//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: Twilight’s Birthday After Party // by aquilerafroot //------------------------------// Twilight kept her eyes trained on the door, her body tense as she waited for Princess Celestia to return. She hoped it wouldn’t take too much longer, for fear she would lose her nerve. As if in answer to her thoughts, the door inched open. Celestia trotted over to the couch Twilight was resting on and sat down beside it, looking at her with eyes full of concern. “Are you feeling better now, Twilight?” “Oh, I feel fine!” Twilight giggled lopsidedly. “I feel great!” “Are you sure?” The alicorn draped a foreleg around Twilight’s withers. “Hmm, I think you need to rest some more,” she continued when Twilight kept giggling. “No, really!” Twilight tilted her head. “It’s just, my eyes hurt…” “What’s wrong? Here, let me take a look,” Celestia said, but Twilight covered her eyes with a hoof. “But if you fix them, the color-y vision will be gone, won’t it?” “What exactly did you do, Luna?” the princess muttered worriedly to herself, before leaning in close, looking into Twilight’s lilac eyes. It was a good thing that a part of the wild influence still lingered in Twilight’s system, helping her gather the courage to do what she did: she wrapped her hooves around Celestia’s neck tightly, before pressing their muzzles together – She felt the alicorn tense, and it was as if her heart had stopped, but then Celestia’s lips were moving in synch with her own, but for so briefly she thought she must have imagined it before Celestia pulled away. “Twilight, you’re drunk...” Twilight felt her face burning. I’m not drunk! But there was no denying that her plan had failed, and there would never be another chance. Twilight almost panicked – She doesn’t feel the same way! She needed to find a way to save this wreck of a situation, at least try to make sure the princess wouldn’t hate her. She clutched her hooves to her stomach, eyes scrunched up in agony. The agony was real – only it came from her heart, not her stomach. Princess Celestia immediately wrapped her forelegs around her, trying to soothe her, but Twilight could tell she was keeping her face well out of range. “Hold on, Twilight… I’ll take you to the castle to rest, all right?” Twilight could feel the anxiety in the alicorn’s voice, and hated herself for making Celestia worry so much, but it was the only way; as long as Celestia still thought she was drunk she had a chance at making it right. --- --- --- --- Twilight slowly regained consciousness. Her sight was blurry, and her ears didn’t seem to be working properly; ponies were talking in the background, but try as she might to make out what they were saying, everything she heard was muffled. Memories swam in her head, barely surfacing. She only vaguely remembered falling asleep on the way to the castle, but the kiss with Celestia… Did that really happen? Or did I imagine that too? The voices in the background gradually started to become audible, and she recognized them as belonging to the royal sisters. What are they doing – and where am I? She was surprised the question hadn’t occurred to her before, but that surprise was quickly replaced by curiosity when she heard her name being spoken by one of the princesses. “But sister, I do not think –” “You don’t need to use any spells or hope for the influence of alcohol to help you, Luna, just tell her how you feel.” “It’s impossible,” Luna said miserably, and Twilight heard a faint sniffing. “I’m sure you can do it.” There was a pause, and she continued, “Let’s get some rest, but do try tomorrow, will you? I just want you to be happy…” The room fell silent afterwards, and Twilight tried to make sense of what they were talking about, but fatigue soon overcame her again, and she fell back into pitch black unconsciousness. --- --- --- --- Sunlight shone through Twilight's eyelids, warming and waking her, and this time she felt much more refreshed. She looked up – right into two pairs of eyes. The two sisters were sitting side by side next to the bed looking at her, and it seemed that they had been waiting for her to wake. “Good morning, Twilight,” said Celestia, and Twilight noticed that she looked very tired. “It’s good to see you awake,” Luna said quietly, averting her gaze. “G-good morning…” Twilight replied cautiously; scenes of the previous night were replaying in her head, and it made her feel so empty, to see Princess Celestia. She still needed to pretend that she was drunk when she had kissed the princess, so that Celestia wouldn't hate her… she made up her mind to not mention her feelings again. “Are you feeling better now?” the elder alicorn asked, with a hint of sadness that wasn't very well hidden. Twilight hung her head in shame. She had caused a lot of trouble, and it could only be that the princess was upset with her. “I… I’m feeling much better now,” she said slowly, and was startled at how much more normal sounding her voice was than the previous day; even she could tell the difference. Both Celestia and Luna looked relieved, but then Celestia’s expression turned to one of resignation, and she gave Luna a nudge. “Luna has something to say to you, don’t you, Luna?” “Oh, I…” Luna gulped a few times. “Y-yes…” Twilight looked up at them in confusion. Her only clue was that this probably had something to do with what the two sisters had been talking about during the night. She decided to remain quiet, waiting until Luna spoke again. “I-it was I that put a spell on your drink, and I-I’m terribly sorry for the amount of discomfort it has caused.” Luna paused, and then gave a jerky nod as if wanting to go on but finally deciding against it. “W-what, you, what?!” Twilight didn’t realize her outbreak until she heard Luna whimpering. “I’m so sorry, Twilight, will you ever forgive me?” Luna asked miserably, ears flattened. “I… of course I do.” Twilight quickly lowered her voice, trying to calm herself down. “But, but why?” Luna didn’t speak, a blush visible even on her dark coat, and the silence was only broken when Celestia cleared her throat, looking pointedly at Luna. “B-because,” Luna stammered, “because I…” She whimpered again, suddenly getting to her hooves. “I need to go –” “Luna, please,” Celestia cut in firmly, raising a hoof to block Luna’s way. Luna slowly turned back to Twilight, and nodded before taking a few deep breaths, pulling herself up to her full height and tilting her head regally. “I am -” she said louder, but her voice quickly faltered. “I…” “She is in love with you Twi-” Celestia stopped and shook her head briskly. “– My faithful student,” she continued, the crack in her voice obvious. At first Twilight just gaped, aghast; it was so unexpected. Celestia quickly got to her hooves, her movements visibly shaky, muttering something about ‘business to attend to’, and walked out the door before Twilight had really registered anything. Twilight stared at the door after Celestia left, frozen. “L-Luna, why did Princess Celestia…?” She trailed off, her thoughts in an emotional tangle. Luna sighed, looking off to the side. “I think… I am not the only one who loves you,” she whispered sadly. Twilight gazed off into space, her eyes vacant, and something clicked. She slid of the bed and made her way to the door without another word, but looked back at Luna when she heard the alicorn make a choked sound. “Are you coming?” she asked lightly. Luna only gave her a dumbstruck look before getting to her hooves, her movements sluggish. Twilight just smiled at her, trotting out and down the hallway. This is going to work, it has to! She swallowed her nerves and nodded to reassure herself. It’s the only way I can make all three of us happy… Reaching the door of Celestia’s chambers, she pushed the doors open with her magic without knocking. The elder alicorn was on her bed, and started when Twilight and Luna entered, quickly shading her face with a wing. “I’d really rather be alone right now.” Her voice sounded steady, but a slight tremor was all that gave her away. Twilight ignored her though, pulling herself onto the bed beside Celestia. She brushed a hoof against the alicorn’s wing, those soft, downy feathers… “Prin – I mean, Celestia?” The princess looked at her with anguished eyes, and Twilight felt a pang in her heart upon seeing that Celestia had been crying. So it’s true, after all. Joy rose up, balancing out the pain she felt knowing Celestia was hurt. Drawing a hoof along Celestia’s cheek, she leaned in close, mirroring the scene from last night. Celestia’s lips were just as tender, and as sweet… but also with the salty taste of her tears. Breaking their kiss briefly, she saw Luna turn away with a sob, before fleeing towards the door. “Luna, wait!” She used her magic to lift Luna off the ground, and the lunar princess gave a startled yelp as Twilight carried her over to the bed. Twilight smiled at Luna, before wrapping her hooves around Luna’s neck, leaning in to kiss her tenderly on the lips – --- --- --- --- Celestia and Luna lay on the bed, both of them snuggled against Twilight who was sandwiched snugly between them. Twilight had never known she could experience happiness like this – a warm, fuzzy feeling turned every sensation into pure bliss. She giggled quietly, nuzzling both of the alicorns, who were smiling as well. “I would never have thought this possible… I suppose I keep underestimating you, Twilight,” Celestia murmured, hugging Twilight even closer. Twilight grinned, shifting a bit to the side and hugging Luna tightly. “I think we owe a lot to Luna.” All three of them chuckled, and Twilight closed her eyes, grateful for everything that had led up to this moment. This is... the best birthday present ever. ------ ------ ~The End~ Thanks for reading!