Sunny and Izzy were walking through Bridlewood towards the latter’s old cottage. Both their manes were currently glossy and sparkling and Izzy’s mane now had rainbow stripes running through it like Sunny’s did, courtesy of Jazz and Rocky’s ‘makeup and styling’ stall.

Like with Maretime Bay, the pride month celebrations in Bridlewood were in full swing. Stalls had been set up all over the place where vendors were selling their products, light was being reflected through crystals to create the pattern of different pride flags on trees and there was a huge community dance happening around the Bridlewood Together Tree, better known as the Wishing Tree. Sunny had offered Izzy a dance, and one dance quickly turned into five. As a result, both mares now had sore hooves.

“Ah, home sweet home.” Izzy said as she opened the door and trotted inside. Sunny followed her in. “Don’t get me wrong, I love the Brighthouse, but sometimes I just miss this place.”

“I wouldn’t know what it’s like to miss an old home,” Sunny commented. “The Brighthouse is the only home I’ve ever known. Sure the current building is new because Sprout knocked the old lighthouse down, but I’ve lived on that hill for my whole life.”

The Unicorn hummed in response. “I can see why. The Brighthouse is far enough away from the town that you get peace and quiet, but close enough that you get a nice view of all of Maretime Bay.” Izzy sank down onto the floor. “I am exhausted.”

Sunny giggled as she walked over to the kitchen to grab a snack. After checking all the cupboards she settled on a bag of marshmallows. Izzy looked up as she heard Sunny returning, saw the bag she was holding in her mouth and took it in her magic as she pushed herself into a sitting position. Sunny sat opposite Izzy as she opened the bag.

“Thanks for offering to dance with me, by the way.” Izzy said before popping a marshmallow into her mouth.

“No problem.” The Earth Pony replied as Izzy offered Sunny a marshmallow. While she was chewing Sunny noticed rays of sunshine were shining in through a window on the second floor and hitting Izzy in such a way that it made her mane sparkle like the night sky. And whatever Jazz and Rocky had added to her mane only amplified the effect. Feeling a similar heat rising to her cheeks Sunny looked away before her friend could see her staring.

While Sunny loved all her friends she could safely admit that Izzy was her favourite. The Unicorn’s cheerful, energetic and creative personality always gave Sunny a warm feeling inside when she saw it in action. That and Izzy was stunning, particularly in certain lights which had the aforementioned effect on her mane. Sunny had known for a long time that she was into mares, but she had spent so much time when she was younger trying to warm other Earth Ponies up to the idea of pony unity she never had the chance to pursue a relationship. Until Izzy came along.

At the start Sunny was afraid to say anything for fear of ruining their blossoming friendship but as the two grew closer Sunny began to notice how Izzy acted. Wanting to stand next to her, nuzzling her during even the smallest interactions, stealing glances when she thought Sunny wasn’t looking and being extra cheerful whenever Sunny was around. Izzy was anything but subtle.

At first Sunny thought Izzy hadn’t said anything for the same reason she had, but now she wondered if there was a different reason. By Izzy’s own admission, Sunny was her first ever proper friend. Maybe the Unicorn was afraid of ruining her friendship with Sunny by adding romance to it. Sunny recalled when she had described the whole thing to Pipp and Hitch during a conversation. ”You’re drawn to each other. The sun and moon coming together to form an eclipse.” That was how Pipp put it.

While Sunny was thinking everything over Izzy was watching Sunny think. She looks cute like that, Izzy thought. Oh, what am I saying, Sunny always looks cute. And Sunny wasn’t just cute either. She was friendly, sweet and gentle, the best friend Izzy could ask for. Of course Izzy saw Sunny as more than just a best friend. Right from the moment they first met, Sunny had been the first pony to accept Izzy for who she was. No Unicorn in Bridlewood had ever done that before, and yet when Izzy first came to Maretime Bay while all the other Earth Ponies were running around terrified, there was Sunny ready to welcome Izzy with open hooves and eager to learn about Unicorn culture. Sunny’s kindness and unconditional friendship had swept Izzy off her hooves, but now Izzy was unsure how to proceed. Would telling Sunny about her crush unnerve the Earth Pony. Izzy would rather give up Unicycling forever than risk losing Sunny.

Realising that keeping her feelings bottled up would probably only hurt her (and possibly Sunny as well) in the long run, Izzy decided to take a leap of faith. She cleared her throat. “Sunny?”

Sunny snapped out of her train of thought and gave Izzy her full attention. “Yeah?”

“I, er… have something to tell you,” Izzy started, tapping her hooves together nervously. She was already second guessing her decision, but she couldn’t stay quiet forever. “So you see, I kinda, sorta…”

Izzy’s face went redder by the second as she started pulling at her mane. Sunny realised what Izzy was trying to do and gave her an encouraging smile.

That gave Izzy the confidence to complete her sentence. “I… I love you.” Izzy squeaked and shut her eyes. She heard Sunny move closer then felt the other mare’s lips connect with hers. Izzy melted into the kiss as Sunny pulled her closer. Sunny’s lips felt soft and sweet, just like Izzy imagined, and the two still having the taste of marshmallows on their breaths was a bonus. Eventually the two pulled apart and Sunny started gently stroking Izzy’s cheek with her hoof.

“Hoof to heart, I promise I’ll always love you too.” Sunny whispered softly.

Izzy squealed and started nuzzling her cheek against Sunny’s. As Sunny enjoyed the gesture, an idea came to her. “Hey Izzy. What do you think about arriving back in Maretime Bay in style?”

Izzy looked at her curiously. “Oh. I’m listening…”

From outside the cottage, two ponies were watching through one of the windows.

“Yes. I told you it would be worth it leaving the stall unattended for a few minutes.” Rocky declared.

“Alright, I admit it. You were right,” Jazz rolled her eyes before pulling out her phone. “That’s two down, just one more to go.”

Author's Note

Remastered on June 13th 2024.