Her suitcase was packed, her dress hung on a wire hanger so to avoid wrinkling—and inciting Rarity’s righteous fury over a perceived crime against fashion, or something of that sort. Twilight gave her bed a once over, frowning at a hint of a wrinkle in the comforter.
She wrapped a tendril of magic around the edge and tugged until the blanket cooperated with her will. The room might technically be hers, a gift from Celestia and Luna to commemorate her coronation, and there might be a waiting staff to take care of any cleanup, but Twilight Velvet didn’t raise any slobs. Beds were made and rooms returned to their neat, orderly state in their family.
A tiny voice in the back of her mind nagged her. She wasn’t doing this out of necessity, and she knew it. This was nothing more than an excuse to stay a little longer and avoid facing Celestia before she went home.
Twilight bit her lip as she thought back to her talk with Spitfire the night before—what talking they had done before and after one last session of passionate, needy sex. Her feathers fluffed and tingled, the mere memory of her girlfriend’s moans and whispered pleas for more made her tail swish. Definitely worth every second, she thought, licking her lips. Even if we won’t have the chance for some time.
Then her thoughts turned to how evasive Spitfire had gotten when her little chat with Celestia, Cadence, and Shining Armor came up. Specifically, how quickly she changed the subject whenever Twilight tried to wheedle out just what she said after Celestia “pressed the right button.” Whatever the so-called “button” was.
Frowning, she brought a hoof to her chin. What would she have said to sour what seemed like a good relationship with Celestia? Anxiety reared its ugly head and whispered in her ear like a conniving snake. Its silver tongue crafting horrid, lewd remarks designed to make her old teacher balk and clench her jaw in poorly suppressed rage. She could almost hear Spitfire firing back, her voice raspy and scratchy after years of screaming at rookie fliers, and her tenuous control of her tongue slackened with her loss of temper.
“Come on, Twilight!” Spike called from the sitting room. “You’ve been making your bed for the past half-hour! We’re going to miss the train at this rate!”
Twilight shot a glare at the door as if the drake were standing before her. “It has not, and I’ve told you a thousand times not to exaggerate!”
“Exaggerating to scold me for exaggerating doesn’t help your cause!” he shot back.
Sucking in her lips, Twilight flicked her tail. He was getting a bit too quick on his feet with those little quips. Perhaps a product of hanging around with the girls, or the Crusaders. She trotted out of the room, tugging the door closed with an idle tug of her magic, and met her smugly smirking assistant with a stern glare. “I don’t need a cause to ground you, young drake,” she threatened in her best impression of her mother’s tone.
His smirk widened into a full-blown grin. “Weak basis, don’t you think? You’d be madder if I didn’t tell you to hurry up and we ended up late.”
He had a point. Twilight flicked an ear and feigned interest in the pair of suitcases resting near the door—his tiny purple and green dwarfed by her more conservative, traditional brown. “Did you pack everything? You didn’t spend too much time playing and staying up late with the girls?”
“Got it all,” Spike said with a nod. “Checked the room over twice and found, like, eight of Sweetie’s brushes—and that’s no exaggeration,” he hastily added as Twilight raised a brow. “Apple Bloom and Scootaloo have been needling her all morning.”
Twilight chuckled and shook her head. “So you slipped away and came to pester me, huh?” A bright, toothy smile spread across his scaled face. As always, her number one assistant slash adopted brother was as transparent as ever. With a roll of her eyes, she lit her horn, lifting their suitcases. “Yes, we’re ready to head out and say our goodbyes. Eager to sleep in your own bed, huh?”
He bobbed his head. “The beds here are really nice and fluffy, but they’re not my bed,” he replied, his gaze shifting to the suitcases. His clawed fingers twitched. “Uh, you know I can carry those, right?”
“I do.” Twilight wrapped her magic around his tiny body and lifted him up, giggling at how he folded his arms and huffed at their old routine. She set him down upon her back and gave him a quick nuzzle that he returned. “But after a few days apart, I think I’m happy to get back to this.”
She felt him smile against her cheek. “Plus one hot girlfriend, right?”
Wrinkling her snout, Twilight drew back and fixed him with a wry look, her brow arched higher.
He simply grinned in reply. “Hey, Rarity’s still the most gorgeous pony in the world, but I can still appreciate a good-looking mare. And Rainbow came back boasting about you ‘scoring’ the hottest mare around.”
Of course. Rainbow Dash. With another roll of her eyes and a rueful smile tugging at her lips, she trotted toward the door and pushed it open. Why was she not at all surprised? Maybe because Rainbow’s a smart-mouthed punk, who doesn’t know when to keep things to herself.
Still, she couldn’t help but shake her head, her smile turning decidedly fond. Sure, Rainbow was a loudmouth who never shut up about certain things. Just like Rarity would demand every last bit of juicy gossip—no doubt adding in that she was exercising restraint in the castle out of respect for Twilight’s fellow Royal Family members—and Applejack would throw something in about the girls being honorary Apple Family, so teasing and nosiness was part of the package. And just like Pinkie would somehow have a party planned with all of Ponyville without having set hoof in town since last week.
Twilight paused and tilted her head. Well, Pinkie hadn’t been in Ponyville since last week as far as she knew. Given Pinkie’s nature, anything was possible. That aside, she at least had Fluttershy to lean on in times like this. Though she might coo and giggle, Fluttershy was hardly one to start teasing her for getting a girlfriend.
… Or was she? Come to think of it, Twilight couldn’t be sure how any of the girls might react outside of the castle. Just how much were they keeping under wraps until they were back in the sleepy embrace of Ponyville’s close-knit community?
Food for thought, perhaps. She shut the door behind her, and made her way to the main staircase with Spike seated comfortably upon her back and their suitcases floating along in her wake.
Never before had saying goodbye felt so awkward.
Standing on the pavement before a pair of carriages waiting to take them to the station, Twilight shifted her weight, her eyes flitted about as she stood with her friends and her fellow Royal Family members bade them farewell, though slightly off to the side. A half-smile spread across her muzzle as Party Favor blustered and blushed when Cadence whispered in his ear and gave a pointed nod toward a grinning Pinkie Pie, who was bouncing and chattering away with Sugar Bell about how excited she was to have Party join her in Ponyville for the next week or so.
Just a few steps away, Shining Armor shook his head at Cadence’s antics, and bent low to nuzzle Spike’s headfins and wrap him in a tight, brotherly hug that the little drake returned with equal fervor. Perhaps even a little more, a silent show of how he’d miss his big brother when they parted again. Twilight respectfully averted her gaze to let them have their moment.
Instead, she found herself watching the Royal Sisters saying their goodbyes. Luna wore a smile that seemed to shine like the stars in her night sky as she shook hooves with Double Diamond and Night Glider, then exchanged hugs with the others. Her teal eyes met Twilight’s for a moment, shining with mirth and a hint of mischief. A wink and a quick whisper to Rarity sent shivers down Twilight’s spine and made her feathers tingle, the urge to fly almost too great to ignore.
And then her gaze fell upon Celestia. Twilight bit her lip. Her tail seemed to tuck itself between her legs as she let her ears droop. Every bit of anxiety she held over the years, all spent trying to earn Celestia’s approval, came to the forefront. A small part of her expected to see her old teacher smile at the girls and Spike, then turn a stern frown upon Twilight herself.
But Celestia wasn’t smiling at all. Not in her normal way, at least.
While the Princess of the Day gave the tiniest of smiles as she bade the Cutie Mark Crusaders farewell, exchanging hugs with each filly as she was so wont to do, she didn’t seem to carry herself quite the same way as usual. Those purple eyes, so typically warm and welcoming with a glint of ageless knowledge held in their depths, were unfocused.
She didn’t give the fillies the attention she so loved to give her little ponies. Instead, her eyes flitted about, settling on Twilight for a mere second before they found the fillies again. Pristine white ears twitched and slowly swiveled as if to droop, but would stand ramrod straight the very instant she noticed. Her wings rustled uncomfortably, almost in time with the awkward flick of her ethereal tail.
Their eyes met. Twilight felt her blood run cold in her veins. She half expected her longtime teacher to turn up her nose and look away, or for those deep purple eyes to harden, tinged with disappointment at her frivolities.
The pain that flashed in Celestia’s ancient eyes before she turned to answer a babbled question from Sweetie Belle gave Twilight pause.
That was new. And quite concerning. Her right forehoof twitched and raised of its own volition, pulling her to go to her teacher’s side. But the memory of their argument two nights prior drove it right back to rest on the ground. How exactly did one strike up a casual conversation in the wake of something like that? It was a bit different with the girls—they were all close, and right around her age. There wasn’t really a lingering sense of fighting with her pseudo-mother figure in what few fights they had.
With Celestia, on the other hoof, it was there plus interest.
“Twilight Sparkle,” Luna greeted, nearly making her jump straight out of her coat.
The Princess of the Night wore a small smile, her eyes betrayed a hint of mischief as they danced with mirth. She stepped closer and wrapped Twilight in a tight embrace, like the family they’d become by rite and through marriage.
“T’was wonderful to see you again, young mare,” Luna said. She squeezed Twilight’s shoulders, then drew back to survey her. The small smile spread across her muzzle. “Perhaps we might take time to acquire coffee and ‘catch up,’ as you young ponies say.” Her smile turned wolfish, she raised an eyebrow and added, “If you don’t find yourself too entangled with your mare.”
Twilight felt her face burn, a rosy hue filled her cheeks and tinged them a dark violet. Her fellow princess’ double entendre did not go missed. “I—I’m sure that won’t be any sort of issue! We’ll—ahem—have to arrange something!”
It hardly seemed possible that Luna’s smile could grow any more wicked, but she managed the feat. “Indeed. And do give my regards to Captain Spitfire if you see her before I do—and, once her upcoming tour is done, I suspect you will.”
Curious, Twilight tilted her head. “How did you know she was going out on tour?”
Luna chuckled. “My dear, those things are public knowledge. Hardly difficult for anypony to learn for themselves.” With a wink, she leaned in to whisper, “And when somepony decides to date into my family, I do take a certain interest to their character and dealings.”
Oh, dear. “Ah. Well, um, yes.” Her blush deepened. Twilight rustled her wings. “We’ve discussed it a bit, and plan to exchange schedules through letters once we get home.”
“Excellent. I wish you both the best, then.” Luna released her embrace and stepped to the side, gazing toward her sister. For a moment, she was silent. The playful smile ran away from her face. Then, she took a deep breath and spoke, “She does care for you. And everypony under her watch.”
Blinking, Twilight glanced between the sisters. “I never doubted that. It’s just—“
“She can be smothering. Yes. I know.” Luna gave a pained smile. “Of the many reasons I stayed in the castle upon my return, that I was being doted on by a fretting immortal was one of them.”
“… You’re not being serious.”
She was met with a flat stare. “A thousand years waiting, Twilight Sparkle. I may as well have been a little filly in her eyes. Of my sister’s faults, and I feel she has quite a few, her greatest is that she cares a bit too much sometimes. Maddeningly so.” Flicking her tail, she fixed the smile back on her face when Celestia turned to approach them. She dropped her voice to a low murmur, “And on that regard, your mare gave her a bit of a slap back to reality that was long overdue.”
Twilight’s ears twitched. This was her chance! She raised a hoof, the question right on the tip of her tongue as Celestia drew within earshot.
“I hope you’re not spreading tales, Luna,” Celestia began, her voice tinged with false humor and a hint of tiredness, “or will I have to tell a few of yours?”
To her credit, Luna simply smiled. “I welcome the chance, oh ancient one. My reputation can suffer a few of my old stories, yours, on the other hoof …” she trailed off and let the sentence hang unfinished, then took a few steps toward the Crusaders. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a trio of troublemakers to bid farewell. And perhaps instill a reminder to at least try to behave themselves from time to time. I’ll leave you to your farewells. Have a safe trip, Twilight.”
“Thank you, Luna.” Twilight gave a little bow of her head. “It was good seeing you again.”
Luna bowed in reply, then resumed her trot, leaving Twilight and Celestia alone.
For the first time in many, many years, Twilight felt awkward before her old teacher—like she was once again the little filly who showed up for her first day of lessons with the Princess Celestia rather than a peer. She scuffed her hoof against the pavement, her teeth nibbled on a piece of broken skin on her lip.
“It was lovely to see you again, my dear,” Celestia said softly.
Twilight perked up, a tiny, nervous smile spread across her face. “It was fun to help out this year. Thank you for having us.”
“You are always welcome here, whenever you wish to visit.” She made as though to continue, but stopped short. Her face contorted, as though she were torn between apprehension and a want to sweep Twilight up in her embrace. Taking a deep breath, she added, “I truly do wish for your happiness, dear. Even if you might think otherwise at times.”
Wings drooping, Twilight nodded. Of course. Celestia had always been more than just a mentor. She was a friend, a confidant, and more.
Family.
“I know,” Twilight replied. Tentatively, she stepped close enough so she could touch her cheek against Celestia’s and gave an affectionate rub. “I just … she makes me feel so happy! And alive!” Her wings fluttered almost of their own volition. “No pony’s ever made me feel this way before, and I love it so much!”
She heard Celestia draw in a sharp breath. “I know.” With a sigh, Celestia drew back to regard her as if seeing her for the first time in ages. “I know what you mean all too well, Twilight. I just worry that you might get a bit caught up in that passion and be hurt in the end.”
Twilight let her ears droop. She made to argue, but stopped as Celestia raised a hoof.
“I don’t want assurances that it won’t happen to you, dear. I merely want you to promise me you’ll consider my advice and use sound judgement.” Celestia’s ancient eyes softened like a mother begging her daughter to see reason. “Please, Twilight.”
What in Equestria did Spitfire say to draw this sort of response? Nodding, Twilight let her smile return. “I can’t promise we won’t—er—” she glanced off to the side at Spike and the Crusaders, back at Celestia “—you know. But Spitfire and I both want to make this work so it can last.”
“Then I wish you luck, dear.” Her warm, welcoming smile returned. Celestia nuzzled her cheek, then took a step back and nodded toward the carriages. “Not that I wouldn’t love an excuse to keep you longer, but you’d all best get a move on or you’ll miss your train home.” Winking, she whispered, “And I think Pinkie Pie might just combust if she doesn’t get to show Party around …”
Twilight swallowed a lump in her throat. Saying Pinkie Pie was looking forward to Party’s visit was like saying summers in Froggy Bottom Bog were a bit humid. She pasted a grin on her face, turned to trot toward the carriages, calling to the group, “Time to head out, everypony! We’ve got to beat the station crowd or we’ll never make it in time!”
To her relief, there was no argument. Ears perked up and heads turned, and her friends quickly took up their bags and finished saying their goodbyes before they started to clamor into the carriages.
Twilight just managed to put hers in the boot of her carriage, she felt a strong hoof touch her shoulder. “Twily?” Shining’s voice made her ear flick. She turned to face him, and found herself met with both her brother and Cadence.
The pair offered small smiles, a hint of sheepishness showed in the way their ears drooped and Cadence’s wings rustled. He withdrew his hoof and rubbed at his mane. “Sorry about the other night,” he said, his smile strained. “It’s just—you’re my baby sister, y’know? I’ll always feel a bit protective.”
“A bit?” Twilight quipped, arching a brow.
“Oh, shut up.” He rolled his eyes. “You’ll understand when Spike starts dating. And I don’t mean that little crush he’s got on Rarity.”
They shared a chuckle. The not-so-secret crush Spike still harbored would have to come to a head someday. Hopefully in a way that wouldn’t cause too much drama, if fortune smiled upon them.
Cadence drew near and wrapped Twilight in a tight hug, then held her close. “I’ll miss you, Twily,” she murmured. “We’re just a quick letter away if you have any problems or questions about dating, you know. I’d be happy to offer a little advice on places you could go together.”
Twilight brought a hoof to her chin. True, she wasn’t entirely sure how dating went, that much was evident in the whirlwind relationship she’d stumbled into. It would make sense to have somepony she could ask other than Celestia or Luna, whose dating advice was about a thousand years out of date if she were being generous. Or worse.
Her mother.
“You know,” she began, a bright smile spread across her face, “I think I’d like that.”
The Royal Canterlot Station was crowded even though they’d managed to beat the rush. Ponies jostled together as they milled about the platforms and main lobby alongside griffons, an entourage of official looking yaks, and even a couple wyverns in high collared robes.
Fortunately, Twilight’s status gave her an easy means to cut a path through the crowd. While she was loathe to flaunt her title, walking with a sense of purpose and holding her head high in imitation of her fellow princess’ regal air seemed to do more than any levitation or shield spell. The crowd parted before her, some offering deep bows, others greeting her in their native tongue as she passed them by.
Twilight smiled and nodded, and gave greetings of her own as best she could. Her eyes flitted and searched the crowd for any sign of fiery orange mane or warm, goldenrod coat. Even a glimpse of Spitfire’s trademark flame lick cutie mark would be welcome.
“Lookin’ fer somepony?” Applejack drawled from her right.
Before she could reply, Rainbow was on Twilight’s left, playfully rubbing their shoulders together. “Looking for the hottest pegasus around other than yours truly, I bet!” she crowed. “Betcha twenty bits she’s hoping Spitfire gives her a nice big goodbye smooch!”
Cheeks burning, Twilight shook her head. “I am not!” she cried with a stomp of her hoof. “She just mentioned she’d be here to see me off!”
“Uh huh.”
The burn spread throughout her face to the very tips of her ears. Twilight turned to the others for support, but found herself met with eight smirks, a trio of interested fillies’ smiles, and Fluttershy trying in vein to hide a giggle behind a butter yellow hoof. With a groan, she strode forward, pinning her ears to block out Rainbow Dash’s raucous laughter.
What was it with all the sporty pegasi she knew being terrible jokesters? Knowing her luck, the entire Wonderbolts squad would be the same, eager to see who could reduce their target to a stammering, blushing mess the quickest. And, at some point, Twilight would have to run that gauntlet herself.
A shiver ran down her spine. Twilight shook herself, returning her focus to the task at hoof. After a few more seconds of scanning the crowd of colorful bodies, and accounting for the pegasi who opted to fly overhead, she was rewarded with a glimpse of Spitfire’s mane sticking out among all the others like a tiny flicker of flame in the dark.
Her heart leapt. Fluttering her wings, she picked up the pace. Twilight slid by a few ponies who were a bit slow in moving, idly sending a casual wave as they bowed and murmured apologies, and trotted straight for the fiery mare herself.
Flanked by Fleetfoot and Soarin, Spitfire stood in the middle of the platform, her wings freshly preened and her coat groomed velvety smooth so the light seemed to caress her curves and show off every bit of taut muscle in her body. The warm smile upon her face made butterflies take wing in Twilight’s chest. Grinning freely, she took the last several steps in a bound and snuggled right up to Spitfire’s chest, pressing her cheek against her girlfriend’s. “You came,” she murmured.
“Told you I would,” Spitfire said softly. “Did you really think I wouldn’t show?”
“No. I’m just happy to see you again before we have to juggle schedules.”
“Fair.” Spitfire drew back and gazed into her eyes for a moment, she leaned in as if to steal a kiss, but stopped short. She glanced around the station, her usual confidence wavered at the sight of all the waiting travellers. Coughing once, she looked toward Rainbow. “Keep an eye on her for me, rook?”
“You got it!” Rainbow said, snapping a quick salute. “I’ll keep her out of trouble.”
Twilight squawked indignantly. “Excuse me? Keep who out of trouble?”
“You, duh. Your ears working, Twi? Or are you too busy daydream—ow! What did I do?””
Rarity tutted. “You’re ruining the moment, Rainbow, and you know full well they could use a little time together before they part. With that in mind—” her horn lit up, she sent a tendril of magic to wrap around the bags in Twilight’s grasp “—let me take care of these, darling. Come along, everypony. Let’s leave these two to their goodbyes.”
With teasing smirks and waggling eyebrows, the group made their way toward the train, though not without a little prodding along to get the fillies moving. Spike sniggered as he gave Scootaloo a little jab in the rump with his claws, drawing a squeak before she darted through the open door and into the train car.
Twilight stood alone on the platform with the trio of Wonderbolts. Soarin smiled at her from over Spitfire’s shoulder, and gave a little bow of his head.
“Princess,” he greeted warmly.
Arching a brow, she released her hold on Spitfire and set her hooves on the platform. “I think we’ve gotten familiar enough that you can call me Twilight, Soarin,” she teased. “Given that I’m dating your friend slash captain.”
“True, but we’re in public, so I have to at least pretend to be all proper until you say something.” Waggling his ears, he stood up straight. “Have a safe trip home, Twilight. It was nice to meet you.”
“We’d be happy to have you join us backstage at one of our shows,” Fleetfoot added with a little bow of her own, her milky eyes stared straight ahead and over Twilight’s shoulder. She cocked her head so her left ear was more toward Twilight. With a wicked grin, she continued, “Some of us more than others, I’m sure.”
“Bite my flank,” Spitfire shot back with no trace of malice in her tone. “You’d be all over that deal too if Soarin weren’t a Bolt.”
“Point.” Ears twitching, Fleetfoot let her grin fade to a more friendly smile as she returned her attention to Twilight. “We’ll keep an eye on Fireball for you. No promises on keeping her out of trouble though.”
Grinning, Twilight fixed Spitfire with a sidelong smirk. “Just send me a letter. I’ll keep track and make sure she’s thoroughly reprimanded.”
Spitfire’s jaw dropped as a rosy hue tinged her cheeks. “Ex-Excuse me?” she squeaked, then faked a cough and straightened up, her usual smirk slid right back into place. “I dare you to try, hon. Please.”
Soarin let out a low, mocking ooooooooooooh like a bunch of foals on the playground might, much to Fleetfoot’s amusement. It only added to the feeling, like they were both playing chicken.
Well, then. Twilight was game. After all, she still owed Spitfire for quite a lot of teasing. And given the sizable crowd on the platform, she had quite the audience.
A slow smile spread across her muzzle as an idea came to mind. Yes, that’ll do nicely. Sighing as though defeated, she nuzzled Spitfire’s nose. “Write me soon, please.”
“Promise, hon.” Spitfire dotted her nose with a quick kiss. Soft and full of affection, but fast enough that no pony would notice unless they’d been watching for it. “It’ll be the first thing I do once I get back to Cloudsdale.”
“Good.” Twilight paused, tilting her head to one side. Something still nagged at her, right in the back of her mind. The look of pain in Celestia’s eyes still held fresh, as did the change in how she spoke of their relationship. Curious, she looked Spitfire in the eye and asked, “Why won’t you tell me what you said to Celestia?”
The smile ran away from Spitfire’s face. “Huh?”
“She seemed hurt,” Twilight replied, “but not angry. Like she’d been given terrible news. What did you say?”
Spitfire took a deep breath through her nose, then let it out in a deep sigh. Her shoulders slumped. “I lost my temper, and I said something I knew she’d think about for a while,” she said softly. Running a hoof through her mane, she added, “It wasn’t anything bad. Just sort of a heat of the moment thing. It’s … nothing. Really.”
“You made it sound like she’d be angry with you in meetings.”
“Not quite.” Spitfire raised her hoof. “I said she’d give me a few sidelong looks, I never said she’d be glaring daggers.”
Twilight fixed her with a deadpan stare. She arched a brow and flicked her tail, a silent message.
One received, if the pained grimace that flitted across Spitfire’s face was any indication. Sighing, she stepped closer and lowered her voice to a whisper. “Can we talk about it another time?” she asked. “Somewhere not in public?”
Pursing her lips, Twilight tapped a hoof against the ground. “Is it bad?”
“Not really. I just don’t want somepony overhearing the subject matter given it involves you in a less than regal state.” A slight inclination of her brows and a meaningful look left little doubt what she meant. She was looking out for Twilight’s public image.
Twilight conceded. “If you think so, I appreciate it,” she replied with a smile. “I’ll wait, but not too long.”
“Much appreciated, hon.”
A sharp whistle cut through the air, followed by the conductor’s voice booming over the platform. It was almost time to head out.
Spitfire gave a crooked smile. “You’d better get moving,” she said softly. The slight drooping of her ears betrayed her. “Don’t want you to miss your train.”
Twilight’s ears twitched, it was now or never. She wrapped Spitfire in another hug, humming happily as she felt a gentle hoof touch her between her wings. “You’re right. But first … there’s something I owe you.”
She felt Spitfire draw back. “Owe me? Hon, you don’t owe me anything.”
“Are you sure?” Twilight asked, pulling back just enough to fix Spitfire with a half-lidded stare. “Nothing at all?”
“Uh … not that I can—”
It was too perfect. Quick as a cat, Twilight looped her hooves around Spitfire’s neck and pulled her into a kiss. The scent of rain, ozone, and hotel shampoo filled her senses, she drank it all in. She nibbled and ran her tongue along Spitfire’s bottom lip before parting, a broad grin spread across her face as she took in the mare’s rosy cheeks, wide orange eyes, and wide open mouth.
“Huhwha?”
Soarin promptly fell over laughing and kicking his hooves in the air.
A giggle bubbled forth. She leaned in, rubbing her cheek against Spitfire’s as she whispered, “I told you I’d get you back for breakfast couple days ago, hon.” Turning her head, she pressed her lips against the warm, goldenrod coat. “Enjoy the crowd.”
She scampered off before Spitfire could gather her wits, pausing only to flash a grin and a wave at Soarin as he struggled to explain what happened to Fleetfoot. Twilight leapt through the doorway passed the startled conductor, and slipped on the rubber floor in her haste to turn and get to the window.
Pressing her face against the glass, Twilight watched while Spitfire slowly worked things out. A full belly laugh built up in her chest as her girlfriend’s ears pinned and those beautiful, golden wings sagged. Her orange eyes shrunk to pinpricks as she whispered mostly to herself:
”Oh, no …”
Twilight swished her tail. “Oh, yes, hon!”
Spitfire turned to face a crowd of gaping ponies, at least two or three of which had managed to pull out their cameras and snap a quick shot of their Princess of Friendship kissing the Captain of the Wonderbolts. She stepped back toward the train, stumbling over one of Soarin’s hooves.
The car jolted forward.
Goldenrod ears twitched. Spitfire snapped her head around to shoot a horrified look at Twilight, her jaw working wordlessly as she struggled to figure out how to convey this betrayal.
Twilight let it all out. Her eyes clenched shut, she wrapped her hooves around her barrel and let herself fall back onto her haunches. Tears stung at the corners of her eyes as she gave way to her mirth. Revenge was sweet—sweeter when it involved kissing her girlfriend silly!
“Well, well, well!”
Rainbow’s voice made the laughter die in the back of her throat. She froze, her ears slowly drooping as what she’d just done dawned upon her.
Kissing. Spitfire. Crowd of ponies. Cameras. Friends!
Slowly, she turned to face the grinning ponies in her car. Each of her friends wore wicked grins and matching gleams in their eyes, the same as that very morning after the Gala. Spike had his elbows propped on one of the seats, and slowly shook his head while Scootaloo simply stood stock still beside him and gaped. Rainbow Dash was sprawled across one of the cushions, leaning against the wall opposite Twilight, a wicked smirk playing upon her lips.
I really didn’t think this through.
Rainbow stood and swaggered over to her side before sitting and throwing a wing around her. “So, Twi,” she began, “on a scale of one to ten, how awesome would you say that kiss was?”
Her words jolted Scootaloo back into reality. The little filly buzzed her wings, zipping over to their side. For once, though, her focus wasn’t on Rainbow Dash.
Her eyes were trained on Twilight. “We were only here a few days! What the hay did I miss?”
With a sheepish smile, Twilight ducked her head between her shoulders and covered her face. “I … might be dating Spitfire.”
“And by might,” Rainbow chipped in, “she means she is. Both have confirmed it.”
Scootaloo blinked a few times. She tried to speak, but only managed a weak, strangled babble. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then nodded to herself as if readying for a race.
Her eyes snapped open, brimming with youthful determination. She reared up and placed her tiny hooves against Twilight’s knees as if she hoped to keep her in place.
“Tell me everything.”