“Do you think we’ll make a lot of bits?” Celestia hummed.
With his back against the dressing room’s wall, he kept his arms folded and halfheartedly shrugged. “Yeah, probably…”
She knit her brow as she picked up a tube of lipstick from the vanity before her. “I hope we do. From what I’ve heard, these things can be quite popular.”
“Yeah…” he growled, refusing to look at her.
After all the things he’d been through, both before and after Celestia had started her little career-based odyssey, Anon had thought it would take an act of god to get under his skin, he realized he wasn’t as unflappable as he’d assumed. His eyes wandered over the small chamber while he attempted to distract himself. Neither of them had even been hunting for jobs that afternoon, simply taking the day off to enjoy a carnival that had sprung up outside of Canterlot, yet a spontaneous proposal from one of the caries had spurred her into action at the drop of a hat.
Smacking her lips, she shifted and beamed up at him. “How do I look?”
He turned, hastily looked her over, and gave her a curt nod before averting her gaze. “You look great.”
“You don’t sound terribly convincing,” she huffed. Looking back at her reflection, she inspected her face. “Do you think I should use a bit of blush or eyeliner?”
“I guess?” he countered. “Listen, I don’t really know anything about makeup.”
If the circumstances had been any different, he would have gladly given his heartfelt opinion on how she looked - unfortunately for the both of them, he wasn’t in the mood to tell her how resplendent she looked. Having what should have been a day of fun derailed would have been enough to aggravate him in and of itself, but it was the perfect storm of events that had ultimately pissed him off. As she stood from her stool, he moved to and opened the door leading outside.
Strolling up behind him, she gently placed a hand on his shoulder. “Are you alright? You’ve -”
“I’m fine,” he seethed, shaking her hand free and pressing into the open air.
Without looking back at her, he continued onward and gave her some space. There was a good reason for her concern, although no point in addressing it. If he told her how he felt, there was a very real chance he’d dampen her spirits and subsequently make himself feel worse - that being said, bottling up his frustrations wasn’t going to do him any favors either. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place, having no means of making it through the evening without being upset, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.
She closed the gap between them with a handful of strides and circled around to stop him. “Anon, what’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing,” he fumed.
“It doesn’t look like nothing,” she faintly tutted, snagging his arm and preventing him from walking past her.
Moments from repeating himself, he demurred. The brilliant red lipstick she wore accentuated her beauty, as did the gown she’d spontaneously fetched and donned from her room, yet seeing her resplendence only magnified the inner turmoil he was grappling with. He closed his eyes and reminded himself that there was nothing inherently wrong with what she was going to do.
“Please,” she urged, gingerly squeezing his bicep, “just talk to me…”
He slowly exhaled and found the strength to look her in the face. “It’s fine, really. I was just hoping to spend the afternoon with you.”
“But you will be,” she mused. “Excuse me - you could be. Nopony’s going to force you to stand at the booth with me for hours on end, so I see no reason why you couldn’t enjoy the rides and attractions.”
Wheeling around as soon as her grip slackened, he wandered away from her. “If you think I’m gonna leave you by yourself, you don’t know me very well…”
“Anon, I’m a big mare,” she laughed, “I can take care of myself. Nopony would try to do anything foolish in a public setting like this.”
He fought the urge to argue with her and kept moving. She could handle herself, only a lunatic would even think about crossing any serious boundaries with her, and the circus employees had been elated to hear she was willing to lend them a hand, yet he took little comfort from her safety. Looking ahead and seeing her would-be station, an innocuous booth situated near several games of chance, he openly sneered.
Whoever that asshole was who’d offered to let Celestia take up work at the carnival deserved a swift kick in the ass and a damn stern talking to. While she may have renounced her status as a Princess and all the luxuries that came with her old position, she still had her self-respect and reputation to consider. Anon halted and peered up at the sign hanging above her appointed stall.
Kissing booth - she’d volunteered to staff a fucking kissing booth. The notion of ponies lining up and paying for her affection, even a fleeting taste of it, disgusted him. He knew it was selfish to be upset over something so inconsequential, that a few bits for a peck on the cheek would mean nothing in the grand scheme of things, but he couldn’t hide his disdain.
Walking up next to him, Celestia rubbed his upper back. “You really think I’ll get plenty of business?”
“I’d be shocked if you don’t,” he tersely replied.
She looked past the wooden surface of the booth and to a stool resting behind it. “There’s only one seat. I’m sure -”
“I’ll stand,” he spat.
Rubbing his temples, he clamped his eyes shut. This was unlike him, his anger was getting the better of him, and Celestia could tell that something was amiss. While she may not have known exactly what was wrong, the concern in her voice, paired with the way she’d been slipping glances at him, made it abundantly clear that she could sense his unease.
Sidestepping the issue and hoping to delay the inevitable, he looked over at a number of food vendors nearby. “You wanna get something to drink or snack on?”
“Would you get me a lemonade and some cotton candy?” she asked, circling and seating at the stall.
“Why don’t you come with me?” he countered. “You’re going to be sitting for quite a while, so you may as well stretch your legs and -”
“Oh my gosh!” somepony shouted. “Celestia, you’re going to be at the kissing booth?”
Turning his baleful gaze, Anon stared daggers at the excited young stallion who’d interrupted him. “We were about to get something -”
Barging past him and setting him off balance, a second stallion ran over and clapped a fistful of bits on the booth’s countertop. “How much?”
Celestia rocked back, apparently unprepared by being approached so quickly. “Well, I’m -”
“Hey, everypony, Princess Celestia’s giving out smooches!” a third, equally rabid bystander bellowed.
Like moths to a flame, everypony in earshot turned their attention to the commotion and began drifting closer. Some came purely out of curiosity, likely coming to see what was going on, while others were exponentially more fervent. A number of stallions and mares started forming an unorganized queue, though the dozen or so who were closest to the dumbfounded former Princess were heatedly arguing over who’d arrived first.
Waving his arms over his head, Anon muscled his way between the gathering mob and Celestia. “Everypony calm down and -”
“No cutting in line!” a stallion, the very same stallion who’d asked Celestia how much she was charting, barked.
“I’m not cutting in line, prick,” Anon snarled as he balled his fists. “Somepony has to keep order, and that somepony is me.”
Shoving him aside, the stallion stepped directly before the booth. “Can I get a kiss on the lips? Please tell me I can get a kiss on the lips.”
Being unceremoniously pushed could have - would have tried Anon’s patience under the best of circumstances, but simply hearing the would-be customer ask if he could get a kiss on the lips set him off. Turning and grabbing the stallion by the collar, he jacked the pony from the ground. Everypony on the planet had a limit, a threshold that, once breached, would drive them to act without thinking, and Anon had just crossed his.
“Listen here, asshole,” he raged, leering into the stallion’s eyes. “You’re not going to -”
“Screw you!” the pony bellowed while shaking himself free. “Who the hay do you think you are?”
Anon was given no time to reply as the pony threw him back. As he caught himself on the stall’s corner, his fury roared into an inferno. He’d had no plans on getting into a fight on this day or any other, but he wasn’t above knocking some sense into the rude, unworthy pony who thought he could bribe a kiss from Celestia.
Cocking one arm back, he tensed and went to spring. “I’m Anon, you son of a -”
“Enough!” Celestia boomed using the full might of her Royal Canterlot Voice.
Everypony went motionless, and a deathly silence fell over the carnival. Coming back to his senses, Anon turned his attention to Celestia. He’d seen many shades of her throughout the years, from joyful and excited to downtrodden or annoyed, yet the expression she bore was unlike any he’d witnessed before. It was clear that she was immeasurably displeased with the heated exchange and tumultuous turn of events, and he was well-aware that he was to blame.
“Celestia,” he breathed, his voice as faint as a whisper, “I’m -”
“What has gotten into you?” she demanded. “You were about to strike that pony!”
Glancing down at his fist, he gulped. “I…”
His throat constricted as the full weight of what he’d nearly done dawned on him. He’d come exceedingly close to punching somepony over something stupid - worse still, he’d tarnished his image in Celestia’s eyes. As he lowered his hands and stepped away from the stallion, his thoughts ran rampant.
Celestia didn’t budge while she continued looming over him. “Anon…”
Acting reflexively, drawn by her softened tone, he peered up at her. Though she appeared far from happy, her ire had been overtaken by ~ what? Pity? Concern? Disappointment? He held her gaze and understood what he needed to do. She wouldn’t have pressed him on it, respecting him enough not to demand anything from him, but she deserved an explanation for his inexcusable behavior.
Turning to squarely face her, he felt smaller and more insignificant than he ever had in his life. “Celestia,” he sighed, unable to keep his voice from wavering, “please don’t do this…”
She rocked back slightly, though her eyes never wavered from his face. “Don’t do what? Have…have I done something wrong?”
“Yes,” he instinctually answered, momentarily letting his emotions seize control. “No - no, you haven’t done anything wrong. I’m just an idiot.”
Studying him for a moment, she cautiously reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Anon, you’re not an idiot. If something’s the matter, you have to tell me. I may be an alicorn, but I’m not a mind-reader.”
Her attempt to bring a touch of levity to the situation, paired with the barest trace of an anxious smile on her muzzle, broke him. He’d been telling himself for months that he should talk to her, to confess how he truly felt for her, yet he’d put it off again and again, over and over until the weight that bore down on him was crushing. Struggling to find something - anything to say, she ran her hand down his arm.
The maelstrom of his emotions waxed in strength and overtook him, bursting the dam he’d struggled to hold. “Celestia, I like you - hell, I think I might actually love you.”
There was no right or wrong place to confess one’s feelings, particularly when it came to matters of the heart, but he regretted that his admission had to be made in front of a crowd in the middle of a traveling circus. Dozens upon dozens of eyes were upon him, there was a subtle breeze, and the only noise to be heard was that of rides in the distance. He immediately regretted his brash decision, mortified both at himself and for embarrassing the most amazing mare he’d ever met, and he wanted to die - that was until she delicately lifted and held his hand.
He looked into her eyes, having no way of knowing what she was thinking, and nervously licked his lips. “I…I t…told you I’m an idiot…”
Her gaze lingered on him for what felt like an eternity, piercing him through and stripping him layer by layer, until she looked up and to the gathered throng. “I regret to inform you all that I will not be tending the kissing booth.”
Most of the ponies assembled remained quiet, a few muttered amongst themselves, and a small number openly complained, but they all gradually dispersed. Anon couldn’t have moved if he tried, rocked to his core. Had she done this out of mercy? Was she going to dismiss him and send him back to Sapphire Shoals without her? Would they - could they be friends after this?
Wracked with guilt, he gently squeezed her hand. “Celestia, I’m so, so sorry. I -”
The words died in his throat when she moved. Without the slightest bit of haste, keeping his hand clasped in her own, she leaned forward, closed her eyes, and locked lips with him. The sensation of her pillowy lips and the heat of her breath washing over his face was like a kiss from an angel, erasing any doubt or fear that lingered within him. Utterly petrified and unable to reciprocate, he stared blankly up at her when she eventually withdrew.
“Why didn’t you tell me sooner?” she faintly inquired with a rosiness in her cheeks.
“I…I w…wanted to,” he sputtered, “but…”
She gave him a moment to continue before smiling. “You were scared?”
The allegation shook him and forced him to look away. “I…yeah…”
Lacing fingers with him, she pulled his hand upward and to her bosom. “You’re braver than I am…”
His eyes flew back to her seraphic countenance as her words sank in. “A…are you…”
“I like you too,” she murmured. Brushing a lock of ethereal mane away from her face, she tensely chuckled. “I w…would say I might love you, but I d…don’t want to jinx…”
She timidly rapped the knuckles of her free hand against the stall’s counter and broke the booth nearly in half. Had he been anypony else, somepony who wasn’t as familiar with her as he was, he would have been dismayed by the display of violent power, but he wasn’t anypony else. There was only one reason why she’d spontaneously break anything, and it was because her nerves were on edge.
Tightening his grip on her hand, he beamed. “I g…guess we both s…screwed up then ~ eh?”
“Yeah,” she sighed as her smile grew wider and reached her eyes. “S…so - Ahem - w…what now?”
They were in uncharted waters, having taken a plunge into something neither of them had expected at an inopportune time, but that wasn’t going to stop him - not now. “Wanna get that cotton candy and lemonade?”
She nodded and reluctantly released his hand. “That…that would be nice…”
Waiting as she circled the booth and came to stand at his side, he impulsively laced fingers with her and shifted toward the food carts and dining stalls. “It’ll be my treat - you know, since I technically got a kiss.”
Her giggle warmed the very depths of his heart and filled him with hope for a brighter future. “Just one more thing,” she mumbled. “Does that make this a date?”
Craned his head, locked eyes with her, and tried to keep his knees from buckling. “One step at a time, Cele. One step at a time…”