The ride down to Ponyville seemed agonizingly long for Moondancer. Her friends had been giving her confidence and telling her that everything would go fine ever since she let Twinkleshine know about this but she still couldn't help but worry. Even during that day, she had been trying to keep her hopes up and dreaming of what could happen, the closer to Ponyville she got the more nervous she became.
When the train finally arrived in Ponyville it was 6:30. Moondancer knew that Twilight had always valued timeliness but heading over there this early may irritate her and make her think that she was desperate. She sighed, "Alright, just wait around here for a few more minutes and then head over there. I can't show up too early."
Moondancer waited around the train station until the clock read a quarter till seven and then she headed towards the castle. The whole way there she was playing the same scenarios through her head that she had earlier in the day. She had been so preoccupied with her thoughts that she almost bumped straight into the door. As she raised her hoof up to knock she said, "Well here goes nothing."
She knocked on the door and almost immediately it was answered by Twilight. Twilight gave her a smile and said, "You made it!"
Moondancer replied, "You know I wouldn't miss this for the world."
Moondancer looked at Twilight and was impressed by what she saw. She noticed that her dress was a bit darker than her coat and that it had accents the same color as the pink stripe in her tail, which was fairly similar to the style of hers. She thought to herself, "Maybe this dress is the right choice."
Twilight invited her in and looked at her dress in curiosity. She couldn't help but comment, "Wow, you and I must have had a similar mindset when it came to our dresses."
Moondancer nervously replied, "Yeah it looks that way."
Twilight ordered, "Follow me Moondancer, I don't know about you but I'm hungry."
Moondancer replied, "I haven't ate much today so I'm hungry too."
Almost immediately after saying that she scolded herself internally. She thought that by saying that that perhaps Twilight would think she was being overly nervous and would find that unappealing. When they arrived at the table, it was not in the dining hall but in the library.
Moondancer was shocked, Twilight had set up a candlelight dinner for two in the place that both of them love, the library. Moondancer gave her a smile and asked, "Wow, in the library? I didn't think you'd ever let anypony bring food in here."
Twilight gave her a smile, "Well I normally wouldn't but for tonight, I decided that I would make an exception. I want this to be as enjoyable for you as it will be for me."
Moondancer was trying to analyze everything that Twilight was saying and so far it didn't seem like anything was going to happen that would lead to them being a couple. She couldn't help but wonder though that if that were the case, why would Twilight wear a gown and why would she set a table up for them in the library.
Moondancer soon stopped trying to analyze every little detail and asked, "So, what's for supper tonight?"
Twilight replied, "Oh you'll see but I have a feeling that you'll like it." She looked towards the exit and continued, "Speaking of supper, it should be just about ready."
One part of Moondancer wasn't overly thrilled that Twilight simply didn't have her castle chef come and take their order so she could have what she wanted but given that Twilight said she would like it, Moondancer figured that it wouldn't be some nasty daffodil and daisy sandwich.
Five minutes later Twilight returned to the library levitating a tray with two plates on it and a pitcher of cider. When Twilight sat Moondancer's plate in front of her she was shocked. On it was a hay steak along with some hay fries. Moondancer gave her a smile and said, "Thank you Twilight, this looks delicious!"
Twilight replied, "You're welcome. I know you tend to like heavier meals so I knew fixing you a sandwich wouldn't suffice."
Moondancer asked, "Wait a minute, you fixed this yourself? You didn't have the chef fix it?"
Twilight replied, "No, I didn't. I figured that our meal would have a lot more meaning and be more special if I made it myself."
Moondancer was in a state of shock yet on the inside it was a state of elation. Perhaps something special was going to happen that night because Twilight, a princess, fixed the meal herself when she has staff that could have done it for her. She wasn't sure what to do next, did she immediately dive in? Did she wait for Twilight to start eating hers first before starting in on hers?
Twilight got sat down and began to eat her sandwich so that was the signal to Moondancer that she could begin to eat. Twilight felt a bit nervous by the initial silence once they started eating so she started a conversation, "Moondancer, I know you've been back in school for a while. How is that going?"
Moondancer replied, "It's going great. I'm doing so well that Princess Celestia has said that I could very well make the Princess's List for this semester."
Twilight commented, "Wow, you're going to be right back where you were before too long."
Moondancer replied, "That's what she said. She said that when the next semester begins, I'll likely be able to take courses at the same level that I was in when everything went down hill."
Twilight got a nervous look on her face because she knew what moment Moondancer was talking about. She knew that she really meant that when she left and hurt her but was being kind and not being direct about it. Twilight wanted to know more about her life though. She asked, "So how are things with our other friends going?"
Moondancer replied, "Well things are going great. We've spent time in the park talking, we've gone rollerskating some and of course things wouldn't be complete if Minuette didn't drag us to the donut shop on a nearly daily basis."
Twilight couldn't help but chuckle, "I know how she is, if she doesn't have her sweets she'll go nuts."
Moondancer figured that she had probably better turn the conversation to focus on Twilight. She asked, "So, how is everything going for you? Have you had to handle any special events recently?"
Twilight replied, "Not really, just spending time with my friends."
Moondancer asked, "How are your friends anyway?"
Twilight replied, "Well Fluttershy is taking care of her animals like she always does, Pinkie wound up throwing a couple of birthday parties, Applejack has been busy applebucking, Rainbow Dash has been handling the weather and Rarity made this dress for me."
Moondancer commented, "Well she did a very nice job, it looks beautiful."
Twilight replied, "Thanks." She looked at Moondancer's more closely and asked, "Who made your dress? It has a similar design to mine." She got a huge smile on her face and continued, "Did you somehow get down here and ask Rarity to make you one and did she give you an idea for this?"
Moondancer replied, "Actually no. Twinkleshine and I went shopping on the day I got your letter and I found it in one of the boutiques up in Canterlot."
Twilight commented, "Well I think you look absolutely stunning in it."
By this point the two had finished their meal and Moondancer couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen next. A small part of her feared that this would be it but again she thought to herself, "Why would she wear a gown just for us to eat?"
Twilight could see a bit of uncertainty coming from Moondancer so she continued, "How about we go to the throne room and talk some more?"
Moondancer replied, "That sounds good."
Moondancer followed Twilight and wondered why in Equestria that they would need to go to the throne room to continue their conversation when they could have just kept talking in the library. When they arrived Moondancer was shocked to see that Twilight had a record player set up along the wall. She thought to herself, "If we're going to talk, why would she have us listening to music?"
Twilight headed to the record player and put some music on, slow music that was perfect for dancing to. Moondancer's heart began to beat a little faster when she heard the music. She couldn't help but wonder if Twilight was indeed going to ask her the question she had been hoping to hear for years. She then reminded herself that she can't go assuming anything, that she needed to just play things by ear.
Shortly after putting the music on Twilight approached Moondancer, held her hoof out and asked, "May I have this dance?"
Moondancer never had been good at standing up on her hind legs even for just a few seconds but hoped that by holding on to Twilight, that it may be easier for her. Once they began to dance they held onto one another, but they weren't pressed up close nor was Twilight looking directly into her eyes.
While they were dancing they did continue to do more talking about various things and soon once again the paranoia began to build inside of Moondancer. She couldn't help but wonder that perhaps Twilight is only wanting them to dance as close friends, especially since she had yet to gaze into her eyes or pull her close enough to the point where they were pressed together.
Eventually a song that was much slower than the others began to play and Moondancer felt herself being pulled closer to Twilight and saw those purple eyes that she had always found so beautiful looking straight into hers. Again Moondancer's heart began to beat faster, except much more so and Twilight could sense it. Twilight commented, "Somepony's nervous, isn't she?"
Moondancer really hoped that Twilight wouldn't notice but she knew that since her cover had been blown, that she better not lie. She replied, "I'll admit, I am a little nervous. It's just that I've never danced with another pony before, especially like this."
Twilight said, "Don't be nervous, it's just me."
Moondancer tried to slow her heartbeat but wasn't doing a very good job of it. The song that was playing was slow and sounded very romantic but soon the slowest part of the song began to play and Moondancer saw something she never thought she would see, Twilight was moving in for a kiss. Moondancer readied her lips to meet those of the pony she held so dear and when it finally happened, it was like fireworks were going off for her.
She thought to herself, "She's kissing me, she's really kissing me!"
Moondancer knew that she couldn't just let Twilight do everything so she put her hoof behind Twilight's neck and began to deepen the kiss. This moment wasn't just special for Moondancer but it was for Twilight as well. The fact that Moondancer would do that caused her to realize that she was truly enjoying the moment and that all her adoration was truly real, that she truly did love her.
Both mares were in a state of pure bliss at this moment. This was something that both mares didn't want to ever end but they realized that they simply couldn't stand there kissing forever. When the music stopped Twilight broke the kiss and decided the time had come.
She began, "Moondancer, I know that for a very long time you have had special feelings for me, dating back to when we were in school together. I know I should have been able to pick up on them but I was always so caught up in my studies that I was oblivious to you when I shouldn't have been. I just feel like had I taken the time to spend more time with you instead of burying my face in a book all the time, I could have experienced happiness sooner."
As Moondancer heard this, she was in a state of shock. She couldn't help but wonder what Twilight meant by experiencing happiness sooner. She replied, "Twilight, it's ok. I know how much you love your books and studying."
Twilight continued, "But it's not alright. I feel like I not only denied you true happiness but I also did myself." Her voice began to break as she continued, "Moondancer, I know when we first started seeing each other every week I was very skeptical about whether anything would ever happen or not. I'll be honest, I didn't think anything would ever come of it but with each passing week, I've felt a genuine closeness developing between us and I have begun to develop feelings, special feelings."
When Moondancer heard this, she had a feeling where Twilight was headed with this but still wasn't going to assume anything. She knew that if she were to suddenly assume that Twilight was going to ask her what she hoped she would and then didn't, that she would only hurt herself. She replied, "Twilight,....."
Twilight interrupted, "Moondancer, it has been over our past couple meetings that my feelings have grown strong, very strong. Here lately you have become a bigger and bigger part of my thoughts. Today I was frantic because I wanted to make sure everything would be perfect for you." Twilight began to tear up as she finished, "Moondancer, I hope you don't think this is too soon but" the tears began to flow down her face as she asked, "Would you be my marefriend?"
Those five words, that one question was what Moondancer had dreamed of hearing ever since she developed her crush on Twilight. She too teared up and replied, "Yes Twilight, yes! Yes I'll be your marefriend!"
The two smiled at one another with tears streaming down their faces before engaging in a passionate kiss, a much more passionate kiss than the one before. For the first time in either one's life, they felt that they were loved, truly loved. When they broke the kiss Moondancer asked, "Since we are a couple, where do we go from here?"
The two gave one another huge smiles before they giggled in unison, "Perhaps there's a book we're supposed to read about being in a relationship."
They gave one another a tight embrace and realized that they were a whole lot alike and that things would likely work out perfectly. After breaking the embrace Twilight commented, "I think our hearts will guide us to where we will go from here."
By this time it was getting late and Moondancer yawned, "Wow, I didn't know it was this late. I guess when you're truly happy time flies."
Twilight looked up at the clock and saw that it was ten. She suggested, "Moondancer, it is pretty late so what would you think about staying the night here?"
This was something that Moondancer was unsure about. She was thrilled that her and Twilight were finally a couple but knew that she just couldn't share the same bed with Twilight but didn't just want to come out and say that. She replied, "I really appreciate the offer Twilight but where would I sleep?"
Twilight couldn't help but chuckle, "Moondancer, I live in a castle. It's not like I don't have any VIP bedrooms!"
Moondancer replied, "Alright, I think I'll take you up on your offer."
Twilight suggested, "I have an idea. How about in the morning you and I go out for breakfast to celebrate tonight."
Moondancer replied, "I would love that!" She yawned and continued, "I don't know about you but I feel like I could just fall asleep standing here."
Twilight said, "Well I'll lead you up to your bedroom and then I'm going to hit the hay myself."
Moondancer nodded and followed Twilight up to the VIP bedroom. She was amazed by the size of it and the bed was more than twice as large as the bed she had at home. Once she got out of her gown and got laid down she said, "Well I'm going to hopefully get some sleep, good night Twilight."
Twilight replied, "I'm going to try and get some sleep too. Sweet dreams Moondancer."
Twilight closed the door and as Moondancer tried to get to sleep, she was the happiest she had ever been in her life. She began to think back to everything that had happened ever since she knew Twilight. She first thought about their competitive nature as fillies, the very moment she developed her crush on Twilight, then the sadness she felt when Twilight left and then more recent times, such as when Twilight threw her that party and then the day when Twilight said that she would have get togethers with her.
What mattered the most to her though was the here and now, what happened that night. The supper, the dancing, the kisses but the most wonderful moment for her was when she heard those five little words, "Would you be my marefriend?"