Soft mumblings and clinks of a paint brush swirling in a water glass were heard in the art studio of Pastel Pallet. The mare was focused on the canvas before her, dabbing her brush in her paint mixture and steadily drew it across her canvas. “Perfect. Just need to remember to add more midnight blue to this part before continuing. Gotta make sure everything is just right, biggest commission of the year after all.” Just then the ringing of her shop door’s bell sounded and Pastel, as if on instinct jumped up from her stool and ran for the lobby.
“Hello?” Called out Princess Luna as she trotted further into the store. “Is a Ms. Pastel Pallet here?” Luna heard the thundering of hooves descending the stairs and saw the earth pony barreling towards her. “Ah, you must be Pastel Pallet! I’ve heard so much about you from Wit, and-“ Pastel came to a screeching halt, unfortunately, the same could not be said for the paint on her brush, mane, and smock and in an instant the lunar diarch was splattered with a multitude of colors.
“Oh my gosh!” Pastel gasped as she scrambled for a rag. “I’m so sorry princess! I-I didn’t mean to-!”
“It’s alright!” Luna said quickly as her magic grabbed Pastel’s rag. “No harm done. I just thought when Wit said to ‘grab a canvas’ when I met you, he meant to be a patron, not use it as a shield.”
“Yeah,” Pastel said meekly. “One of these days I’ll remember to put my brush down before I greet ponies. Um, you’re not mad are you your highness?”
Luna had finished wiping off the rest of the paint from her face, revealing a large grin. “Mad? Perish the thought! I’m happier than I’ve been in ages!”
“Because I covered you in paint?”
“No, no, no! Because I’ve made such strides in my goal of capturing my special somepony’s heart! Wit told me that it was thanks to your advice and I was hoping you could help me again?”
Pastel relaxed, despite her artistic assault, the princess was in high spirits. “Of course I can! Why don’t we go up to my studio and- my studio! Um, one moment please.” Pastel ran back up the stairs, threw a drop cloth over her painting and practically threw it into a nearby closet. She then returned to Luna and said with a cheery smile, “Please come this way princess. Make yourself comfortable.”
Luna sat herself down on Pastel’s couch. “My what a cozy little abode you have Ms. Pastel. I can tell this is a space where the muses practically sing to you.”
Pastel cocked a brow. “Um, if you say so princess. So, what is it you wanted to talk about?”
Luna stretched out and giggled, “We can get to that, right now I just have to tell you what happened yesterday.”
One flash of light and a pop later, Wit and Luna were standing in Ponyville, both of their ears perked up as something jaunty was carried on the wind and passed them by. Wit Looked around and noticed a bulletin board. Wit took a gander at what was posted and laughed, “Aha! I knew there’d be something today! Look princess, Ponyville is hosting a dance festival.”
Luna giggled, “A dance festival? How fun! It has been quite some time since last I danced. So what’s the plan?”
Wit held his head high and confidently strode off in the direction of the jaunty music. “Simple. We find Twilight, you ask her to dance and then you two will dance together.”
“B-but what if something goes wrong?”
“What could possibly go wrong? You’re just asking Twilight for a dance. You don’t have to make a grand gesture, just ask.”
Luna took a deep breath and copied Wit’s gait. You’re right! I can do this! It’s just a dance, nothing suspicious about asking Twilight for a dance!”
Pastel gasped, “Wait? Twilight? As in Princess Twilight Sparkle!?”
Luna began to sweat as she realized her loose lip slip. “Um… D-don’t tell anypony…”
Pastel drew her hoof over her lips.
“G-good… um, anyways…”
Wit and Luna trotted along, following the music till they came to a large plaza. Ponies were dancing, snacking, chatting, and working up the nerve to talk to that certain somepony in the crowd. Every so often overhearing the murmurs of the nervous festival goers.
“All right! Just go over there and ask her… hoo boy…”
“I’m a terrible dancer! How am I supposed to win his heart if I can’t dance?”
“Rarity, if you don’t ask Spike for a dance, somepony else will.”
“Hope I make a big splash; I’ve been practicing for moons.”
“Do you really think Twilight will be here?” Luna whispered to Wit with a slight edge of worry.
“I’m sure she’s here,” Wit assured. “Heck, it looks like all of Ponyville is enjoying the event. Just keep your eyes peeled and-“ At that moment, Wit’s voice trailed off as his eyes locked onto a mare. She had an ivory coat and a rust-colored mane, with a similar tuft of rust fluff on her chest and a bit more on the end of her elegantly long tail. She had vibrant verdant scales on her back and matching cloven hooves. A red horn that resembled a pruned tree branch and eyes of gold. Wit adjusted his beret, dusted off his shoulders, cupped his hoof to his mouth, breathed and sniffed. He then trotted closer to the lone Kirin, seemingly forgetting about his royal mission.
“Pardon me miss,” Wit caught the mare’s attention. “but I couldn’t help but notice that you seem to be lacking a partner and that’s a shame. Would you care to dance?”
The mare giggled, “My, that’s awful nice of you. But sorry to say, my dance card is full.”
“Autumn! Hey Autumn!” An orange earth pony with a blond mane dodged through the crowd and trotted up to the Kirin. She tipped her hat and smiled. “Sorry Ah’m late sugar cube. Ye weren’t waiting long were ya?”
Autumn nuzzled the earth pony and hummed. “Not at all AJ. C’mon, I wanna dance till I drop.”
The pair made their way to the square where they proceeded to invent a more romantic version of square dancing. After taking a moment to wipe the egg from his face, Wit shrugged and sighed, “Ain’t that just the way?”
“Oh there you are Wit!” A polished silver hoof reached out and grabbed the stallion. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Luna said. “Have you had any luck?”
“Only the bad kind…”
“Ah perfect! Princess Luna, I see you’ve found a dance partner!” an authoritative mare with a white mane said as she pulled Luna and Wit onto a platform. “You two will be perfect for our feature dance!”
“What?” Wit asked.
“Um, Mayor Mare, I think there’s been a bit of a misunderstanding ,” Luna said. “Wit is not my-“
“Alright everypony!” Mayor Mare said into a microphone. We’ve got a real treat for you this time! May I present, for our feature dance, Princess Luna, and her friend!”
The crowd clapped and applauded, but above all that, Luna and Wit could swear they heard the guffaws of a smug draconiques, clearly getting more enjoyment out of their plight than the festival itself.
“What are we going to do!?” Luna whispered frantically.
Wit chewed his lip before saying, “Ah…uh, I guess just play along for now. I don’t like all of their eyes on us.”
“Can you dance?”
“I know a decent box step.”
“Never mind, I’ll lead.”
Luna grabbed Wit and the pair began to dance and sway across the platform. Countless eyes watching in awe as a royal sister showed off her skills, even Wit was caught off guard at the level of grace and lightness in each of her steps.
“Wow. I never knew this side of you,” Wit remarked.
Luna chuckled, “You’re not so bad yourself.”
As Luna spun Wit around, he caught sight of a particular pony. Twilight was in the audience! Very near the front, watching the event unfold with a look that Wit couldn’t quite get a grasp on as Luna pulled him back to her.
“I see Twilight!”
“Really? Oh figs! I can’t believe she’s watching me dance with you. No offense.”
“None taken.”
“What are we supposed to do now?”
Wit smirked as an idea seemed to be forming in his mind. “Don’t worry Luna, I have a plan. Just play along.” No sooner did the words leave his lips, that Wit tumbled onto the stage clutching his back leg. “OW! My leg! My leg, my leg, my leg!”
The crowd gasped and Luna was quickly at Wit’s side. “Wit!? What happened!?” Wit gave a subtle wink to Luna and continued to rock in pain. Luna cleared her voice when she caught onto Wit’s hints. “Oh dear! My friend Wit is injured! Somepony help! Is there a doctor here? My poor friend needs medical attention immediately or her might die!”
“Too far, reel it in princess,” Wit muttered.
In a flash of light, Twilight teleported onto the stage, frantically trotting in place as she seemed to go through her mental file cabinets to find a solution to the stallion’s plight. “Oh, no! Mr. Wit! Are you ok? Oh cheese and crackers, what should we do?”
Wit’s smirk turned smug. He gripped Twilight’s hoof and pleaded, “Princess Twilight! Oh thank Celestia you’re here! Please, you have to dance with Luna!”
Twilight blushed furiously. “W-w-what!? But what about your leg? S-shouldn’t that-?”
“Please princess. Luna was so looking forward to this festival. She wouldn’t stop talking about it, it’d be a shame, no, a travesty if she couldn’t continue! Please… please tell me you’ll dance with her…”
Twilight looked between the stallion and Luna, deliberating her options. Eventually, Twilight sighed, “Well… okay. I mean, i-if Luna had her heart set on this, I can’t really turn her down…”
“Oh, thank you Princess Twilight! Thank you so much!” Wit exclaimed.
A nurse trotted onto the stage and knelt down to Wit. “Alright, let’s get you somewhere to rest up and get that leg a looksie. You can lean on me if the pain is too much.”
“Thank you miss, I think I can get up alright…” Wit staggered up onto his hooves and slowly limped away with the nurse, taking a quick moment to whisper to Luna, “This worked out better than I had hoped.”
Luna gulped and met Twilight in the dead center of the stage, who was also wearing a blush not unlike Luna’s.
“I…I’m not much of a d-dancer princess…” Twilight said sheepishly.
“That… that’s quite alright Twilight…” Luna responded as she forced the butterflies in her stomach to cease their flittering. “I’ll lead. Just try your best to follow and you’ll do just fine.” Luna held out a hoof and Twilight shakily held out her own. Luna pulled Twilight close and began to dance. The Princess of Friendship wasn’t kidding, she wasn’t much of a dancer. Matter of fact, she was a down right lousy dancer. But Luna didn’t care. She was sharing a moment with the mare of her dreams and if she got her hoof stepped on every so often, it was worth it just to experience the closeness.
Here’s hoping… I can experience this again…
“Gosh your highness,” Pastel said as Luna finished her tale. “Sounds like you made one heck of a leap. But, what exactly do you need my advice for? Seems like you got this well in hoof.”
Luna sat up from the couch. “Well, truth be told, I’m unsure where to go from here. I… um… haven’t had much experience in the field of love and I was hoping you may give me some wisdom on what I should do next.”
Pastel rubbed her chin, smearing some cobalt blue on her fur. “Hmm… If I were you, I’d go an extra step and make some kind of gesture. For example, I love giving out gifts to Wit and my other friends, maybe you could do the same for Twilight.”
Luna stood up. “Yes! Brilliant idea! I must strike while the iron is hot, so to speak. Thank you Ms. Pastel, I shall set my plan into motion post haste! Thank you so much for your time!” With a giggle of that of a school filly, Luna teleported out of Pastel’s studio. Pastel breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes darted around the room and when she deemed that the coast was indeed clear, she went back to her closet and pulled out the canvas she was working on and removed the drop cloth covering it. The piece was of Wit and Luna, in a romantic embrace gazing lovingly into each other’s eyes as the soft light of the moon played off their bodies as they were enveloped within the infinite depths of the night sky.
“Geez, that was a close call,” Pastel said. “I sure hope Princess Cadence likes it… Hmmm, I’m sure Wit will be annoyed, but I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”
The smell of ginger was unmistakable as Wit poured his tea from his cast iron teapot, with a small scoop of honey to perfect it. He carried his cup to his desk and set it down by his typewriter. Wit paused as he suddenly remembered one crucial element was missing. He removed a vinyl record from its’ sleeve and set it on his record player, soon the soft sounds of classical music began to play and Wit took his seat at his desk. He sipped his tea and sighed, just the right amount of spicy and sweet. He stretched his forelegs out and began to type.
It was dark. I was in my towel when the ninjas attacked!
Just then a pop was heard and the small shockwave of Luna’s spell knocked the needle from the record, causing Wit to cringe as the orchestra was thrown from their chairs.
“Wit!” Luna called out.
“No, please!” Wit said with much chagrin. “Barge into my house uninvited and disturb my writing, I don’t mind at all!”
“I went to see Pastel Pallet as you suggested,” Luna continued as if she didn’t hear the annoyance in Wit’s voice. “And I now have the perfect plan to woo Twilight!”
“Happy to hear it…”
“It was so simple I can’t believe I didn’t see it myself! The next and obvious step was to give Twilight a gift! A token of my affection! Now, the question is, what should I give her? It must be elegant, no, maybe she prefers a simpler gift. But that won’t do, I’m trying to show her my adoration and love; ‘simple’ would never get that point across. Perhaps a book? But I’m sure she has more books than Celestia and I combined.”
Wit sipped his tea again; nerves finally began to settle. “Luna, you shouldn’t be thinking about this so hard. Just give her something that you believe would suit her best. If your heart says ‘yes, Twilight will love this,’ then you don’t have to worry, cause I’m sure she’ll be happy with whatever it is.”
Luna pondered Wit’s proposal. Tapping her hoof to her chin she hummed, “Hmm, so it’s more so I ‘go with my gut,’ as they say? That’s not a bad idea. A flash of inspiration with an element of surprise! Yes, I think that’ll do nicely. Very well, I’m off to find the perfect gift! Till next time Wit!” And with that the excited mare vanished from Wit’s sight.
Wit grumbled as he lit his horn and placed the needle back on the record. Soon the soothing sounds of the symphony played once more and Wit took his seat at his desk.
“So much for Pastel buying me an afternoon…”