extinguished. Darkness filled the room once more and a black unicorn's tear resonated when it hit the wooden floor. The lavender unicorn stepped out of the cottage and closed the door behind her. Her hooves started moving in direction of the path which led to the city and for some reason, she decided not to illuminate the path with her magic.

But after walking for twenty meters, a strange sound came from the woods and dragged her attention. She could swear she had heard Fluttershy screaming. She soon shook that though from her mind, thinking that it was simply impossible. She was about to continue her sad walk, but before she could give one more step, another pony bumped into her at full speed, sending both of them rolling down from a little slope.

The way down was short but rough since there were a lot of rocks on the side of the path. A wild strawberry bush stopped their trip for Twilight's relieve. For a couple of second she felt incapable of doing movements, but she was still conscious so, analyzing the situation, she reached the conclusion it was due the shock of the accident. There was something odd in this lack of movement, a very nice and pleasant. Slowly, her senses started to come back. The first thing she noticed was a gentle embrace that she found rather comforting. The next thing she felt was a warm breath hitting against her face. She tried to move, but she couldn't again, since the other pony was on the top of her.

From nowhere, she felt the need to swallow her saliva, so she did. A strange bittersweet taste went down her throat, stimulating every single fiber of her body in the process. She could have layed there with that sensation forever… but then it hit her. If what she had on top of her was another pony… that meant that…

She opened her eyes quickly and casted a small illuminating spell. Her horn commenced to glow, disclosing that her muzzle was locked with the other pony's one. They were kissing! She intensified a little her spell, revealing that the "someone" she was kissing was no one else than her beloved pastel pegasus. She felt how the entire world disappeared… FLUTTERSHY WAS KISSING HER! The feeling was just impossible to describe with words. It was something she had never read or heard about. It was just… just… magic. She considered the option of not doing anything and enjoying the moment, but that didn't seem right. Fluttershy appeared to be like… not her. She wasn't completely conscious of what she was doing, since her eyes were closed.

Apparently, the bright of her horn disturbed a little to the pegasus who opened her eyes slowly. Her cerulean pupils almost disappeared when she realized what she was doing. The pegasus mare jumped off of Twilight, flapping her wings as fast as she could, losing a couple of feathers in the process and dissolving Twilight's spell. The lavender unicorn stood up too, but slowly, not wanting to scare Fluttershy even more. When she was stood, she casted her spell again. Fluttershy was just a few meter in front of her, hiding her incredible blushed face behind her mane, feeling incredibly embarrassed and with her entire body burning. They stood there, not knowing what to do or say. Only a few minutes passed but they seemed to be years. Twilight feared the worst. She did enjoy their kiss, but what if it was just an accident and now Fluttershy didn't want to be near her anymore?

Fluttershy, on the other hoof, was having a mental battle. She had enjoyed the kiss too, but it felt so wrong. It wasn't the romantic kind of kiss she had read about in books. It was something like forced… she had kissed Twilight against her will, and that was something that really scared her. She had violated her friend in some way. That wasn't what she wanted, that wasn't what Twilight deserved. She deserved something especial, not a crying, doormat and rapist pegasus.

Twilight was trying to find words to speak to the yellow pegasus, wanting to tell her that she wanted to repeat what just had happened there because she loved her, but her thoughts were interrupted by soft sobs coming from the pegasus hided face. That nearly broke her heart. She took a few steps, approaching to the pegasus, finding that she had started to cry. She was about to say something but Fluttershy suddenly discovered her face. Black tears rolled down her cheeks from her reddened eyes. The pegasus opened her mouth, but no words came out of it, so she closed it again. Twilight knew what was going on. Fluttershy had liked what happened, but she was repentant, believing that Twilight didn't like it at all. The pegasus was trying desperately to apologize and then fly away as fast as she could toward home. An inner flame appeared in the unicorn's heart. She couldn't allow that… she couldn't allow Fluttershy to regret the best that had happened to both of their life. She couldn't and she wouldn't… not without a fight.

Fluttershy calmed down a bit, not very much but enough to speak. She was decided to say sorry, but when she opened her mouth to pronounce that words, Twilight grabbed her face and pulled her into a soft, passionate kiss. It didn't last long, but it was filled with passion and desire detained for years. Some seconds later, they broke their kiss. Fluttershy just stood motionless and speechless in front of the expectation Twilight, who was waiting for Fluttershy's reaction. Fluttershy was now the one trying to find words to tell Twilight that she wanted her to kiss her again, but she just couldn't.

Twilight had started to panic, thinking that maybe she just had made things worse. But then something happened that changed all. Fluttershy wings slowly opened and straightened until they were completely erect. Twilight focused on the pegasus' face then, noticing that, instead of being sad or angry, she had a big grin on it. Twilight smiled too and looked at the pegasus with a face that seemed to ask, "Should I take that as you like it?". Fluttershy seemed to have understood the face and only answered with a nod. Twilight giggled and leaned to the pegasus for another kiss, Fluttershy did the same and their lips met in the halfway.

It is difficult to narrate what happened next. Let just say that one kiss leaded to another a thing, and that to another. When they recovered full control over her minds and bodies, they were laying on Fluttershy's bed, covered in sweat, refugees in the warm embrace of their beloved ones. With the night as witness, they had proved their love to each other… and also, Fluttershy had proved not to be so shy as Twilight thought.

They tightened their hug and closed their eyes, Twilight rested her head on Fluttershy's chest. This day, even if they didn't want to, it had to end. But there would be more and that was what filled their hearts with joy. Their new life had started and even if they had to live in the shadows, they would do it knowing that they had each other. They would keep this as a secret; it would be a clandestine love, just like the princess and the soldier's in the book.

But deep inside, both mares knew that their clandestine love wouldn't be clandestine forever. They will have to confront the world, their families and their friends eventually. It was a mystery how long did they have before other ponies found out their relationship. It was a matter of time… but they didn't care.

It didn't matter. When we talk about love, time is always irrelevant, clocks are useless, the day and night have little importance, the only thing that matter is enjoying the moment with your beloved one and that's exactly what they would do.

Time is a concept used by ponies that live in solitude… none of them was one of those… not anymore…

THE END