"TWILIGHT! WHERE ARE YOU?!"
She got away. I couldn't believe it. She bolted out of the door and back towards the town. With her still in my vision, I quickly ran after her, losing her again and again as we went over hills and such. But now...now I can't see her anywhere.
"Fucking...teleport..." I said through wheezes after slowing down to a jog. I had to think where she would have gone. The look on her face was unique - I had never seen her so happy. But I knew that Twilight wasn't one to gossip and spread news. "Why'd she run..."
Reaching the town, I went to the first place I thought of - the library. I approached the door and swung it open with force, much to the surprise of the resident shelf stacker/cleaner/assistant.
"AHH!" Spike screamed. He turned around to face me, clutching his chest. "Oh...it's you Owen. What gives?"
"Twilight. Where is she?" I demanded from him. I took a step towards him and he retreated from me. "Spike, seriously, where is she?!" I shouted.
"She's not here! Didn't you find her earlier?" he replied, cowering in the corner.
I clutched my head and dug my fingers into my hair. "I DID find her! She ran off after I told her something I shouldn't have! I thought she would have come back here!" I turned back around and my shouting ceased after seeing the state before me. Spike was huddled in the corner, trying to edge away from my raging. I sighed heaving and walked slowly over to him and crouched down. "I'm sorry mate, I didn't mean to scare you and I don't mean to shout at you." I raised to my feet again. "It's just that I blurted out something that was supposed to be a secret and...I have this feeling she's telling everyone."
Spike placed his clawed hand on my arm and smiled at me. "If I see her, I'll stop her. You can count on me."
I rustled his head and nodded. "Cheers Spike, that'd be a great help." I exited the library with haste and set off towards the centre of town. I had to think where the closest place would be that Twilight could go. Running past several buildings, one came into view which was a viable option.
I burst into the building and saw the familiar mare behind the counter. "Ooh! Twilight just told me the MMMPPHH!" Her sentence was cut short by a gag, also known as my hand. I stood behind Pinkie and held my hand tight over her mouth. Looking up, I saw the confused looks of the various patrons of the bakery.
"Sorry about this. Please continue your meals." I dragged Pinkie out into the back room and shut the door. Slowly removing my hand, I noticed it was wet. Pinkie giggled and licked her lips.
"Your hoof tastes funny." she said.
I wiped my hand on my jacket to remove the pony dribble. "Pinkie, was Twilight here?" She nodded very fast. "When did she leave? What did she say?"
"She left five minutes ago when I asked her to try my a new cupcake with cinnamon frosting but she said she wasn't hungry and I asked why and she said--"
"PINKIE! What did she say before that?" I ask, pinching the bridge of nose in frustration.
"What did she say before...ooh! It was about you!" Pinkie happily stated. She started to bounce around me in a circle, laughing.
"Well?"
"Well what?"
I slap my forehead. "What did Twilight say about me?" I ask as calmly as I can.
Pinkie bounces towards me and puts on her hooves around my neck, pulling my close. "That you and Princess Luna are having a wedding! Are you planning a party? Can I come? Oh, please let me come. I'll bring cake and cupcakes and--"
"STOP!" My patience was wearing thin - I needed to finish this conversation now. "Pinkie, I need you to do something for me. You know what Twilight told you?" Pinkie nodded. "It was supposed to be a secret. Luna didn't want anyone to know until later. So I have to ask you, can you promise me to not tell anyone else?"
"Okie-dokie-lokie!" she replied.
I had to be sure. "Pinkie Promise." I demanded.
"Cross my heart, hope to fly. Stick a cupcake in my eye." she recited, performing all of the necessary motions.
"Thank you." I said, resting my hand on her shoulder. "One more thing. Do you know where Twilight went?
"Sure! She mentioned she was going to see Rarity."
Oh hell no. Not her. I bolted out of the store room and into the main area of the bakery again, only to be met with the owner. "What's wrong Mr. Owen?" asked Mrs Cake.
"Something important. Something that needs taken care of as soon as..." My eyes glanced down at her mid-section which was a bit plumper than usual.
"Ah, I see you've noticed. Only a few months to go now." she said with a smile.
I smiled as I realised what she meant. "Ohhh, congrats to you both. Sorry but I have to go, something terrible is about to happen!" I called back as I ran out of the bakery. I was on my way to confront the biggest gossiper in Ponyville...no...the WHOLE OF EQUESTRIA.
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
"Just a minute." replied the voice of Rarity as always. The door opened to reveal said unicorn. "Welcome to Carousel Bou...oh Owen! I've just heard the--" I quickly shoved her inside and slammed the door shut behind me. "How rude! You could have just asked instead of forcing me!" she berated.
I held my hands up to her. "Look, I'm sorry but I'm in a real rush right now to stop something happening. Rarity, has Twilight been here?"
"Of course! She informed me of the good news. Congratulations to you!" she happily replied.
I hung my head and cursed under my breath. 'I'm gonna kill you when I find you.' I took a few deep breaths and looked back up at Rarity who was smiling greatly.
"I have such wonderful ideas for a dress for Luna and a suit for you! Just think, to be able to design for Royalty. Oh it's--"
"Rarity, stop." I bluntly said, causing her to stare at me. "I appreciate it, really I do but..."
"You don't like my designs?!" she retorted, placing a hoof over her chest.
"No, it's not that! It's...ugh." I was getting sick of explaining myself. "This was meant to be a secret. Me and Luna decided we'd keep it quiet until the time is right. Twilight only knows because of my bloody big mouth." I hung my head again and let out a big sigh. "Luna's gonna kill me when she finds out..."
"Nonsense!" Rarity exclaimed. I looked up at her to see her giving a sympathetic look. "The Princess will understand, I'm sure of it. And I promise you, I will not tell a soul."
"Pinkie Promise?" I asked with a smile. Rarity did the actions and spoke the line. "Thanks. Do you know where Twilight went?"
"I'm certain she was talking about getting something from the market and--"
I didn't need to hear more. I dashed for the door and sped out into the sunshine. The market wasn't too far so there was a chance I could catch her. During my run, many thoughts went through my head. Like 'Why is she telling everyone?' and 'Why the fuck did I say it?'.
I reached the market and looked around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, no-one was congratulating me but Twilight was nowhere to be seen. I started walking around the stalls, asking everyone I saw.
"Have you seen Twilight?" Another stall. "Twilight, you know, Element of Magic?" Another stall. "Purple unicorn, lives at the library." The next stall's owner I was glad to see. "AJ! You seen Twilight anywhere?"
"Sure have. She was runnin' around here like nopony's business. I 'aint never seen her so worked up over somethin'." AJ replied.
"Did she speak to you directly?" I asked.
"Nnope. But she was calling out Fluttershy's name a lot."
"Oh what?! Ugh...alright, thanks AJ." Time for another run. I started running towards the Everfree border. My body was starting to feel tired and my running pattern started faltering. I had to stop various times to catch my breath. Finally, I reached Fluttershy's cottage and staggered up to her door. I knocked it on it repeatedly.
"Fluttershy...*cough*...Fluttershy, are you there?" I asked through ragged breaths. No answer came so I tried knocking again. "Fluttershy, open the door!" I called out. I was about to knock again when I felt a tugging on my trouser leg. Looking down, I saw Angel looking up at me. "Oh hey Angel. You haven't...*cough*...seen Fluttershy anywhere have you?"
Angel shook his head. I thanked him and started walking back towards the town. I was starting to lose hope of ever finding the elusive unicorn. The only pony she hasn't tried to find is Rainbow and there's good reason for that - she can't fly, except for that balloon of hers.
Reaching the town, I couldn't run anymore and slowed down to a walk. I had entered on the opposite side of town, near the club. Walking past it, I remembered I had to work there tomorrow night which didn't lift my mood much. Don't get me wrong, I like working there but thinking of work at a time like this is quite demoralising.
It was then that something took my eye. A large crowd of ponies were gathered around the restaurant where me and the girls went out before, way back last year. I sauntered up to the crowd and tried to find out what was going on. I then saw a familiar pony.
"Hey Cherry!" Cherry Spice turned and waved at me. "I thought that was you. What's going on here?"
"The Royal Guards are in there, circled around a table. We're trying to see who it is!" she replied with a smile.
"Royal Guards?" Luna was in Canterlot, as was Cadence. It could only be one pony. "Hold on." I said to Cherry. I moved through the crowd and reached the restaurant door. A guard quickly stopped me, without looking.
"Halt! Nopony may enter the--" He looked up at me and realised who I was. "My apologies Royal Courter." He opened the door and let me walk through, which I thanked him for. Walking into the restaurant, I saw that it was bare, save for one table in an alcove which was surrounded by guards. I walked over to them slowly and greeted them.
"Good afternoon. May I ask who is seated there?"
"Owen? Is that you?" her voice sounded. The guards seperated and allowed me to sit down. "I thought you were in Canterlot with Luna."
"I was until she reminded me I was supposed to meet up with Twilight. She practically ordered me to go home!" I said with a laugh. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"
"You gave me the day off so I decided to come to one of my favourite restaurants. A fabulous place this is." She looked at me with concern. "You looked troubled. Are you OK?"
"To be honest, no. Twilight found out about...you know..." I leaned my head towards Celestia's ear. "Me and Luna getting married."
Celestia drew her head back in surprise. "But how? How did she find out?"
I scratched the back of my head and sighed. "I may have...told her by accident." Celestia put a hoof to her face. "I was late meeting her and she wasn't happy so she started berating me and she really got on my nerves and I blurted it out without thinking and now Luna's gonn hate me and--"
Celestia quickly put a wing around me and pulled me close. "Calm down, calm down. It'll be alright." she whispered to me. I slowed my breathing down melted in her embrace. She really did have soothing powers, I swear. "Now you listen to me." I sat back up. "So Twilight knows, it's not like she's telling everypony."
"Yeah...about that..." I sheepishly said.
"You're...you're serious aren't you?" I nodded. "I swore she knew better than this." She rose from her seat and walked out of the alcove. "Follow me." I did so and followed her out of the restaurant. We continued our walk, surrounded by guards, back towards the library.
Entering the library, Spike was busy cleaning but stopped everything and bowed at the sight of the Princess. "Your Highness." he said.
"Rise dear Spike, there is no need for formalities today." Spike did so and noticed me standing beside her.
"You got the Princess to help you?!" he exclaimed.
"Not exactly. I became aware of his situation and have decided to lend a helping hoof. Now, for the safety of your hearing, please cover your ears." Me and Spike both did so and walked away from Celestia, not knowing what she was going to do. Celestia's horn glowed and she took a deep breath before...
"TWILIGHT SPARKLE!"
It shook. The ground literally shook from the sheer volume of Celestia's voice. I've only ever seen one other pony do this and that was Luna. But Celestia's was much louder and I was so glad she asked us to cover our ears. Taking my hands down, I looked up at Celestia who was smiling.
"Just wait..." she said.
Soon after she said it, Twilight teleported into the library, clearly shaken by her mentor's call for her. "Princess Celestia! W-what's wrong?" Celestia motioned with her hoof to behind Twilight. She turned to see me with a scowl on my face. "Oh...Owen, what's wrong?" she asked innocently.
I scoffed. "What's wrong? What's wrong?! I'll tell you what's wrong! You may have just revealed a very secret piece of information to nearly the whole of Ponyville!"
Twilight shook her head. "What do you mean 'secret piece of information'?"
"Oh I don't know. Maybe the news about me and Luna." I said coldly. Twilight smiled but that soon faded when she noticed I wasn't. "You ran off and...no, teleported away before I could tell you that it was supposed to remain a secret!"
Twilight's ears drooped and suddenly the floor became very interesting to look at. "I...I didn't know." she quietly said.
"I have spent most of the afternoon on a wild goose chase trying to find you. I've been to Sugarcube Corner, Carousel Boutique, Fluttershy's cottage and the market in an attempt to find you. But that's not what irked me. What's disappointed me is that as soon as you heard that, you immediately went to tell everyone without asking me if you could." Twilight said nothing. "But...Pinkie and Rarity have Pinkie Promised not to tell anyone else."
I walked over to Twilight and crouched down to her level. My anger was subsiding due to Twilight's state - I couldn't bear to see her upset. "I understand you're happy about me and Luna, so am I. But we want to keep this quiet for now because...well I can't tell you why but it's a good reason." I was glad I managed to stop myself mentioning her brother's engagement.
Twilight sniffed slightly. I lifted her head with my hand to see that she was crying. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to ruin your secret."
"It's alright. I forgive you...only if you promise to ask me before spilling more secrets about me, eh?" I replied, chuckling at the end. Twilight and I shared a quick hug. "By the way, why were you so excited when I told you?"
"Oh um...that was because something I planned a while ago came to fruition." I gave a puzzled look. "It was at Hearth's Warming. Me and the girls talked about getting you presents and the talk of you and Princess Luna came up. We all talked about how good you looked together and we wondered what would happen over the next year." She pointed to the gem around my neck. "Marriage was talked of. We discussed whether you two would get married and what we could do to make you love each other more. I hoped that your gift would bring you closer together."
It took a while for that to be processed in my head. Twilight got me and Luna the gems so we could communicate better and hopefully get closer to one and other. I rested my hand on her shoulder. "It did. Thank you." I pulled her close and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "So that's why you got excited. You were happy that your plan worked. Your student is amazing Celestia." I turned to face...an empty space.
We looked around and there was no sign of Celestia or her guards. "She must have left when we were talking."
"Yeah...I need to thank her when I see her next."
Spike walked up to us and rested his arm on my crossed legs. "So, what are you two going to do now?"
I looked between them both and smiled. "Us THREE are going to do something. Originally, Twilight and I were to watch some DVD's on Earth History but I reckon we need something fun to do." I looked down at Twilight. "Yeah I know, History is for you but not for me and Spike. I only got those because my neighbour gave them to me."
We all got up and walked towards the door. "So what are we going to do?" Twilight asks.
I open the door and walk out with them following. "Twilight, Spike, I am going to introduce you two to video games."