Alphabittle absolutely could not deny the unfamiliar splendor that the cityscape of Zephyr Heights seemed to offer from all angles. Bridlewood was all nature; trees and crystals. The pegasus city was buildings that frequently broke through the clouds depending on how low they were, many of the skyscrapers with lively signs and advertisements advertising some product, service, or performance.
He looked down at the map he pulled out of his saddlebags, and confirmed that he was heading in the right direction towards the city's highest area; the castle district. Knowing that a pony could spend days and days and days seeing all that Zephyr Heights had to offer, and go after what, or rather whom, he was here to see. With that, he walked down the main street to the cliffside elevator, which was attended by a pair of guards.
"Good afternoon, sir. Do you have business at the castle?" The guard on the left greeted as he approached.
"I do, I believe Queen Haven is expecting me," the unicorn replied, pulling out his phone and opening the email he had gotten from Haven, which she told to show to the guards. Angling the screen towards the guard, he quickly determined that it was authentic.
"I hope you enjoy your stay, sir. They'll direct you to the throne room at the front doors. Please step on the platform," the guard told him. He did so, and the pegasus pressed the button beside him, and the glass barrier slid up into place, and the platform began to ascend up the cliff, and the unicorn nearly lost his stomach at the new sensation, becoming queasy for just a moment. He adjusted, and took in the sight of the evermore impressive skyline as the elevator rose to the top. He was so enamored by the sight that he didn't notice the elevator stop at the top and the safety barrier slid back down the side behind him for a few moments. Once he realized that he had arrived, he turned, stepped off the elevator, and trotted up the main concourse to the front doors. Another pair of guards greeted him, and he again showed them Haven's invitation. Before he was admitted, however, he submitted his saddlebags to a security check, who quickly saw that they contained nothing more than a map, a bottle of water, his phone, and a cloth-wrapped parcel tied with twine.
"What is this package, sir?" the guard asked.
"A gift for Queen Haven," he answered.
The guard excused himself, taking the package to another room to have the contents verified by a scanning machine, returned a couple minutes later, where it was returned to the unicorn's saddlebags no worse for wear, and he was escorted in, and taken down the center hall. As impressive as the cityscape was, the interior of the castle was awe-inspiring. At first he wondered why anypony would want to leave a place like this, but then figured that seeing this every single day would probably make it as plain as Bridlewood.
The unicorn and the two guards came to another set of large doors. They were opened, and on the other side was a throne room almost as big as the foyer. He saw Queen Haven on the throne, talking with yet another guard as she sat on her throne, and as he got closer, recognized her as the mare that had accompanied her to Bridlewood.
His escort came to a halt, and so did he as they placed their spears on the ground.
"Your invited guest, Your Majesty," the guard on the left announced.
"Oh thank goodness you're here, Alphabittle. It has been the slowest day today," Haven said, getting up and passing the paperwork she had just finished signing over to Zoom.
"It's great to see you again so soon, Haven," Alphabittle greeted.
Haven noticed his escorts nearly go pale.
"Sir, you will address Her Majesty in the proper—"
"I'll have none of that, Sergeant," Haven interrupted, nipping the situation in the bud. "Alphabittle is a good friend of mine, and I'm hardly going to make him stand on ceremony. Thank you for bringing him up, you gentlecolts are dismissed."
"Y-yes, Your Majesty," the guard replied, clearly flustered at the allowed breach in protocol as the pair of guards turned to leave. When the throne room was empty, Haven let out a breath of relief.
"Speaking of not standing on ceremony, I believe I am done for the day. I hope you're ready for dinner, because I surely am," the pegasus mare commented.
"Absolutely. It was quite a hike to get here, and I'm famished, but first, I have something for you," the unicorn replied. With that, he reached into his saddlebags. He came out with the package, and offered it to her.
"I worked on it all week, I hope it fits," he said as Haven took it, undid the twine, and lifted the folds of cloth away, before her eyes widened at the hoof-carved amethyst crystal contained within. It looked exactly like the unity crystal, but with a purple hue. She knew immediately that it went better with her mane than the old one did.
"It's perfect, Alphabittle, thank you so much," Haven said, stepping forward and wrapping her free leg around his neck. Alphabittle returned the embrace, thrilled that she was happy with her gift. She immediately took it over to Zoom, who was standing at attention.
"Captain Zephyrwing, please take this to my jeweler and have him fit it to the crown, please," she asked, giving the re-wrapped crystal to the mare, who immediately took it and offered a salute.
"Right away, Your Majesty. I'll see if he can have it done by the end of dinner," she said, before marching out of the throne room with her delivery orders.
"Shall we? Hearing 'dinner' just made me even more hungry, and I've picked out a special place for tonight, with quite the view," the queen said, turning back to her unicorn friend.
"After you, Haven," Alphabittle said, and she lead him out of the throne room through a side door, both of their stomachs nearly grumbling.
"How're are Zipp and Pipp?" Alphabittle asked as they climbed a set of carpeted stairs.
"Clearly enjoying themselves down in Maretime Bay. I never need to wonder how Pipp is doing; she livestreams every single day, and her new business is booming; Mane Melody she calls it. Zipp, sadly, is much harder to get a read on. While her little sister can't get enough attention, Zipp can't seem to get far enough away from it," Haven told him.
"You mentioned that Zipp was the heir apparent?" Alphabittle asked.
"That she is, and unfortunately, she is nowhere close to being ready. I mean, I'm not exactly ready to retire, mind you, but it would be nice if she was making at least some progress in being more regal," Haven opined.
"Well, look at it this way," Alphabittle began. "If our kids turned out exactly the way we wanted them to, I highly doubt you and I would have met."
"What an amazing mindset to have about it. Yes, you are absolutely right. We try to mold our little ones into upstanding citizens, but we often forget that the clay often moves on its own and does its own thing all too often," Haven agreed as they walked up to another set of doors, these completely normal sized. "And here we are."
Haven opened the doors, and Alphabittle's eyes widened as he saw that Haven had prepared a simple yet elegant table for two out on the castle balcony, right next to the railing, offering what was certainly the most stunning view of the city of Zephyr Heights.
A view that was becoming more spectacular by the minute as the sun was slowly dipping below the horizon, and more of the city lights were coming on for the evening.
"Wow..." Was all he could say as he walked over to the table with Haven, and knew enough about equine etiquette to go and pull her chair out for her, getting her seated before he went around to his chair on the other side and sit down, as Haven pulled out the bottle of champagne that had been chilling in the bucket of ice between the table and railing, and poured two glasses.
The kitchen staff must have been alerted somehow that they had been seated, because immediately, the server came out with two plates of fresh salad greens and a garden's worth of veggies, and a bottle of dressing.
"Raspberry vinaigrette dressing. It is simply divine," Haven told him as she took the glass bottle, tipping it slightly over her salad, drizzling the dressing over the salad on her plate, before setting it back down and sliding it over to Alphabittle, who immediately added it to his plate as well.
"Bon appétit," Haven said as she raised her glass of champagne, and the unicorn raised his glass and the gently clinked in the middle before taking sips, and started into their salads.
After his first bite, Alphabittle knew he was in for an incredible meal, and this was just the first course.
"Haven," he began, after swallowing his first bite. "I've always been a pony to speak my mind, and I don't want to do you a disservice by not doing so now. This right here," he paused to motion at the elegance of the table they sat at. "This seems a bit excessive for a meal with a good friend. To me, this would be something I'd put together if I wanted to invite a good friend to become something more. Now, if I am completely wrong in that, and I'm moving entirely too fast, I profusely apologize. But if I'm right..." he paused again, to try and garner any kind of reaction from the pegasus' expression.
"...Then it's something I welcome."
Relief washed over the queen's face.
"After Pipp was born, I figured it would be for the best if I stopped with the dating, and the flings after parties, and just go it alone. I was always entirely too nervous to bring one more pony into the fold of our dirty little secret. I figured when they knew, when they found out that royal flight was all a farce, whatever feelings they had for me would fade away. But now that Zipp, Pipp, Izzy, and the others have reunited us, and given us our magic back... I'm finding that I'm not afraid anymore, and a small part of me was terrified that I was moving entirely too fast for you."
The unicorn smiled gently at her.
"When my wife passed away, I never, ever entertained the possibility of falling in love again. When my daughter vanished, I wanted nothing more than to just drop dead... For weeks that's all I wanted. Then you came along that rainy night with a second chance. From then on, I put all of my energy into raising Izzy, and running the kitchen at the Crystal Tea Room. Now with Izzy away with a life of her own, now I'm starting to feel that hole where something has been missing for twenty years. I can't tell you how honored I am that you're giving me yet another second chance, at something I never thought I'd experience again."
Haven began to tear up a bit, but managed to keep her composure as she raised her glass of champagne again.
"To second chances," she said.
Alphabittle picked up his.
"To new beginnings."
One month later...
The elderly Oak Branch sat in his rocking chair just outside his home in Bridlewood, as the crickets began to sing their chirping songs for the evening. He looked up from the book he'd been reading, adjusting his eyeglasses to see Alphabittle coming down the path.
His face looked like it had taken a hit by a beehive, and Oak couldn't help but chuckle.
"Have a good time?" He asked, unable to hold his chuckles in.
"The best time," Alphabittle replied.
Oak's eyes widened just a bit when he didn't detect a single bit of sarcasm in his voice.
"If your face feels as bad as it looks, and you had a good time, then I have to be the bearer of obvious news, Alph," Oak said.
"And what's that, Oak?" Alphabittle asked, wincing as he rubbed his left cheek.
"You're in love, you young whippersnapper."