“I don't know what that was about,” Twilight lied through her teeth.

“Which part?”

“...All of it?”

He arched his eyebrows. “So we're not about to jump in the–what was it she said… the sack?”

“Pshh, no. No! I mean, unless you wan... want... want to wake up Spike! Yes!” She laughed nervously.

“That's a shame. I thought we had something going here.”

Twilight's eyes bugged out. Her mouth gaped. Several more strands of her mane sprang back. “Y-you did? Oh, my. But I wasn't even… and you didn't show signs of…”

This was bad. Things were getting way out of hoof. She hadn't planned for this. It was too soon. She only had the barest, most cursory of experience with stallions, nevermind a human. She hoped some of her friends had their turn with him first, that Twilight could then use their feedback to gather data and formulate a flawless, risk-free plan to approach him–one that hopefully, for once, wouldn't end in humiliating disaster.

Anonymous knelt before her. “Are you okay? You look a bit wound up.”

“Fine,” she croaked. “Just fine.” She tried to move, to lean back, but her body wouldn’t respond.

“Positive?” Twilight's breath hitched as he cupped her chin in that strangely comfortingly warm hand of his. “You're feeling pretty warm. Sure you're not coming down with something?”

“Unlikely,” she said faintly. She dared not blink. “I'm an alicorn now. We don't get sick easily.”

He leaned in. “My people have a way to check these things. It's traditional, going back generations.”

“What is it?” she whispered.

He tilted up her chin. Twilight's chest heaved, expelling short, sharp, panicky breaths as Anonymous closed in.

Oh, Celestia…

She sat there, rooted to the spot. Her traitorous body refused to move. The outside world grew faint, her awareness solely encompassed on the human before her, and the inevitable trajectory his lips made to her own. Panic began to set in. What was the protocol here? She'd only ever kissed one stallion. Her experience was near nonexistent. Did Anonymous expect a traditional kiss or, heaven forbid, the Prench technique? His teeth were those of an omnivore, sharper than a pony's. What if he accidentally bit off her tongue? Sweet Luna… she hadn't brushed her teeth!

Her mouth slack, lip trembling, Twilight shut them. Anonymous was close now. He loomed large over her. She could detect faint traces of sweet cocoa in his breath. His natural musk, tempered by the earlier rain, tickled her nose. Unable or unwilling to do anything else, Twilight closed her eyes. She tilted her head ever so slightly; her lips puckered imperceptibly.

A slight pressure settled on her forehead. Twilight remained as a statue, not daring to breathe. Slow, torturous seconds ticked by. Her eye parted slightly. There knelt Anonymous, his lips not inches from hers. He touched his forehead to hers, at a bit of an awkward angle to compensate for the position of her horn.

“You're right,” he said and pulled back. “Must have been my imagination.”

Twilight swore she could hear a balloon violently deflating.

"W-what?" She shook her head, the spell now broken. Her paralyzed muscles recovered miraculously.

He shrugged. "You seem fine, all things considered."

"Bu-but I... and you... are we not gonna..."

"Gonna what?"

Twilight bit her lip.

"Twilight." He regarded her curiously. "Did you want a kiss?"

"No!" she surprised herself at the rattling power of her voice. Anonymous too started back a bit. Her ears splayed back. The Royal Canterlot Voice. Like estrus, another alicorn trait that came up at an inopportune time. "I mean to say," she continued more softly. "It's not that I don't want to kiss you but, a-ahh... maybe it's not the best time?"

"Is it because I'm not a pony?"

"H-hey! That's not what I..." She choked on her words. There was an odd lilt to Anonymous' mouth. His lips twitched. The carefully impassive mask on his face cracked. His mouth split into a wide, toothed grin. Twilight watched gobsmacked as he doubled over in wracking fits of laughter.

Heat rushed to her face. She could see it now. He deliberately toyed with her, acting the innocent as she made a foal of herself, burying herself deeper into the hole he'd dug.

Twilight bit her lip. Her eyes prickled. Stupid. How could she have been so stupid? No stallion had ever pursued her before. Why would Anonymous do so, given their brief, less than stellar history?

Still he laughed. It cut like a knife. The knot in her chest grew. It tightened. Her vision blurred. There was a sharp intake of breath and the pressure in her lungs eased somewhat. No, not a breath. A sob. It came from her... and drew Anonymous' attention.

His grin wavered as he took her in, then fell completely. Tears carved hot trails down her face as she blinked. She couldn't properly see him past the welling tears, but his stance shifted, hands twitching at his sides, as though unsure what to do with himself.

Twilight closed her eyes and barreled past him, shuttering herself inside the study room. She collapsed atop another floor cushion, burying her face into it. Her muffled sobs echoed softly within the dark room.

Author's Note

That thing I said I was looking forward to writing? It's actually gonna be the next chapter. I'm cutting this one short. I've pretty much been writing and posting these recent uploads back to back within the same day, and my IRL duties have suffered as a result. Expect a break for the next chapter. It'll also help me polish them as upon looking back, these recent ones read kind of rushed.