The city of Maretime Bay had taken a beating, but it was recovering. Houses were being repaired, stores rebuilt, the streets were busy with ponies going about their daily lives. It was hard to find any traces of the fierce fighting that had taken place. The largest shift, the hint of the events, was that there were some felines added to the mix. They were outnumbered by the ponies, but they were there and they were helping.

The feline population was small, but significant. Their king had sent them to learn trade, to make a profit for the city. The felines did their part, eager to help the place that had been their enemy. Some had just moved on their own accord, curious of what the ponies had built.

The city was alive with activity, and the ponies were enjoying every last bit of it, including Sunny Starscout and Izzy Moonbow, bouncing about the city, making sure to visit every building and every pony to check up on them. Neither were qualified to be construction overseers, but that stopped neither from lending a hoof however they could, mostly passing tools and materials between workers.

Izzy watched a pair of earth ponies pulling construction materials around with a hefty wagon, and called to them with a smile, "Need a hoof?"

One looked up to the excitable unicorn. "Well, if you're asking, grab that bucket from over there while we're, mmf, moving so we don't have to loop back for it."

Sunny grabbed it, carrying it by the handle. "Here." She passed it along. "Anything else?"

"Not right now. We'll find you two if we need a hoof."

Izzy and Sunny trotted off, finding another pair of ponies to lend a hoof to.

The day was full of little things to do, done without complaint to help their city recover from the attack. Both were happy to do their part, and the day was filled with laughter and chatter, along with the occasional song. The day ended in a bright sunset, the ponies watching together at the top of one of Maretime Bay's highest buildings.

Misty swooped in on her hovering disc, her personal spell. "There you are." She touched down next to Izzy and Sunny. "I was looking everywhere for you." She gave a little laugh, and Sunny trotted over to wrap her in a hug. Misty leaned against her with a happy little sound.

Sunny kissed the side of Misty's neck, just to bounce back. "What were you looking for me for?"

Misty cleared her throat, a tiny whine escaping her. "Um, I wanted to talk to you."

"What about? Something wrong?" She looked Misty up and down, checking for injuries, but finding none immediately.

Misty shook her head quickly. "Not wrong." She looked away shyly, unsure how to put what she wanted to into words. "I, um, I want get closer to a friend of mine, but I'm not sure how to tell her. She's really nice, but I don't know what to say to her." She turned back to face Sunny. "Can you help me?"

"Of course I'll help." She looked away to watch the sunset. "What are friends for?" She glanced away briefly. "Is it somepony I know?" Misty nodded, but remained quiet, making Sunny tilt her head. "Who is she?"

Misty blushed and looked away. "It's, uh, it's Amber." Her cheeks grew hot at the admission.

"Really! That's wonderful!" Sunny hugged her tighter. "I don't know Amber that well, but she seems nice. You should ask her on a date and see how she feels about you, too." She leaned back for some clopping of her hooves. "You two work at the library, right? Running into her will be really easy then."

Izzy laughed and bounced over. "Ooh! Amber? How great. I'm so excited for you!"

Sunny's eyes sparkled and she giggled, a sound that was contagious.

Misty's laughter was far more strained. "You two are laughing with me, right?"

Izzy wrapped a leg around Misty's middle, hugging her tight. "We're totally with you. You and Amber would make a cute couple!" She squealed, "Can we come to the wedding?"

Misty's eyes widened. "Wedding?! I'm still thinking about telling her I like her at all. Don't be so fast, Izzy!"

Izzy laughed at that, and Misty couldn't help but laugh along. "Fine, fine, but you gotta tell me how it goes. Deal?"

"It's a deal." Misty's ears went flat. "But are you sure she's going to be happy, if I tell her? What if she doesn't, and I just make everything awkward? I don't want to stop being magic buddies, even if she does say no."

"If you two are good friends, it's not going to be weird if you ask. But it's okay to be nervous. You don't want to mess up what you've got, but maybe you can have more if you try." Sunny put a hoof to either shoulder. "You're already willing to take a no, which is good. It's her choice. If you accept her answer and keep on being a good friend, then you have nothing to be worried about."

Misty bowed her head. "That's a relief." Her breath escaped in a huff. "I've never been in love before. At least, I don't think I have." She rubbed behind her head. "A lot of things are kinda blurry before, um, you know, her." She frowned, thinking back on Opaline. "She kept a lot about my past from me, so, uh, I'm not really sure. I only remember bits and pieces."

Izzy wrapped her in a tighter hug. "It's okay, Mist. You're with friends now." She nuzzled in against her neck. "You can talk to us, okay? Any time."

Sunny nodded, joining their hug. The three made little sounds of content friendship before they separated. "I say you ask her tomorrow. Delaying will just be an excuse to get more nervous about it."

Misty bit her lip. "I suppose." She sighed. "I'll do it."

"Great!" Izzy cheered. "I'll be in the audience cheering for you. Go, Misty! Go, Amber! Go! Woo!"

Sunny rolled her eyes at the exuberant cheer. "We'll both be rooting, for either of you. To change the topic a little." She made a swirling motion with a hoof. "Can you show us some magic besides the floating disc? Though that one is nice."

Misty brightened. "Sure!" She concentrated and rose into the air, hovering beside her friends. Her horn began to shine with blue light, and she cast a bolt into the sky. The bolt exploded like fireworks, and Misty laughed happily, casting off a multitude of bolts.

The ponies who were out looked up at the sounds, and smiles spread through the city. Phones captured it and spread the word, and soon many more were watching it with wonder, the city glowing brighter with each burst of light from the unicorns horn.

Misty sank, gasping for air. "How was that?"

Izzy jumped, doing a flip in place. "That was amazing! But I need to know. I've been really patient, but when do I get to learn magic too?" She tapped at her horn. "I've got one of these too!"

"I know you do." Misty smiled warmly at the excitable Izzy, rising again to hover. "We can work on that tomorrow, okay?"

Izzy nodded quickly. "Okay! Oh! That means I get to visit, and you get to talk to Amber and maybe I'll get to see that happen. That would be so great! So great!" She cheered, "Go, Misty! Go, Amber! Go, Misty! Go, Izzy! Woo!"

Sunny laughed at the unicorn's antics, giving Izzy's back a gentle pat. "You're getting a little too excited, though that is you. Misty and Amber give magic lessons, you could have signed up whenever you wanted."

Izzy went still, processing that a moment. "Oh yeah."

They laughed together, a happy sound that echoed through the city, and the sun set beyond the horizon.

***

"I really enjoyed your fireworks last night," Amber admitted to Misty with a giggle, watching ponies entering and leaving the library with a smile on her muzzle. "I wasn't expecting it, and you must have been feeling it, with the display you made. I'm still impressed!" She made an explosive motion with her hooves. "Pow!"

Misty ducked her head. "I'm glad." She looked up to Amber's face, admiring her features, then looked away again. "Say, um. Can I ask you something?"

Amber nodded quickly. "Go ahead."

Misty rubbed at her neck nervously. "Do you want to meet me for dinner tonight? I can cook." She brightened. "It'll be a date."

"Su—" Amber stopped right there, blinking. "Do you mean a date date, or just something we schedule so it's that kind of date?"

Misty swallowed hard. "A romantic one."

"Romantic?" Amber blinked at the unicorn again, this time with some surprise. "I, um, I've never considered dating anypony." She looked around nervously a moment. "I am not at all prepared for this." She left without saying goodbye, her eyes set on the stacks as she wandered up and down the aisles, muttering to herself.

Misty sighed and trotted up the stairs, but not before taking a look over her shoulder to see where Amber had gone to.

Amber paused near a rack, reaching out to pull out a book on romance, opening it up and reading through a few passages before slamming it shut and trotting with it floating beside her. She returned to where she had started, but Misty wasn't there. "Where did she go? I'm ready, I think." She floated the book around to in front of her. "I studied, I'm good at studying."

The other librarian on duty walked over. "What's the book for, Amber? Romance? I thought you were a library girl." He laughed at himself for that. "But good on you for being curious. I think Misty went upstairs, if you were looking for her."

"I was. But, um." She looked at him with a nervous smile. "What does 'library girl' mean?"

"Oh! It's when you just, like." He gestured to the books all around them. "Like the library more than anything else."

Amber blinked at that description. "Well, I do like the library quite a bit." She tucked the book under a leg. "But that doesn't mean I can just ignore a pony saying they want to, um, go on a date." She colored, thinking about it. "Have you seen Misty?"

"She went upstairs."

Amber nodded, trotting off. "Thanks." She went up the stairs, heading for a small area of cushions. It was the reading room. Some were lounging around, some with phones, others on laptops, and still more reading physical books. Among them all was Misty, looking like she just needed a place to crash to her haunches.

Amber approached quietly. "Misty!" She winced at the volume of her voice. "Sorry, I'm just, um." She gestured behind her. "I went and read about, you know." She floated the book up to wiggle it. "About how to woo and be wooed. The first step is this." She took up a formal pose and went quiet a moment. "Misty, I accept your invitation and would be delighted. Where did you want to go?"

Misty rubbed her neck, smiling softly at the mare. "You didn't have to research that, you know. I just wanted to hang out and see if you wanted to, um, take things farther than friendship."

Amber rolled a hoof at that. "Exactly. You are starting a courtship, and I never did that before. Fortunately, we have a lot of books, including several on that subject, so I grabbed one and feel far more prepared." She let out a relieved sigh. "So, where did you want to go?"

"I don't have anything planned yet. I could make some dinner at your place?" Misty smiled, tension still visible.

Amber smiled warmly at that. "Yes, that sounds great. How about after my shift, when the library closes? I'll lock up and we can go."

Misty nodded. "That sounds good to me. It gives me a chance to prepare." She looked around. "Do you like fish, fruit, vegetables?"

"All of them. I've got a sweet and savory tooth." She did a little dance in place. A glance at her book revealed her mistake. "Oh! How rude of me. You're trying to make something I'll especially like. Let's go with fish, the local delicacy. I've learned to appreciate it greatly."

Misty perked up. "That sounds perfect. I'll go and, uh, do some research." She bounced off. "I guess we're doing our homework in reverse today."

Amber waved as Misty started off. "See you later."

Author's Note

The question had to be asked eventually, and that eventually was today!

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