//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 // Story: Celestine // by n3k1dsk1llz //------------------------------// Her kiss was not being returned. She did not know why. She opened her eyes and those beautiful blue eyes were staring back without any hint of a twinkle causing her to break off the kiss and take a step back. “Um. Sorry about that. I just thought…you know…we were connecting.” “I have a boyfriend, Starlight.” Maud’s deadpan delivery of the simple fact tore through Starlight’s chest. “I know that, Maud. I know. I just…” “You felt like there was something developing between us beyond our friendship.” “I’m…I’m sorry.” The sob stuck in her throat was making it hard to talk. “I appreciate the apology. You’re a really good friend, Starlight, but I think it’s a good idea for me to leave now. I think I’ll need some time to calm down. I don’t know when I’ll be able to see you again. Goodbye.” Maud reached over and grabbed a pebble off of the table. “Come on, Boulder.” All Starlight Glimmer could do was watch through tears as her friend left the castle. Starlight Glimmer blinked to clear her eyes. Maud was still there standing in front of her. Her extreme emotional state had dissipated, though the memory of it was quite strong. Maud was staring at Starlight like she was waiting for something. Right. She was waiting for the reason Starlight had wanted to see her. Starlight cleared the lump still lingering in her throat. “Right! I wanted you to come over and help us a little bit. There’s a new crystal growing in the basement. We don’t know why. We were wondering if you could take a look at us and let us know what it is. And why it’s there.” “Okay.” Starlight turned and began leading Maud to the stairs down to the basement. Her thoughts landed on what had just happened. Why did she just see what she saw? Her imagination usually wasn’t that vivid. At least, not when she was awake. It wasn’t long before they were standing in front of the crystal protruding from the center of the basement. It came up to Starlight’s chest, and to her untrained eye, it looked exactly the same as any of the other crystals making up the walls of the castle. “It’s grown about a foot in the past month. That seemed…unusual to me. That’s why I had you come over.” Maud walked up to the crystal and stared it up and down. She placed her ear right next to it and gave it a couple taps with her hoof. She then reached into her dress and pulled out some jeweler’s glasses. She put them on and put her face right up next to the crystal. “Starlight, can you give me some more light?” “Um, sure.” She lit up her horn and kept watching. “Can you aim it more directly at the crystal?” Starlight tilted her horn down toward the crystal more. “Can you make it a little brighter?” Starlight concentrated and made her horn brighter. “Okay.” “What?” “I need to talk to Twilight.” Maud put her jeweler’s glasses away and turned to go back up the stairs. “Oh.” Starlight stopped her light and began following Maud to the stairs. Maud stopped on the bottom step and turned to face Starlight. This stopped Starlight just a few feet behind her. “You know, Starlight, I’ve always found you to be interesting.” “Huh?” “You were genuinely evil. But you overcame yourself to become my best friend.” “I, uh, thanks?” Maud stepped down from the step and approached Starlight. Her expression hadn’t changed at all, but Starlight could tell she was about to say something really important. Maud stopped just a hoof’s width away from Starlight. Starlight could feel her breath barely caressing the tip of her nose. All Starlight could do was stare into Maud’s half-lidded eyes. “I love you, Starlight.” Starlight’s breath caught in her throat. This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t real. And Starlight certainly didn’t feel the same. Except she did. She had for a while. She had simply been holding it in. She hadn’t wanted to over step their friendship. And she certainly didn’t want to be the mare that broke up a happy couple. But Maud was right here in front of her. Declaring her love. “Maud. Is this real?” Starlight reached her hoof out to caress Maud’s face. Maud closed the gap and it was electric. Her lips were soft. Her lips were hot. And the passion in her kiss was beyond anything Starlight had ever dreamed of. Starlight closed her eyes and melted into the earth pony’s overpowering intensity. Starlight was sweating profusely. She was alone. Still at the bottom of the stairs. Her heart was beating like she had just been running for her life. And she could swear the taste of Maud was still on her lips. What the buck is going on?