//------------------------------//
// Taste 
// Story: Tired of the Daily Routine 
// by Feedbacker 
//------------------------------//

	They were supposed to feel sublime.
It was not supposed to be like this.
It had started right. Warm breath against fur, lips touching, dinners, the garden, moonlit nights. Perfection. That warm feeling in your chest she cherished so much.
Celestia's thoughts drifted backwards, to dinners and walks past. Conversations about magic and life. Her beautiful face caressed by candle light, tiny photon fingers making her seem like the star Celestia controlled. So wonderful, and perfect, and-
It had all been a lie, hadn't it?
Just - Just a product of lust and fear and stupidity.
Her thoughts came closer to the present now, to a few weeks ago. First cracks. A slight pause in her speech where it shouldn't have been, annoyance in her mind that lingered for longer than it usual. It had all felt magical at first, even with the uncertainty, but that feeling started to go away, and...
Neither of them had known what to do. They hadn't even talked about it, although they both knew the other was feeling the same way. Maybe that was the issue. Maybe.
But now, staring at the empty space, Celestia felt cold.
It was a strange fight. Twilight's voice had risen in volume, but only slightly. She never screamed. Celestia, for her part, maintained a lower volume, trying to get herself in a mood she normally reserved for dealing with moronic diplomats. While she had maintained her volume, she could not prevent her voice from faltering.
Twilight had started it. In Celestia's mind, anyway. "So... Are we ever going to tell anybody about this? About us?"
"Of course, Twi," Celestia responded, trying to put off the subject. It wasn't something she liked to think about. She enjoyed her time with Twilight - More than any other time she had ever experienced - But she couldn't imagine the people would take kindly to their goddess taking her student as an intimate partner.
"When, though?" Twilight replied, pushing the issue. "I mean- I'm a bit frightened about the whole thing, but we've been dating for a few months, and... We have to tell somebody eventually, right?"
Although Celestia had no way of knowing, Twilight had been working up the courage to ask this for a long time. Her friends had always gone to her with their personal lives. Spike, Applejack, Rarity - They didn't keep many secrets, and when they did, it almost always lead to ruin. Even though she was terrified of what their reaction might be, she had to tell them. It felt wrong not to.
"Just- Not now, okay?"
"Why not now?"
"It's not time."
"I- I mean, when will it be time?"
"Eventually, Twilight. These things are complicated. Politics, and such."
"Oh."
The candles on the table in front of them flickered slightly. The room was filled with suffocating silence for a few moments, before Twilight spoke again.
"Guess I wouldn't know about that, then."
"Well," Celestia replied, "I guess you wouldn't. You aren't really that involved in political matters."
The corners of Twilight's mouth twitched slightly.
"Yeah, just into books and studying. Unimportant librarian, somehow dating a sun goddess."
"Hey, you're not unimportant!" Celestia exclaimed, trying to backtrack. She was annoyed, but Twilight's words still gave her pings of dull pain. "You're the only person in the whole world I really feel connected to!"
"So why can't we tell anybody? Why can't we share that?"
Celestia's response seemed strained.
"It's- It would cause disaster!"
The words seemed to smack the very air around them.
"I- People would panic, and-"
"Oh, disaster," Twilight said, her voice growing in maliciousness but not volume, "Yeah, great way to describe us."
"No, we're- We're not-"
"Student dating a teacher who happens to be, quite literally, thousands of years older than her?" Twilight cocked her head slightly, her brown descending upon her eyes, "Yeah, I'm sure we're not a disaster. My parents won't think we're a disaster at all."
"Then why do you want to tell them?"
"Because we need to be honest! We can't keep hiding! Who knows what could happen if we-"
"Twilight, you really must understand," Celestia interrupted, trying to regain control of the situation, "We need to think of a way to break it to them. If it's too jarring, we could make them overly hostile, and that would just hurt our case."
"Oh. Right. So how about we discuss it? We haven't even-"
"I'm sure we can get to that some other time, when we're more calm. In fact, me and my sister have been talking about it, and I think we have a few ideas. For now, can we please just finish dinner?"
Twilight stared at her for a few seconds, before speaking in a blank voice.
"You've... Discussed it with your sister."
"Yes. She often helps me in times like this."
Twilight shook her head slightly as she spoke.
"But... Not... Me."
Celestia only nodded as Twilight slowly stood up from her chair.
"I'm sorry, I- I have to be going. I forgot something very important."
"Twilight, don't-"
But, a flash of her horn later, she was gone.
With her, it seemed, went Celestia's chest. Still staring at the spot that had once been Twilight a half an hour later, she struggled to describe the feeling.
Dim. Unlit. The sun goddess thought. That's it.