~~~ CHAPTER THREE ~~~
~~~ FIRESIDE FEELINGS ~~~
It took a while for you to get out of Ponyville proper, and cobbled roads soon gave way to treaded grass. Houses gave way to farms, though you were surprised to still see several ponies you knew from the town square; farmponies and farmhands, er, well, farmhooves you supposed, many of whom you regularly bought produce from. Of course, Twilight had to stop to talk to every one of them, and you quickly got used to hanging back in the shade of a tree or leaning up against an errant rock while she happily chatted away. Occasionally, she would beckon you over, and you were always happy to make new friends.
Things went on like this for most of the day, and you were actually surprised when you passed the last farmhouse and came at last to the wide, open world. Back home, you had spent your childhood in the suburbs and your old job had kept you there. Your world had been crowded by houses and businesses. You had always hoped to move West someday, somewhere freer and more open where you could feel closer to the sky. You had gotten your wish, you realized, if not in the way you had originally thought you would.
As you reached the top of a nearby hill, you gasped in awe. A wide open expanse flooded your vision. It was green grass and colored flowers as far as you could see, and far beyond on the horizon you saw great mountains veiled in thick fog and capped in brilliant snow. The largest of them reached far upwards, so far that the peak only occasionally appeared whenever the distant wind blew the clouds away. Sunspire Peak, Twilight explained to you, the very place where the princesses themselves originally appeared in Equestria many thousands of years ago.
You spent some time, at least a few hours, traveling along a shallow river towards these mountains before turning East and headed across a wide field of flowers. At your back the sun slowly fell, sending a brilliant cascade of golds and oranges across the sky. It remained like this for a while, as you remembered Twilight explaining to you some time ago that the sun couldn’t just set on her own; she needed the guiding magic of Princess Celestia to finish her journey, just as the moon required the touch of Princess Luna to rise and fall. Sometimes you wondered how any of that even worked; knowing how the sun worked back home, you were a little suspicious of the princesses. However, in the end, you didn’t really mind. Golden hour was always the part of the day you liked the most, and if you got to spend a little more time basking in it you weren’t about to complain.
Eventually though, the sun finally dipped under the horizon, and a brilliant crescent moon popped up in its’ place. The golds and reds of the sky were replaced by cool blues, and Twilight soon suggested that you make camp for the evening. While you didn’t necessarily mind the chill in the air as your brand new cloak kept you fairly warm, the thought of a nice fire and some supper really did appeal to you, and so Twilight sparked her horn, and in no time at all two bedrolls unspooled themselves and a small magical fire was kindled between them and you settled down at the edge of a small wooded area for the night.
“I don’t know how you do that,” you said, sitting down next to the fire. Twilight sat down next do you and began unpacking dinner from her saddlebags. “I wish I had magic like you.”
You couldn’t tell if it was the heat fire or the praise, but you enjoyed the small blush that crept across Twilight’s face. It made your heart flutter just a little. “Fire magic is harder than it looks.” Twilight answered, and then laughed sheepishly, rubbing a hoof at the back of her neck. “There are more than a few scorch marks on my textbooks!”
You pressed on, if only just to see her blush a little more. “Well, I think you’ve got it down just fine. You’re really good at it.”
“Thanks,” she said simply. You thought you saw a quick ear flick from her, and she quickly looked away, though you still caught the small smile playing at the corners of her muzzle.
Supper was a simple affair, a few pieces of banana bread that Twilight had packed away, magically enchanted to fill you as though you had eaten twice the amount, and the two of you happily munched away in peace. Finally, as you finished, Twilight broke the silence.
“So?” She asked, looking up at you, eyes wide and glimmering in the flickering light of the fire. “Are you having fun so far?”
“Yeah!” You replied, happily smiling over at her. “It’s been a heck of a day. And the views were just…” You exhale. “Amazing.”
Twilight hmm’d in response and used her magic to pull a small bottle from her saddlebags. She popped it open and took a swig before offering it to you. As soon as it passed your lips, you recognized it as Apple Family Apple Cider, and you quickly took a second gulp of the sweet, chilled ambrosia. The alicorn laughed. “Yeah, sometimes I like to come out this way when I’m not too busy. It’s very calm.” She paused for a moment, and her brow furled in thought. “Do you miss your old home? I don’t think I’ve ever heard you talk about it.”
You shrugged. “Yeah, of course.”
“What was it like?”
Now that you had no good answer for. How were you supposed to describe a planet to somepony who’d never been there? “It was… nice?” You offered her back the bottle. “I mean it had its downsides, sure, but for the most part it was okay. I think I like it better here, though.
Twilight took a gulp. “I’m really glad you were able to find a new home here,” she said, smiling up at you. “You’re a really brave person. I don’t know if I could handle what you went through.”
“Thanks.” You weren’t sure if it was the cider or her compliment that made you feel so flushed.
Silence reigned for a few more moments as the two of you shared the bottle of cider, and then you kept talking. She asked about your old job, your old home, your old friends, and you told her all about them. In turn, she spent some time talking about growing up under Princess Celestia’s guidance and how she met all of her friends in Ponyville. You weren’t sure what prompted it, but eventually you had to ask:
“Is there anyone… special to you, Twilight?” You hated how awkward you sounded asking, and you hoped you didn’t come across as creepy.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Special? Like a… oh, like a special somepony?” You assumed that special somepony was pony-talk for boyfriend, so you nodded. The alicorn laughed sheepishly, blushing just a little. “Aha, no, nonono, can’t say I have! I’ve always been far too busy to pursue… well, things like that.”
You let out a small sigh of relief you hadn’t realized you’d been holding in. In the year you’d been living in Twilight’s palace you’d never seen her go out on a date. Of course there had been many times she’d gone off on quests like this, and you had occasionally wondered if she’d ever met anyone on any of her journeys.
“What about you?” She asked. “You talked about your human friends and some of your co-workers, but you never brought up a special somep – er, someone.”
“Oh, there were a few girls I liked over the years,” you admitted. “They were friends I’d had for a long time. Good friends, but eventually I wanted something more than that. I wanted something deeper, but..” you sighed and looked away from Twilight, down at the ground. “I guess I could never take the risk, y’know? Of ruining what I had by making it awkward. I always thought I’d end up driving them away, and so I never took the chance.”
Twilight didn’t respond. When you finally glanced up at her, she was smiling sadly at you. One of her ears flicked, and she scooted just a little closer to you. “I’m sorry, I know how that feels.” she offered. "I – I’m the same way, I think. There have been times when I’ve met a stallion, and he’s really nice, and sometimes I think about – well, what it would be like to have a special somepony like him. But, I mean, I’m the Princess of Friendship. I’m really good at making new friends! I suppose I just love my friend so much that I’m terrified I might do something to lose them.” She sighed deeply and sniffled as she wiped a tear off of her cheek. “I end up telling myself that I just don’t have the time for romance, but…”
“But that doesn’t make you feel any less lonely.” You mumbled, earning a shaky nod from the alicorn as she scooted a few inches more toward you. Looking down at her, your heart fluttered in your chest. You had never really seen her like this before. Her eyes looked up at you, and you could see fresh tears threatening to spill downward. A faint pink blush tinged her cheeks, and each of her ears flicked seemingly at random.
Damn it, you didn’t care that she wasn’t human. You didn’t give a damn that she had hooves instead of feet or a mane instead of human hair. You couldn’t possibly care less about the fact that she was practically an alien species to you. All you saw at that moment in the dim firelight was a mare, an adorable, intelligent, amazing mare, enough of a person to you in all the ways that mattered. Still a pony, yes, but a pony you had grown to care for beyond all reason. And… and she was sad, and you knew deep down in your soul that you would do anything in the world to see her happy again.
“Twilight,” you swallowed thickly, and she blinked the growing tears away and gave you a small ‘hm?’ in response. Slowly, you brought up a hand to rub at the five o’clock shadow growing on your chin. There were so many things you wanted to tell her at that moment. How much she meant to you, how much you loved her companionship, and how much you… how much you loved her. How much you needed her. She was a mare who had become your best friend, who had helped you adjust to such a new and alien world, who had been there for you at your worst and had helped you find your best.
“I just… I want you to know that…”
There was a quick snap of a twig just beyond the treeline behind you, followed by a low and terrible snarl. In an instant, Twilight’s gaze had hardened and she had jumped to her hooves and you to your feet, the two of you spinning to face the unknown thing lurking in the dark. Your throat still thickened by the confession of love you had been working toward, you coughed once, twice, before you asked: “What the hell is that?”
Your query was followed by a howl you had heard many times before from your balcony in Ponyville. “Timberwolves,” Twilight said, narrowing her gaze. There was no fear in her voice, and you were very glad for that as you allowed Twilight’s courage to boost your own. A set of eyes appeared in the trees, and they glowed a deep, menacing yellow. A second set soon followed, and then a third.
“Get behind me,” the alicorn commanded, and you obeyed. Your eyes widened in fear as three hulking beasts stepped out of the darkness, each easily as tall as Twilight and armored by what looked like thick plates of tree bark. The alpha - the largest of the three - looked you over and unleashed a vicious snarl. baring stained yellow fangs dripping in some kind of gross yellow slime. Then it roared, and all three beasts jumped at once.
You couldn’t move. Fear paralyzed you and made your legs little better than logs. Time seemed to slow as you saw the beast inch closer and closer, and then…
There was a brilliant purple flash from your side as Twilight launched a magic bolt at the beast. It hit the Timberwolf’s side just between his armor plates and he gave out a loud yelp as he landed, jumping away on his paws to take up a spot at the back of the pack. Still, two more pressed their attack, and Twilight’s horn lit again. This time her magic formed a glimmering, gleaming shield and the two Timberwolves were repulsed mid-jump, bouncing off of the alicorn’s shield as though it were a solid wall. Twilight followed with two more quick beams of magic, not aimed at the Timberwolves themselves but at the ground near their paws, causing them to jump back and snarl viciously at the two of you. Fearlessly, Twilight stood in front of you, lowering her horn and flaring her wings in an impressive display of power.
Though they snarled a few more times, and let out several ferocious barks, it soon became clear that every time Twilight stepped forward the Timberwolves stepped back, and soon the alpha gave a quick yelp and all three turned tail and ran back to the cover of the woods. Gradually, the sound of their howling and barking faded, and Twilight at last allowed the magic from her horn to fade. Shaking on her hooves, she turned to you. “Are… are you okay?” She asked, and you nodded, tears forming in the corners of your eyes as the adrenaline in your body began to wear off.
Slowly, the alicorn approached you, and you found Twilight’s lavender wings wrapped tightly around you. You couldn’t hold back the heaving sob that tore its way free from your throat and you hugged the mare as hard as you could. “I – I thought I was going to die,” you gasped.
In response, Twilight’s hooves wrapped around you and she squeezed you, giving you a quiet ‘shhh’. “It’s okay,” she whispered in your ear. “You were a brave pony just then. Timberwolves are really scary. You did a good job.”
Sniffling, you just kept holding her tight, hiding in the floof of Twilight’s chest as if to conceal your growing crimson blush. It took a long time for your heart to stop pounding so hard, and the alicorn refused to let you go, gently running a hoof through your hair as you gradually relaxed. Slowly, the mare helped you curl up next to her, and you didn’t protest as her wings hugged you close. “Get some sleep,” she murmured. “I’ll keep an eye out in case they come back, but I think we're safe for now.”
Sleep. Sleep sounded good. Your muscles were sore, and the adrenaline from the battle had sapped your energy. Your eyes, heavy, fluttered shut, and you were more than happy to use Twilight’s chest as a pillow. Her fluff was warm and cozy, and you were slowly, ever so slowly, lulled to sleep by Twilight’s hoof petting your hair.
Being so close to sleep, you couldn’t be sure, but you swore the last thing you experienced before you lost consciousness was the faint feeling of pressure on the top of your head as Twilight lowered her muzzle and gave you the faintest kiss goodnight.