From the highest balcony in the castle, Twilight and Celestia could see the Crystal Empire laid out before them. On this festive night, the city was awash in light. The windows in every building were bright. The roads were illuminated with magical streetlights. The main thoroughfares of the city radiated out from the enormous castle at the center. Diagonal roads connecting these boulevards created a giant six-pointed star pattern across the city. They divided it into the inner castle district and twelve outer boroughs.
Even from this high up, the alicorns could see crowds of ponies in the streets below. Anticipation was evident. They saw ponies pointing and casting their eyes toward the castle and the Crystal Heart that spun in a monument at its base.
The two stood watching the activity in the glittering city for long minutes. The cool northern breezes were refreshing after the crowds in the Grand Ballroom. Twilight noticed that her cape and train flowed in sync with Celestia’s mane and tail.
After a long lull, Twilight could be silent no longer. “Everypony seems to be waiting for something,” she said scanning the crowds.
“I suspect they’re hoping that on a night such as this there’ll be a mystic event. If it’s of sufficient magnitude, it will transform them into Crystal Ponies in more than just name,” Celestia replied.
“Becoming living crystal, even for a little while, should be strange or scary,” Twilight said. “But every time it‘s happened to me, it was amazing.”
“Crystallization is a unique consequence, one I’ve only seen after the Crystal Heart overflows with love.” Celestia’s ‘just for Twilight’ smile blossomed. “I must say that Crystal Twilight was quite fetching.”
“Well, Crystal Celestia was very beautiful… I mean impressive… too.” Twilight closed her eyes and sighed. “I can’t fence like this anymore,” she thought. “I need to know.” Twilight opened her eyes and gazed at Celestia with a touch of sadness. Everything was about to change and she didn’t know if it would be for good or for ill.
“Are you alright, Twilight?” Celestia raised a wingtip to touch her.
Twilight raised her wing to block. “Please Celestia, I need to ask you a question. And I'm not sure what will happen after I do.”
“You can ask me anything.” Celestia looked serious. “I said there would be no secrets between us.”
Twilight ducked her head to gather her courage. She took a deep breath and looked Celestia in the eye. “Are you courting me?”
Celestia took a half step back as if she’d been struck. “No… Yes… Not at first…” Celestia stammered. She recovered her poise. “Do you wish me to court you?"
“That’s a separate question.” Twilight’s stepped forward to follow. Her gaze never wavered. “You said no secrets. Are you courting me?”
Celestia closed her eyes and ducked her head. “Yes,” she whispered.
“Since when?” Twilight whispered.
“When did I first think I had feelings for you?” Celestia asked. Twilight nodded. “You’ve always had a special place in my heart.”
“I mean romantic feelings,” Twilight countered.
“We are not newly met. My feelings for you have a history.” Celestia sighed. “For many moons, I did not entertain such thoughts. I felt I had good reasons for keeping my distance.” She smiled. “One by one, you chipped them away.”
“Such as?” Twilight asked.
“While my sister was absent, I found it easier to keep myself from the entanglements of romance,” Celestia said. “I didn’t want to deal with perceived conflicts of interest. Or to expose my partner to the slings and arrows of court life. Courting royalty in public is challenging.”
Twilight looked sympathetic. “I’m so sorry you felt the need to isolate yourself like that. It must have been lonely.” Celestia made the barest of nods.
“The other issues don’t seem to apply,” Twilight continued. “Since I was your student, nopony expects me to be impartial.” She tapped her crown with a hoof. “And I’ve already flung myself into court life.”
“You certainly have.” Celestia smiled.
“As for courting royalty,” Twilight said with mock haughtiness, “if we go through with this, you’ll just have to get used to it.” She stuck her nose high in the air.
Celestia broke into a belly laugh and Twilight joined her. When the laughter faded they were both grinning.
After a long moment, Celestia got serious again and plowed on. “Your having been my student was also an issue.”
“A teacher/student relationship would have been... inappropriate,” Twilight said. “But you were the one who told me I was no longer your student. After the girls and I defeated Tirek.”
“And I said we were all your students now. I remember.” Celestia sighed. “Saying it and believing it in my heart were two different things. Seeing your friendship with the sun was the first chink in that armor. The night after the symphony was a turning point.” She looked grateful. “You were a rock in my time of weakness. I knew you’d saved Equestria before. But I had never experienced your strength in such a personal way. After I accepted your judgments on my past deeds, there was no way I could treat you as anything less than an equal.”
“I’m glad I could help,” Twilight said. “That was a very hard night.”
“But many good things came out of it,” Celestia replied. “Your rule. My further reconciliation with Luna. Hard as it was, I cherish the memories of that night and the aftermath. That night was also when I laid aside my guilt for any manipulations while you were growing up. Your forgiveness was… liberating. It gave me permission to envision new possibilities in my relationship with you.”
She pondered for another moment. “Even with all that, there were also times when I worried about the great difference in our ages and levels of experience.”
“I can never catch up on that,” Twilight said.
“Nopony can,” Celestia agreed.
“But if a millennium of experience is a requirement,” Twilight continued, “your only potential partners are ancient dragons and such.” She smiled at the thought.
Celestia’s eyes rolled up, considering the size of a fully-grown dragon. “While such a relationship might be… interesting… it’s not what I’m looking for.” She gazed back at Twilight and smiled. “I have my eye on somepony closer by.”
Twilight’s blush would have made Fluttershy proud.
Celestia’s smile faded. “But, I’ve known you since you were young. It took me a while to accept that you’ve had a lifetime of experiences I wasn’t a part of.”
“A lot does happen in Ponyville,” Twilight agreed.
“You make a lot happen there. You’ve earned your experience,” Celestia looked at Twilight proudly. Then she remembered a painful concern, and a tortured look crossed her face.
Twilight leaned forward. “What is it?”
“Another issue I had to get past was not knowing if you are going to die,” Celestia said. “We won’t know for a long time.” She closed her eyes and grimaced. “Watching ponies I care about age and pass on while standing by ageless can be… disheartening.” Celestia looked at Twilight with relief. “Seeing who you could become, that such a future was possible for you, even if it’s not assured, was comforting.”
“Neither of us live safe lives,” Twilight replied. “We’ve both fallen in battle and been captured.” Twilight stared up at the stars above. “While I’d like to know if I’ll live a normal span or a long time like you, I don’t plan my life around either possibility. I work to improve the future because I or ponies I care about will live there. I enjoy myself today because I want to live a good life, no matter how long it lasts.”
“Spending time with you may have influenced my thinking,” Celestia said. “I came to similar conclusions.” Celestia looked kindly at Twilight. “That night also allayed the last of my fears. Your feelings for me have a history. I knew you had a crush on me when you were younger. It wouldn’t have been healthy for either of us to build a relationship on that. But when I saw who you could become…” she choked up, then continued. “There was such love in her eyes. Not admiration or hero worship. Not even just friendship. But joyous, unconditional love.” Celestia’s smile became dreamy. “The last of my objections melted away.”
Twilight’s face fell. “So you fell in love with ‘her’…”
“No, Twilight! Let nothing I say make you believe that.” Celestia leaned in close. “I fell in love with you long before but was too stubborn to admit it. Seeing ‘her’ was the final straw that made me realize my reservations were baseless.”
“If I’m being honest, it was the image of you coming out of the pool at our picnic that cemented the idea that my feelings were true.” Celestia smiled widely as she remembered. “You stepped out wet, glistening in the sun, and surrounded by a rainbow halo of sparkling droplets.” Celestia sighed. “It took all my composure not to make an advance on you at that very moment.”
“But, you asked when I first felt there might be something special between us. The first time you came to share tea, you were very affectionate during our introduction. You held our nuzzle for a surprisingly long time.” Celestia smiled gently. “Your touch made me very, very happy. After you left I beamed for an entire day. Thinking about you coming back lifted my heart. That was when my feelings for you began to change.”
Overwhelmed, Twilight said nothing in reply. Her only movement was the rise and fall of her barrel with each breath.
“Now I believe it’s time for you to answer my question,” Celestia said. “Do you wish me to court you?”