//-------------------------------------------------------// Princess of Eventide -by Shieldmaiden of Luna- //-------------------------------------------------------// //-------------------------------------------------------// After the Gala //-------------------------------------------------------// After the Gala After the gala, our heroes were having a good time with Princess Celestia. Twilight had run out of things to talk about and was keeping her answers short and sweet. This was especially evident when Princess Celestia was the one doing the talking. The honest and frank Applejack was the one with the insight to figure out why. "You seem a bit nervous, Twilight. Care to tell us about it," the orange pony asked. "Who, me?" the purple pony said, laughing in a certain way. "I'm not nervous! Why would I be nervous?" A quick glance at her mentor's face told Twilight that Celestia, used to Twilight's mannerisms, was smiling amusedly at how Twilight was trying to hide her nerves. Twilight blushed, and Rarity's eyes obviously picked up. "Ladies, I think our Twilight might have crush," Rarity said. Twilight winced and blushed tellingly. "Guys, that's not really important," she told them, amid clamors from the other five and Spike to say who it is. "Whatever pony it is, it's somepony way above my league." Twilight thought that would put a stop to her friends' questions. The poor pony had no awareness that the worst question was still coming. "Twilight," Said Princess Celestia. "What pony gave you the idea that they were better than you, my most loyal student?" She gave special emphasis to her final address. Twilight had always known she was somepony because of her teacher, but not a good or noble enough pony for that special pony. "Nopony gave me that idea," Twilight said, very sheepishly. "They're just better than me." "Just better than you?" Rarity demanded. "You are Princess Celestia's personal protege! Very few ponies could say that." "Rarity has a point, my loyal pupil," said Celestia. "This very night, I permitted you to stand by me at the Gala. Do you know what that action said to the nobles? It told them that you are second to myself and my royal sister. Now, what pony could possibly stand outside your reach?" Twilight's face was as red as all get out, but she had to continue. This was something she had to test. "From the sound of it, only Princess Luna and yourself would be out of my reach." "That's a very interesting answer, my beloved pupil," said Celestia. A darting glance confirmed it; the diarch's cheeks were also inflamed, but not as much. "It just happens to be incorrect." "Incorrect?" squeaked Twilight. "Exactly. If you were to ask for my permission to court Luna, I would ask you to be careful with my sister's heart and I would most likely still give you the permission. It would doubtlessly be the same if you were to ask permission of my sister to court me, although, if she were to say no, I might not care." "Are you saying Twilight has a shot at anypony she wants," asked Pinkie Pie. "That's just what I'm saying, my little pony," replied Celestia. Everypony was staring at the princess. "Pony Joe," said Twilight. "Can I set up a long distance teleportation array in your shop?" "Sure!" said Pony Joe. Everypony looked at Twilight with interest as she set up the array. "Looks like she's aiming for somepony here in Canterlot," said Rainbow Dash. "You think she's interested in you, Princess?" "Rainbow Dash," interjected Rarity. "A pony doesn't simply ask the Princess about her romantic prospects! Such a thing is very uncouth!" "Don't worry about it," said Celestia, watching her student finish the array. "I don't want you to worry about what you chose to say, even though I will put some thought into how much answer you get." "I think I know exactly who Twilight likes," Fluttershy said, blushing heavily. She may not have said much, but she watched pretty much everything. "Alright! Array's done," said Twilight. "Well, it's been a lovely evening, but I'm getting tired, and I have one last letter to write before I hit the hay." After this, the mostly mystified ponies went on their way. When she and Spike made it to their library home, Twilight fetched quill and paper. Dear Princess Celestia, she wrote. Thank you for the wonderful evening. During our time at Pony Joe's, I did realize that what you said about the Grand Galloping Gala could also be said about many state affairs. If it is reasonable for you to escape, I am offering you a way to get away from unnecessary tedium. With this letter, I hereby extend you a standing invitation to Pony Joe's for a time of discussion and donuts. Whenever I receive a letter from you accepting this invitation, I will drop everything and teleport to Pony Joe's, barring an emergency. Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. //-------------------------------------------------------// First Date //-------------------------------------------------------// First Date Not much sooner than Twilight had sent out the letter did she get a reply. My dear Twilight, as it currently stands, all the doughnuts I've just eaten have made me thirsty. Will you meet me at Pony Joe's for warm drinks? Yours, Celestia. It was a good thing she had set up a corresponding array to the one at Pony Joe's before actually having Spike send the letter. She stepped onto the pad as her horn started glowing, and when Spike looked up, she wasn't there. The minute she appeared in Pony Joe's, she felt her Princess' eyes on her, watching her movements. Her heart fluttered; this was too good to be true, but here she was. She approached her teacher and sat down near her. "You know," Celestia said, smiling softly. "This is the first time in 512 years that anypony has even asked to court me." Twilight looked up at her mentor, something stronger than fondness, with trust mixed in evident on her face. A blush appeared on both ponies' faces as Celestia bent her head to kiss her student's head. "Thank you, Twilight," said Celestia. "For not seeing me as an unapproachable Sun-Goddess." Twilight, feeling that actions better spoke her feelings than words, ducked her head and neck into Celestia's warm embrace, and looked up, hope and optimism on her face. Celestia's face neared hers as the regal alicorn brushed a hoof down to lift her chin, an indescribably warm look on the alicorn's face... Then, Pony Joe interrupted them. "Anything I can get for you tonight," the extremely brave stallion asked, somehow managing to keep a frightened smile on his face. Celestia narrowed her eyes. Twilight almost glared at the unicorn. Joe's already frightened grin quivered. "That will be one medium sized coffee with two prance vanilla creamers and two sweeteners. Twilight, what would you like?" "I'd like a large Twilight Special. You remember how I like it?" "Yes, I do, Miss Sparkle. I'll be right back with it," said Pony Joe. Never did a stallion look so relieved to dash away. Twilight looked up at Celestia, smiling. "You know, Princess, I don't believe you've ever tried any of my Twilight Special. Think maybe you'd like some?" "I could say the same about my coffee," the Princess replied. "Also, when we're out like this, and no particularly courtly pony's around, I'd like to ask you to call me Tia." "Yes," replied Twilight, pausing to catch breath and courage, leaning inward to get as close as she could to her mentor. "Tia." That dear face started down towards hers again. Soon it would be that the gap was closed. Soon-- Pony Joe would interrupt them. Celestia and Twilight outright glared at the pony, and Joe darted back to the neutral area behind the counter. They turned their attentions back to the other. Celestia pushed her coffee towards Twilight, a glimmer in her eyes. "Well?" Twilight pushed her Special towards Celestia. "I will, if you will!" Both ponies lowered their heads-- this time to each other's drinks. "This is nice, Twilight," said Princess Celestia. "What goes into it?" "A little bit of a lot of things," replied Twilight. "But mostly hot chocolate. Your coffee wasn't so bad, either." They swapped drinks, and began sipping on them. All the while, they communicated in an unspoken language that only the two of them could understand. They were growing in intimacy. "They're about half way gone," said Twilight. "Want to mix them together?" "I'm not sure, Twilight," the Princess replied. "Who knows what it might taste like?" "Aw, it'll taste good," said Twilight. "Hey, Pony Joe," she called to the wincing stallion. "Don't you have a drink that mixes coffee and hot chocolate?" "Actually, I do," replied Pony Joe. "It's rather popular. Would you like to try some?" The two errant sweethearts were back to focusing on each other. Aside from an errant sideways twitch of Twilight Sparkle's head, Pony Joe was never answered. "Okay," said Celestia, "Why not? Let's try it." They mixed their drinks together, and stuck straws in both ends of the up. They both sucked together, and soon found that it had been emptied. "This was really nice, Tia," said Twilight, sighing, and leaning up against the larger alicorn. "Yes it was," answered Celestia, ever so tenderly. Their heads drew nearer. Nopony would stop them-- Pony Joe had went into the kitchens. Their lips met. Twilight tasted the sun's fire that night, and Celestia knew of  her student's love. Celestia's strong lips embraced Twilight, and Twilight put her all into kissing her teacher. They had sold themselves out to the other, and nopony would ever be so close to the other as they were, as long as life was shared. After they payed and started to leave, Twilight opened her mouth to sigh, and finished it with a yawn. For all that she had just had coffee and shared that kiss with the love of her still relatively young life, it had been a really long day, and her body was starting to tire. "I'm sorry," said Twilight. "It's been a really long day. The best night ever has really tired me out getting to here," she finished, looking up to Celestia, eyes glowing. "That's perfectly all right, Twilight, I know what you're talking about," responded Celestia with love gleaming in her eyes. "How would you like to spend the night at the castle, my dear?" "Thank you, Tia, not just for the offer, but for such a wonderful night," said Twilight, as they walked together. //-------------------------------------------------------// Public Approval //-------------------------------------------------------// Public Approval Twilight awoke in her old room in the castle. Yesterday had been a long day, and an exciting one. She had carefully planned out her topics for talking to the Princess at the Gala, which, due to all the incoming Ponies, had been moved to .. to some other time. After having been thoroughly put off by all the other ponies, she and her six friends had eventually escaped to Pony Joe's, and, unnoticed by anypony, Princess Celestia had slipped away as well. That was great, but Twilight wanted to converse about specific things, very specific things, and eventually, she had run out of topics! Her beloved friends and Princess had carried most of the conversation after that, but she couldn't conceal her nerves that something could go wrong, especially with her favorite pony in the universe there! And then, they had discovered it. Her crush, which being more than a crush, was more like complete adoration and desire to please. While not everypony may have discovered who she was crushing on, she had had a very revealing conversation with everypony, especially her Princess. This conversation had given her the courage to write a letter to the Princess, giving her a standing invitation to Pony Joe's, whenever she was bored and in the middle of something unnecessary. Then it happened. The Princess had immediately written back, and what had followed was nothing short of magical. Okay, it was also a tidbit frustrating; Pony Joe shouldn't have kept interrupting them. However, it was wonderful, and that kiss... Well, let's just say that Twilight now understood why some ponies referred to Celestia as the Princess of the Unconquered Sun. Now, she awoke in the castle at Canterlot, and she was ready for breakfast. As she retraced the familiar paths, she wondered with a bubbling sense of anticipation just what this new day would hold. She entered the dining hall, finding an empty place next to Celestia and across from Luna. To her surprise, she saw two other familiar faces also sitting near. "Shining Armour! Princess Cadance! It's nice to see you again!" It was a fair statement to say that she was delighted to see her brother and former foalsitter. Celestia smiled. To think that Twilight might not have known what was going on between Cadance and Shining had it not been for her efforts. This reminded Celestia. "Cadance, Shining, don't you have news to share?" "Well," the happy older brother said. "I got promoted to Captain of the Guard!" "And," the pink alicorn across the table said, suggestively. "Oh!" Shining Armour said, that bright light that only Sparkles in love seemed to possess glowing from his eyes. "Well, you see, I have been seeing this beautiful lady sitting across from me recently, and she has agreed to become my wife!" Twilight squeed, grinning brightly. "How on Earth did he convince you to marry him? Celestia pretended she didn't notice Twilight glancing in her direction, though there was an almost-telltale blush on both their faces. "He's just so noble, loving, and protective," said Cadance. "Like I imagine more Sparkles than him would be." She gave Twilight a significant, joyous look, and Celestia nodded, smiling down on her smaller marefriend. "Just one moment," the dark mare across the table from Twilight challenged. "There is one who sits at this table, working for the affections of royalty without permission." Shining and Cadance looked first at Luna, then at Twilight. "Little sis?" Twilight turned her head at her brother's address. "Are you dating royalty too?" Twilight nodded, and then blushingly turned to Luna, though her eyes darted to Celestia long enough for Shining to notice. He gasped, but was discrete about his action. "You're not seeing Princess Celestia, are you?" "She has not received our permission to court our royal sister, Captain," replied Luna, before turning her attention to Twilight. "Do you seek our permission to court our royal sister, Twilight Sparkle?" Twilight sat tall, a resolute look on her face. "Yes. Not only am I willing to do my best, even though I know it'll probably never be enough, I'm willing to try my whole life long." By now, everypony was looking at Luna, Twilight and Celestia. "Very good," said Luna. "I give you my permission." "Twilight," addressed Celestia, one of those warm, deep, sensual looks on her face. "Do you trust me?" "Forever," the purple unicorn responded. The Princess started hovering, her majestic wings fluttering as her magic levitated this precious young mare closer to her position. The desire on her face was mirrored by Twilight. Twilight knew what was about to happen, even as she threw her fore hooves about Celestia's neck. Their lips met, though this time, Celestia's lips were slightly parted, and her tongue lightly brushed the younger unicorn's mouth. Twilight's lips parted in response, and the kiss was deepened, with their tongues moving in harmony. After they broke the kiss, Celestia lowered herself and her former pupil to their seats amid thunderous applause. Luna looked rueful, Shining Armour looked embarrassed and delighted, and Cadance was one of the loudest cheerers there. Celestia herself looked rather pink faced, and Twilight was also blushing. The final straw came when Shining Armour turned to her and hugged her tightly, saying, "Way to go, little sis!" Celestia stood and addressed the crowd. "It's been a lovely morning, but I'm afraid I really must be going," she said, giving Twilight a look. "I just realized that I have an appointment I cannot miss. Have a good day!" "Actually, I need to be going, too," Twilight told her brother and the princesses. "Duty calls, and all that!" //-------------------------------------------------------// Unity Part One //-------------------------------------------------------// Unity Part One "You don't mind that I outed us, did you," Celestia asked her pupil as they exited the room. "Not at all," said Twilight, trustingly. "Good," said Celestia as they walked through the castle halls. "We're not going to Pony Joe's, are we," Twilight asked her mentor as they went deeper into the castle. "No," Celestia told her. "I want to show you a special place." "Once, long ago," Celestia began. "My little ponies took more care about the physical aspect of harmony. I remember the times when they would ask me not just to bless their unions, but also their potential for producing offspring. As Sun Princess, they attributed me the power of growth and life. These ponies of the distant past revered me as a deity of fertility and passion. I won't say that they were all wrong," she said, pointing to a set of doors that were smaller, but not less well designed. "Would you like to see my power?" Twilight saw the passion burning in her mentor's eyes, and matched it as best as she could. So intense! It was almost impossible not to guess why she had brought Twilight here. Maybe she was wrong, but the intense desire in Celestia's eyes said otherwise. Perhaps their relationship was moving too quickly into the romantic stage, but Twilight did not really care. She trusted her Princess, and would give up almost everything for the sake of her. If any two ponies were more faithful, she'd turn her telescope to a chocolate bar and eat it! The long and short of it was, they were already extremely close, and so Twilight would respond to the question in Celestia's eyes with a firm, resounding, emotional yes. The door opened, and the two ponies walked in and sat down. ""Before Luna was lost to me, It was easier to rest from my work. I didn't get as much time to myself after Equestria became a monarchy, though I did have some time. It isn't very easy to remember what certain things were like, of course, but some of it," she paused, looking down at her young love with a look of powerful concern. "The passion of these breaks was easily remembered by me. And there's the problem." "But, Princess Celestia, everypony goes through..." Twilight paused and looked at her, realization dawning. "Heat! Heat comes from the Sun... and it hits you, more strongly than normal. Right?" "Yes," Celestia said, looking at Twilight, that strong love and concern radiating from her entire being. "I am fortunate that I remember what it was like. Ruling over this whole country without Luna was more than just heart-wrenching, Twilight." "It was time consuming, and I couldn't always do things or get away, especially around the time when my heat was supposed to take place." Twilight understood. With a unicorn, or as a unicorn, .you could delay heats as long as you caught them in time, even despite the downside. Whenever you allowed yourself to go through the heat, you really went through it. For however long you had avoided  it, the intensity and the time built up. Princess Celestia had gone without having it for a whole thousand years? It was entirely unfathomable! "It's not as bad as you think, Twilight," Celestia said, reassuringly, but still with a great concern. "I found a time dilution spell in the Starswirl the Bearded wing that allowed me to go through it every ten years. With the help of a certain magical pool you may have heard of as a legend, this time is narrowed to five years. My five years is almost up, Twilight, and I don't want to put you through the danger of sharing my heat without both you knowing the danger and agreeing to it." If it hadn't been for the love Twilight'd felt in the kiss at breakfast, she would have been scared out of her mind. As it was, she was determined. Every heat that a unicorn went through, as well as, presumably, alicorns, was an intensely magical thing. To have pent up magical energy for three years' heat seasons was enough to hospitalize some unicorn couples, let alone what could happen with five years of pent up Alicorn energy. All of this, without even taking it into account that it was Twilight's beloved Solar Alicorn. No matter that Twilight gave such a huge nervous gulp when she thought of all this, she was also squaring her shoulders. She was determined-- not only to survive the heat-- but to go through it, with the love of her life. "Twilight?" Celestia's soft voice interrupted Twilight's mental meanderings. "Yes?" the unicorn responded, with the same love and care that Celestia showed for her mirrored on her face. The second that Celestia opened her mouth to respond, Twilight kissed her, not breaking eye contact. Through the look on Twilight's face, Celestia understood that Twilight would never leave her, not if it could be helped. Their tongues moved together, and Celestia embraced Twilight in her great wings. "I don't care what it means," Twilight said after they broke the kiss. "I know you'd never willingly hurt me, and we can find a way around or through the magic backlash. I already have a plan. I'm staying with you." "What's the plan," Celestia asked, smiling at her love's ability to come up with ideas. Maybe it'd even be better than all that she could currently conceive. "Time delayed spells," Twilight said, smiling at her teacher. "If we use up the heat-surge of magic as it comes, we can prevent either of us from getting hurt!" "There's a problem, with that, my beloved student," Celestia said. "There are few spells with the magical force that can stand hoof to hoof with the natural flow of heat-magic, and even fewer that will not leave you hurt." Twilight smiled softly, and yet with a certain boldness at the same time. "That just means we have to work harder to find or make the right spell," she said, angling her head up to kiss Celestia just under her chin as she laid beside her. "I believe that if we work on this together, we can do pretty much anything!" "My Twilight," Celestia asked, violet eyes having grown soft with desire, trailing her tongue down Twilight's face, equally as soft as the kiss the other had pressed. "I appreciate this, and you, so very much..." "M-mh," Twilight said, blushing at the intimate contact. She found no adequate verbal response, so she kissed her Princess, pushing her tongue past those wonderful lips, caressing the inside of her mouth in a sweet dance. Celestia interrupted, separating their mouths to fasten them around Twilight's ear, and sliding an upper leg about her to pull her close. Twilight gasped as Celestia's tongue descended from her ear to circle around her horn, and her mouth enclosed to suck. Twilight's horn began to glow and spark, and she started to channel the powerful magic coursing through her to caress Tia's large, stiff white wings with magical aid. Twilight moaned at the intimacy of her lover's intense touch, responding by arching her back into the embrace, her tail flicking aside to reveal her sodden young love canal. "Please," Twilight begged her. "Lay me down!" Her desire was evident. Celestia lowered her most faithful student to the floor, loosing her lips from Twilight's horn to examine her love's longing body.. She licked her hooves before pressing them to Twilight's lower legs. The unicorn responded in like manner, magically, but they still stayed far away from the dampening cave of their respective partner. "Oh, my Celestia! Please, more," yelled and gasped Twilight as her own hooves held tightly to the large alicorn's frame. The Princess rumbled fiercely, expressing the intensity of her desire. She lowered her head to Twilight's midriff, and licked at the smaller mare's nipples, as Twilight's magic caressed her own. She paused at Twilight's edge, breaking off to ask, "Do you want me to go through with this?" "Ooh, yes, Tia!" Twilight gasped, as the Princess traced down one of her lower legs and her wetness was very evident. "Please!" "I love you, my Twilight," she said, passionately pressing her lips to her student's need. She laved her tongue over it, before starting to suck at her protege's clit. Twilight loudly moaned her approval as Celestia licked deep within her. It did not take too long for her to climax, hot, sticky whiteness spilling from her depths onto her mentor's face. All the while, her magic thoroughly searched her mentor, probing into every sensitive zone, searching for something. Celestia's moans grew as her student's magic plunged into her depths, stimulating her most sensitive nerve bundle, filling her marehood. A new sensation! Twilight had risen onto her back hooves, propping against her head, licking her horn! Golden sparks flew from it, so many that the room was bathed in amber tinted light. Pleasure shot through Celestia's frame as Twilight licked and sucked at her horn and rutted Celestia fiercely with her magic. The room glowed so brightly that Twilight had to shut her eyes, but Twilight continued to lick. She would not cease until her mentor had shared in her orgasmic bliss. "Ohhh, Twilight," Celestia screamed as she came, her faithful marefriend collapsing into her embrace. There was a long pause as they transitioned into post orgasmic bliss, Twilight withdrawing her magic from Celestia's private regions. Celestia licked her lips, and rested her head on Twilight's stomach. "Oh, wow, Tia," said Twilight, snuggling deep into her mentor's embrace, closing her eyes. "You tired me out but good." "I could say the same, my faithful Twilight," Celestia said, telekinetically pulling a large pillow under her tired lover. "Let's rest awhile." //-------------------------------------------------------// Unity Part Two //-------------------------------------------------------// Unity Part Two For a long while, Twilight and Celestia lay there, basking in each other's glow. Celestia's lips possessively caressed those of the much younger mare, and the heat of the room came upon them. "I feel so warm, Princess," said Twilight, leaning into her much larger lover. "I hope you know, that, no matter where this relationship takes us, I'll always love you." Her Princess leaned into her, saying, "Twilight, while I do have high hopes of where our recent actions will take us, no matter what becomes of them, my love will always be true." Twilight made an embarrassed, but also amused face, nervously clenching her jaw. "At least the sweetness isn't tangible or breathable," she said, looking up at the princess apologetically. "And why is that, my faithful student," Celestia asked her amusedly, eyes gleaming. "Well, we'd have probably choked about halfway through what you said," Twilight responded, nuzzling her mentor's barrel. "So, what do you hope," she asked, softly licking up the other's neck. Celestia brought their lips together in a soft, loving embrace, before responding. "What is the most that you have ever dreamed of?" "Well,"Twilight begins, looking up to the Princess with intensity. "Ever since I watched you raise the sun as a filly, my dream has been to be as close to you as possible. After I became your student, I wanted to stand by your side for as long as I could. My commitment to you has only grown with time, Princess. I-- if it were possible-- I'd marry you in a heart beat, and have your foals in the next.That's my dream, Celestia. To marry you, and to stand by your side for as long as my body lasts," Twilight finished, pressing her lips to Celestia's with extreme fervour. Celestia met and returned Twilight's kiss with an equal expression of intensity that was so strong, the sun itself was nearly put to shame. "My dreams are very similar to yours, Twilight," Celestia said, eyes aglow. "I, too, would marry you at a proper time, Twilight Sparkle, and after that happens, I will take great delight in giving us foals. However, the scope of my dream is longer. I dream of us standing together for all time, for as long as the sun shall burn, and magic flow, Twilight. I would not see you, the mare of my dreams, crumble into the flow of time as so many others have and will. I want you to stand in the pantheon with Luna, Cadance, and myself and our foals." Celestia paused, looking concerned that she'd said too much. "So, I suppose the question now is, are my dreams too big for hope?" "Never, Celestia," said Twilight, adoringly. "I said that it was my dream to stand by you for as long as I could. If my body can last forever, I suppose my devotion will too." They kissed. Inside Twilight's and Celestia's head, the wheels were turning. Now how do I propose to her? Then, a magical alarm that Celestia set up aeons ago began to sound.