//------------------------------//
// The First Kiss 
// Story: Twilight and Blue Sword 
// by Rakoon1 
//------------------------------//

Twilight, after strolling by the Crystal Empire, returned to the castle where there she met Rarity and Pinkie Pie. 

"Oh, Twilight, darling, are you returning from you stroll already?" Rarity asked. 

"Yes" Twilight answered. "I also went to see my brother. Now, I'm going to my room."

"Hey, Twilight, before you go, can we talk to you?" Rarity asked. 

"As long as you two don’t speak about Blue Sword" Twilight replied. 

"We promise" Rarity said.

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye” Pinkie said, doing the gestures of her Pinkie promisse.

She then took a glance at Rarity who rolled her eyes and made the gestures, saying:

“I Pinkie promisse.”

"Well, what do you want to talk about with me?" Twilight asked. 

"Cadance was talking to us about a mysterious place near here, called Oasis of the Heart" Rarity said. 

"Oasis of the Heart?" Twilight repeated. "I never heard about that place." 

"That’s because it is in a book that King Sombra banned and hid and whose lining is as soft as a fluffy cloud" Pinkie said, saying the last words in a dreamy tone. 

"Apparently, it is a fantastic place created by the fall of a shooting star and which is able to keep away the cold and snow of the Arctic" Rarity said. 

"Interesting" Twilight said, thoughtfully. "It really is something unusual. Do you know where it is?"

"A few miles to northeast" Rarity said. "Cadance says the book says that this oasis is marvelous in the moonlight."

"Well then I know where we're going tonight" Twilight said. 

"Oh, I’m sorry, Twilight, but I will not be able to go" Rarity said. 

"But why?" 

"Because I want to have my beauty sleep." 

"Rarity, it’s just a round trip" Twilight said. "It's only a couple of hours at most." 

"You already know me, darling" said Rarity. "A good night of rest makes wonders to me."

"What about you, Pinkie?" Twilight asked. 

"I'm sorry, Twilight, but I also want to have my beauty sleep" she replied. 

"Wait, you? Having a beauty sleep?"

"Yes, I decided to try after seeing how Rarity’s coat is so soft after it." 

Although surprised by Pinkie Pie’s decision to stay in the castle instead of going on an adventure to a new place and that raised a suspicion about, Twilight said: 

"Well, I'll go alone then. But just because I'm curious about this place."

And then she walked away. Seeing her moving away, Rarity and Pinkie smiled at each other and bumped their hooves. 

Cadance went to Shining’s office. When she got there, she knocked on the door and heard him say: 

"Come in."

The princess came in and found her husband working tirelessly. His desk was covered with papers, parchments, maps, compasses and quills. 

"Oh, my dear, I'm sorry" Shining said, seeing Cadance coming in. "I'm covered in work. Don’t worry, we'll still have dinner together."

"Do not worry about it, there is still a good time for dinner" she said. 

"Sorry, but all this work is killing my sense of time." 

"You don’t have to apologize. I understand perfectly."

She advanced to Shining, standing behind him, and put her forelegs around his neck and gave him a kiss on the cheek, then she asked: 

"Come on, tell me, what is the reason for so much stress?" 

Shining sighed and replied:

"It’s these Changelings sightings. It’s giving me a big headache. They put me in a state of constant alert. It's like they're just watching or waiting for the best moment to attack in full force."

"Have you prepared more searching patrols?" Cadance asked. 

"I'm already dealing with the patrols of tonight" Shining replied. "It’s just missing me to see who will cover the area to the northeast."

That made Cadance give a smile. This was the place where the Oasis of the Heart was, according with the book.

"Why don’t you put Blue to watch that area?" Cadance suggested. "You know how he loves being in the middle of the action. Unless you have already assigned him another job."

"I had thought to put the Blue in the patrols, but he doesn’t know the neighborhood, and I don’t feel comfortable asking him more than he volunteered to do." 

"Shining, I think you’re doing him a favor. You know that Blue and the inside doesn’t quite match."

Shining thought a bit and said: 

"I think you're right. Then I'll put him in the north... "

"No!" Cadance replied suddenly. 

That made Shining look at her and ask: 

"Why not?" 

Cadance then regained her natural look and said, trying to eliminate any shade of nervousness in her voice:

"Because I know you and I know that if you make a change, you end up doing more and so on and you end up rearranging everything again. It’s simpler to assign the empty area to Blue, don’t you think?"

Shining pondered a bit on what Cadance told and finally said: 

"Yes, I think you're right. As always. What was I thinking? 

"That's why I'm here" Cadance said, gently passing her hoof across his face. "I ensure that you make the right decisions." 

They exchanged a kiss and Cadance said, heading for the exit: 

"Well, I'll go to do my duties. Try to not exaggerate in the job again."

"Don’t worry" Shining replied, smiling. "I won’t."

And then Cadance left. She started to walk away, smiling for her part be done. 

At dinner, which Shining arrived in the nick of time, ran smoothly. Twilight wondered by the fact that Blue was not there to have dinner with them. Then she asked, disguising in simple curiosity her true reasons: 

"Where is Blue? He did not come to dinner."

"I asked Blue to patrol tonight" Shining replied. "He is currently preparing to leave." 

When dinner was to end, Rarity stretched slightly, causing a fake yawn, and said:

"Well, I'm going to my room. I want to have my long ten hours of sleep."

She then looked to the corner of her eye to Pinkie and saw she was delight herself with her third dessert. Then she gave her a kick under the table which made her complain: 

"Ow!" 

She then looked at Rarity who made her a warning look she realized. 

"Oh, right..." 

And then she stretched and said, yawning: 

"Yes, I will also sleep. I'm just very tired from all the excitement today. It’s not to subtly escape to an evening stroll to... 

But she didn’t finish because Rarity covered her mouth and said, laughing again: 

"We're going."

And they rose up and went out. 

"That was weird" Shining commented. 

"Pinkie Pie is like that" Twilight said. "Although today she has been a little weirder than usual. And Rarity was also strange. I think they need to rest."

The young alicorn finished the rest of her dessert and then said, rising up: 

"I'm also going." 

"Don’t tell me you'll also go to sleep" Shining said. 

"No, I'll go for a walk" she replied. "There's a place I want to see." 

"Wait, you're going out?" Shining asked. "Now? It’s not time to go strolling through the Empire."

"Shining, you won’t send me to my room, will you?" Twilight asked. "I'm not a filly. I'm a grown mare and I can very well give an evening stroll."

"I know, but..." Shining began. 

"Shining, let Twilight go for a stroll" Cadance said. "She can take care of herself." 

There was a pause and then Shining said: 

"Okay, but make sure you don’t come late." 

"Yes, daddy" Twilight said, half laughing, making Cadance also give a laugh.

Twilight then left, not taking to long to leave the castle. The air in the early evening tasted so well. There was still a bit of sunshine, as darkness dominated the sky and the moon began to rise. 

She started heading for the exit of the Crystal Empire and when she left its borders, she began to head toward northeast, where her friends had told her where the Oasis of the Heart was.

Twilight loved exploring mysterious places. Knowing the secrets of a place was something exciting. This love for exploring unknown places may have been created by the fact that she had grown up reading Daring Doo stories her mother wrote. She was eager to find this place that was created by the fall of a shooting star and that kept the snow and the cold of the arctic outside. 

The snow began to appear under Twilight’s hooves and the wind was getting colder. It was then that her nostrils caught a sweet aroma. It was a tremendously sweet aroma, like a mixture of smells she loved the most: the smell of roses, the scent of her favorite sandwich, the sweet aroma of the apple pie that her grandmother used to make to her and Shining, the smell of freshly cut grass and... the scent of Blue’s mane.

It seemed that this smell was taking control of her brain and took care of her body. Her hooves moved without her even send them to and headed for an area where the snow lay over and the wind was colder.

Blue was patrolling the northeast area of the surroundings of the Crystal Empire as Shining asked him to do, in search of sighted Changelings.

When his best friend asked him to go on patrol, Blue became immensely happy. He hated having to stay for a long time within doors, patrolling and watching always the same room or hallway. Action was what he loved, the adrenaline rushing through his veins, the pleasure of running. It was this factor that didn’t make him aspire the position of Captain of the Royal Guard, because working in a closed office to deal with bureaucracies was not for him.

While walking through the area, he found several tracks that could be Changeling, but due to their unique ability to transmutation, it was extremely difficult to distinguish them, moreover on snowy ground like that.

It was then that his nose caught a strange scent that distracted him from his duties. It was sweet and attractive. He could distinguish each flavor of his favorite foods, also the smell of the natural dew and the salty scent of the sea. It was a perfect combination. This aroma messed with his brain propelling him to want to follow it and find out where it came from. His hooves began to advance. 

Twilight followed the smell that bewitched her without stopping for a second. Then she felt the cold disappearing and their hooves to touch in cool grass. The sweet aroma has ceased its attraction spell and Twilight awoke. She looked around and got no words for what she saw.

If she didn’t know she was alive, she would think she went to the Paradise. Beautiful and ancient trees towered proud, causing a fresh and at the same time warm shade, and their leaves radiated a reddish light, but in a pure shade, contrasting with their green color and flowers whose light was more intense and seemed to be responsible for that alluring aroma. They were fed by channels of pure water that were coursing through the trees smoothly. That could only be the Oasis of the Heart.

Twilight began to explore that utopian place. It was amazing how nature could shape such a wonder. But the best was when she reached the center of the oasis. She arrived at the source of the channels that was a huge lake whose water was even more pure and crystalline that the channels’. In the middle of this lake there was an island where there was a tree.

But this wasn’t any tree. It was the biggest tree of that paradise, besides being the strongest, the oldest and, above all, the most beautiful. None of the trees was comparable to it in terms of beauty. All of it emitted a reddish and splendor light and all of it glowed even more than the Crystal Empire. The leaves emitted a more intense and bright light and the scent of the flowers was so intense that it could be felt in the other side of the lake. Furthermore, some of its flowers already revealed red and round fruits with a delicious appearance.

So much beauty made Twilight start looking at all sides, not knowing where to turn. It was then, while walking backward, she bumped into somepony's back. The two turned and Twilight saw that she just bumped with...

"Blue?" Twilight asked. "What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was on patrol, when I felt this aroma that brought me here" he said. "What about you?"

"Well, I..." Twilight said nervously, blushing slightly. "I came… looking for this place."

"So do you know where we are?"

"Yes, this place is called Oasis of the Heart. My friends talked about it. It has a rather mystical origin... and now we see the reason. This place is beautiful!"

"You're right" Blue said, looking around. "It's really a wonderful… place." 

Twilight remained silent. She didn’t know what else to say. However, there was something odd. She didn’t used to be so shy in Blue’s presence. Her heart was beating even faster that seemed to come out from her chest. A huge heat and a huge desire to embrace him and feel his touch invaded her. However, she could control this desire. 

Blue also felt strange. He didn’t know why, but he was somewhat bothered by Twilight’s presence. It wasn’t a feeling of disgust, but the opposite. He was bothered, but he liked that feeling. Also he didn’t know why, but now Twilight seemed to him more beautiful than he thought before, like a goddess.

They then heard a sound from the lake and the two looked there. Stone platforms appeared floating, making a path to the island of the lake. 

"This is strange" Blue commented. 

"Well, given that we are in a magical oasis in the Arctic, I think stone platforms emerging from the lake bottom is perfectly normal" Twilight replied. 

"Hey, since we have a path to that island, why don’t we go there?" Blue asked. 

"Do you think..." Twilight began. 

Blue then jumped to one of the platforms and then said, extending his hoof: 

"Come on, it'll be fun." 

Twilight couldn’t believe that a moment like that was happening. It was like a dream. She smirked and then asked jokingly: 

"You are aware that I have wings, aren’t you?"

"Yes, but how do you prefer to cross the lake: the easy way or the fun way?" 

With Blue putting things in those terms, Twilight gave him reason. She made a more genuine smile and then gave her hoof to Blue and jumped onto the platform. The two smiled at each other and Twilight felt a blush and even Blue blushed a little. 

The two continued to jump from platform to platform until they reach the end. Blue jumped the last platform to the island. Twilight also jumped, but lost his balance and almost fell into the lake. But then Blue grabbed her and pulled her to him, to prevent her from falling. The two met face to face, staring intently into each other's eyes. She saw Blue approaching more. For a moment, she intended to let him move closer, but then her instinct made her move away. 

"Thank you, Blue" she said, passing by him. 

"You're welcome" he replied, unable to take his eyes off of Twilight.

Twilight then went to the big tree on the island, admiring it. She never saw anything like it. She didn’t know any tree or any other plant that could send a glow like that and that had its own light. She passed her hoof through the trunk, feeling an immense power coming from it, a pure and mighty power. 

"This tree is unique..." Twilight said. "Even more unique than all the trees of this place." 

"It must be for being the oldest" Blue suppose, also passing his hoof through the tree. "I mean, she must have been the first tree of the oasis and it must have generated the others." 

"Yes, you must be right."

They then looked at each other. They couldn’t take their eyes off each other and stop smiling. However, none wanted to take the first step. There were too many inhibitions and setbacks.

A mild earthquake happened that made Twilight and Blue begin to lose balance and then Twilight went against Blue and the two fell to the ground with Twilight above. So they fell, the earthquake ceased. Twilight looked up and then looked at Blue. She never been so close to him. His glaucous eyes bewitched her with a look. Blue also fixed her violet eyes, those bright and fascinating eyes. So, without being able to resist, they approached their muzzles and their lips touched each other. 

When she felt the touch of Blue’s lips, Twilight felt as if her greatest dream was accomplished. His kiss was soft and warm. Her heart was beating irregularly and her stomach writhing.

When their finished the kiss, both seemed a bit bewildered, especially Twilight, because it was her first kiss with a stallion, and moreover with the stallion of her dreams. It was then that she realized that this stallion was also the her brother’s best friend and horror been has spread in her. 

She hastened to stand up and said, trotting nervously in the same place: 

"Oh, no! Oh, no! Oh, no! This shouldn’t have happened. This shouldn’t have happened!"

"But Twilight..." Blue said, standing up. 

"What was I thinking" she said hastily. "I mean, you're my brother’s best friend. You're like a brother to me. What will Shining say when he finds out what happened..."

But she didn’t finish because Blue gave her another kiss that made her stop. He then stopped the kiss and said: 

"Twilight, relax. Breathe."

She did so and breathed deeply a few times and then Blue said: 

"Twilight, you don’t have to be like that because of this." 

"You must be joking" Twilight said. 

"No. I... actually enjoyed it."

"Sure, you enjoyed..." 

But then Twilight just realized what Blue had said. 

"Can you repeat that?" she asked. 

"I enjoyed it" Blue repeated. "I don’t know why or how, but somehow something in me that I never felt before awakened. And I really liked it."

He approached her for another kiss, and although Twilight wanted that kiss, she could resist and walked away, saying: 

"No, this couldn’t have happened." 

And, having said that, she opened her wings and took flight. 

"Twilight, wait!" Said Blue. 

But she didn’t listen, beginning to move away from the Oasis of the Heart as soon as she could, leaving its exotic heat and passing into the cold arctic.