What is Love?

by Undome Tinwe


Truth

Twilight Sparkle's life was one of extraordinary change.

Since the day she'd received her cutie mark, Twilight Sparkle had been a scholar of magic, a student of friendship, a princess, a teacher, and then the ruler of Equestria herself. And now, she was on the cusp of the greatest change of her life.

Assuming the wedding actually happened.

"The Minotaur King is demanding a seat closer to the ceremonies," Raven Inkwell said, reading from her clipboard. "He's not happy about being farther away than the Duke of Maretonia."

Twilight sighed. "He's just posturing to try to look strong. Have the diplomatic team pen a letter telling him that the seating arrangements have already been finalized and that we can't make any changes to it now."

"Very good, Your Majesty." A quick note was jotted down on the clipboard before Raven continued. "The final item on the list is the report that the legal scholars have finished their report on the historian's report on the marriage laws for royalty."

"Send it to my room," Twilight instructed. "I'll look over it tonight. Is that everything?"

Raven nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty."

"Great. If you need me, I'll be working on my notes for the talk at Canterlot University next week." Looking back, she probably shouldn't have committed to speaking about the magic of friendship in the critical weeks leading up to her own wedding, but hindsight was twenty-twenty. It would be fine; she'd been through worse.

Though "worse" generally involved Equestria almost being destroyed.

Not wanting to waste a single minute of productivity, she teleported into her office and immediately began collating her previous notes to determine what could be reused. Time ceased to have any meaning as she dove into her work, trusting her staff to inform her when her next appointment was coming up.

Soon enough, the blackboard she always kept nearby was filled up with diagrams and equations, as she tried to find the minimum set of theorems needed to present her conclusions in this talk. Some days, in the quiet moments between crises, Twilight wondered if this would have been her destiny in another life. Certainly, as a student of Celestia studying magic, it had seemed the obvious trajectory for her career.

Of course, Celestia had her own plans, and now Twilight sat on the throne of her former idol. Funny how life worked out sometimes, she supposed.

Lost in her thoughts and mathematics, Twilight didn't even notice the door open until she heard one of her darling fiancées clearing her throat. She looked up and grinned widely as she saw both her lovers looking at her. "Rarity! Rainbow!" With a flash of magic, she blinked across the room to wrap both of them up in a tight hug. "I'm so happy to see you two!"

"The feeling is entirely mutual, darling," Rarity replied, hugging her back and pressing a kiss against her lips.

Meanwhile, Rainbow wrapped her wings around her. "We figured you might want a break from your princessing."

Twilight considered the offer. She had been legitimately enjoying working on her lecture notes, but she had to admit that her mind was starting to drift a little, and some rest would help optimize her efficiency. It was a logical choice to take a break, yes.

The fact that she currently had the two most important mares in her life pressed against her had no bearing on that evaluation. Of course not. Twilight was a mare of science, not so easily swayed by—

Rarity kissed her again, and Twilight gave up on her pretences.

The smirk on Rarity's muzzle when she pulled back indicated that she knew Twilight's answer already. "I arranged to have the kitchens send up samples of the desserts they are considering serving at the wedding. Rainbow and I thought that you might want to have a tasting session to determine which dishes they should continue to refine."

Every day, Twilight found new reasons to fall in love with her fiancées all over again. "I'm the luckiest mare in the world," she told them, warmth filling her heart.

"We can burn off the calories after too," Rainbow said. "Get some flight practice in before you have to draft more laws or whatever."

"I'd love that. It's been hard fitting exercise into my schedule with the wedding coming up" So many hats that Twilight wore these days. Ruler, friend, scientist, teacher, marefriend. Each one of those roles had sub-roles that broke down into even more responsibilities, and it took all of Twilight's impeccable time-management skills to stay afloat.

She wouldn't have it any other way.

"Please inform me if your dress size changes," Rarity said. "I will need time to make the alterations."

"Sure," Twilight replied. "I have some errata for the dress anyways that I'll write up this weekend." She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

Rarity waved a hoof dismissively. "It's quite alright, darling. I was expecting something of the sort to happen eventually. After all, the arts and the sciences are both games of revision, no?"

"Mhm." It was a miracle that Twilight had found ponies who understood who she was beneath all the different faces she had to wear. Celestia had taught her to be true to herself, but sometimes it was so hard to remember who she was when she was pulled in every direction.

But now, she had something to anchor herself with, to remind herself of why she kept going even in the darkest hour. A central principle to hold on to.

Love was the ultimate truth of the self.

Ever since she'd moved to Ponyville, Twilight had learned to trust her heart. And so, even despite all the worries for the future, she knew would marry these two amazing mares, and the three of them would share a love that endured until the end of time.

There was a knock at the door.

"Ooh, dessert time!" Quick as a whistle, Rainbow zipped across the room to let the visitor in.

Twilight and Rarity smiled as they watched her go. "A mare after my own heart," Rarity commented dryly. "As much as I try to show restraint."

"Restraint can be overrated sometimes," Twilight replied, a wry smile on her face. "Let's go stuff our faces and then you can gossip about whatever's been happening in the castle."

Perhaps things might have been different in another life. But seeing Rarity's eyes light up at that suggestion was all the truth that Twilight needed to know that she had followed the right path, alongside the right ponies.

And right now, despite all the twists that lay behind and beyond, and all the uncertainties that awaited her, Twilight's path was defined by a simple truth: she loved Rarity and Rainbow Dash, and they loved her in return.

Oh, and also that whatever the kitchens had cooked up would be absolutely scrumptious.