//------------------------------// // Of Suns, Moons & Stars - Part Three // Story: Flames and Twilight. // by Ausbrony //------------------------------// Of Suns, Moons & Stars – part three For once, Flare was up before the sun rose. It was Saturday, and he was eager to get on the first train to Ponyville. Celestia had said that he could have weekends off, so he planned to spend every minute of it with Twilight. Double-checking that his saddlebags were packed and he wasn’t forgetting anything, he headed out the door. As he passed by the courtyard, he saw Celestia standing there. Her horn flared with a brilliant golden light, and the moon dipped beyond the horizon as the sun rose from the opposite direction. “Now that is impressive!” Flare commented, startling the princess slightly. “Goodness, Flare, you shouldn’t sneak up on a pony like that!” Celestia scolded him playfully. “Have I not shown you how the sun is raised yet?” Flare shook his head. “No, this is the first time I’ve seen it… and it’s pretty cool.” Celestia blushed slightly. “Well, thank you,” she said softly. It was strange, she could always find herself letting go of the princess persona around him. She wondered why that was. “So you’re off to Ponyville then?” Celestia asked him, noticing the saddlebags. Flare nodded, “Yeah, I’m getting on the early train.” Celestia smiled, “Well, I wish you a safe trip and I hope you have an enjoyable weekend, then.” Flare smiled back and then dashed off towards train station. Celestia watched him go and then headed back towards the castle. “It will certainly be quiet this weekend,” Celestia mused. “Though I do wish that Monday would get here a little sooner…” *** Once at the train station, Flare purchased his ticket and headed back towards the city. The train wouldn’t arrive for another twenty minutes, so he decided to go and get a bite to eat. “Note to self- eat breakfast before heading out.” he mumbled as his stomach growled. He passed by Doughnut Joe’s, but he really didn’t feel like anything sweet so early in the morning. He headed further down the street until he came across a café called ‘The Daily Grind’. He pressed a hoof against the intricately carved oak door and it swung open. When he walked inside, the first thing he noticed was that most of the furnishings were hoof carved wood, from the bar to the tables and chairs. It was lit by iron lanterns hanging from the ceiling, giving the whole place a very intimate feel. The building itself was a long and rectangular, with the bar and stools at the front. The middle was more rounded, with circular tables and deep, plush velvet couches. The end of the building held a small stage, with a few instruments adorning it. “This is a nice looking place,” he said in a hushed tone as he looked around. As he looked, a tall unicorn mare descended from the stairs behind the counter. Clearing her throat got Flare’s attention, and he turned to face her. She was quite tall, maybe a little shorter than Luna. She had a very long mane and tail the colour of milk chocolate. Her coat was a cream colour and had brown spots all over it. She wore long boots on her hind legs whilst a thin sweater covered her front legs and torso. She was also wearing a dark red scarf. “Welcome to ‘The Daily Grind’. My name is Mocha Latte!” she said with lady-like tone. “Can I help you?” “Um, I just kinda wandered in here,” Flare said sheepishly. “Do you happen to have anything that I could buy for breakfast?” She looked at her empty display case and shook her head. “Not at the moment, but give me a second and I can whip something up?” Flare nodded and decided to look around the place while she cooked. “This is a nice place,” Flare commented. “Did you design it yourself?” “I did the initial designs, yes.” Mocha answered. “But I had some other ponies construct it for me.” She brewed a fresh pot of coffee and then began to whisk some eggs. “All the metalwork came from a local smithy by the name of Silvermane. The woodwork also came from a local carver, so the whole place was relatively cheap to construct." She began to fill a thermos with the coffee while pouring the beaten eggs into a frying pan and organising every chair in the café. “That’s… some really impressive telekinesis,” Flare said, watching the amazing multi-tasking. Mocha smiled as her magic did its work. “Yes, I’ve never had much talent for magic, except for telekinesis; apparently I’m rather skilled in that aspect.” She finished cooking the scrambled eggs and placed them into a container, followed up by a second with fresh vegetables. “So why the rush so early in the morning?” Mocha asked when she noticed the stallion pacing. “I have a train to Ponyville to catch,” he said. “It leaves in about 10 minutes.” Mocha giggled as she levitated the coffee and breakfast into Flare’s saddlebags. “I see, but there are later trains. You in a hurry?” “Kinda…” Flare said sheepishly. “There’s just somepony I really want to see.” “Oh?” Mocha said. “Is it your special somepony?” Flare blushed slightly as he placed some bits on the counter for the food. “No, but I hope she will be someday.” “I see, well then I wish you the best of luck!” Mocha smiled. “Now you’d best hurry.” Flare nodded and headed towards the door. He turned to glance at the Unicorn mare behind the counter. “Thanks for the food Miss Latte. Bye!” Mocha nodded and smiled as Flare left, running for the train station. “He seems like a nice stallion… like somepony else I know,” she mused as she thought about an old friend. *** Flare bolted into the train station and boarded the train just moments before the conductor announced its departure. “Whew, made it just in time,” he said. He took a seat near the window and wasted no time in opening the container that Mocha had given him, letting the scent of the eggs and vegetables fill his nostrils. “Ooh, this smells good,” he said as his stomach gave a loud rumble in agreement. It took only a moment for him to devour his eggs and most of his vegetables. All except for the broccoli; he didn’t have much of a stomach for those. He glanced around the carriage and saw that the only other passengers were a pegasus and her small foal, who was a little smaller than Sweetie Belle and her friends, though she had a Cutie Mark already. The mare smiled at him and gave a polite nod, which Flare returned. That was something that never ceased to amaze him about Equestria; everypony was so nice. Sure, most of the Pokémon that he met were nice enough, but nothing like it was here. He took out the thermos and took a sip of the hot coffee contained within. His eyes widened the moment the liquid hit his tongue. It was simply marvelous! Then the strangest thing happened… he was no longer sitting on the train, but on a large open plain… a very familiar plain. “Laramee Ranch...” he whispered as he looked around. Herds of Tauros and Dodrio ran about as their human caretakers looked after them. He glanced around in a daze, wondering how this was all possible, when something else caught his eye. Two graceful Rapidash ran through the fields, their blazing manes and tails sparkling and flickering in the sunlight. Flare knew in an instant who they were. “Mother… and Dad!?” he said, simply unable to believe what he was seeing. He hadn’t seen them in so long, and here they were, racing through the fields without a care in the world. Flare raised a hoof. He was about to run after them when he saw something else, a third pony running after them. It was a young Ponyta who Flare knew very well. Himself. This was no vision, but a vivid memory of when he was young, before he ran away from the farm to explore the world. “How can this be?” he wondered. “Is this because of that drink? Did she put something weird in it?” The memory continued for a bit as he watched his younger self play with his parents and living a carefree life. But far too soon, the memory ended, bringing Flare back to the train carriage. “What on earth was that?” he wondered aloud as he looked out the window. “But… it was nice, to be able to see them again…” It still didn’t stop some tears from falling as he realised just how much he missed them. There was a prodding at his leg and he looked down to see the little foal looking up at him. “Are you okay, mista?” she asked in the most adorable voice. “You’re cwying.” The foal’s mother walked over and pulled her foal away. “Misty Waterflower, that’s very rude!” she scolded the child and looked up at Flare. “I’m terribly sorry about that. She just can’t keep her nose out of things.” Flare smiled and nodded. “It’s alright, she meant no harm.” He leaned down so he was face to face with the foal. She was a little tan pegasus with a bright orange mane and tail. Her wings flittered about as she tried to wiggle out of her mother’s grasp. “Thank you for your concern, but I’m quite alright. I just remembered something happy, that’s all.” He said with a warm smile. “But if it was happy, den why were you cwying?” Misty said curiously. “Because there can be happy tears as well as sad tears,” Flare explained. “Although sometimes, it can be hard to tell the difference.” The little filly nodded, but she didn’t really get it. She looked to her mother for confirmation. “Is dat twue Mommy?” she asked. “Yes dear, it is quite true,” her mother answered with a nod. Misty looked at the things Flare had with him and saw the container with the broccoli in it. “Are you gonna eat dat, mista?” she asked, earning another scowl from her mother. “It’s okay,” Flare said again as the mother sighed at her daughter’s blunt personality. He lifted the container with his magic and hoofed it to the foal. “Do you want it?” “Yes pwease!” she said happily. “I wuv bwocowi!” Flare just wanted to hug the little pegasus, she was so cute~ “Well then, you can have this broccoli.” Flare said with a wide grin. “Fanks, mista!” Misty bubbled happily as she grasped the container. Her mother just shook her head and thanked Flare for the food. He nodded in response and even shared some of the coffee with her before they returned to their own seats. After a few short hours, the train pulled into Ponyville and Flare got up from his seat, stretching and yawning. “I can’t wait to see Twilight!” he almost giggled and ran from the carriage, pausing to wave to little Misty first. Twilight was up and had organised her list of things to do during the day. But Spike noticed that something was a little off. Ever since she had received that letter from Celestia a few days ago, she had seemed irritated, though whenever Spike asked she just shrugged him off. “Are you sure nothing's upsetting you?” Spike asked. The last thing Equestria needed was another ‘Want it, Need it’ catastrophe. “I’m fine,” Twilight said calmly. “Why wouldn’t I be fine with the fact that Flare is flirting with my teacher!” Spike scratched his head. Why would she think Flare would do that? He knew that Flare liked Twilight, heck everypony knew that. “Are you sure about that?” he asked his sister. “That doesn’t sound like him.” “We’ll see about that!” Twilight remarked. “I bet he’s getting all cosy with her at this very moment!” She turned and opened the door with her magic to storm outside, only to see the stallion in question standing there with a stupid grin on his face. <><><> Twilight Sparkle’s Thought Process<><><> He’s… he’s here!? Ohmigosh! He’s standing right here! Stupid Jerk! He’s probably going to tell me that he’s marrying the Princess! But what if he’s not? What if he’s here to see me? But he’s still a jerk! But so cute~ Jerk! …What do I do!? Jerk!! Hug him? Jerk!!! Kiss him!? Jerk!!!! whatwhatwhatwhatwhatdoIdooooo!? … … SYSTEM OVERLOAD! EMERGENCY PROTOCOLS ACTIVATING! <><><>End Process<><><> Flare just stood there as Twilight made a bunch of weird faces and then bolted from the room and out into Ponyville. “Not quite the reaction I was hoping for,” he said, utterly confused as Spike applied his claw to his face. “Twilight thinks you plan on marrying the Princess,” he explained. “Apparently Celestia wanted to play a prank or something...” He leaned in close, “You aren’t really marrying the Princess, right?” “Of course I’m not!” Flare responded, stamping his hoof. He was going to have serious words with Celestia when he went back. “I guess I’d better go and find her then.” Flare sighed and walked after her. He knew she would probably run to one of her friends, and Sugarcube Corner was the closest. *** Twilight ran through the streets of Ponyville, her head a whirlwind of conflicted emotions. She was elated that Flare had come to see her, but afraid of what he was going to say. She remembered what she had written in her last letter to him and that reply from the Princess… She was so confused. Her blind dash was brought to a sudden halt when she ploughed into Pinkie Pie. “Twilight!?” Pinkie exclaimed. “What in the wide world of Equestria has your pickle in a pinch?” “Piinn~kkieeeee~” Twilight sobbed. “I don’t know what to doooo!” “Aw there, there~” Pinkie said, patting the crying unicorn on the back. “You just tell Auntie Pinkie all about it.” … As Flare approached Sugarcube Corner, he noticed that things looked a little… different. There were piles of sandbags lying about and trenches cut into the street. The surrounding buildings had been boarded up and there wasn’t a pony to be found. Except for one… Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie wearing a combat helmet and camo gear. She sat next to several catapults loaded with steaming hot pies and she looked pissed. “Why do I get the feeling that things have gotten waaay out of hoof again?” Flare sighed as he walked closer. “Hold it right there mister!” Pinkie yelled through a megaphone. “You’re gonna pay for what you did to Twilight!” “What I did to…? Pinkie! Do you even know what happened?” Flare yelled back. “This is just a misunderstanding!” “Suuure it is!” she replied sarcastically. “Eat pie, cheater!!” And with that statement, she pulled on a large string that connected all the catapults together. The result was that they all fired simultaneously, filling the sky with dozens of pies. Flare sighed once more and looked up. Things would get messy if he just let this madmare do what she wanted. “Guess I’ll try one of the new abilities that Luna taught me,” he said as his horn began to charge with solar energy. “Solarbeam?” Pinkie wondered. “But that won’t work against so many targets…” Flare began to weave the magic into the attack, and half a dozen glowing orbs appeared around him. He looked towards the sky and finished his preparations. “Solarbeam! Artillery Blast!” Flare said as he fired a Solarbeam from his horn. The orbs around him shone brightly and fired Solarbeams as well. Seven energy beams arced across the sky and completely obliterated the incoming pastries. Pinkie fell onto her butt, her mouth agape at what she had just seen. “That… was AWESOME!!” she said, forgetting all about her rage. “Do it again!” Flare dropped to one knee as he gasped and panted. He had just expended his entire energy reserves for Solarbeam all at once, and it had taken its toll on his stamina. “Okay…” he panted. “That is a last resort until I get better at spell casting… but it was cool.” He looked towards Pinkie and frowned, “Care to explain what this is all about?” he demanded. Pinkie remembered why she was mad and stomped over to him. “You have some explaining to do, Mister!” she growled. “You made Twilight cry!” “I didn’t do anything!” Flare retorted. “I only just got in from Canterlot, and when I got to the library, she suddenly flipped out and ran off! I chased after her and find you starting the Pie Armageddon on me!?” Pinkie looked around and giggled. “Silly Flarey! If I did that, there’d be nopony left to throw parties for, this is just a little fun!” Flare face-hoofed hard enough to give himself a headache. So the end of the world was being prevented because Pinkie had abandonment issues? “So not the time to question this,” he muttered. “Do you know where Twilight went?” he asked the pink pony. “Hmm, maybe Rarity’s place?” she replied as Flare got up and dusted himself off. Flare nodded and headed off to the Carousel Boutique. Pinkie waved as he walked off, “Good luck, Flarey!” she bubbled happily and then went about cleaning up the mess she had made. *** When Flare reached the boutique, he was glad there were no more battlements set up. “Though I suppose Rarity has a little more sense than that,” he chuckled. But if Twilight had come here, then the white unicorn was probably ticked as well. He gingerly raised a hoof and knocked on the door. “Please have some sense and see that something is wrong here,” he prayed and then the door clicked and Rarity opened it. “Well, hello there, Flare!” she said with a chipper tone. “What can I help you with today?” Flare was stunned a little. Maybe Twilight hadn’t been here yet? “Well you see, I’m looking for Twilight. Have you seen her at all?” he asked hopefully. Rarity nodded and showed the stallion inside. As Flare walked in, the door suddenly bolted shut along with all the windows. “Uh, Rarity?” Flare had a real bad feeling now. “Darling.” Her voice was cold and calm. “Perhaps you might like to tell me why my dear friend Twilight showed up on my doorstep in tears?” She paced around him as several pairs of fabric scissors began to float up from around the room. What the hell!? Were all of the ponies in this town completely crazy? “Okay Rarity, put down the scissors and nopony’ll get hurt.” Flare said slowly and calmly. “Then tell me what happened or your mane gets a makeover you’ll never forget!” she said dangerously. Great, so only his mane was in mortal peril, still… “Look, I don’t know what’s wrong. I just showed up, Twilight freaked out, and now I seem to be Public Enemy No. 1!” he explained once more. “I just need to find her and talk to her.” Rarity lowered the scissors and bowed her head in apology. “I thought something seemed off,” she said. “As flirtatious as you are, you don’t seem the type to cheat like that.” “And yet you point scissors at me,” Flare said dryly. “And what do you mean ‘flirtatious’?” Rarity laughed nervously.“Um, yes, well… I think Twilight was headed for Fluttershy’s cottage,” she offered. “Maybe you could try there next?” Flare nodded and sighed again, this was getting tedious. “If I have to fight an army of bunnies next, I will not be a happy stallion.” *** All was quiet as he approached Shy’s cottage. No rabbit regiment, no bear cavalry, nothing. Flare cautiously approached the door and pressed his ear against it. He could hear voices, and one of them was Twilight! He knocked on the door, but didn’t announce who it was. The last thing he needed was Twilight bolting again before he could talk to her. The conversation went quiet, and after a moment, Fluttershy opened the door and squeaked in surprise when she saw who it was. “Fluttershy, look.” Flare said quietly. “I just need to speak to Twilight. There has been a huge misunderstanding and I need to clear it up.” Fluttershy glanced behind her and then looked back to Flare. “Um, well. I would… but she just teleported away… sorry,” she said, hiding behind her mane. “It’s okay, Fluttershy.” Flare smiled. “She’s bound to be going to AJ’s or Skittles's place. Thanks anyway though.” “Um, before you go… it’s nice to see you again.” Fluttershy smiled. “Everypony missed you.” Flare smiled when she said that. “Thanks, Flutters, it’s good to be back. I really missed everypony too.” He turned and ran towards Sweet Apple Acres at top speed. Seeing as how Rainbow lived in an inaccessible cloud home, he figured Twilight would head for Applejack's. “Okay, no problem,” Flare confirmed to himself. “I just probably have to deal with Applejack and of acres of apple ammunition… no problem at all…” This was not going to end well... *** Once he hit the main gate of the farm, he stopped to look around. He wondered just what was lying in store for him. As he approached the farmhouse, he saw Applejack with Twilight, who looked a little frantic. “Well howdy, Flare!” AJ greeted him as he got closer and Twilight’s horn lit up as she prepared to teleport again. Before Flare could respond, however, Applejack placed a hoof on her shoulder and shook her head. “Now just hold yer horses there, Sugarcube, let’s hear what he has to say.” Twilight looked hesitant, but stopped casting the spell nonetheless. “Good. Now, Flare, You care to explain what’s goin’ on here?” Applejack said calmly. “Finally…” Flare breathed a sigh of relief, eliciting a look of confusion from the apple farmer. Flare responded to the look. “I just turned up, ready to surprise Twilight… which seemed to work a little too well… and then she freaks and bolts!” Flare looked at the purple unicorn. “I have no idea what’s going on.” Applejack nodded and turned to Twilight. “Okay now, Twahlight, care to explain yourself?” <><><> Twilight’s Mind <><><> Okay, now what? What do you mean ‘now what?’ It would appear we screwed up! Well what do we do? How would I know, you’re the Frontal Lobe. Isn’t deciding things your job? Well I uh… Emergency System Shutdown!!! That’s what you always do… <><><> End Process <><><> And so Twilight Sparkle promptly fainted on the spot, making Flare rush forward to catch her on his back. “Well that was unexpected,” Applejack remarked. “You okay there, Flare?” Flare sighed again, it seemed to be becoming a habit of his. “Yeah, I’m gonna take Twilight home, and once she wake up, I think we’ll have a nice, long chat.” Applejack nodded and watched him walk off. It seemed that she had a posse of friends to round up, because those two would have some explaining to do later. Sometime later… The sun was setting on the horizon when Twilight finally awoke. She noticed that she was in her bed, and that Flare was sitting next to her with a worried expression on his face. “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice full of worry and concern. “You haven’t been overworking yourself again, have you?” Twilight just shook her head and then buried herself under the covers. “M’fine,” she mumbled. Flare sighed and lifted the blanket to see Twilight curled up underneath, her face flushed and her eyes closed. “Okay, Miss Sparkle!” he said sternly. “It’s time to spill, what’s going on?” Twilight slowly emerged from the doona and kept her head down, but looked up at Flare. Her mane was messy from the bed and her eyes looked like they would burst into tears at any moment. His heart damn near exploded from the cuteness on it. “You…” she said softly. “You came to tell me that you… love Princess Celestia, right?” Her voice cracked as she said it. Flare just blinked as the question mulled in his brain for a moment. “Just where in the seven circles of Tartarus did you get an idea like that?” he asked. Twilight lifted the letter she got the other night and showed it to him. “This…” she simply said. Flare took it and read over it before smiling. “Is that what this is all about?” he smiled, which caused Twilight to pout. “Look,” Flare said calmly. “I think that your dear teacher was having a little fun at your expense.” He placed the letter to the side and leaned in closer. “You remember those flowers that I left behind?” Twilight nodded but remained silent. “And in the letter you sent me, you said you knew what they signified, correct?” Twilight nodded again. “You borrowed that book from my library... remember?” she said quietly. Oh, yeah… She probably has read every book in the library. Wait! Getting off topic. “Look…” He needed to word this right so it wouldn’t cause another misunderstanding. Twilight put up a hoof and got out of her bed. “I… I think I need to show you something,” she said and began to head downstairs. Flare was as curious as a Meowth now, and followed her downstairs. Once there, she walked over to her study desk and moved a book that was standing upright. Hidden behind the book was a vase. A vase that held the amaryllis flowers that Flare had gotten, but there was something else. There was another flower in the vase with them. A purple lily that had a subtle glow to it. “It’s a Star Dew,” she explained. “It glows when in direct starlight or exposed to positive emotions. I have a book on it over there…” “Does this mean what I think it does?” Flare asked her, his heart racing faster than he ever could. Twilight blushed hard and looked down at her hooves. “I… I thought about it a lot, and I’ve come to a conclusion.” “And… what conclusion is that?” Flare could hardly breathe now. He felt like he was going to pass out. “You gave up friends… family, just to stay here… with me.” She looked up at him, her face as red as Big Macs coat. “I um… I’m sorry!” Flare’s heart shattered into a million pieces. ‘She was sorry!? What did that mean? What about the flower? What the hell is going on!?’ “I’m sorry that I took so long to make a decision. It must have been hard for you.” She smiled and looked straight into his eyes and gave Flare the warmest smile she could muster and leaned in close to him. “I love you, Flare Blitz!” she whispered softly. Flare blinked. His head was just an empty white space. Did she just... Did she really... He looked at the flower vase and then back to the beautiful mare that had just confessed to him. “And I love you!” He finally replied as he nuzzled her gently. He was so happy he felt like he could just explode. “I love you so much!” Twilight placed her forelegs around him and pulled the stallion into a gentle and warm embrace. She knew that this was the right decision as her heart soared higher than the moon. “I think today has been a little overcomplicated,” she giggled. Flare gave her a ‘No, you think?’ face and just went right on back to hugging her. Though there was something else that he wanted to do. He pressed his nose against hers and slowly brought his lips up to kiss her. Then Pinkie Pie burst through the door an in explosion of confetti. “Oh my gosh! Are you guys friends again yet? Is Twilight still crying? Can Flarey show me that awesome move again? Do you have any cake in the fridge?” “Pinkie! I thought I said to knock first” Rarity chastised her friend and then saw Flare and Twilight, still locked in an intimate embrace. “Oh! Oh? Oh my…” was all she said before fainting. “Rarity? Whut in tarnation is yer problem now?” Applejack said as she and their other friends all walked in. And then they saw what she had seen. “Well wouldja look at that!” Applejack grinned. “Oh dear. Are we interrupting? I’m so sorry…” Fluttershy backed up slowly and bumped into Rainbow Dash. “What’s going on?” R.D. said and saw the two startled ponies frozen in their embrace. “Oh.” came the cyan pegasus’s oddly quiet response. There was an awkward silence before Twilight finally spoke up. “Well, I guess we should tell them,” she said to Flare. “About us I mean.” Flare nodded and gave Twilight a light kiss on the cheek, causing her to flush pink. “Twilight has agreed to go out with me,” he said happily. “No I didn’t,” Twilight stated and Flare’s jaw nearly hit the floor. “I only said that I loved you, you have yet to ask me out on a proper date.” It took almost a full minute for Flare to recover and regain his ability to talk. “Ah, well, um. Twilight, would you like to go out on a date with me?” “Yes,” Twilight smiled and kissed his cheek. “I would very much like to do so.” “Well, it’s about time!” Rarity smiled, recovering from her fainting spell almost instantly. “Yeah, y’all took yer sweet time in figure’n out tha obvious.” Applejack agreed. Rainbow Dash smiled but didn’t say anything. She was way too cool for all this mushy stuff. “So when do I get to throw a ‘Congrats for finally getting together’ party?” Pinkie asked. Twilight put up a hoof and yawned. “I think we’ll address all this tomorrow, but for now… I’m beat.” “Well considering how much you ran around today, even I’m feeling a little tired.” Flare agreed. *** Later that night, the two new lovers sat in front of the crackling fireplace, just staring into each other’s eyes. Sleep was all but forgotten, as that would cut into snuggle time. “Are you sure you want to do this so soon?” Flare asked his marefriend. “I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.” Twilight shook her head. “No, this is something I’ve wanted to do for a very long time.” She looked down and let out a slight gasp in surprise. “I didn’t think it would be so big though.” “Well, what did you expect?” Flare said with a cocky grin. “And I’m so happy right now; I could keep going all night.” “Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” Twilight teased as they snuggled up together, their bodies illuminated by the warm glow of the fire. “Um, before we start, can I ask you something?” Flare said, feeling a tad nervous now. “Yes?” Twilight said, her eyes lowering into a seductive stare that made Flare’s heart skip a beat. “Can… can I kiss you?” he asked. Twilight giggled softly and leaned in close to the adorable stallion, pressing her muzzle against his. “Yes, Mr. Blitz. You may.” Their lips met and it was as if nothing else existed at that point. The crackle of the fire, the soft hooting of Owlowiscious… and the huge book that they were about to read together. It all just seemed to disappear as they lost themselves in each other’s embrace…