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// 27 - Carefully Applied Scientific Theory 
// Story: Slice of Velvet and Pear 
// by David Silver 
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 Greetings Princess Celestia,

I am very sore, but you are aware of that. It was good to see you in person. I don't get to do that very often.

I earned something precious today and failed at the same time. In the process, I learned that sometimes just putting in a good faith effort suffices to prove one's sincerity. I also re-learned that Twilight is a good pony. Speaking of her, I am now courting her. If you have any objections to this, please inform me at your earliest convenience.




Not that Moon Dancer wanted her to object. She rubbed at her cheek with a hoof, wondering that, but she had to. Princess Celestia was the princess and her tutor. She deserved, at the least, the right to complain about her decisions. She would give the reasoning all proper weight and consideration, if any came.



I also, by technicality and the kind act of a friend, completed the Running of the Leaves. I will try to be in better shape by the time the next arrives so that I do not require help to finish the track. 

Working Diligently,
Moon Dancer



"What'd you need?" There was Pinkie with a big grin, not paying much attention to the letter being whisked away on Spike's breath. 

Moon turned stiffly to face her. "I wanted to set an appointment. We are past due to examine your curious abilities. If you allow me, I'd like to come to a better understanding of their function."

"That's just Pinkie being... Pinkie." Twilight rolled her eyes from where she sat, probably not sore at all. "I think she makes half of it up."

Moon looked over the earth pony. "The evidence you have presented so far is enough to assume that some of it must be valid. Do you have any objections?"

Pinkie shook her head quickly. "Nope! Not sure if you'll learn anything, but you're welcome to try." She came in, nose to nose with Moon Dancer. "Braver ponies than you have tried to grapple with Pie Magic!"

Moon smiled gently at that. "Your challenge is duly accepted. I would like to not be sore when we begin. Let us start in... a week?"

"Oki Doki Loki!" Pinkie was bouncing away towards whatever business she had in mind. "See you then!"

Twilight reached for Moon. "I don't know why you're giving that time. It's best to just... let her be." Twilight sighed softly, if loudly. "I don't understand her."

"Which is all the more reason to examine her." Moon clapped her hooves with a growing smile. "I will start at the beginning and attempt to learn what triggers her and work up from there. She appears to be truthful from what I have seen, even when she doesn't appear to make sense. She understands things on an intuitive level that escapes me. I will enhance my understanding to match."

"Better you than me." Twilight started for the kitchen. "I'm going to get some tea. Want some?"

"That would be lovely." Moon watched her go before tensing. Was that a romantic gesture?! They were a thing, so it could have been. She wasn't sure! With a pop, a book appeared in front of her eyes as she scanned it manically. "The answer must--"

Spike set a hand against her. "Calm down."

Moon looked down at him with clear confusion. "How can I be calm right now?"

"Hey, been there." He fired double finger guns in her direction. "But, so far, you kinda have to let these things happen." He shrugged softly. "She likes you, so far I know... Cheater."

"Cheater?!" Moon's ears pricked up tall. "In what way did I cheat?"

"You're just old enough." He crossed his arms over his chest. "So you have a chance with her. Cheater."

Moon's confusion eased as she offered a hoof towards him. "Sorry about that. How are you doing with the mare you do have?"

Spike accepted the hoof and was gently hugged as a result. "We're getting along just fine. I don't always understand why she... does what she does? I mean, you're a mare too, but she doesn't act like you all the time. She acts like, well...  her, and that's different, and confusing. Learning is half the fun, I guess."

"Half the fun." Moon inclined her head at Spike. "That is exactly how I looked at approaching the Pie Quandary, but perhaps I should consider Twilight the same way."

"Exactly! Gonna go hang out." Not with her, clearly. Spike was strolling for the door with confidence. "I'll be back for dinner."

Twilight returned with two teacups floating and a kettle coming on her other side. "Is that Spike? He going to hang out with the fillies?"

Moon recoiled, surprised by Twilight's return. "Oh, um... probably..." She reached out two hooves to accept her given cup. "Thank you. This is exactly what I needed."

"Me too." Twilight poured them both some steaming tea and set the kettle aside. "Drink up and relax. Only time will fix all of that."

"Incorrect." Moon wagged a hoof at Twilight. "I must put in some additional effort into physical activity so I can do that without suffering such injuries."

"Not wrong --" Twilight sipped from her  tea with a satisfied sigh. "-- But for now, you need to relax and heal. Only after you heal can you start preparing for next year."

Things quieted as Twilight went about her work, which Moon was forbidden from. "Just relax." Despite doing the same run, Twilight was ready to get books put back in their place, give them to wanting ponies, and accept returned books with the same eager smile. The trot had taken nothing out of her.

Moon Dancer was a little jealous, but turned that emotion aside. "I will improve." She promised to herself that the next year would be different. "Oh! Twilight?"

"Hm?" Twilight looked over from her counter where she was stacking books. "Hungry?"

"Only mildly. I was more curious about our new status. As your girlfriend, what does that entitle me to? That goes both ways, you being mine." Moon nodded with agreement with her own thoughts. "We share rights and requirements. Please inform me of them."

Twilight inclined her head at her fellow unicorn. "Moon... Didn't you know some of that when you went chasing after it, or why did you chase it?"

Moon blushed warmly as she tried to brush away the appearance of it. "I know I like you, Twilight. I would like more of that. Outside that, the specifics elude me. Special someponies kiss, do they not? May I kiss you?"

"You may." Twilight smiled as Moon perked up. "But that permission only works once. You can ask in a lot of ways, I know from watching my parents."

Moon thumped down a hoof. "Your parents! Of course! They are an invaluable source of courtship information. Please share." Still, permission was permission. She trotted up to twilight's side and smooched her cheek with a little nuzzle snuck in without asking. "That was... lovely." She had selected correctly in her girlfriend.

Twilight joined Moon in her blush. Still... It had been nice, and she wasn't repulsed or frightened. It was a kiss, from a pony she liked. Maybe being a girlfriend wouldn't be all bad? "I learned a lot from them, though they were a more classical 'mare meets stallion' sort of arrangement. We will have to... puzzle through the mare things on our own."

"It shouldn't be that different, other than breeding." Moon inclined her head. "We cannot do that, barring magical solutions."

Twilight perked at that. "What?"

"What?" Moon inclined her head the other way. "We are both advanced magic users. This is not a problem we cannot overcome if we decide we want to."

Twilight raised a hoof to cough into. "That is a topic for far beyond courtship! At our current... relationship level, it is our mutual goal to learn more about the other, learn where we fit together, and where work is required. Ideally, we should not try to transform the other member, but instead adjust ourselves to fit them better. If that is too far an adjustment, then perhaps we selected poorly."

Moon nodded even as she leaned forward. "This is logical. I am aware of most visible interactions." She circled around Twi on the way past her at a slow pace. "I will endeavor to do my part in making this union a success.  Speaking of that." She turned back towards Twilight with a bright smile. "I would like to take you out to an activity. Preferably something that does not involve much movement. I am to remain still, at your order."

"At my order." Twilight chuckled at her words turned right back on  her. "Do you like music? There's a local philharmonic that's just delightful."

Moon leaned forward. "No, but I would like to be with you enough to cultivate my appreciation for that activity."

Twilight's ears danced. "Wow! That was... way more honest than I was expecting. Seriously, if it isn't your thing, I don't mind finding something else to do."

Moon shook her head. "You said that I should not transform you." She turned a hoof on herself. "So I am adapting. Some activities you prefer will not be immediately what I desire, but I can learn and adjust. What sort of music do thay play?"

"Classical." Twilight quirked a smile. "If you want house music, that's a different pony. Quite lively, but a different pony than what I thought of to start."

"Which do you prefer?" Moon came closer on slow hooves. "Classical has a complex beat with rising and falling beats." A pause came over her. "So does house, come to think of it. Is this a common point of music? I never considered that."

"You're already learning." Twilight did not ask, just touching noses with Moon as she went by. "Learn and adapt. But the last part is just as important. You should not let me push you where you don't want to be. No pony is worth losing sight of yourself."

Moon smiled gently at the contact with clear approval. "I doubt you could do much that would make me that uncomfortable. I do not know the local philharmonic. Would it be rude of me to ask you to arrange that?"

"I will do it with pleasure!" Twilight willed a quill over. "But I will borrow your bit bag."

"Of course." Moon rubbed at her cheek. "I can't imagine a private concert is free, or cheap."

"Private?" The quill stopped dancing in surprise. "I was planning on taking you to a public performance. We'll enjoy their show with other ponies."

"Oh!" That changed things a little. "Oh. Is it still... Are we still dating?"

"Of course." Twilight nudged at the confused mare. "I'll sit next to you. We'll share some drinks and enjoy the music, together. There will be other company to applaud with, but most of them will be in groups too, of friends and special someponies. Oh! We should see if Spike and his friend want to come along."

"Genius." Moon Dancer smiled at Twilight's logic. "Then we can enjoy ourselves and monitor their behavior at the same time. Do you think they will favor it? We could insist that Spike has to come."

"We could... But let's just invite them, without pressure. If they come, great. If they don't, also fine. We don't want to be 'those' kinds of parents, do we?"

"I suppose not?" Moon was not entirely sure, clearly. "Let me know when and where I need to be and I will be there."

"I will tell you when." She tapped Moon's nose with the flat of her hoof. "But I'll walk you there, so 'where' will not be required. If Spike wants to come, we'll all go together. I'll get him and his plus one their own seats... within view of us."

Moon Dancer clapped her hooves in giddy anticipation. That night would be fun, and educational.