When Twilight was younger, her older brother used to read her bedtime stories every night. Twilight's favorite story was Sleeping Beauty.
Okay, in reality, Twilight's favorite book was Spell-Bound Mysteries Starring Tina Hoofer, The Knowledgeable Unicorn. But Sleeping Beauty was definitely one of Twilight's top ten favorites. She didn't care much for the beginning part of the story, but she loved the second half, where the Princess dueled the evil unicorn King Somber.
Shining Armor always embellished this part of the story, making the duel as exciting as possible. One time, he went so far as to say the evil king turned himself into a giant dragon, which made the little filly giggle.
"But Princess Dawn, with her pure heart and strong will, was able to pierce through the evil King Somber's shield and cast him into the pit that he created," Shining Armor read. "With a scream, King Somber vanished into nothingness as he was destroyed forever."
"Yay!" Twilight said.
Shining Armor flipped the page. "With Somber gone, Princess Dawn was able to enter the enchanted tower. And after going up many, many flights of stairs, she reached the top, where she found her handsome Sleeping Beauty. She leaned over the bed and awoke him with a kiss."
"But why?" Twilight interrupted.
"Why what?" Shining Armor asked.
"Why did the kiss wake him up?" Twilight asked.
"Because that's how the curse worked, remember?" Shining said. "It could only be undone by true love's first kiss."
"But why does kissing wake people up?" Twilight asked. "That's not how Mommy wakes me up in the morning."
"Twiley..." Shining Armor said. "This was a special kiss. It was the first time Princess Dawn and Sleeping Beauty ever kissed each other. First kisses get rid of evil enchantments, you know."
"Oh," Twilight said.
"Someday, you're going to fall in love and get your first kiss," Shining Armor said. "And then you'll understand how wonderful they can be. It'll be the most magical moments of your life, one that you'll remember forever."
"Will I have to fight an evil unicorn king first?" Twilight asked.
Shining Armor laughed. "Hopefully not!"
As Twilight ran out the door of the restaurant, she couldn't help but be reminded of Sleeping Beauty. Her brother fighting Trixie was like Princess Dawn fighting the evil unicorn king, in the name of justice and love.
Twilight stopped near the trashcan outside and tried to look through the restaurant's windows. "I hope he doesn't get hurt," she said to herself.
"He'll be fine," somepony responded.
Twilight turned to the left and let out a small gasp when she found herself face-to-face with Trixie.
"Trixie! But you're—!"
"Inside?" Trixie laughed. "Please. Any halfway decent stage magician can fool the audience with a simple duplication spell."
Twilight took a step backwards. "But—!" she said.
"Shhhh!" Trixie said, putting her hoof on Twilight's lips. "Enough talking. It's time for kissing."
"I—" Twilight said.
Trixie pulled Twilight's head towards hers, and their lips came together. It was much like Sleeping Beauty, in that one of the kissers was passionate, while the other was using as much energy as an unconscious sleeper.
More importantly, though, the kiss was like Sleeping Beauty because it instantly dissolved the effects of Princess Cadance's miscast magic spell. For you see, first kisses really do break magical enchantments.
When this happened, the pink hearts left Trixie's eyes, and her pupils returned to normal. She jumped backwards in horror. "What—what am I—did I—?" she asked.
Twilight let out a choked breath. "You just—why did—?"
Trixie screamed. "You cast a love spell on me!" she accused Twilight.
"WHAAAAT?" Twilight asked. "You're the pony who forced herself on me!"
"I would never kiss somepony on the first date!" Trixie said. "You are out of your mind!"
"I told you I like stallions!" Twilight said, her eyes filling up with tears. "You—you're a pervert!"
Trixie was taken aback for a second, before she regained her composure. "This never happened," Trixie said. "If anypony asks, you and I did nothing together tonight."
Twilight growled at Trixie. Using her levitation magic, she picked up the nearby trashcan and turned it upside-down on Trixie's head. "If I ever see you again, I will call the Royal Guard," Twilight threatened. "GOT IT?"
"...Yes, ma'am," Trixie said meekly, before running away down the street.
Twenty minutes later, a morose Shining Armor dropped two more bits on the counter.
"Another donut, Joe," Shining Armor said. "With sprinkles this time."
"Sure thing, buddy," Pony Joe said. While he went to get Shining's order, the royal guard pony put his head down on the counter and sighed.
"Shining Armor?" a cautious voice asked.
"Huh?" Shining Armor asked. He swiveled around in his seat to see a concerned-looking pink pony. "Cadance? Is that you?"
"I...I saw what happened in the restaurant tonight," she said. "I wanted to make sure you were okay."
"Okay? Why wouldn't I be?" Shining Armor asked, throwing up his hooves. "My marefriend broke up with me, I had to pay for all the damages to the restaurant, and my sister's first date was a disaster!"
"I'm sorry," Cadance said.
"Yeah...well...it's not your fault," Shining Armor said. He rubbed his nose. "What are you doing here, anyway? I haven't seen you in years."
"Don't get mad, but I followed you here," Cadance said. "I was worried, because you looked so upset."
"That's the understatement of the year," Shining Armor sighed. "I'm sure you don't want to hear about my romance problems, though."
"Well, I am the Princess of Love," Cadance offered. "And it looks like you could really use somepony to talk to..."
Shining Armor laughed. "Okay, you asked for it!" he said. He patted the seat next to him. "Come here, and I'll tell you the whole thing!"
Cadance smiled at Shining Armor as she sat down next to him.
Years later, when Shining Armor and Princess Cadance were happily married with two foals, Cadance finally admitted to Shining that she was directly responsible for his breakup with Fleur. At this point in time, though, she held her tongue about her involvement in the whole mess.
Cadance lent a sympathetic ear to Shining Amor, and she suggested that maybe, just maybe, there was a better mare for him out there. It took him ten months to realize that the better mare was her.
On the other side of town, Twilight roamed the streets in a daze.
That was. The worst.
I am never dating anypony again.
The worst.
I hate Trixie. She stole my first kiss.
No. NO. It never happened. That did not happen. I will not allow it. I will—
"YOU!" Twilight shouted at the nearest stallion.
"Who, me?" the stallion asked. He turned to look at Twilight. He was an elegant-looking stallion with a suit, monocle and mustache.
"Yeah, you," Twilight said. "What's your name?"
"I am Fancypants," the stallion said. "I—"
"You'll do," Twilight said. She grabbed Fancypants by the head and shoved her lips against his. Fancypants was so shocked that his monocle fell off. He struggled to break loose, but Twilight didn't let go until three seconds.
"There. That's my first kiss," Twilight said forcefully. "Not that stupid trickster!"
"What—who?" Fancypants spurted out. "I say! How dare you—?"
"Sorry about that," Twilight said. "Thanks for helping, though."
"There!" a voice called. "There she is!"
"Huh?" Twilight asked. She turned, just in time to see Trixie standing between two members of the Royal Guard. Trixie was pointing at Twilight, which must have been difficult for her to do, considering the fact that she was wearing a four-set of hoofcuffs.
One of the guards approached Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle?" he asked.
Twilight nodded. "Yes, that's me," she said hesitantly.
"You are under arrest for the destruction of the Romane Restaurant," he said, slapping a set of hoofcuffs on her. "If you resist arrest, force will be used—"
"WHAAAT?" Twilight shouted.
The guard read Twilight her rights, then she was taken away. A very confused Fancypants was left behind. Eventually, he got back up and decided to shrug off the whole incident as a random fluke. Two weeks later, he forgot the whole thing ever occurred.
Twilight, Trixie and Thunder were all put inside the same cell, for holding. Thunder was lying on the ground, still unconscious. The guards thought it would be a good idea to let him sleep off whatever he had been drinking.
Twilight and Trixie were glaring daggers at each other, from opposite sides of the cell.
"I can't believe you got me arrested," Twilight said. "What's wrong with you?"
"Please," Trixie said. "The owner of the restaurant put out the warrant for our arrest, not me. You think I like being in jail?"
"I don't know what you like, you sicko," Twilight said.
"I'm the sicko?" Trixie asked. "At least I never cast a love spell on anypony!"
"I told you, I didn't cast any love spells!" Twilight said. "I don't even know that kind of magic!"
"Then who cast the spell? Thunder?" Trixie laughed. "That idiot tried that once, and he ended up falling in love with his mane. Nopony could tell the difference for five hours."
Twilight bit her lip. As emotionally charged as she was at the moment, she couldn't stop the analytical side of her brain from judging the situation. She had seen the hearts in Trixie's eyes, so Trixie's claims about a love spell had some merit. The only question was who had cast it, and why.
"Is that possible?" Twilight asked.
"What are you talking about?" Trixie asked.
"Is it possible he cast the love spell on you?" Twilight asked. "But he bungled it, so you fell in love with me instead of him."
Trixie's eyes narrowed, suspicious that Twilight was trying to shirk responsibility for what happened. "There's only one way to know," she said.
Trixie jumped over to Thunder and slapped him awake. "YOU! Idiot!" she shouted.
"Huh? Whugubba?" Thunder asked.
"Did you cast a love spell on me tonight?" she asked.
"You are clearly mistaken, my fair Trixie. I would never do such a horrid thing to a mare as beautiful as you," Thunder said in a posh accent. Or at least, that's what he might have said, if he had been sober and fully cognizant. What he actually said was, "Yuh...huh?"
Trixie slapped him. "You [bad word]!" she shouted. "I'm going to destroy you!"
Trixie began pummeling Thunder, who started crying like a baby. Trixie was planning on beating Thunder into unconsciousness, but she was stopped by a lavender-colored hoof on her shoulder.
"Stop," Twilight said. "He's not worth it."
Trixie took a deep breath and tried to shake off her rage. "But...you...he..."
"He's a scumbag who's tried to ruin my life multiple times," Twilight said. "But you know what? I don't care what he says or does anymore. He doesn't matter to me now."
"Me neither," Trixie said, giving Thunder a kick. "You hear that? You don't matter to me anymore!"
"Mommy..." Thunder whined.
Twilight was not being motivated by generosity at this point. She wasn't trying to forgive Thunder in any way; all she wanted to do was forget her horrible night and move on with her life. But eventually, Twilight realized that she had learned a valuable lesson about acceptance and self-sufficiency.
I'm not going to let anypony pressure me into dating again, she decided. There's nothing wrong with being single, or shy. That's just who I am. If other ponies can't accept that, it's their problem. I've got enough to worry about, without trying to live up to everypony's romantic expectations.
Several things happened as a result of Twilight's first date.
First off, Shining Armor arrived at the jail, about an hour after Twilight's arrest. He was summoned as the officer who had originally detained Thunder Prancey, but he was shocked to learn that his sister was in holding. Fortunately, Princess Cadance had accompanied Shining to the jail, so she learned about the situation. Without letting anypony know about it, she gave Twilight and Trixie an official royal pardon. The two of them were released from custody soon afterwards.
Thunder Prancey was not so lucky. The charges of destroying the restaurant and paying for the damages fell on his shoulders. He also received restraining orders from Twilight and Trixie, even though that was unnecessary. At this point, he had decided it was in his best interests to stay very far away from them.
Princess Celestia was not too pleased, when she learned what had happened on Twilight Sparkle's date. She never again asked Cadance to spy for her.
Trixie continued her life as a professional magician. Eventually, she changed her stage name to "The Great and Powerful Trixie", and she took her show on the road. She met Twilight Sparkle for the second time, when her show reached Ponyville.
Trixie decided it would be a good idea to leave Canterlot and go on the road. Eventually, when her travelling show reached Ponyville, she met Twilight Sparkle again. Trixie started out by boasting in her usual fashion, but when she noticed Twilight in the audience, her show became much more subdued.
That night, Trixie went to visit Twilight. The two of them had a nice conversation for a while, but it was soon ended when the rampaging Ursa Minor crashed through the town. Twilight and Trixie worked together to defeat the monster, gaining them much popularity in town. Trixie ended up staying a week in Ponyville, before moving on to the next town.
Did Twilight overcome her shyness around stallions? Well...yes and no. If she liked a stallion, she had a tendency to clam up instantly. But when stallions liked her...that was a different story.
Seven months later...
Rarity had stopped by the Golden Oaks library, to pick up a romance book. Hearts and Hooves Day was coming up next week, and she wanted to get into the right mood for it, so to speak.
To Rarity's surprise (and great interest), she stumbled upon a cute little scene. Twilight and Time Turner were side-by-side, reading a book together.
"I'll be with you in a second, Rarity!" Twilight said. She turned towards Time Turner and pointed about the book. "So that's where you can learn more about the different types of sand," she explained.
"Gosh, Twilight, you're really smart," Time Turner said. "Do you want to hang out sometime?"
"You mean, like on a date?" Twilight asked.
"Well, yeah, sure, if you want," Time Turner said, blushing slightly.
"Sorry," Twilight Sparkle said. "I don't go on dates."
Rarity, who had been smiling happily at the scene, gasped in surprise. She managed to hold back her shock, until after the slightly sad-looking Time Turner had left the library.
"Are you crazy?" Rarity asked. "You just turned down a Hearts and Hooves Date!"
"Hearts and Hooves? Oh," Twilight said. "Is that this week? I almost forgot."
"Twiliiight!" Rarity whined. "What were you thinking? Time Turner is a great stallion for you!"
"Maybe," Twilight shrugged. "But like I said, I don't go on dates. Ever."
This information nearly destroyed Rarity's fragile mind. "Why not?" Rarity asked.
"It's...it's a long story," Twilight said.
The End