Twilight took a single bite of the hayburger and her eyes widened in joy. “This is amazing!” she cried, licking ketchup off her lips.
“See, I told you,” Flash grinned from the stool next to her. “Sweetcream makes the best hayburgers in this city.”
The two were sitting at the counter of Sweetcream Scoop’s, perched atop the red-cushioned stools. All around them was the chatter of voices from diners sitting on the counter and in the booths all around them, accompanied by dings and clatters from the arcade in the back. Snow danced in the windows in the front of the restaurant; Hearth’s Warming music played from a jukebox in the corner. Above the jukebox, a clock displayed that there were four days, three hours, and twenty-seven minutes left until 1950.
“Aw, shucks, Flashy, you flatter me!” Sweetcream herself smirked, sliding up to them on roller-skates. The sherbert green unicorn shook her yellow and pink mane out of her eyes and rolled over to behind the counter, hopping out of her skates. She plucked two tall glasses out from behind the counter, filled them both up to the brim with chocolate milkshakes, and slid them over to the dining ponies. “Here, sugar. On the house.”
“Oh, Sweetcream, you don’t have to—” Flash protested.
“Ah, think nothing of it,” Sweetcream waved him off. “Why shouldn’t this be special for you?”
Flash blushed faintly and gave Sweetcream a grateful smile. “Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it,” Sweetcream smirked back at him. She leaned against the counter and studied Twilight for a moment. “So, this is the mare you’ve been pining after for moons?”
“Sweetcream!” Flash cried, his blush deepening. “D-don’t tell her!”
“Tell me what?” Twilight asked, slurping up some milkshake.
Sweetcream snorted with laughter. “Oh, you should’ve heard him talking to me about you! Praised you to the moon, he did.” She put on a passable imitation of Flash’s voice. “‘She’s just so smart, and so cool, and so beautiful! When she smiles, it lights up the room! I feel like I can’t talk to her. Maybe if I read more books, that’d give me something to talk to her about. What books would a smart mare like her read?’”
“Oh, shut up,” Flash whined, his face now red as a tomato.
Sweetcream hooted and clapped Flash on the shoulder. “Hey, I told you to buck up and ask her out, and now look where you are! What would you do without me, kid?”
“So you two know each other?” Twilight asked, an amused smile on her slightly red face.
“I’ve known this dork since he was a little colt,” Sweetcream said. “His mom worked as a waitress here back when my parents ran this place. I babysat him quite a few times when he was growing up, and his first job was working here as a dishwasher after school.”
“I owe a lot to Sweetcream,” Flash stated.
“And don’t you forget it, hon,” she smirked, booping him. She tousled his mane affectionately, then quickly strapped her skates back on. “If either of you needs anything, lemme know, okay sugar?”
“Thanks, Sweetcream,” Flash sighed as she skated off to handle other customers.
Twilight giggled to herself. “She’s awfully nice,” she commented.
“Yeah,” Flash muttered, his face still red.
The two were silent for a few minutes, slurping at their milkshakes as the jukebox continued to play through Hearth’s Warming music, then Twilight asked, “Flash?”
“Yes?” Flash asked.
“Did you really say all those nice things about me?”
Flash choked on his drink, his face coloring again. He looked over at Twilight, who had a small smile hovering on her lips, head cocked to one side. Her wide lavender eyes seemed to reflect the glow of the lights, enhancing the natural beauty that always made him feel weak at the knees. He stared with his mouth hanging open slightly for a few moments, then swallowed, cleared his throat, and spoke.
“Yes,” he admitted. “Yes, I...I told Sweetcream all about you.”
Twilight blushed faintly and twirled her mane. “You...you really think I’m beautiful?”
Flash swallowed and looked up at her, drinking in every detail of her gorgeous face like a thirsty pony at a well: her eyes, her shy smile, the faint blush coloring her dimpled cheeks, her sleek tri-colored mane.
“I did. Do!” he caught himself. “You...you’re the most beautiful mare I’ve ever…”
Something dropped into his field of view from above. He looked up and his voice trailed off as he stared at the intrusive object in question: a green plant with white berries and round leaves, floating in a light green aura. Twilight stared up at it, letting out an embarrassed squeak of shock.
“Sweetcream!” Flash cried, glaring at the mare as she skated past.
“What?” Sweetcream asked, her face the picture of innocence. “That was there already!”
“No, it wasn’t!” Flash protested, his face even redder than before.
Sweetcream giggled. “Well, regardless, you know what the rules are. Go on, kiss her, you big dummy!”
Flash and Twilight both looked at each other, each of them red. Twilight’s eyes were wide, Flash’s brow was furrowed in irritation.
“You’re going to keep teasing us about it until we kiss, aren’t you?” he sighed in irritation.
“Yup!” Sweetcream smirked.
The two stared at one another for a few seconds of silence. “Um…” Flash finally stammered. “So…”
“You know,” Twilight said slowly. “I read in Traditions and Tales of Hearth’s Warming about the origins of the mistletoe kiss, and there’s nothing that says that it has to be on the lips…”
Flash sighed in relief, blessing Twilight’s love of reading and steel-trap memory. “So, on the cheek?” he asked, his heart doing tap dance in his chest.
“I suppose,” Twilight nodded, looking down to the side nervously.
Sweetcream sighed. “Well, it’ll have to do. Now, come on, we don’t have all night.”
Flash swallowed, feeling like a pony standing on the edge of a great precipice, looking down at the water far below. Twilight looked at him, the gorgeous jewels that were her eyes glittering, and turned her red cheek aside as an invitation. He slowly leaned in close, his heart thumping out a marching beat against his ribs, and closed his eyes.
Her skin was warm; her hairs of her coat tingled against his lips as he brushed them against her cheek. The warmth of her skin traveled down his spine, sending tingles of delight all the way down to his hooves and the tips of his wings. He pulled away from her, blushing even harder. A nervous giggle bubbled up through his throat and he turned away.
Then he felt her breath on his cheek, smelling faintly of peppermint and chocolate. Her lips brushed against his cheek, soft and wet and warm. The same tingling joy spread down his cheeks and all the way through to his wings and his hooves, making him feel as though he was floating momentarily.
He discovered that he actually was floating when his wings stopped buzzing a moment later and gravity arranged a reunion between his rear and the stool. He grunted in surprise at the impact, causing Twilight to burst into melodious giggles, which he quickly followed.
Twilight leaned up against him, pressing her head against his shoulder. “Thank you for this, Flash,” she sighed.
It took Flash a moment to remember how to breathe. “You’re welcome,” he said, stealing a quick nuzzle on the top of her head; her soft mane smelled of lavender.
Sweetcream cleared her throat pointedly. “Yes, and thank you, too, Sweetcream,” Flash rolled his eyes.
“You’re welcome!” she said as she skated off, taking the mistletoe with her. Chuckling, Twilight returned to her hayburger, munching happily. With a contented sigh, Flash returned to his meal as well.