The Start of Something Beautiful
"Princess, are these dishes not to your liking? My Lady has not even so much as touched her salad, and to my recollection, that was her favorite part of the meal."
Princess Celestia's indifferent, anxious gaze shifted toward the equally apprehensive chef who had inquired about her lack of motivation to eat. Chef Stillwater had been Celestia's royal cook for many years now, and he had a certain knack for knowing when she was not in the greatest of moods to be bothered, though he had the slightly annoying habit to ask about it while not really being able to lend any advice of his own to the conversation. For as long as the two had known each other, the chef kept a respectable distance from Celestia's affairs, as she definitely wanted, and she, in turn, did everything in her power not to trouble him with problems that he could not help her with.
Celestia picked at the salad a little with her magic-held fork, wanting to focus her eyes on something other than his face, where he would be better able to determine that she was indeed distressed.
"Oh no, Stillwater, your dinner is, as usual, delicious; perfect. I couldn't ask for anything better. I am simply not in the spirits to dine at this moment."
Stillwater stood patiently with a reverent gaze in his features, laced with a hint of personal concern for his fair princess. He didn't want to pry into her life, but he could tell that something was horribly off with her tonight. As he usually did in these situations, he didn't press her for details or force his possibly useless assistance on her. Somepony might call him cold and distant, as he would hardly even flinch whenever tears would start to trickle from her eyes, but to her it was much more comforting than the typical alternative, where three-hundred guard ponies would rush in, frantically paranoid over Celestia coughing lightly like she might be sick.
Heavens forbid that the princess ever come down with a small cold, or smack her leg on a misplaced table, which would be swiftly chopped up and used as firewood as some kind of unnecessary punishment to an inanimate object. No, Celestia's chef knew just what she wanted in these kinds of situations, and that was to let her handle them herself. She couldn't have hoof-picked a better servant.
"Well then, shall I call in the crew to clean up?"
"That would be wonderful, Stillwater. I'm very sorry for hardly even trying any of your exquisite fare, but I just can't keep anything down right now."
Stillwater's face became a tad more flushed. He noticed her drooping face and eyes closing in some unsaid emotional turmoil, despite her efforts to keep a professional appearance. For her, he had to do the same, or else the urge to comfort her would become too great, and she was already smothered by her guards and the ponies in general as it was every day. He realized almost instantly upon beginning service in the kitchens that space and understanding were the two most important things that Celestia, unspoken, desired from all of her subjects.
"At once, My Lady! Do not worry about the uneaten dinner. It is no trouble to make again whenever you wish."
Stillwater bowed his head to the co-ruler of Equestria and proceeded into the kitchen to give the staff their new orders to throw out the garbage and take the foodstuffs back to be refrigerated for their lunches. Only the freshest for the princesses, the leftovers will be just fine for him and his crew.
Although the chef was no longer in the seemingly dark, dreary banquet hall, Celestia mouthed an inaudible "thank you" and made her way out of the hall before the other servants came to clean up.
Celestia hated to make everypony worry about her well being. She was usually so much more able to stifle her emotions, at least the negative ones, but given the circumstances, she wasn't in the mood to hide her somber disposition.
Two things had happened in the past few days that made her feel this way. She could recount both in the letters she had been receiving from her faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. As she made her way through the Canterlot Palace hallways toward her private chambers, she remembered the first letter of those clearly.
- DEAR PRINCESS CELESTIA -
I'm not sure if this is the sort of thing that a student should write about to their teacher, let alone the princess herself, but since I trust you so much, and value your input more than anypony in the world, I thought I would inform you of the latest research into the magic of friendship I have been conducting.
As you can probably tell, Princess, I have had a lot of writer's and researcher's block for a few months. I thought I'd never have anything important to note on friendship ever again, that is until Rarity started bringing up the topic of romantic relationships.
You see, she explained to me that finding a coltfriend or marefriend was a similar, yet totally different (her words, not mine) kind of magic in itself. She was quite adamant that I start looking for somepony to share this special connection with right away.
I was pretty skeptical at first, and thought that this would never work out, since I hadn't even been on a date before.
Well...long story short, I went on a couple of these dates, and I met this incredibly intelligent and handsome stallion on one of them. He said that he really liked me, and wanted to see me again. Well, one thing lead to another, and...I HAVE A COLTFRIEND NOW, Princess Celestia! Oh, it is such a great feeling, and he's such a witty, brilliant stallion! Here's a list I made of all the things I adore about him...
As Princess Celestia had read the letter in her chambers on that night, the news hit her like a ton of bricks. Her most faithful, loving student...had a coltfriend! Emotions tore through Celestia, and ripped her heart to pieces. In one way, she was thrilled for Twilight, knowing that now she wouldn't be so lonely if she had somepony special to spend her time with. In another, she was enraged with jealousy, not at Twilight for having a stallion in her life, quite the opposite...that somepony had taken the purple unicorn away from her, and her place in Twilight's heart was starting to shrink with every hug, and kiss, and...whatever else they could possibly have been doing that they shared. The vengeful sensation in her chest, however, was replaced by the thoughts haunting her mind even to the present day, the emptiness and sadness of knowing that the one pony that she had developed feelings for in a long time was already taken.
These weren't just any old feelings either. No, unbeknownst to the princess, Twilight had somehow triggered an intense passion in the older mare. It could have been her undying affection and loyalty that endeared Celestia so. Maybe it could have been Twilight's own drive to succeed beyond success and become the greatest magician in pony history. Celestia's sadness was lifted for a brief millisecond as she amused herself on the other possibility, that she was just into younger mares, and Twilight, being her very own student, was one of the most taboo and enticing specimens of filly the princess could choose.
In any case, she never let these feelings out to anypony either, letting them fester and build to a point that was, at times, unbearable for the white alicorn. Twilight's reports on friendship were not only the highlights of every single night, but the only mode of contact she would share with her precious student. It had become her source of happiness, and now, like a dried up well, it would soon be impossible to draw happiness from it, as the letters come less and less frequently, or are saturated with the bitter taste of Twilight gushing about this pony that had stolen her heart, as if she had tasted the stallion on her lips as she and Twilight kissed.
Though, as she presently opened the door to her chambers, intent on nursing these thoughts in private where nopony can see her suffer, she remembered the letters to come after, and how it was even worse than she could imagine.
Twilight's nightly letters had then started, as Celestia would expect, with her praising her coltfriend on everything he was, or did. What Celestia couldn't decipher however, at least at first, was the increasing tone of melancholy and, dare she say, regret in her writing. Could it be that this relationship wasn't working out that well anymore? Celestia could have awoken the entire palace on some nights with her shouts of joy. If nothing else, at least she could pretend that it wouldn't last long now.
Unfortunately, the latest letter Twilight had sent was anything but mirth-inducing. In fact, with the way it was worded, Celestia felt every ounce of cheer drain from her body, despite the absolutely triumphant outcome for her.
- DEAR PRINCESS CELESTIA -
...This will probably be my last friendship report I ever write to you. As you remember from the other letter I sent, my coltfriend has been acting strangely as of late. I had decided, yesterday, to try to find out where he was going in the middle of the night. I tracked him all the way to another house somewhere in Ponyville. I didn't get a good look, and it was dark, so I'm still not sure exactly who he was meeting. The door opened for him when he knocked, and he went inside.
I slipped to the window over on the side. I waited for something to happen, and finally, what I saw was disgusting, horrible, and worst of all, humiliating.
He cheated on me, Princess Celestia... I was so mad that I stormed in and screamed at him to never come back to the library. I ran as fast as I could, because I'm sure I was already crying halfway through my tirade.
The rest, as they say, is history. I've been sitting in this bed all day, and I'm not coming back out. I don't need that jerk! In fact, I don't need anypony! That's why I won't be writing to you anymore, Princess. I don't have anything else to report on, and I never will. I guess this is goodbye then. It was fun while it lasted, and I thank you for everything you have taught me along the way.
- YOUR FORMER STUDENT, TWILIGHT SPARKLE -
The bastard...was gone... Oh, the ecstatic feeling of hope and redemption crawled through the princess' body as she read about how that colt had sealed his own fate, and Twilight was now back to her sweet, unattached self again! However, a rock in the pit of her stomach dropped as she noticed Twilight's declaration that she would never go out of the library ever again, and would not be sending anymore letters to the princess. Sure, Celestia could surmise well enough that Twilight didn't REALLY mean those things, and was simply heart-broken to the point of depression. Nevertheless, it pained her to see her student's first love end in shambles, and felt that she should at least try to write her another letter to console her and possibly repair the damage that had been done.
"WHAT AM I SAYING?" Princess Celestia stood in front of a window in her chambers, putting a hoof up to her forehead in exasperation at her foolishness, "Nopony's around right now, not even the guards. It is the middle of the night! I should be flying there myself and helping Twilight through this predicament personally!"
The letter had just been sent a few hours ago. The sooner Celestia made her appearance to the Ponyville Library, the more effective she would be in cheering up the young filly, and as a bonus, could share some intimate time with her beloved student. The princess uncharacteristically shifted her eyes from side to side, turning to look behind her, listening for the sounds of life on the other side of her door, and sure enough, there were no souls to be detected. She was free to do whatever, and nopony would even know where she had went the next day. She creaked open the window slowly, as not to make it screech. These windows needed to be oiled or something, because that simple task was not so easy.
She unfurled her majestic wings when she stepped outside into the cool, night air.
"I'll be there soon, my dear pupil."
Celestia flew low through the sky as she launched herself forward. She had to keep a shadowed profile while she soared toward Ponyville, or else some night watchman or stargazer would spot her with relative ease. Then, as Celestia knew, there would be another spree of paranoia.
"WHERE IS THE PRINCESS GOING SO LATE AT NIGHT?" They would all ask, and the story would be printed all over the Equestria news. Everything she did was a publicity uproar, and it annoyed her to no end.
Of course, the princess was quite adept at avoiding these issues, having over a thousand years to perfect being discrete. She had flown outside in the night many times without the knowledge of anypony other than Luna, who typically knew about it even if nothing was expressly stated. Tonight was no exception, as she swiftly yet silently weaved through forests and hilly plains. Her movements were fluid and even if somepony had seen her, they would think it was the wind, or their imagination.
Within the hour, she started a slow decrease in speed and descended, the library was but a mile or so from her current position.
"Come on, Twilight! You can't just sit and mope around about this forever! What if your friends want to see you? What if somepony came to the library needing your help?"
"Ergh..." Twilight moaned under the covers of her bed. "I told you already, Spike, I'm not getting out of this bed for anything or anyone."
Spike was having his own trouble with the whole scenario, trying and failing to both console and re-motivate the purple unicorn into getting some of the nightly chores done. He didn't blame her for being upset, but this wasn't going to go over very well when her friends came by, wanting to see her, and Twilight turning them away as if they were just any old pony on the street. She had to forget about the colt who cheated on her, though maybe it was easier said than done.
Twilight had only one thing to say about her own situation. She felt BAD, end of story. She couldn't think of any other ordeal that had left her with such a horrendous head/heart/back-ache. She thought they were doing so well together too! She was already making arrangements for their eventual wedding, and this was the treatment she got from that...that...cheater! So what? She didn't need HIM to be happy, or anypony else for that matter! All she needed were her books, full of romantic tales of undying love, no cheaters allowed!
She had planned on shutting herself in so tight that not even Princess Celestia would be able to get to her. She remembered back to when she wrote the part about never being able to write anything to the white mare ever again. The stern, angry glare she drilled a hole through her sheets with was replaced with a teary-eyed sob under her breath to keep Spike unaware. "It was fun while it lasted," she had written, and more tears started running down her face.
Twilight was convinced that Celestia would be extremely disappointed in her star student, as she could no longer get up the drive or motivation to research the "magic of friendship", she bitterly cursed the words out in her head. She couldn't bear to think of what kind of reply she would receive, negative, no doubt.
Truth be told, she had realized soon after she met her ex-coltfriend that she had been masking her true affection for the princess for a long time. She would deny it each and every step of the way. She tried so hard to pass it off as her admiration for one of the most intelligent, talented, and beautiful ponies she ever knew, as well as the kindest, most gentle... She shook her head, trying to keep her need to make lists of everything she loved about Celestia to a minimum. Spike had even made comments about how Twilight felt about the princess before, much to her annoyance and Spike's misfortune...
She couldn't let anypony know, though. There would be a HUGE scandal if something that taboo had ever made it into the media. Her and Princess Celestia's lives would become a circus for the vultures that would swarm around them every day, forcing information to be further released to the public, and possibly causing riots in the community, or the country. No, she wouldn't do that to her dear mentor. She'd keep it a secret for as long as she lived, if she could. She was, first and foremost, a good student to the very end, and would dutifully contain her feelings for Celestia.
"Oh...I wish she were here right now..." Twilight sniffled to herself inside her head.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"COMING!" Spike yelled across the tree-house, answering the call of whomever was on the other side of the door.
Twilight tensed up in her bed. She wasn't serious about that, was she? She didn't expect somepony to be here at this hour of the night, let alone did she even think that the princess would make an appearance. Sure enough...
"Oh P-p-princess Celestia! I wasn't expecting you to make a visit so late!"
"Hello Spike," it was indeed the voice of Princess Celestia, and just the sound of it made Twilight want to jump out of bed, tackle the older mare, and never let go. "I came as soon as I heard the awful news! How is Twilight holding up right now?"
Spike looked positively relieved to see her. Here was the only pony that MIGHT be able to talk some sense into his distraught companion.
"Boy am I glad to see you, Princess! Twilight hasn't moved from her bed up there since last night!"
Princess Celestia seemed somewhat breathless after her mad dash to the library. She gave Spike a comforting look that told him she would talk to Twilight right now. Spike, exhausted from doing his and Twilight's share of the night's chores, decided to pick up his bed basket from upstairs, and went into another room to give the two mares some much needed privacy.
"I sure hope you can get through to her. I've tried just about everything I can think of."
With that, Spike closed the door, leaving Princess Celestia to climb the stairs to their makeshift bedroom. For the first time in quite a while, Celestia actually felt nervous about speaking to her adorable student. Between her friends and Spike being around her constantly, Celestia never really had many moments to talk to Twilight Sparkle, face to face, with no other pony around to interfere. It looked to her as if Twilight was simply a lump in her bedspread, lying motionless and sighing lightly every few seconds.
"Twilight, my faithful student, are you still awake in there?..." Celestia experimentally attempted to lighten the mood. She didn't like to see Twilight so downtrodden.
The lump under the covers seemed to shift a little at the head of the bed, indicating that she heard Celestia loud and clear.
"Oh Twilight...I cannot tell you how dreadfully sorry I am that you went through that ordeal. If there is one thing I have learned about romance over my lifetime, it's that some ponies are not always honest about their intentions, and it seems as if this particular stallion wasn't interested in real love at all."
Celestia thanked her luck that the colt had been a cheater, to get her closer to her lovely filly, but she couldn't suppress the tiny bolt of anger at the state she had been reduced to because of him. Twilight sat still as a statue, no affirmation or objection present in her body. Celestia patiently continued as she cantered slowly to the other side of the bed, assuming where her face was.
"You know, Twilight, not every pony in Equestria is as heartless as that. There are plenty of other eligible stallions out there who I know would be more than elated to be with a mare as loving, passionate, and cute as you are."
"Did she just call me cute?" Twilight Sparkle's eyes went wide under her bedding.
"UUUH OOOOH!" Celestia thought as she couldn't stop the words from coming out. She tried to encourage Twilight's search for another coltfriend, despite the incredible conflict in her mind to not do so. At that point, she was so busy battling multiple inner debates that she ended up spilling some choice words that could only have been brought out by the intimate setting they were enveloped in right now. She spoke again as fast as she could to deter any form of possible questioning that might suddenly come from Twilight.
"That is...I know they would certainly think so!..."
Another thought inside Celestia's head was smacking her in face, saying, "Why did you stop telling her those things? Keep going with it!", but she fought that one as well.
Twilight was slightly disappointed by the addition, but having Celestia compliment her so personally made her lighten and open up just a little bit more.
"You're just saying that to cheer me up, Princess."
Celestia was glad to hear something, anything from Twilight. This was a good sign.
"Oh, but Twilight, I'm absolutely sure of it! Anyone would be the luckiest pony in Equestria to have you by their side."
The purple magician was overjoyed to hear those words from her own teacher's lips. It was a pity that she wasn't the one who harbored those feelings for her. Twilight was torn between the warm feeling she felt in the presence of the princess, and the bitterness of the night before, coupled with the knowledge that Celestia would never reciprocate her love.
"Twilight...let me see your face..." Celestia slid over to the bedside and gently magicked the bedspread away from the young mare's head. What she beheld was a sight she hoped to see but once in her lifetime. Twilight's eyes were reddened and slightly puffed. It was clear that she had been crying at least once that night, and the look was enough to make Celestia cringe, though she refrained.
The younger pony, as with every meeting between these two, became transfixed by Celestia's regal yet beautiful eyes. She assumed that even if she tried to hide her emotion toward the princess, one look into those eyes would blow her entire cover, and she would know. Her longing for the royal mare, coupled with the embarrassment from acting like such a child in front of her, and the humiliation of being dumped by some jerk who was only interested in her body were too much for Twilight to handle in that moment.
"Oh...Princess Celestia..." Twilight threw the covers off of her body, discarding them without care, and leaped over to the princess with tears leaking from her face. Screw caution, decorum, and what anypony else thought! This was her mentor, best friend, and first love we were talking about here. She unintentionally slammed into Celestia, throwing her front hooves around the mare's neck, and buried her muzzle into her shoulder, letting everything go.
Celestia was more than a little surprised by the sudden display of outward affection from the younger unicorn. It felt marvelous to finally embrace her beloved after having to keep her at a distance for so long. She found herself instinctively throwing her own front hoof around her student, balancing on three legs in the process. She caressed the sweat matted hair of Twilight's mane, cooing in a motherly way to put her at ease.
"It's alright, Twilight. Don't hold back. I'm here for you, and I'll do everything I can to make sure that I always will be. I would do anything to make your pain go away."
Even as Twilight sobbed, she couldn't help the pounding of her heart and the spikes of pleasure coursing through her as Celestia softly mused and hummed in her ear. She wished they could hold this position forever. It didn't get much better than this. She found herself calming down after a minute or so, but she didn't want to let Celestia go, so they stayed like that while Twilight sighed in contentment.
Celestia, on the other hoof, nearly bit her tongue trying to keep from doing something to her student that they both might regret. Twilight was so close...so...darn...close! This would probably be the first and last time that they hugged this long, and she was squandering this chance. No, she couldn't take that chance though, and possibly ruin the infinite amount of trust Twilight placed in her glorious princess. What to do, what to do? Her eyes were shut as Twilight buzzed sighs into her shoulder, and she could hear the unicorn's heart beating fairly rapidly, even though she already calmed her crying. The same could be said for the princess' as well.
"Would you really do anything to help me, Princess?"
Celestia jumped slightly as Twilight asked the innocent question, heavily laced with something that the princess couldn't quite put her hoof on. She was beginning to feel a little heat around the facial region as she replied.
"Yes, my faithful student...I would do whatever it took!"
She hoped she sounded confident, even as her legs started to give a little bit. Twilight looked her in the eyes yet again. This time, they seemed much more lively and healthy, the eyes that Princess Celestia had imagined many times in her dreams. What was that strange expression she was giving her?
"Then...um...Princess?..." Twilight's mouth was starting to lock as she tried to make a request, she thought to herself, "Come on! You're both alone, at night, with nopony to see you! Spike's already asleep, and you've got her right where you want her! Just do it!"
"Yes, Twili...?" Celestia was dying to hear what the request would be, not that she expected anything lewd. As she encouraged Twilight to speak up, she found her lips unable to continue as a soft, moist warmth pressed into them. As the blissful moment ended shortly after, Twilight heaved a breath of relief.
"Oh Princess, you have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that!"
Celestia summoned every ounce of royal training she could muster to not fall flat on her rump in disbelief. Did that just happen? Oh, please tell her that just happened! Somepony in the sky was messing with her, weren't they? In two seconds, she'd wake up and forget the entire thing...
"Princess..." Twilight was slightly afraid of the aghast look on Celestia's face. "...I'm sorry if I was out of line..." She felt like she was going to cry again for the...who knows what time that day. If she thought that the princess was angry at her before, she certainly could not be happy about this now. Oh no, she was going to jail for the rest of her life, wasn't she? Maybe she'd punish her in some of the worst ways imaginab...
Celestia was quick on her hooves, and without warning, Twilight found herself being embraced again.
"Oh Twilight...I thought you would never feel the same way!"
Celestia had reached her limit as far as control and denial were concerned. The unicorn had made the first move, and that was the only barrier deterring the princess from making hers.
Twilight had taken a moment to ingest the realization that Celestia was not angry with her kiss, and she would, in fact, not be sent to some horrible dungeon or demise. She was a little non-believing herself, and expected a similar fade out sequence within a minute or so.
"I thought that, since you showed an interest in stallions, I would never have a chance."
Twilight took in the thought and elaborated on it.
"Well, I really do tend to be more attracted to colts, and not so much to mares... However, I've loved you, Princess, for as long as I can remember, and for you...I'll most definitely make an exception."
That was all Celestia needed to hear for confirmation. She tenderly pressed her own lips to Twilight's again, this time, lengthening their kiss, as the last one just wasn't enough for the lust-filled sun goddess. They both appreciatively moaned into each others mouths as their tongues battled playfully.
Twilight was the first to break the passionate display when she needed air. Celestia didn't mind at all, since now she would be able to love her star pupil with as much heat and intensity as she wanted, finally being free of the doubts in her mind that Twilight would spurn her advances.
"But Princess..." Twilight voiced the inevitable misgivings that both mares might have. "What about the citizens of Equestria? Won't this cause a lot of trouble for you if anypony found out about it?"
The white pony gave her a flirtatious smirk. Did Twilight think that she was born yesterday?
"Oh, my dear, dear Twilight, I've avoided conflicts with the ponies of Equestria for longer than you've been born. I think I can manage to keep this all under wraps as long as you would like, or not if you don't. I said I would do anything for you, my faithful student."
Twilight once again leaned in for another smooch, but Celestia kept her back for just a second.
"One more thing, my dear. Whenever we're alone, I would like you to call me Celestia, if you are okay with that. Also, when around others, it would probably be wise to continue addressing me by "Princess", just to be safe, alright?"
Twilight wouldn't dare say "no" to that smile.
"I've waited for this a long time, Twilight. I'm so happy..."
They shared one last passionate kiss before Celestia had to get back to the palace. Morning was coming soon, and all of Equestria would plunge into chaos if their princess was missing for more than a second, or so she felt like it would. As she took off into the early morning sky yet again, she gave a loving stare back to her precious filly.
Twilight's emotional turmoil from the night before had been completely wiped from her mind, as the void had been filled with the best possible substitute. She felt like she could take on the world now, as well as continue some sort of research to have an excuse to write to Celestia again. Twilight waved a hoof toward the window with a similar gaze on her face, and she whispered.
"I love you, Princess Celestia..."
Hoof-steps rang across the Canterlot Palace hallway in the dead of the early morning, still a somber pitch black save for a few lingering stars dotting the endless highway of the sky. One lone unicorn hummed a merry, if not somewhat restrained, tune in his throat as he made his way over to the bed chambers of the princess of the sun, ready to inform her of the day's many important tasks. He was raring to go, as he just had his early morning coffee and was riding a buzz that he hoped wouldn't wear off anytime soon.
"Ah, it is such a fine day for an adviser of my standing to report the daily agenda to his princess! I wonder what today's marvelous social gatherings and gripping debates will bring to an already fulfilling life such as mine!"
The powder blue unicorn stallion's eyes lit up behind his spectacles as he approached the door of their sun princess, feeling like he could take on the world with all of the fun things going on that day. Trying to be as discreet and unobtrusive as possible, not wanting to wake the rest of the palace, he gently yet forcefully tapped a hoof on the large oak portal, emitting a resonant, hollow thud from its surface.
"Your Highness," he crooned in a sing-song voice. "Rise and shine, it is a most wonderful morning to mingle with Equestria's populace today!"
A profound silence was all that greeted him. Princess Celestia must have been really wiped out from yesterday's proceedings. The middle-aged pony decided that a second set of taps was in order, after no reply had come for a minute or two.
"I know, Princess Celestia, it is quite early in the morning. I'm sorry to have disturbed you so abruptly, but our land needs its princesses, yourself no exception."
A creeping sense of acute panic crawled its way through the horned pony's spine as another deathly silence accompanied his words.
"...Princess? Is everything alright in there? Please, answer me if you are able to!"
Now became the perfect time to worry, as nothing could be heard from the other side of the door, and the adviser became more aware of the fact that he was not hallucinating.
"Oh dear, pardon the intrusion, Your Majesty, but I am coming inside!"
He didn't want to be disrespectful just in case his suspicions were flawed. He quickly unlatched the large door and trotted inside briskly, beseeching the heavens that the co-ruler of Equestria was safe and sound in her chambers. Unfortunately, he was having no such luck today. His happiness from before was completely replaced by an icy chill as he gazed upon the lifeless room, immaculately untouched and Celestia not in her bed as he had surmised.
"OH NO..." The unicorn's lip started to quiver as the weight of the situation set in. He did the only thing he could think of in the event that one of the two princesses were nowhere to be found...
"AAAAAAAAAAH!"
Two pegasus guards, patrolling the hallway at the time, heard the cries for help that the old pony bleated. Tearing through the short passageway within a matter of minutes, and arriving on the scene of a dry-heaving, blue stallion, looking for all intents and purposes like he was having a psychological breakdown.
"Mr. Bright Ray," one of the guards addressed the grey-haired adviser. "What in the name of the Royal Sisters is going on here?"
Bright Ray looked like he was going to faint. His wide eyes and slack jaw were sign enough that something was amiss to the guards.
"Princess Celestia...has gone missing!"
"WHAT?"
Celestia had just left the residence of one of the most important ponies in her long, slightly dreary life. She was sailing through the air with a light exuberance unknown for many, many years, a genuine smile curving on her face, and bell-like laughs chiming from some place deep inside of her at the unbelievable realization. Twilight really did share the same sentiments she did. Not for a hundred years would she have thought it possible. As smitten as the white mare was with her pupil, she learned that the violet unicorn loved her in return.
Quietly, and withholding as much of her power and joviality as she could not to be noticed by the townsfolk, Celestia practically performed stunts as she soared toward her castle home, corkscrewing every so often, and doing a few loop-de-loops for good measure.
Just thinking about all of the fantastic things they would be able to do as a "couple", under wraps, of course, if her student was not ready to reveal them together yet, made the last few days of suffering, loss, and regret so worth it. The sun princess was already scheming some romantic get-togethers, each different location and activity making her more excited as they submerged her conscious thoughts in her beautiful filly.
It was so relieving to her, for once, to be able to forget about the problems in the world, and simply be a pony in love, not worrying about the repercussions of such a taboo relationship, or of shirking, once in a blue moon, her tiring duties as a princess. She heaved a great breath of fresh, mountain air, both in relief of the tensions of this life, and finding the cool, crisp wind so much more appealing now that she was drowning in pure bliss from her recent rendezvous with the mare she could now call her own.
Although everypony would be awaiting her eventual return to the castle, she started to lazily drift in the wind like a leaf, letting this feeling of contentment wash over her. They wouldn't be needing her there right this very minute after all, or that's what she assumed was the truth. She could see the palace not but a five minute flight by the time an hour or so just passed, so everything was going to be a-okay...
"Please calm down, Mr. Bright Ray! I'm certain that the princess had a reasonable need to step out for a few moments."
The old statespony tore a hole through the marble floors of their princess' bedroom with all of his jittery pacing. A hoof could be seen flying up to his face in exasperation constantly as the various unsavory possibilities for Celestia's absence screamed through his aching brain.
"I believe, my dear sir" -the blue stallion grumbled through a polite mask that seemed ready to break at the slightest provocation- "that you are underestimating the severity of this situation!"
Bright Ray stopped walking around in circles for a brief second as he unceremoniously informed the guards of his tempered opinion on the matter.
"What if she's been kidnapped by a band of rogue unicorns who want money, notoriety...or worse" -the pony's pupils dilated- "indecent, primal contact with the princess' body?"
He fell in a heap on the ground at the very thought in a dramatic, fainting motion. The guards in attendance contorted their faces in both confusion and distaste at the adviser's insinuations.
"Get a hold of yourself!" One of the pegasi stared down at the old codger vehemently on his right side. "If the princess had been kidnapped for some kind of ransom, don't you think they would have left us a note demanding something?"
The other guard stepped on his other side, looking down with a grunt of agreement, "Besides, I don't think there's a pony alive who would dare try to kidnap the princess, what with her being able to barbeque them and all."
The former guard gave the pegasus before him a comical grimace, noting the harsh characterization of their kind, fair ruler.
"What?...I've heard some tales..." the apologetic pony brushed his forehoof against the back of his head.
Bright Ray picked himself up, snorting at the lax attitudes of those who should have been the elite guards of Canterlot. He felt like he could have done a much better job in their places. If he was in their horseshoes, and the princesses had gone missing, he would've sent every stallion, mare, colt, and filly in Equestria on a mission to find them, and given a sizable reward for their successful efforts to boot.
"I cannot believe the kinds of tom-foolery I have to bear witness to here!" The bespectacled unicorn gestured to the two. "You should be sending a cry throughout the streets of her disappearance, not standing around making flimsy excuses for not doing your jobs!"
Incensed by that arrogant remark, the right-sided guard angrily stared Bright Ray down in place, eliciting a suddenly powerless whimper from the advising stallion.
"Now see here, you snobbish..." he composed himself slightly, minding his lower station, "Do you really think that causing a panic in Canterlot, getting hundreds, thousands of ponies into a ragtag mob and spreading chaos is going to find the princess faster?"
He couldn't tell if it was the crushing gaze of this brutish guard pony or some semblance of logic finally creeping into his terror-addled mind, but Bright Ray conceded that maybe he had a good point.
"Well...I mean...I..."
"Exactly, that's what I thought."
He let up on the old man and gave him the chance to walk over to one of the large glass windows. The blue unicorn was not any more comforted by the realization, and the other pegasus guard put in his two bits with a similarly worried look on his face, though he tried to remain confident.
"The princess has been out for a while, judging by the time it is now. If it makes you feel any better, in five more minutes, if Princess Celestia has not come back, then we will sound the alarm for the rest of the GUARDS to go out and search undercover."
Bright Ray folded his forearms together in frustration for a bit as he pondered the proposal. He gave a heavy sigh of defeat after some seconds of thought.
"...Alright...five more minutes...and then...no more waiting!"
An uneasy quiet settled into the atmosphere. None of the ponies present could deny the bad feelings they were getting at the whole thing. Five more minutes, and the princess would be back, and they'd all be happy again, and there would be no more need to fear, right? Still, it just didn't seem as simple as that. They were all afraid that the castle would have to be awoken. Princess Luna herself would be furious at their incompetence for not knowing where Celestia had went, and some unknown punishment would be in store.
"Princess Celestia," one of the guards bemoaned pleadingly in his thoughts. "Please be back by that time, and put this annoying adviser's mind at ease so he doesn't do something stupid that we'll all take flak for!"
Princess Celestia was the picture of serenity as the not-so-routine trip came to an end and her bed chamber's window was within clear vision. Smiling to herself, pleased from the night's activities, she glided delicately onto the veranda of one of the monumental portals, making tiny metal clinking sounds from her hooves. With a similarly dainty precision, the window was nudged open with another gold slipper as she entered.
A sharp gasp and airy sighs of relief, none of which came from the princess herself, alerted Celestia that she was not the only pony in attendance. As soon as her head whipped around to face the intruders who would dare trespass in her sacred hideaway, a small, old colt, eyes wet with as of yet unshed tears, barreled through the sizable chamber toward the white mare. Her own face took on a trained, regal surprise when the pony almost tackled her, stopping with his forearms outstretched a foot away from her, trying his best to observe decorum in the face of infinite weight lifting from his shoulders.
"Oh, my princess, I thought I had lost you!"
Bright Ray bowed politely, though the stream of liquid from his eyes that was threatening to leak at any time decided it had waited long enough, and in the bow the unicorn nearly curled up on the floor in alleviated, yet unstable emotion.
The princess was flabbergasted that Bright Ray had awoken so early, and in turn, had come to wake her up before the dawn. What in pony hell was he doing out of bed at this hour? Celestia eyed the powder blue stallion nervously, knowing beyond a doubt that her shadowy escape and return plan was thrown out with the rest of the horribly laid plans she had made throughout her life. She didn't show it on her face though, opting instead to smile in a warm, motherly manner, doing what she could to ease the overblown paranoia of her subjects, a task that she was so familiar with that she had it down to a science of sorts.
First came the tension relieving giggle she used, not too derisive as to offend, but genuine enough that the subject in question was submerged in confidence that Celestia knew what she was doing better than anypony else.
"Ha ha, oh My Little Pony, what in Equestria is troubling you so? I was only stepping out for a little exercise in the morning. These wings won't keep themselves strong and limber, you know."
Works like a charm. As her opening statement had ended, the unicorn hiccuped once or twice, but ultimately quit crying and raised himself off of the ground into a more dignified position, giving a quirky, grateful smile back to the princess as he did. The guards rushed forward, quite tense about the whole situation themselves, but keeping composure more effectively.
"Your Majesty, we are glad to see that you have returned! In the future, it may be prudent if Her Highness could let the guard squads know about any deviation from her morning schedule, to be better prepared for it, naturally."
The guards bowed to her themselves as one took the effort to greet her personally, and to inform her, in the most respectful way possible, that a princess' whereabouts should not be unknown.
"Great," Celestia thought to herself, defeated. "They'll never give me a moment to breathe at the rate they keep finding me away from one thing or another..."
With a gentle craftiness borne from over a thousand years of leadership, the white alicorn considered the two pegasi with another soulful gaze, turning the charm up to eleven as she did so.
"You are all such considerate stallions to worry about my safety. I couldn't have hoof-picked better ponies even if I wanted to."
Celestia regally sauntered over to the unturned bedspread for a moment, giving the statement a moment to sink in for the three in the room with her. As much as she didn't like trying to avoid her subjects' requests, being further shackled to the palace was not high on her list of "things I can tolerate easily". She regarded the winged sentries, especially, with her next statement.
"If I promise you that I'll take better care of myself, and keep closer to the castle from now on, can we put this matter behind us?"
Secretly, the princess was sweating bullets under her unmarred coat of fur. She knew it would be a stretch for them not to be on high alert after the stunt she pulled, but she was hoping that her loving eye contact to each of the men in the room and her sweet, near pleading grin would be enough to melt or short circuit the reasoning functions in their brains, and bring them over to her side of things.
Luckily...stallions didn't really seem to change that much throughout time, and with a few disgruntled shirks in resistance, the last of their willpower was washed away. A guard spoke up after a few minutes of fidgeting. A light flush stained his white cheeks as he gave a choppy response back.
"Please Princess, next time, be more careful."
He was the first to bow again and leave, while the second guard lingered for a tiny moment before following suit. Bright Ray, by his original intent, stood firm inside the bedchamber, although looking slightly disheveled from the morning's events as well.
As much as Celestia wanted to dry heave in relieved appreciation of her charms, a huge proponent in centuries of trouble evasion, that would have been most unladylike, and her daily task adviser was standing at the ready, eager to start the rest of the day now that it wouldn't be ruined by her being spirited away or killed. They seemed to be able to come up with any excuse to make an official adviser for everything...
"Ahem...well Princess..." the old unicorn coughed as he went back over to pick up his clipboard, lost from his magical grip in the turbulence of finding her gone. "...Shall we start by...raising the sun for the day?..."
"Oh...OH...right!" the princess quickly composed herself as her trusted statespony had, hoping that her impromptu trip would soon be forgotten, and life would move on as usual.
...and wow...did it ever move on as usual...
One of the first orders of business of the day was one Celestia had been dreading since last month, presiding over the court as the monthly census for the Equestria Royal Treasury was discussed, at mind-numbing length and, in her opinion, unnecessary detail. She tried not to shift uncomfortably in her seat and retained her regal posture at the large, rectangular table, as business ponies, economics professors, and her financial advisers chatted away mercilessly about anything and everything expense related for the last month. It had been hours and they weren't even onto this month's business yet. The princess had learned the virtue of patience long ago, but it was completely ridiculous when one of the professors gave an incredibly monotonous speech regarding prices in the marketplace.
"So...as we can see," -this professor, a yellow earth pony with the slowest enunciation the princess had ever heard, droned on- "since the bit value and scarcity of cords of cherry wood lumber have increased exponentially in the last three weeks, the Architectural Guild's plan to build a new school of carpentry with said wood, not including the cords they would need for classroom materials, is going to have to either be postponed for a few months, or they will have to find a different type of wood that is cheaper than the two thousand bit price per cord that cherry wood is now. I would suggest..."
Celestia couldn't help it anymore. She felt her eyelids drooping down as the uninteresting stallion's speech just would not end. Visions of what she and Twilight would be doing on a first date ran through her mind: a quiet, quaint little picnic on a hill outside of either Canterlot or Ponyville, a candle-lit dinner in the library, an intimate evening curled up by the firepl...
"Princess Celestia?"
SNAP
Celestia bolted upright in her seat, her chair rocking forward a fraction, now fully awake after the offended voice reached her ears. The goofy grin she had on her face before replaced by a more comfortable, calm smirk as she regarded whichever of her subjects that had requested her.
"Yes My Subjects, was there a question that you asked of me?"
The very same professor that had been speaking not but a few short seconds ago was the one to speak up, and he did not look pleased that the princess of the sun was snoozing during his oration, though using nothing but the utmost reverence in addressing her yet again.
"As I was saying, please, Your Majesty, how would you handle this situation? We would all be most appreciative of your thoughts on the matter."
You know the kind of wavering line that one has on their mouth when somepony asks them for advice on a topic they completely ignored? Well, Celestia imagined a similar look in her own cheeks as she scanned the room of curious stares rapidly. She hoped that the last topic she vaguely listened to was the right one as she made a response.
"...Well...I would suggest making the school building out of oak instead!"
She dripped sweat from her pores as she continued at the intrigued grimaces on her subjects' faces.
"I do recall that the price of oak this month was a little higher than it was the last one, but hundreds of new oak trees were planted about two hundred years ago, and are set to be harvested soon, dropping their expense before next month's meeting. It's a solid material, and as a bonus, even if the coloration isn't the same as the cherry, painting it a similar shade would still keep them under budget by at least a thousand bits per cord..."
Celestia could swear that everypony in attendance gawked at her. An old pegasus business pony on the other end of the table even had light refreshments spilling out of his gaping jaw. It was probably the most they had ever heard from the princess on any financial affair. The faint, long-forgotten urge to run out of the room crying in embarrassment was starting to overtake her, though she remained steadfast in the tension of the court.
The awkward moment was finally shattered as two hooves beat together, slowly at first, as if to stop at a moment's notice, but gradually rising up to an enthused clap. Others followed suit, including, eventually, the yellow professor.
"BRILLIANT!" The earth pony cheered as the thought had obviously never crossed his own mind at all.
"Well said, Princess, well said indeed!"
The white mare leaned back imperceptibly in her chair, smiling to her little ponies as red dusted her cheeks, flustered by the sudden question and possibility of being caught off guard.
The discussions proceeded with renewed gusto, at least for the stallions and mares around the table with the princess. One particular conversation piqued her interest, to the point of undivided attention.
"Now then," another reddish pink unicorn mare interjected. "There has been a matter of...great misfortune I must inform you all of. By the ledgers presented by our operatives in the administrative sector of Ponyville, it has come to my attention that over eighty percent of Ponyville's citizens are either not paying, or inadequately paying, their income taxes, and as we all know, a small percentile of that tax is paid in directly to the royal treasury. While I would be more inclined to make complaints about Manehattan's rising criminal activity, or Trottingham's mayor's blatant abuse of campaign funds and political "gifts" for personal diversions, this income tax evasion does harm to not only their local government, but to the land's governance as well..."
"..." Celestia thought for a second. "...Ponyville...Twilight lives in Ponyville...the perfect excuse!"
She waited until the mare was finished with her own statement to propose a motion of her own.
"Ahem," Celestia cleared her throat gently, more out of habit than anything else, but once she did, the entire room went silent, waiting for the princess to speak. "Perhaps the problems going on in Ponyville need to be dealt with on a more personal level. I would be more than happy to make an appearance at the town hall and address this issue with Mayor Mare myself."
The attendees glanced at each other incredulously, wondering if this was some kind of joke. The same unicorn who had brought up the income tax evasion respectfully bowed to Celestia before disagreeing with that idea.
"My Lady is most gracious to wish to work the matter out with the mayor personally, but in all due respect, I do not foresee any altercations or conflicts that would require direct supervision from the princess, this seems like something another member of the council could resolve easily."
The sun princess gave her a reassuring smile and hummed a little in humor. She knew the rose colored financial wizard was only looking out for her protection. She knew she loved her princess so. All the same, Celestia wanted to press the entire weight of her political power over her for getting in the way of her top-ranked mission, see Twilight by any means necessary. Instead, she spoke again in a compassionate tone.
"My Dear Adviser, what kind of princess would I be if all I did was bark orders at ponies, and micromanage them from afar, never getting in touch with their problems and concerns? My sister and I haven't ruled Equestria for over a thousand years for nothing, and I like to think that our personal involvement shows that we care deeply about them. If nothing else" -Celestia attempted to lighten the mood by ending her rebuttal with some laughter- "it would be a good PR move!"
The intended effect was noticed in the phantom giggles from a few of the ponies at the table. The red mare was still a little apprehensive about it, but if that's what the princess was ordering to happen, then nopony else could really object to it now, could they?
"Alright Princess, we can have you flown out to Ponyville today, if that is not too much trouble for you. The sooner this matter is dealt with, the better off the treasury will be."
"Oh I do not mind at all," Celestia beamed radiantly. "I will inform my Daily Tasks Adviser after this meeting at once!"
Soon, the meeting would be out, finally! Celestia was overjoyed to find a legitimate way to go to Ponyville without having to resort to sneaking around and flying under the cover of darkness.
"This is going to be wonderful, I just know it!" the princess thought to herself, still trying with all of her might to pay attention to the rest of the proceedings, lest she be queried again and not be able to answer it competently.
As the day moved on in the Ponyville Library, Twilight was still in a dreadful state of disbelief that the events which transpired the night before had even been real at all. Since the moment she had gone to bed for the rest of the night, only a few hours, and woken back up in the morning, she took every possible opportunity to have her number one assistant pinch her in an attempt to gauge her overall consciousness.
"OW!" Twilight yelped as the little claws obediently pressed the sensitive flesh of Twilight's back between them. "Don't clamp down so darn hard Spike, you almost drew blood that time!"
"Hey," the dragon forced his hands up into a surrendering posture, "I'm not the one who keeps saying 'pinch me Spike, I must be dreaming!'" Spike condescendingly squeaked in a caricature of Twilight's more feminine voice.
Twilight huffed dramatically at his antics, "Okay, okay, I'm sorry Spike, but I just can't believe that Princess Celestia is in love with me! I thought I was just some kind of child to her, maybe a child with exceptional magic talent, but she's had plenty of students before me!"
"Well what are you asking me for?" Spike asked, genuinely confused by what Twilight had just told him some hours ago, and was still telling him now, "I don't know what she's thinking either. I'll just say you must be something pretty special to have caught her eye."
Twilight looked at her companion, self-consciously flustered by the way he worded his musings. "I guess so, I mean, Princess Celestia probably gets her door knocked down by suitors every day. What she'd want with me, I have no idea."
Spike went over to her again as they stood in the lobby of the library, this time patting her shoulder in a gesture of comfort. "Oh Twilight, you've got plenty of things going for you that the princess would like, you're loyal, courageous, talented at magic and research, sure, you might have a little age difference..."
"A little age difference, Spike?"
"...Okay, maybe a huge age difference, but come on, if she really feels that way about you, and you feel the same about her, then what else matters?"
Twilight chuckled a bit, feeling better now that Spike had put things into a little more perspective for her. "Thanks Spike, I needed that..."
The warm "family" moment was cut short by a stiff, energetic knock at the front door.
Spike took a mutually shared confused look at his pony mentor and headed over to see who it could possibly be.
"Welcome to the...oh hi Applejack!" Spike spoke energetically after opening the door and realizing who it was.
"Howdy Spike, Twilight," Applejack nodded politely to the unicorn, who was now moving over to the doorway slowly.
"Hey, Applejack," Twilight mirrored Spike in her energy. "What brings you here, of all places, today?"
Applejack seemed pretty excited, as she had a great, big smile on her face and leaned into the two librarians to half-whisper something to them.
"Didn't you hear the news, Twilight? Princess Celestia is coming to Ponyville on official business! I knew you'd be pleased as punch to see her, so I came to you first to give you the good word."
Oh Twilight was pleased alright. She couldn't believe that just over half a day had gone by and the princess had found another way to get to the town without making anything seem too suspicious. She could've galloped around the room frantically, not just for joy, but also to make checklists of all the things she'd need to bring and do before she saw Celestia again.
"Oh wow, Princess Celestia's coming? I need to get everything ready! Everything needs to be absolutely perfect!"
Twilight gave Applejack an appreciative nod and thanked her before charging up to the bedroom and began stuffing things into her saddlebags that she either wanted to show the princess or to give her when she arrived.
"Golly," Applejack started chortling good-naturedly. "She must be pretty wound up about meetin' the princess, huh?"
"Yeah, she's always like that," Spike deadpanned before continuing the conversation. "How did you know the princess was coming to Ponyville, Applejack?"
"Well I was mindin' the apple stand out in the middle of town when Mayor Mare came out to make a public speech about it. She told everypony to be on their best behavior, and that today's visit was strictly official business with the mayor, so that nopony would try to make a huge scene and demand autographs or other things like that."
"Do you know what she'll be discussing with her?" Spike was getting more curious by the moment, hoping Applejack had more dirt than that.
"I'm not sure there Spike, but whatever it is, it must be important."
Applejack and the baby dragon glanced back over his shoulder at the apparent carnage being waged on one of Twilight's saddlebags, fascinated by how many things the violet unicorn could magically force into one.
"It looks like Twilight's a little busy right now. Hopefully I'll see ya both at the apple stand pretty soon if you're headed out that way."
"Oh, yeah," Spike grinned sheepishly at the farm pony. "See you later, Applejack."
"You too Spike."
They waved each other off before Spike closed the door. He inched his way back through the lobby, trying to slip by and head into the kitchen, where he would then jump out the window and avoid the pandemonium taking place in the bedroom.
"Oh no you don't Spike, you've got to help me pack for the trip!"
"Arrrrrgh!" Spike moaned to himself with a face-palm.
This time, Celestia could relax for a while and just enjoy the carriage ride over to Ponyville, seeing as this trip would be legitimate, and nopony would be suspicious of her motives or reasons for coming to the little village today. The time passed in a blur, maybe having dozed off once or twice from the late night and the (albeit marvelous) lack of sleep, and after waking the second or third time she spotted the town closing in.
Despite the princess' requests that Mayor Mare tell the townsponies to act naturally and remain in their places of work, or to simply write off her visit and act like she wasn't coming, a whole crowd had gathered in front of the town hall to greet their sun princess, dote on her, and shout their endless cries of adoration, and on the slightest occasion, unrest. While not particularly pleased that her subjects had willfully disobeyed their mayor, and by extension herself, she understood that this was an uncommon thing, and they just wanted to show her how grateful they were to host her presence.
"Smile, Celestia...smile..." she gritted through her teeth as the townsfolk put up a raucous cheer for the princess.
They touched down pretty close to the administrative building, thank the heavens, and she merely waved a few times daintily while giving the crowd a vibrant look of adoration. Everypony bowed to the ground in a show of respect, and then continued to chat amongst each other merrily, some inquisitive of what exactly she was doing here.
"Welcome to our humble little town, Princess Celestia," Mayor Mare bowed to the alicorn herself.
"It is so nice to meet with you yet again, Mayor Mare, shall we get started right away?"
Celestia was anxious to get this tax discussion over with, so that she could slip out, undetected by the large crowd, and meet up with Twilight for some...fun.
Their discussions weren't as productive as Celestia knew her advisers would've wanted, but all in all they had come to a few agreements that ensured the royal treasury would receive about fifteen percent more money from income taxes, cutting some other taxes here and there on products and services that the town of Ponyville didn't really even use much. It would be satisfying for now.
Celestia had more pressing matters to attend to now. As she said her goodbyes to the mayor, she slipped out the back door of the town hall building, conveniently placed so that important ponies wouldn't be trampled by loving crowds or unruly mobs. She had told the guards to wait outside for a time period much longer than she knew she would need to get the talks done, so they would not be accompanying her on her next stop.
The regal mare eyed the alley shiftily as she took a step...
"There you are, Celestia!"
She almost jumped five feet in the air, yelping at the relieved voice three feet to her right.
"Oh...it's you Twilight! You almost gave this old princess a heart attack!"
Twilight's face was as red as a tomato as she looked away for a second, embarrassed by her ill-planned entrance. "Sorry about that..."
The purple unicorn was completely adorable when she thought she had done something wrong.
"Oh Twilight," the white pony made a genuine, hearty giggle. "It's quite alright. I'm surprised that you found me out here. How did you know where to look?"
Twilight's face was still pretty flushed when she glanced at the beautiful mare, "I heard that you had gone inside the town hall building a while ago, and since I knew you wouldn't like going through the large crowd again I figured you'd come out the back way to avoid them."
"Very astute, my lovely pupil."
The two of them locked eyes for the first time since the night before, Celestia inching closer to the unicorn, as Twilight stood in place, waiting for the princess to shrink the distance between them.
"I know it has not even been a day...but I've thought of you since the moment I left, Twilight..."
Twilight shyly stepped forward a little herself, her heart and body making her do things that her mind needed no part in.
"Princ...I mean...Celestia, I..."
The words sort of escaped her after her ravishing teacher leaned in and captured her lips in her own, gingerly, with a wet, longing smack. Only seconds passed by as they basked in each others body heat before the princess let out a soft, unintentional moaning growl, taking the unicorn's lips once again, this time more forcefully, so much so, in fact, that Twilight was almost pushed up against the brick wall of the building in front of them. She moaned into the princess' kiss submissively, not minding that her rump was nearly pressed up against the stony surface, savoring the feel of Celestia's hooves cupping her face and traveling down further to the bottom of her neck. After a few moments of heated playing with each others tongues, Celestia pulled back again, remembering where they were, and where they should be going right now.
"Oh my...Twilight...maybe we should pick this back up over at the library?"
Twilight's breathing was just as laborious, trying to process the question in an intelligent manner.
"I...could get...Spike to...spend a night over at Rarity's or something..."
The princess looked away pensively and returned her gaze to her prized student, "Given the circumstances...I think that would be an excellent idea..."
Already knowing the situation going on before Twilight even thought he did, Spike took to the "take a hike" speech quite well. He told them that he'd go over to Fluttershy's place instead, since even though he did like Rarity, she probably wouldn't be happy with the fact that Twilight had dumped him on her all of a sudden. Fluttershy was a much more understanding pony, and she would most likely not question the reason for his impromptu visit, something else they were relying on.
"Oh Twilight, you didn't have to tidy up for me."
Even as she said it, the princess felt honored, in a way, that Twilight would take so much care and consideration into her visits.
Twilight smiled bashfully at the white goddess as she noticed how extremely organized and polished everything seemed, "I couldn't make you crawl through a dirty library, Celestia. It was no trouble whatsoever."
The white mare draped a large wing over the violet unicorn's back, giving her an innocent squeeze in appreciation, "You want to hear a secret, Twilight?"
The bookpony leaned into the hug dreamily, feeling Celestia's soft, velvety skin tremble under the contact, "Sure, I'm all ears."
"Out of all of the students I've ever had in the Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns, I've never had a pupil who was as eager to make me happy as you are, and I've never valued the attention more than I do yours."
As they climbed the steps into the bedroom, both ponies grateful to be able to relax and hold each other for the time being, Celestia nuzzled her charge's cheek with her own lovingly.
"Sure, there have been other students who fearfully worshiped me to the point of not wanting to incur my wrath, and those who were only trying to butter me up for better grades or more recognition..."
A lucid, reminiscent frown intruded on her features as the last statement was spoken. It pained Twilight greatly to see anything other than joy on her princess' face, and as they sat on the nearly inadequate bed, she buried her muzzle into Celestia's neck, intent on making all of the pains of the ruler's past as they should be, distant, long-forgotten memories.
"...but somehow, I know that isn't the same with you. When I look back on every spell you've learned, every book report you've ever turned in, every time I would come over to the Canterlot Library and I'd see you, little Twilight, inconsolable because a few silly books were out of place here and there, your visit with me ruined because of it, I could always sense that there were no ulterior motives to the things you wanted to impress me with. There was no fear of punishment, no desire for power, status, or altered grades. The only fear I ever saw in you was that I would be disappointed..."
Celestia used her wing to tilt Twilight's cute, adoring face to meet her own eyes, further accentuating her next point.
"...but it was such a deep fear that even I would never wish to put you through it. I'm very sorry for ever making you feel that way, Twilight, if I have."
The princess' face became tinted red with tenderness and regret. Twilight took a fore-hoof and caressed the wing, bringing it closer to her face in the process.
"Celestia, the only ways you've ever made me feel are safe, warm, cared for, and loved, even when I didn't want to admit that I felt those ways to keep from ruining our friendship and trust. I thought, for the longest time, that you only ever saw me as your student, maybe a distant younger relative, but no more than that. I thought that confronting you about my feelings would sicken you, and turn you away."
The princess forlornly chuckled as she put a foreleg around the smaller unicorn, embracing her tightly, "My Dear, what in Equestria would make you think that I'd be disgusted in any way, shape, or form with you?"
Twilight hummed at the exquisite contact, but was also a little embarrassed. "I know, I was just really scared to think about what would happen if you had hated me."
Celestia's laughter livened at the very notion. Twilight was, indeed, a silly filly sometimes.
"Never, not in a million years, my sweet, little pony..."
Celestia quickly pecked her on the side of her mouth to reiterate the point. The purple mage seemed troubled by something else though too.
"What is it, Twilight?"
She didn't come out with it right away, trying to find the right words to express her concerns.
"Is it alright that I'm not ready to tell everypony else about this just yet?"
The princess, while somewhat perturbed personally by the admission, would never make Twilight do something she wasn't ready for.
"I told you before, Twilight, I will take this secret to my own grave, if that time ever comes, if you wish to keep it that way. Whenever you want to tell somepony, don't worry about how it will affect me, tell anypony you want. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable about us."
The purple pony's ears perked at the last word.
"Us...I like that...it has a nice ring to it."
"Oh, does it now?" Celestia quipped playfully back, licking Twilight's nose quickly.
Twilight mewled bashfully at Celestia's increasing boldness.
"Please Princ...I mean Celestia, not in front of Smarty Pants!" she laughed out loud as the stuffed pony sat on the table, looking like it was staring straight at them the entire time.
The sun goddess had a rather mischievous glint in her eye when she noticed what Twilight was talking about. "Looks like Smarty Pants is about to get a free show, don't you agree?"
Twilight snorted at her princess' lewd comment, relieved to feel the slightly negative tension coiling around the room disappear. Now all that was left was a different kind of tension, one that could only be alleviated by other kinds of activities.
After the giggles had stopped, Twilight and her mentor gazed pointedly into each others eyes yet again, relishing in the momentarily forgotten heat they both generated in waves. Celestia took a deep breath, taking in Twilight's slightly sweaty scent, while the unicorn similarly breathed a sigh of contentment.
Without a lot of warning on her part, the princess dove down to position her tongue on Twilight's lips, stopping just above to tease the poor filly into giving in. She took the bait hungrily, pressing up onto the older mare's mouth with an uncharacteristic force. Their lips, teeth, and tongues danced together steadily, increasing the stifling warmth around them. Twilight's mane was matted against her sides and face, even parts of Celestia's regal mane clung to her own face in the hot room.
The sun goddess began to lay Twilight down further on the bed, to get some leverage and more access to the rest of Twilight's body. In doing this, Twilight moaned unabashedly into her teacher's kiss, willing the alicorn to make other moves if she wanted. Celestia would have it no other way as she sprayed kisses all along Twilight's cheeks, ears, and traveled down to her neck, giving the sensitive areas under the unicorn's jaw extra attention.
"Oh...Twilight..." Celestia couldn't help it much longer. She would have to keep going further soon if the violet pony didn't protest.
Unfortunately...
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
The downstairs door was beaten on as if somepony was running from a murder. Celestia broke the passionate exchange instantly, heaving great gulps of air after forgetting to breathe, lost in Twilight's delicious neck. Wide-eyed and lustfully shaking from head to hoof, she jumped off of the bed to let Twilight get up, who was having her own problems standing straight and getting her own mind out of the fabulous haze her sexy mentor had induced in her. She fell on her rump a few times, disoriented, wherein Celestia helped her to her hooves and guided her down the steps. The mood had just been killed, at the worst possible time.
As the two frantically galloped down the steps, the princess had an idea.
"Twilight, when somepony comes through that door, just talk to me as if you were giving a presentation on...something...anything!"
Twilight nodded affirmatively, still dazzled from Celestia's excellent lip work. She regained whatever bearings she could and trotted over to the door calmly, opening it to the complete idiots who had absolutely ruined their fun.
"Hello?"
As the door opened, a pegasus guard tore into the library, thanking every one of his pony ancestors that Princess Celestia was, while looking disoriented and...slightly wet..., intact and unharmed.
"Princess Celestia, we have been looking everywhere for you! We thought something awful had happened to you!"
Oh...something awful had definitely happened alright... Pity the guard never realized that he and the others with him were to blame...
"Is this your friend?" One of the other guards pushed the purple and green creature through the door's threshold gently.
"Spiiiiiiike!" Twilight was furious. He must've ratted them out and lead the guards straight there.
"I'm sorry, Twilight, they nearly ransacked Fluttershy's cottage searching for the princess, I couldn't just let them destroy her house! Forgive me!"
Spike ran towards one of the rooms with a door in the library, opened it, and shut it behind him to get away from the guards who had...well...who knows what they did to get Spike to divulge information about Celestia being there?
"So as you can see, Princess Celestia," Twilight made it a point to show the guards what had been going on before they had so rudely interrupted, which was just an innocent little presentation. "Fungi in Everfree Forest have many differences from the types of fungi you encounter in the Whitetail Woods."
Celestia made a mock impressed face to her secret lover. "That's all quite fascinating Twilight, good job on that report!"
Twilight smiled crookedly to the guards, who would've probably known something was up if they weren't so happy to see the princess unharmed.
"Your Majesty, it is time to leave for Canterlot."
Celestia gave Twilight a crestfallen look, not wanting to leave. Since she had been caught though, she'd have a lot of explaining to do if she didn't go with them.
"Oh...yes...it is time for me to go, My Faithful Student. I will be expecting a riveting friendship report in my chambers by tomorrow night."
"Yes Princess, I'll send it to you as soon as possible."
Twilight gave her love a solemn look back, not wanting her to leave right as they were enjoying each others company so much. The guards went back out to prepare the carriage for the return trip. In that time, Celestia gave Twilight one more massive hug and passionate kiss, brushing the stray hairs of Twilight's mane out of her eyes, as well as newly forming tears.
"Now, now, don't fret, Twilight," she cooed softly to the young mare. "We'll be able to see each other again very soon, I'll make it happen somehow. Until then, I'll send you a letter by mail pegasus every day to keep in touch, and to keep Spike from seeing the messages I send. They might have some racy stuff in them, if you know what I'm saying."
Twilight's mood lifted a little at the joke and Celestia's reassurances kept her from weeping right there for everypony to see.
"Thanks Celestia, come back as soon as you can."
"I will, Twilight, and I want you to know that I love you more than you can possibly imagine."
Twilight barely found the strength to pry her hooves off of the gorgeous white princess in front of her, not wanting to let go. She looked one last time into the magenta irises of her teacher and spoke, "I love you so much, Celestia! I'll see if I can't try to find some way to visit you in Canterlot more often too."
The guards called for Celestia to get into the carriage. With slow, painful steps, she walked out to greet them as lively as she could, and soon she was off to Canterlot again. Who knew when Twilight would see her again? At least she would always be able to write about anything and everything she wanted to her.
She closed the door morosely behind her, melancholy setting in now that Celestia was gone. Luckily though she wasn't completely alone tonight.
"Spike," she called at the door she knew Spike was behind, "they're gone now!"
Spike slid the door open as slowly as he could. He peeked out the door for any sign of guards, freely sighing in relief at the knowledge they weren't there anymore.
"Woo...that was quite the panic there for a while!"
Twilight couldn't help but grin at her assistant. Whenever she was down, his antics were always something that could cheer her up. Spike eyed Twilight suspiciously though, as if she had something on her face. No, he wasn't looking at her face, he was more fixated on her neck.
"Hey, Twilight," Spike unashamedly asked, "...is that a hickey?..."
Twilight's hoof flew straight to her jaw line as her eyes grew wide with uneasiness. Sure enough, a twinge of raw, blistered pain rattled her nervous system as she traced the raised patch of skin.
"Whoa...that looks pretty painful. Did the princess give you that while I was gone, because I heard that Snails gave Twist a hickey because he thought it would look cool, and be all vampirey and stuff..."
"Oh...oh no...HOW AM I GOING TO HIDE THIS?"
