//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Misunderstandings and Doors // Story: How to Propose to a Princess // by Piemaster128 //------------------------------// Oh, hello, Mister Sun. Is it time to wake up already? Can’t you just go back down for like five more minutes? I’m sure Celestia won’t mind… No? Ugh, fine. I’m up, I’m up, stop shining in my eyes already. Flash yawned as he sat up in bed. Note to self, remember to close the blinds of your window before going to sleep. Normally, he used the light to wake him up just in time to start his day, but he had this entire week off, so he really didn't need to wake up at the crack of dawn today. Ugh, less complaining, more moving. Flash wearily dragged his tired and still sore body to the bathroom, walking into the door frame like he did almost every other morning. At least this time, he only hit it once, so good day already so far. Once inside, he proceeded to perform his daily routine of showering, brushing his teeth, combing his mane, and preening. His eyes still looked bleary by the time he was done, as he was so used to the routine he could do it in his sleep. Actually, he probably did fall asleep for a minute or two in the shower, now that he thought about it. He’d have to start running the cold water for longer if it wasn’t waking him up as much as it used to. Despite the exhaustion caused by his own forgetfulness and the soreness caused by the guards’ new fitness program, Flash still couldn’t help but smile as he smoothed his mane down one last time. Tomorrow was the day. The day when he and Twilight would have been dating for five years exactly. Just the thought sent shivers down his spine, and not from the water this time. It had been a fun five years. Or at least, that’s what he would have said if he was trying to obtain the ‘understatement of the last five years’ award. They had been more than fun, they had been…magical. Well, no duh, he was dating the Element of Magic. Ugh, still too early for puns. Where was he? Oh, yeah. Twilight. Best mare in the whole world, or possibly the universe. Even her occasional freakouts that threatened to destroy the entire town were just part of who she was, and the fact that she was always able to deal with any trouble she accidentally caused made her even more amazing. That and her quirks made her just so adorkable. Talented beyond compare, more beautiful than anything he had ever seen, a personality more amazing than… than… Ugh, still too early for thinking of good similes and fancy words. ANYWAY, she was fantastic in more ways than he could count. But it was more than that. After everything he had been through these past five years, Flash was certain that she was the ONE! Oh, yes, she totally was. And despite the Gala being postponed this year due to Discord destroying half the castle with a brownie dragon (…yes, a dragon made of brownies that breathed hot fudge), Flash had, after much worry and frantic letters, finally come up with a plan. Flash chuckled to himself as he left his bathroom and headed for his bedroom door, thinking. It was the perfect plan too, and while he knew the universe would try to mess him up, he would be successful. He would do it. He would ask the mare of his dreams to m— BANG! …ow. Couldn’t he at least leave his room before the universe tried to ruin everything? So rude. Flash groaned as his bedroom door, the one that just flew open and crushed him against the wall right as he was about to open it, continued to press into his now rather sore body. Curse you, Fitness Fridays. It’s been three days and he STILL hurt. Also, why did his door hate him? "Where are you, you jerk?!" an angry, female voice exploded. It sounded familiar, but Flash was in waaaaay too much pain to try and figure out who it belonged to. “We know yer in here!” another familiar voice shouted, the door slamming into him again just as it started to ease off of him. Ugh, why couldn’t this wait until after breakfast? “Girls!” a third voice yelled and the door hit him AGAIN. Dear Celestia, why would this not end?! “We promised we’d give Flash a chance to EXPLAIN himself.” “Yeah!” came a loud squeak, followed by a yet another smack of the door hitting him for a fourth time. Annnnnd now it must be caught on something because now it was pressing itself against his bruised chest. Uggggghhhhhhh…. “We gotta talk to him first, then beat him up if it turns out he’s a no-good heart-breaker!” Party in his room? Why didn’t he get an invitation? Also, it was getting realllllly hard for Flash to think with his lungs being crushed between a wall and a really hard heavy door. Why was this damn thing so heavy? Air, my old friend, where art thou? “Um, girls?” Dammit, who were these ponies? They all sounded so fam— OH SWEET AIR! Flash gasped as the door was finally pulled off his poor aching body. He fell to the ground and tried to catch his breath. Hopefully that would help make his headache go away so he could actually communicate in a somewhat decent matter because his legs were practically screaming NOPE at him and he hadn’t even tried standing up yet. Alas, his guests didn’t seem willing to give him the chance to maintain any dignity because a pair of strong hooves suddenly picked him up and began to rapidly shake him. Oh sweet Luna, whyyyyyy??? Now the room was spinning, and he still couldn’t even make out who his visitors were as everything was just a random mash of moving colors and shapes at this point. Was that a rainbow or was his vision just that blurry? “What do you have to say for yourself, you jerk!?” the first voice snapped. Flash wasn’t really sure how they expected him to answer coherently when just thinking ‘I’m gonna be sick’ literally took all his mental energy. Sweet Celestia, he was going to throw up. Could he get off this ride yet? “Rainbow!” somepony else yelled, prompting the shaking to finally stop. Flash went slack in the grip of whoever was holding him and leaned backwards with a groan. Was the room spinning, or was that just his eyes? There were some more words that he couldn’t catch due to his brain trying to not leak out of his ears and then he was unceremoniously dropped on the cold, hard floor. Why, Mister Universe? Why? “Floas,” a distorted voice called out. “Or ooo ok?” “Flash is currently watching the world spinnnnnnnnnn,” he replied drunkenly. “Please call back when the door no longer wants to dance…” Somepony please make the room stop moving so much, thank you. There were more muddled noises that he could only guess were words before somepony — or was it something? — ran out. A minute later, he felt something cold and wet press against his forehead. Flash still didn’t know who was doing what to him, but the cold thing felt WONDERFUL. He leaned into it, groaning in relief and slowly, the room finally began to return to focus. And when it did enough for Flash to take stock of what was happening, he couldn’t help but gulp. Did he break rule one without realizing it? Please let it be that he didn’t break rule one. Pretty please? All of Twilight’s friends were there, and none of them looked particularly happy. Rainbow and Applejack were glaring at him, using the very same glares they used on the nobles at the Gala and looking like they wanted nothing more than to beat him silly. As much as his guard instincts were telling him to defend himself, he knew he was physically in no shape to do so. Not to mention Twilight would kill him if he did. Next to them, Rarity stood looking quite displeased, but she did look prepared to hold back Rainbow and Applejack, so that was nice. And Fluttershy… Sweet, merciful Fluttershy was holding an ice pact to his head and looked like a sad little puppy. Awww. At least he would have someone to fix him up if the others decided to try and rip him limb from limb. Also, WHY did they look like they were going to rip him limb from limb? He should probably ask. “Did I do something wrong?” Flash asked. “I have no idea what I did, but whatever it was, I’m very, very sorry.” Please let that be enough? Please, Mister Universe? “Don’t lie! You know what you did!” Rainbow yelled, rushing at his face, only to be yanked backwards by a pale, sparkly hoof before she could touch him. Thank you, Rarity. Please don’t throw me to the Diamond Dogs. Because apparently apologizing nicely was not enough for Mister Universe. Jerk. “Perhaps we should tell him what we are accusing him of BEFORE we start punishing him?” Rarity said, holding the now-upside-down Rainbow Dash by the tail in her magic. “Do remember that we still don’t know if Twilight’s worry is actually warranted. This could still be a misunderstanding.” Twilight was worried? If so, shouldn’t they be helping her rather than threatening him? The fact that his marefriend’s worry was making them go after him instead of flocking around her was very worrisome in its own right. “What’s Twilight worried about?” he asked. “It’smorelikeshe’shavinganotherfreakoutepisode,” Pinkie said quickly. Oh, that was definitely a bit more concerning, especially after what she had told him with the Smarty Pants episode. Twilight was certainly logical, but sometimes she came to the wrong conclusion if she didn’t have all the evidence. But that meant that he should go and talk to her, comfort her, and help prove that her fears are unfounded even if he didn’t quite understand them. That would be the normal way to solve this kind of problem. Threatening him was NOT a way to solve this kind of problem. “Ok, but then shouldn’t we go and calm her down?” “Well, um,” Fluttershy the Nurse began, “You’re…kinda, sorta, what’s she’s freaking out about,” Huh? “Twilight said that you were acting…nervous these last few weeks. Much more so than you normally do.” “Yeah, even when you went with her through time to stop Starlight, she said you were less nervous then than you are now,” Pinkie said. Flash blinked. That was…accurate, actually. The Gala had originally been set so that it would overlap with their anniversary perfectly, but after it was announced that it would be delayed only three weeks ago, Flash had suddenly found himself with absolutely nothing resembling a plan for their five-year anniversary. Which in turn meant he had absolutely nothing resembling a plan on how to pop the question. Sure, there were plenty of places in Ponyville that he could take her, but they all just…didn’t seem to fit. This was a HUGE moment for their relationship, and going somewhere they could go any other day of the week just…didn’t cut it. He wanted to ask her after reliving the wondrous experience that had been their first date, though with hopefully less nobles. So yes, he HAD been even more nervous than he ALREADY WAS. This had to be PERFECT! Or at least a perfect as it could be considering that their anniversary just so happened to land on a TUESDAY! Seriously, couldn’t the universe give him a break? Just this once? “But then, you apparently stopped being so nervous just yesterday,” Applejack said, still glaring at him so hard it seemed as though knives were about to shoot out of her eyes. And not plastic butter knives. Yes, you’re angry, message received. But she was right too. He had just found out yesterday that his aunt Firefly, or Aunt Lightning as he used to call her back when she was in the Wonderbolts, had managed to get him and Twilight reservations for the best, and possibly the busiest, restaurant in Canterlot, one that Twilight really loved to go to whenever they had the time. Normally, it would take him up to two months to get a reservation, sometimes longer, so the fact that his aunt had pulled it off so quickly must have been a minor miracle. So, yes, he had been feeling better because he now had the starting point of a plan. A plan he had spent all of last night finishing. He was still VERY nervous, but not Twilight levels of nervous. But why would this cause Twilight to freak out? “Twilight was concerned, and this apparently was magnified when she read a letter you left out on the kitchen table,” Pinkie said. Letter, what let—oh. OH! Wait, could it actually be that th— “This LETTER was written by some ‘Lightning’ chick, and was FAR too lovey dovey her to just be some random friend. She even called you ‘her little Flash,’” Rainbow said, growling at him and sounding quite threatening despite still hanging upside-down in Rarity’s magic. “And not only that, she said she got the two of you reservations for The Gilded Castle restaurant in CANTERLOT! Admit it! You’ve been cheating on Twilight!” … … … Flash tried to hold it in. 
 He really did. But he couldn’t take it. He burst out laughing, startling Fluttershy into dropping the ice pack. But he really couldn’t focus on that at the moment. SERIOUSLY!? THAT’S what they thought the letter was talking about!? While his aunt had a big, understanding, and loving personality, she was also so overbearing that the idea of her being anypony’s secret girlfriend was just…HILARIOUS. If the girls had met her, they would KNOW there was no way that she would ever have a secret coltfriend. There was just no way. Should he be laughing this hard? It was hard to tell given how foggy his head still was. Rarity snatched him up by his tail, after apparently dropping Rainbow unceremoniously on the ground, and he was now dangling upside-down in front of her. Whoops. Guess she was mad now. Best clear this up. If he could just. Stop. Laughing. “Would you mind telling us WHAT IS SO FUNNY!? Rarity growled, bringing herself nose-to-nose with Flash. “If you are actually laughing at the idea of CHEATING on Twilight, I swear I’ll— “She’s my AUNT!” Flash blurted out, cutting Rarity off and causing her eyes to widen. Oh, that expression was gold. Spike would love to see it. “What?” Rarity asked, blinking. Behind her, Pinkie just tilter her head to the side while Fluttershy tilted hers in the other direction. “Lightning is what I call my Aunt Firefly from her time in the Wonderbolts!” Flash said, finally managing to get his laughter mostly under control. “I’m not cheating on Twilight, especially with my AUNT!” Because, for one, YUCK! “The reservations are for me and Twilight! With the Gala postponed, I needed a plan for our five-year anniversary. My aunt has a lot of connections in Canterlot, seeing as she is a retired Wonderbolt, so I asked her for help.” More like begged, but they didn’t need to know that. Luckily, she had been very understanding, just like always. Just like— OH CRAP! TWILIGHT! She was freaking out, all because of his own thoughtlessness! With Canterlot Castle damaged, a lot of the ponies who would normally go to Canterlot to talk to Celestia and Luna had been coming to her for help, which had been driving Twilight’s stress levels THROUGH THE ROOF! Combine that letter and his uncharacteristic worry and distraction and it was no wonder her stressed and sleep-deprived mind took the jump WAY out into left field! And it wasn’t even her fault! He had been so worried about his own plans for the proposal he had barely stopped to consider HER stress levels and how SHE must be feeling with all the new work being shoved onto her! Not to mention that he had spent most nights writing to his aunt, which meant she never had the time to bring up her worries with him! Worse, his aunt had singed the letter as Lightning, just like she always did, which meant Twilight didn’t KNOW that it was his AUNT FIREFLY that she had met almost a year ago! Oh Celestia, this was just as much his OWN fault as it might be hers. He NEEDED to clear this up, and possibly apologize to her for being SUCH AN IDIOT! Was he overreacting? HE DIDN’T CARE! Flaring his wings, he tried to fly and right himself from his upside-down position. But the girls didn’t look like they were having any of it. “And just where are you going?” Applejack asked as Flash fell back to his previous position. “To Twilight. I need to clear this up. NOW!” Flash said, flapping his wings again and achieve the same results. “And how do we know you’re not lying to us about Firefly and are just using this as an excuse to save your sorry flank from a beatdown, huh?” Rainbow asked, getting in his face again. “Last thing we need is you lying to Twilight and hurting her even more!” Dang it, Rainbow, Miss Element of Honesty over there would probably be able to tell if I AM lying, he thought, but he couldn’t see Applejack to tell if she believed him or not. Fine, FINE, whatever. He didn’t have time to be interrogated by Applejack anyway, and seeing as there was no other way, he just decided to give them proof and skip this nonsense. He just hoped their big mouths wouldn't blab the surprise to Twilight before tomorrow night. “If you Pinkie Promise™ not to tell Twilight what I am about to show you, I can prove I’m not cheating on her,” Flash said. Also, please hurry, the blood’s really flowing to my head and it is NOT HELPFUL. The girls shared a look, shrugged, and recited the motions. Good. Only one thing left now. “Rainbow, look in my closet. You will find a safe in the back right corner. The code is 23, 55, 67, 09.” Gotta remember to change it later. Rainbow just raised an eyebrow. “Trust me,” Flash said. “Once you see it, you’ll understand.” After another ten seconds, she turned away and moved towards the closet. “This had better be pretty convincing,” Rainbow said, sticking the upper half of her body into the closet. There was a series of clicks. “Because if it’s not, then you’re gonna regret…” With the final click, Flash heard the safe open. He smirked. Guessing by her silence, he was in the clear. “Rainbow? What’d you find?” Applejack asked, tilting her head in confusion. “Is it bad?” Fluttershy asked nervously. “Is it an apology cake?” Pinkie asked. Right, because a safe is where you keep cake…Actually, this was Pinkie, so maybe. “…You can let him go, Rarity. He’s telling the truth.” A statement Applejack could have probably confirmed if I had let her. Oh well, we’re on the clock here. “Are you sure, darling?” Rarity asked. Yes, she’s sure. So if you can put me down already… “I mean, I want to trust him, but unless we can know for certain…” Rainbow spun around with the box balanced on her hoof. And Rarity released his tail faster than he had time to react. Waitwaitwaitwait— AHHH! OH DEAR LUNA WHYHYYHYHYHYHY! HE EVEN LANDED ON THE SAME BUMP FROM EARLIER! Why did the universe hate him? WHY!!!?!?!??!?!?!? Thankfully, the ice pack Fluttershy had dropped was still within reach, so Flash was able to pick it up and get it back onto his head again as he sat up and groaned. However, once his vision cleared up, it became clear the girls weren't watching him. All on them were mesmerized by the ring in Rainbow’s hooves. It was a solid gold horn ring with a massive diamond on the front. Lining the rest of the ring were a variety of gems all of different colors, making the ring appear to have a glowing rainbow in the sunlight pouring through his window. It would have, in any other circumstance, cost him nearly a year’s salary, but when he had gone to ask for Celestia’s permission to marry her, shortly after asking Twilight’s parents, Celestia had insisted that she help pay for it despite his insistence that he could do it himself. Shaking his head, Flash refocused on the present and the girls. Rarity was squealing excitedly as she ranted and ranted about the gems and the diamond while dancing on her hooves so fast that Flash was almost certain only one hoof was touching the ground at a time. Fluttershy had her hooves over her mouth in shock and her wings had flared out, nearly knocking his lamp over. Rainbow had a look of pure surprise on her face, almost the same look that she had on when Soarin showed up in Ponyville to ask her on a date. Applejack had a look that just screamed ‘It’s about time, partner,’ and Pinkie Pie… Uhhhh… Pinkie Pie was vibrating in place so intensely that Flash thought there was a reasonable chance her face might…no, scratch that, her face had in fact VIBRATED OFF HER ENTIRE BODY and was now vibrating just as intensely next to her head. That was SO creepy on SO many levels. Flash didn’t really have the mental capacity to deal with that right now. Not that he EVER had the mental capacity to deal with Pinkie, but he had more important things on his plate at the moment. “Do you believe me now?” he asked, smiling as the girls all nodded. Pinkie’s face moved in perfect sync with her head, which somehow looked even weirder than the vibrating. Flash was starting to feel a little sick. “Oh, this is so exciting!” Rarity squealed, opening her mouth to likely start asking thousand questions. A thousand questions that Flash really didn’t have time to answer. Because Twilight was having a Smarty Pants meltdown and he needed to be there. “Rarity,” Flash said, cutting her off before she could begin, “I know you want to hear everything, but Twilight needs me a week ago. So before things get out of hoof, could you please point me in the direction of my marefriend so that I can clear up this whole mess and apologize for making her worry? And Rainbow, please put that back where you found it. I REALLY don’t want ANYPONY ELSE to see it, ok?” Rarity pouted as Rainbow put the ring out of sight, but nodded in understanding. Rainbow flew back into the closet, shutting the safe with a tell-tale click. “This way, darling,” Rarity said as she moved towards the door. Fluttershy stopped to help Flash back to his hooves as Rainbow, Applejack, and a still vibrating Pinkie followed after Rarity. Flash just hoped Pinkie’s face would be back in place before Twilight saw her. Twilight already had enough going on, he was sure. The group quickly ran through the crystalline hallways and arrived at the throne room in less than a minute. But rather than burst in and startle the likely panicking princess, they instead oped to quietly open the main door. Inside, the Golden Oaks Chandelier sat peacefully above the crystal map (Yes, he had asked about that). Nearby, a worried-looking Spike and Starlight Glimmer were watching a rather frazzled Twilight pace back and forth so intensely that Flash was surprised that she hadn't started wearing a groove in the crystal yet. “Twilight, PLEASE calm down,” Starlight said, moving to try and stop her pacing, only to end up getting pushed across the floor as Twilight stubbornly kept moving. Oh boy, this WAS serious. She was using her earth pony magic without even realizing it, and that meant a full on freak-out was even closer than he had thought. “How can I CLAM DOWN!? You NEVER tell a mare to calm down, ESPECIALLY when the pony that’s spent the last five years with her might be off with some other mare right under her nose and she doesn’t know what she did wrong or why and she can’t calm down because everything she see makes her think of him and how he lied to her and…” She was talking in circles too. Another bad sign. Turning around, Flash motioned to Rarity and the others. Over the years, the group had developed a sort of hoof-language to convey messages without speaking, something that came in handy when preparing surprises for other members of the group. This sigh, however, was more related to Twilight. ‘Give me some time alone with her.’ The girls nodded, before moving out of the doorway as Flash began moving towards his panicking marefriend. Starlight and Spike immediately saw him, and apparently could guess what he was going to do, because they scurried for the exit without any protest. Spike did shoot Flash a worried glance, but Flash smiled slightly and signed ‘The girls will explain.’ Once the throne room door had closed again, Flash turned back to the love of his life. Thankfully, she was so busy rambling nonsense and staring at the floor as she paced that she didn’t see her audience leave and be replaced with the unintentional source of her panic. Actually seeing her up close made Flash feel even MORE guilty for his carelessness than he did before. However, it also strengthened his resolve. One way or another, he was going to make this up to her. At least, after all this time, he knew exactly how to snap her out of it. Stepping right into the path of her pacing, Flash waited until she was directly in front of him before ducking down and quickly capturing her lips in his own. Hello, my dear… Twilight squawked in surprise, her rant ending as she backed up and fell on her rear in surprise. Another time Flash would have chuckled, but he was too focused on calming her down to worry about that. And, he WAS calming her down, or so he kept telling himself. She wasn't pacing and was no longer rambling, so she was certainly calmer than three seconds ago…right? “W-What? But, how, when, how much—” Twilight sputtered. Ok, one of two wasn’t bad. Flash brought up his wing to her mouth and gently shushed her, ending her rambling and making her look at his eyes. Her purple orbs were large and afraid, but there was a small spark of hope underneath. “I believe you might be mistaking my aunt for somepony else,” Flash said, smiling very softly at his love. One recap of the events above (minus the ring) later… POOMPH. Twilight groaned, lifted her head, pushed the pillow away, and tried to facetable again, only for Flash to promptly slide it back into position before she could hit the crystal. “Please let me facetable,” she groaned into the fabric, trying for a third time only to be thwarted by her stallion once again. Her stallion. He liked that. He was her stallion… Ok, seriously? After everything that’s happened today, you’re STILL thinking like that!? Focus, you moron… “And let you hurt yourself and give you a headache? Nope,” Flash said, gently rubbing her back with his wing. “You get enough of those from the nobles.” All right, to be fair, not AS many came around anymore after Twilight enacted a law that said they weren't allowed to bring up decisions that had already been decided by the other princesses unless it was a REAL emergency. Too bad ‘Castle Destruction via brownie dragon’ counted as an emergency. But some did still come around, so she still got enough headaches in Flash’s mind. “I deserve a headache. You got one because of me, so now I deserve one too.” “Twilight, you DON’T deserve a headache,” Flash said, shaking his head. He knew this was coming. She felt guilty and now she was overcompensating to try and make up for it. He hated when she did this because it hurt her more than anypony else. He just hoped he could help make her feel better before she actually hurt herself or said something really outlandish. And besides, he was the one to blame here, not her. “You got crushed by a door, shaken senseless by Rainbow, dropped on the floor, held upside down by Rarity, then dropped on the floor AGAIN! And all on what is supposed to be your day off AND before you could even have breakfast, which isn't made yet because I was distracting everypony who could even make you breakfast! So I say I DO deserve a headache. Princess’s orders!” Twilight sat up, tossed the pillow across the room with her magic, and slammed her head down again. POOMPH. Good thing he kept two pillows below the table ever since Spike had taken up her habit of facetableing. Okay, so this MIGHT be a bit harder than he thought. But he had another plan. Rather than wait for her to try and facetable again, Flash took flight and immediately wrapped his hooves around Twilight’s barrel, lifting her out of her throne. Twilight squeaked in surprise, but grabbed hold of his forelegs as he ascended up into the chandelier. He always loved holding her like this. Once he reached the roots, he kicked out with his hind hoof, the vibration knocking loose a thick piece of cloth that he had tied between two strong roots about three years back. Why was it there? Because he wanted to make a special place he and Twilight could relax after a long day dealing with princessy things. And what better place than a hammock surrounded by all her favorite memories? Smiling, he flew over it and closed his wings, causing him and his love to fall perfectly into the hammock with her folded just so over him. The perfect place for him to hold her and comfort her while also preventing her from escaping or facetableing. Though just to be sure, once they were in, he extended his wings again to wrap around her and hug her close. Twilight blushed, as she always did, and looked away nervously. “I know you’re beating yourself up over this,” Flash said, gently nuzzling the top of her head. “But this isn’t your fault. Even if you overreacted, I was the one who made you worry with my own negligence. I should have helped you these last few weeks and given you the time to bring your worries to my attention. I was so distracted with my own plans that I neglected you, and you payed the price for it. And even if this was your fault, which it isn’t, I forgive you. This was just a big misunderstanding, and we can all let our imagination run away from us now and again.” He had certainly let his imagination run wild on occasions, especially when he was thinking about Twilight or how tomorrow night might go. Also, he was about forty-five percent certain that Pinkie’s imagination would LITERALLY run away at times. He didn’t have proof, but he KNEW he once saw a rainbow with two thin legs running out of Sugar Cube Corner, and no amount of rational argument would convince him he had seen anything else. It was PINKIE! Rational arguments were like cupcakes to her. Here one second, inhaled by a black hole the next. But that was not the point. “I should have trusted you,” Twilight said, her voice tinged with sorrow. “In all these years, you’ve NEVER given me any reason to doubt you. But the moment you start acting differently, I immediately start jumping to conclusions and assume the worst about you. I panic for no reason and couldn’t even see the obvious flaws in my own argument against you, even though I KNOW you wouldn't do that to me. You deserve bett—” ABSOLUTELY NOT! YOU ARE NOT FINISHING THAT SENTENCE, MISSY! DON’T YOU DARE! DON’T! Flash quickly tilted her head up and caught her in a passionate kiss. Twilight squeaked and tried to pull away like before, but Flash held firm. Slowly, she relaxed and returned the kiss as Flash gently caressed her with his wings. After holding it for at least a minute and a half, Flash broke away and looked her in the eyes. “Don’t you ever say that,” Flash said, booping her lightly on the nose. “I don’t care if you aren't perfect, or if I occasionally get beaten up or turned into a cactus because of you.” (That had been one weird date.) “I love you, all of you. All your little quirks, all the chaos and randomness this relationship brings, and even at times like this. You are the only mare for me, and no matter how hard you try, or no matter what mistakes you make, we will work through them together. I won’t be leaving you anytime soon, and that’s a promise.” “A Pinkie Promise™?” Pinkie asked, her head popping out above them. “Most definitely,” Flash said, not at all phased by her sudden appearance. This little trick of hers happened so often that he had grown immune to it. Pinkie grinned before vanishing back into only Pinkie knew where. Yes, not even Celestia and Luna knew where. And YES, HE HAD ASKED! Wait a moment…he just got a great idea to prove that it was a promise. “Actually, before we go to breakfast, can you open the throne room door from here?” Flash asked, a new plan coming in and completely flipping the old one on its head. “Huh? Oh, sure, I guess,” Twilight said, clearly confused by his sudden request. Her horn glowed for a few seconds and a loud series of screams and thumps followed. “What the!?” Flash chuckled as both of them looked out of their little perch to see that Rainbow, Rarity, Starlight, and Spike were all sprawled out on the crystal floor with Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie behind them, sighing, deadpanning, and laughing respectively. “Rainbow!” Flash called out, completely ignoring the fact that they had been trying to listen in on them. “Change of plan! Please go get Twilight’s surprise for me right now!” Oh, the look of shock on their faces was PRICELESS. Chuckling, Flash once again flared his wings and took to the air with Twilight in his legs as just Rainbow tried to respond. She failed, and in the end just ended up flying out of the room at such high speeds that she knocked over everypony in the pony pile again on her way out. But so long as she got the ring, all was good. “My surprise?” Twilight finally asked as they reached the ground. She looked like she was torn between berating her friends for listening in on them or interrogating him with her gaze of death (or at least death by being too gosh darn adorable). “Yes, your surprise, and the entire reason for this big misunderstanding,” Flash said, as he gently took her hooves in his own. It may not be the end of the perfect date he had planned, but he just knew that this was the moment. A moment to reinforce his promise to never leave her, and to make sure that his commitment would forever be etched in her mind. “Twilight, you are the most amazing mare in Equestria. Even without your title or your magic, no pony can replace you. You’re kind, smart, funny, generous, humble, honest, loyal, silly, and above all else, the mare that has won my heart. Which is why now, one day less than five years into this relationship, I need to ask…” At the perfect moment, Rainbow came flaying back in and literally threw the ring box at him with all her might. Flash, in one quick moment that he would NEVER be able to repeat no matter how much her tried, caught the ring box, knelt before his love, and presented the ring. “Will you marry me?” Twilight’s mouth dropped, her wings flared, and she gasped so loudly that Flash thought there might have been a good chance that even Celestia might have heard her in Canterlot. There was a squeal behind him, but he didn’t pay attention to that. All his focus was on the most lovely mare in the world as he eagerly, and nervously awaited her response. One second passed… Two seconds passed… Three seconds passed… Oh sweet Luna, please tell him the he didn’t break h— “Yes.” Hmm? Was that? “Yes.” It was. It was! “YES” Twilight shouted in the Royal Canterlot voice before POUNCING! Flash barely had time to see Rarity’s magic yank the ring out of harm’s way before he was epically GLOMPED by the Princess of Friendship. Once she had her prey, she locked all four of her legs and both of her wings around him like steel clamps before proceeding to give him the most passionate kiss that she could. It may not have been the most romantic or gentle, but BY CELESTIA was it amazing either way. So, he simply closed his eyes and enjoyed his imprisonment for the time being. Heaven knows Twilight wouldn't be letting him so much as wiggle any time soon. At least her wings were soft… Ok, seeing as she is might kill you from sheer squeezing or lack of letting you breath between kisses, now is REALLY the time to focus… Though it might not be such a bad way to go… “Umm, Twilight?” Fluttershy’s voice called out. “I think Flash is turning blue…” Saved by Fluttershy again. He would need to buy her a thank you cake or something. “Hmmm? Ohhh, hehehe, oops. Sorry, Flash,” Twilight said as she eased her grip and broke the kiss while blushing adorably. She didn’t let go. “It’s ok, Twilight,” Flash said, smiling a bit drunkenly. “Or is that Mrs. Sentry now?” Twilight giggled before giving him another kiss. “Twilight, aren’t you forgetting somethingggg…” Rarity sing-songed as she levitated the ring box up and down slightly for emphasis. Twilight broke the kiss, looked at Rarity, then blushed again. Always with the blushing. So adorable… Taking the box in her magic, Twilight slid the ring out of its place, gave it a quick spin to look at it more closely, then gently slid it over her horn. The ring slid about three quarters of the way down before coming to a stop. Perfect. “Well?” Twilight asked her still captive fiancé. “How do I look?” Do you even need to ask? “Like an angel…”