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// 3 The Date 
// Story: Twilight's Dawning 
// by Bronyxy 
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Now without her younger sister’s support, Celestia fought to control herself and made a promise to herself not to wake her unless the fate of Equestria was genuinely hanging in the balance.  She had no idea whether Twilight would dress up for the occasion or not, so she planned to post the most sharp eyed of her guards to watch where the expected chariot would land and instructed him to notify her immediately of her guest’s attire.  She would be waiting with her best dress on and if the guard informed her that her former student was not wearing a dress, she would quickly slip it off and greet her in the same state and thereby put her at her ease.

The Sun Princess paced up and down having shortlisted half a dozen dresses, but then decided that she didn’t like any of them and got more out.  Time was fast running out and she was definitely feeling the pressure as the minute hand seemed to unwind like clockwork, dragging the hour hand willingly in its wake.

With time running out she finally decided upon one of the fabulous dresses at her disposal, slipped it on and applied make-up to suit, rushing as her time evaporated.  She didn’t like the dress any more; the more she looked at it, the more minute flaws she imagined, but it was too late now and she stood ready waiting to hear from her lookout.  She didn’t pace in case the sound of her own hoofsteps masked the sound of the lookout’s awaited notification; he could have a very quiet voice after all, she reasoned.  She crossed and uncrossed her legs feeling far greater nerves at that moment than ever she had faced during any State event or even upon the brink of any battle.  She was terrified.

“They’re coming your Majesty!” called the lookout clearly.
“Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!” she repeated over and over, desperate to hear about Twilight’s appearance.
“Princess Twilight is wearing a dress your Majesty!”
“Thank you!” she called back, trying not to let her voice betray how nervous she felt.

She hurried out to the courtyard where she knew the chariot would land and arrived only shortly after it had touched down and Twilight just started to alight.  She knew she should have been in the courtyard when the chariot had landed, and hoped that her guest would overlook the transgression in accepted Royal protocol.  She felt really nervous, but put on a practiced smile and strode over to meet her date.  Her date; my, how that sounded!

Twilight thanked the pegasi charioteers and walked towards Celestia; Princess Celestia; Her Royal Majesty, the Mare of Morning, Princess Celestia of Equestria, Protector of the Realm, Ruler of the Solar Court, Bringer of the Dawn, Empress of the Sun, and Diarch of the Day.  The most powerful pony in all of Equestria.

Celestia looked calm and composed; regal in every way as she walked slowly towards her guest, the white silk dress she had chosen hanging from her frame exquisitely, emphasising the subtlety of her curves. It was finely crafted and showed her off magnificently, adding to the air of elusiveness that complemented her power and authority.

The two took in each other’s dresses and exchanged formal kisses, not ones that carried any hint of how they both felt, but the appropriate level of greeting for important guests on State business.
“Princess Celestia” said Twilight, breaking the ice “Thank you for your kind invitation.  You look especially smart in your new dress.”
Smart? thought the Sun Princess.  How she had longed to hear her say words like sensual, alluring  or even sexy, but of course, etiquette would not allow that.  Not yet, leastways.

“Princess Twilight” she began formally, immediately kicking herself for slavishly following the expected protocols “I should dare venture that your dress is a special order from Carousel Boutique.  Rarity has clearly outdone herself this time!”
Then she saw the sun cutie marks around the neck and gasped inwardly.  How forward she thought, her heart beat jumping noticeably.

The two princesses set off together and enjoyed a walk around the cloisters, taking in parts of the Royal Castle, which just as Luna had suspected, she had never seen before.  The conversation was polite, but neither wished to be the first to cross the line of accepted behaviour and disclose the feelings each held for the other.

Next Celestia directed them to the portrait gallery and regaled her guest with some of the more mischievous and occasionally racy stories that she attributed to each individual in turn.  By the end, Twilight had seen the dry old portraits of formal looking stuffed shirts transformed into a rogues' gallery of colourful personalities, and although she may not have remembered which stories went with which picture, the anecdotes would stay firmly embedded in her mind.

For all the repressed emotions on both sides, self-discipline held the two of them hostage, and by the end of the afternoon, Celestia was starting to feel absolutely wretched inside, desperate to make a move or respond to an advance that neither felt they could make.  Ultimately the only adjective that could have been used to describe the hours they shared together was ‘nice’; nothing further, even though they both wanted so much more.

Eventually, Celestia directed her guest to the observation lounge where dinner had been arranged.  Luna had raised the moon, but was behind on her duties so left her sister and her guest alone to enjoy a little more time together.  The setting was romantic; a small table in the observation lounge being favoured over the large and ostentatious feasting tables set up in the main dining hall.  A panoply of constellations was visible to all points of the compass while more immediate lighting was provided by candles in delicate candelabra placed upon the table.  They were close enough to reach out and touch each other, if either had the nerve …

The starter was served; a delicate consommé with an appetising aroma.  Twilight hadn’t eaten because of the knot in her stomach and now felt she was ready for something, especially something created by the Royal chefs who were renowned as being the best in Canterlot if not the whole of Equestria.  In her haste and under the dancing shadows caused by the flickering candles, she picked up the wrong utensil from the array spread out to either side of her place setting and found herself holding a fork.  Celestia looked surprised at her choice, but elected to make her guest feel at her ease and so picked up the corresponding item from her own cutlery.  Twilight looked at Celestia and saw that she had chosen the same implement as her and therefore assumed that it must have been the correct choice, odd though it seemed.

Both princesses found the effort of eating the watery starter with a fork to be a slow and laborious process, while the serving staff watched on with suppressed incredulity.  Frantic messages were being passed back to the kitchen to delay the entree while the starter course extended from five minutes, to ten and twenty minutes.  Both princesses realised they had made a dreadful mistake, but neither wanted to lose face, so each kept going, focusing increasingly hard lest they caught the eye of the other.

After half an hour, Celestia raised her eyes just a little, to see Twilight doing the same from the other side of the table and a twinkle formed in her eye at the absurdity of the situation.  Twilight couldn’t help herself, but burst out laughing against all standards of acceptable protocol and Celestia joined in, unable to restrain herself any longer.  Both were helpless to resist the laughter that forced itself out and instantly broke down the straitjacket of formality that had so impeded their afternoon together.

As the raucous laughter began to subside, Twilight raised two forehooves over the table to meet two white ones from Celestia and they held hooves, staring into each other’s eyes with a deepness and intensity that told them both this was not the closest they were going to be that evening.

“Why did you invite me here today Celestia?” she asked, not letting up in her gaze.

The Sun Princess was stunned by the directness of the question, but could not say that it wasn’t her who had done it.  This was her chance and she knew it, but she wanted time to think through a response.  However, there wasn’t time.  She knew she was in danger of overthinking her reply and had to speak quickly before the moment passed, so went with what felt right:

“To spend some quality time with you” she said softly.

“I feel closer to you right now than I ever have to anypony” whispered Twilight looking into the lavender eyes of her hostess and instinctively started to lean forward.

Celestia was alert to the cue and leaned forward too, the two meeting in the middle and sharing a tender kiss.

When the kiss was approaching a natural end, they did not pull apart and struggle to make up embarrassed excuses to cover their actions, but leaned in more forcefully, Celestia reaching up to delicately caress Twilight’s muzzle with her forehoof.  Twilight leaned in to Celestia’s attention and found herself taking the kiss further and deeper than she had ever done before.

Realising that events were now starting to take on a life of their own, the Sun Princess flicked open one eyelid to look briefly round and observed that the serving staff had withdrawn leaving the two of them alone to each other’s company, watched over only by the stars of Luna’s artistry.

Finally free to express herself, she leaned in more passionately, building the burning intensity between the two of them.


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Twilight did not go home that night, and the next morning attended breakfast with her new lover, her first marefriend.  Both princesses had tasted what they had dreamed of, and both liked what they had found.

Luna had been right; they were made for each other.