A gentle prodding woke Jason from his slumber, causing him to blearily open his eyes. A vivid green framed by reds and oranges met his gaze, and it slowly focused into Philomena's face. "Morning, Jay. Time to wake up." she quietly said, a large smile on her face as she leaned in and pecked him on the lips.
Jason inwardly smiled as he quickly sat up and wrapped his arms around her, causing her to let out a quick gasp as he pulled her in for a longer kiss. Sometime later they parted, both breathless. "Now I could get used to waking up like that..." he trailed off, a gentle smile on his face as he hugged her tightly.
Philomena let out a musical peal of laughter, resting her head in the crook of his neck as she sighed. "While I'll admit that I could spend the rest of the morning like this, I believe there are ponies below who would like to say hello, Jay." She pulled back and hopped off the bed. Jason looked to the balcony, surprised at just how much light was already showing.
"What time is it?" he asked, somewhat surprised that he had slept in. He took her offered hand as he got out of the bed, draping one wing over her back as they walked to the bathroom to run through the morning's necessities.
"It's a little bit after eleven already, Jay. I've been up for awhile, but you needed your rest," she merrily laughed, leaning into him slightly as they entered the bathroom. "Tia has already stopped by, she gave me a rather thorough chiding for not letting you rest... I told her to stuff it though." They both laughed this time as they split from each other.
Jason let out a sigh as he ran his hand over his toothbrush before picking it and the toothpaste up. "Gotta say... I think I missed brushing my teeth. The small things, y'know?" Philomena punched him in the shoulder as he grinned, smearing the toothpaste out and then setting it on the counter. A thought entered his mind, causing his grin to falter and become a frown. "Twilight's back, isn't she... I really hope she isn't attracted to me anymore, I'd rather not have things get–"
Philomena cut him off with her hand covering his mouth, as well as a fierce glare. "Relax, Jay. First and foremost, she's your friend, and she's been through a rough spot. Focus on that first, okay? Leave any romance related stuff to me, understand?" He mutely nodded his head in reply, and as she removed her hand he promptly replaced it with the toothbrush.
The rest of the preparations went by quickly, a few choice words and a pinch of flirting passing between Jason and Philomena in the process. Gently closing the bedroom door behind them, they walked hand in hand through the castle's corridors to the dining room for lunch.
As they entered the room, silence fell over the collected ponies. Jason's eyes locked with Twilight's, who was seated next to Celestia, and he couldn't help but smile and wave at her. Moments later, he was bowled over, purple filling his vision and Philomena's laughter greeting his ears.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Jason! I'm really glad that you're back to yourself, it was all my fault, I–" he found his bearing and silenced Twilight by gently clamping his hand down on her mouth. After a few moments, he wrapped his hands around her neck in a hug, one hand gently massaging her shoulder.
"It's fine, Twilight. What's more important is that you seem to be doing well. I can take hits, y'know?" Twilight hesitantly chuckled as he removed his arms and carefully stood back up. After shooting Philomena a quick glance, he focused back on Twilight who was at his side, head raised slightly to meet his eyes. "I'm really sorry that you had to go through all of that, Twilight... welcome back."
She smiled at him and Philomena, gesturing with a hoof towards the table. "Come and join us for lunch, you two. There's nothing better than a meal with all of one's friends there, you know?" They followed her to the table, Jason taking the seat opposite Celestia, Philomena to his side.
Celestia smiled, looking them both over. "Good afternoon, you two. I am glad to see you looking better, Jason, although I believe I had told someone..." she trailed off, raising a brow at Philomena, "to see that you were properly rested."
Jason laughed as he filled his plate. "I think that she did just that, Celestia. She made certain that the only thing on my mind was rest, and that I was ready for it." Philomena snickered at his side, their wings extending just enough to allow the leading edges to brush against one another.
"Well, you were already more than prepared for some rest, Jason... I hadn't quite meant for her to further you along to that point," she continued, her expression unreadable, "still, I suppose it had some merit to it." Celestia turned to Philomena, a wide grin plastered on her face. "So tell me, old friend, how was it?"
Juice spurted out of Twilight's mouth, and catcalls emanated from Rainbow Dash and Applejack as Philomena let out a large grin. Using her hands, she turned his head and stole Jason's mouth for a moment, letting her lips linger over his in a passionate kiss. As she pulled back, she replied to Celestia's question in as innocent a tone as she could muster. "Why, I'd say that it was everything I'd expected and then some, Tia... jealous?"
Before anyone could respond, Pinkie randomly left her chair, appearing on the table between Jason and Philomena without disturbing a single item. "You know what this calls for! One congratulations on getting laid party, coming up!" Jason's eyes began to water as he held his sides in laughter.
Twilight just shook her head as Fluttershy looked on slightly mortified at the scene before her. "Oh, Pinkie..." she muttered underneath her breath, glad to once more be reunited with all of her friends. The laughter slowly died down as Pinkie produced a cake and with a single swipe of her hoof cleared a space in the middle of the table. She reverently lowered the cake into the now empty spot, setting it down.
A knife surrounded with a light blue aura was grabbed from the air by Pinkie, who promptly began cutting the cake with it. Defying all logic, small plates flew from her hooves, each one landing before an occupant at the table in one piece, looking as if it had been carefully walked the entire way to their settings.
"Thanks, Pinkie," Jason said, ignoring his lunch in favor of the sweet treat before him. A thought strayed into his mind, and grinning at Philomena he took a small amount of the cake onto his fork and brought it to her lips. She smiled, sensuously removing it from the utensil, licking the stray frosting off her lips.
"Woah nelly..." Applejack breathlessly uttered, eyes open in shock. She shook her head a moment as she watched the two lovebirds exchange cake via their forks, a small smile making its way to her face. "I'd say they've done fallen for each other pretty darn quick and hard."
"Truthfully, it is an amazing thing, is it not, Applejack?" Rarity asked, the sight before her stirring up faint urges of her own dreams and hopes. She couldn't help but smile at the romanticism before her, even if it brought pangs of pain to her own heart. "To be able to connect with somepony so closely, to know them... it truly is a beautiful thing... Oh, that gives me some ideas!" she quietly exclaimed, garnishing some laughter from Applejack and Rainbow.
Twilight motioned to them as they finished off the last of the cake. "So, I take it you two..." she trailed off, a faint blush on her cheeks.
Philomena gently nodded as she peered over Jason at Twilight. "Yeah, Twilight. If you want, we can talk about it later, girl to girl." she gently said, winking at the end. She smiled as Twilight slowly nodded her head before returning her focus to the plate of food before her. Philomena quietly whispered into his ear before he could say anything. "Don't concern yourself about it, Jason, remember what I said... I promise I'll take care of it, okay?"
He gently nodded, picking back up his meal where he had left off before Pinkie's interruption with the cake. Everyone basked in the company of each other as they cheerily ate lunch, the time slowly slipping by in idle chatter.
Celestia rose from her chair some time later, everyone's plates long since emptied and removed. She leaned over Twilight, gently nuzzling her face. "It's good to have you back in Canterlot, Twilight... if you ever need somepony to talk to, my ears are open." she quietly whispered before raising her head and addressing everyone else. "Good day to everyone, I hope to see you all at dinner. Until then, take care."
After Celestia made her exit, everyone else slowly began to get up from the table. Applejack and Rainbow muttered something about a friendly competition before waving goodbye to their friends. Fluttershy remarked about going to see the animals in the gardens, giving Twilight a surprisingly massive hug before fluttering off.
"Philomena, darling, do you mind if I borrow Jason from you for a few? I've got a few ideas for some clothing that I need him for." Rarity politely asked, and Jason missed the wink she gave her at the end. Philomena smiled and gave a quick nod.
"Sure, go on ahead, Rarity, I'll only need him later tonight. He's all yours until then." she laughed as Jason's face turned bright red, and then turned to Twilight. "Twilight, would you like to take a walk? We can also talk about... stuff as well."
Twilight looked around for Pinkie, but found her nowhere in sight. She focused on Philomena's kind eyes and nodded. "Sure, that's fine with me..." she trailed off as she closely examined the former phoenix, noting just how similar to Jason she now looked. "You really have changed a lot, Philomena."
She held the door open for Twilight as the entered the hallways, a small peal of laughter ringing from her mouth. "Not as much as you might think. Just because outside I look different, I'm definitely still me." she nudged Twilight as they walked, turning down a hall towards a small garden. "It really is interesting though, I will say that." Philomena extended her hands towards Twilight, wiggling her fingers.
"Mmm, fingers..." Twilight said, realizing her words a moment later. She furiously blushed, which only further intensified as Philomena laughed again. "What?" she began, attempting to defend her words, "Jason gave me a massage at one point, and his fingers... They can really get into the muscles a lot better than any hooves I've ever felt!"
Philomena let her hand drop to Twilight's shoulder as they walked out into the small garden, her fingers gently digging into the muscles. She sighed at the touch, her shoulders relaxing slightly as she followed Philomena to a small cushioned bench.
"Take a seat, Twilight." she said, patting the cushion next to her as she sat down herself. After a few moments of silence, she looked down, locking eyes with Twilight. "So, how are you doing? I know we really haven't had a chance to talk, and I'm more than willing to lend my ears if you'd like." she quietly remarked with a gentle smile.
Twilight's composure cracked as she let out a sigh, resting her head on her forehooves. "I mean, I'm back in Canterlot now, but... some things feel like they'll never be the same." she frowned a moment, raising her head back up. "This is really weird, you know that? Last time I saw you, things were..." she trailed off, head dropping once more.
Philomena reached out, gently running her fingers through Twilight's mane. "Yeah, a lot of things changed at the mansion. Some for better, some for worse, and some just... changed." Twilight shivered, leaning into her touch. "So, take your time, but I'd like to hear as much as you're willing to tell."
After a few moments of silence, she quietly began talking. "I just... didn't think one simply change would bring about so many more. Plus, the attack at the library..." she paused, tears slowly streaming from her eyes as she remembered that night. "I never realized just what it meant to become an alicorn, a princess... I just thought that it was another task from Celestia, something else she wanted me to enjoy and learn about. But ponies that I barely even knew, dying for me? It was... hard. I still remember the guard I tried to save, but I couldn't do anything for them. Not a single thing... I was so powerless, for the first time that I could recall."
She quietly listened as Twilight continued to expose her fears, her weaknesses, keeping her hand on Twilight's shoulder as a constant reminder of the support promised from her. The sun's position slowly moved above them, a small reminder of the passing of time that they both ignored.
"...and then Jason," Twilight said, letting out a drawn-out sigh as her thoughts turned to him. "Well, I thought that he had shown some interest in me, when he was just trying to help." she wryly smiled, meeting Philomena's eyes with her own. "I suppose that was my own fault for misinterpreting his actions that night."
"So, what do you think of him now, Twilight?" Philomena cautiously asked, keeping a smile on her face.
Twilight raised a hoof to her chin, brows scrunching in thought. She hesitantly began speaking after nearly a minute of silence had passed between them. "I'm not really sure... Romance was something that I'd never really given thought to before him, I was always focused on my friends and books too much. But, he made me stop and think about that unknown aspect of myself, and for that... I think that I might still feel something for him, but exactly what it is... I really don't know, Philomena." she hummed a little bit, biting her tongue in further thought. "Maybe, if I had the chance and time, I could see if there was something there, but..." she awkwardly trailed off, nodding her head towards Philomena.
"It's actually rather funny, isn't it?" Twilight asked her, breaking Philomena from her thoughts of how to reply. She looked at Twilight with her head slightly tilted, a confused look in her eyes. "Well, when I was young, I'd always come and visit you and spill out all of my troubles and worries... funny that the whole time you knew exactly what I was saying." An idea hit her hard, and she locked eyes with Philomena. "Now, you didn't happen to tell Celestia any of what I told you, did you? She always seemed to know what was wrong at the time, so..."
Philomena laughed, shaking her head as she grinned. "Nope, I didn't tell her anything. I figured that you were coming to me so that no one else could find out, so who was I to go running off to Tia? I just think she cared about you enough to realize what it was that was bugging you anytime you were feeling down." Philomena chuckled, her smile slowly slipping as her mind returned to Twilight's prior words. "I suppose that it is kind of funny, seeing that you're doing the exact same thing once more. Just know that I'll always be around to lend an ear... it's very important for us who live as long as we do."
Twilight sighed, leaning into her as she did so. "That's basically what Cadance told me... I'm lucky enough that Shiny will also be there, but still, how I learned it," her eyes scrunched up, and then she briefly shook her head. "No need to dwell on that though, at least that's what she told me."
"You'll find that time becomes rather subjective as more of it passes... don't worry though, I'll make sure you stay nice and grounded." Philomena grinned, catching Twilight off balance as she nudged her. Peals of laughter rang out as Twlight's wings flared out to keep her balance and prevent her from falling off the bench.
Philomena's laughter slowly petered out as Twilight fixated her with a glare, doing her best to keep a straight expression against the mirth she was staring down. She finally stopped laughing, the edges of her mouth tightening slightly as she looked at Twilight. "As far as Jason goes, well... right now you know that I can't, won't share him. I know you ponies have your herds and such, but the largest part of my mind is just screaming at me to dig my claws," she paused, looking down at her hands, "fingers in as tightly as possible and to never let go." Twilight's expression fell slightly, although she held a look of understanding in her eyes. Before she could get a word in, however, Philomena raised a single finger. "However, if for whatever reason you still think the same and can't move past him in the future... and I'm talking years here, mind you, then I might be inclined to possible share him a little bit." She grinned as Twilight jumped into her, forehooves finding their way around her neck.
"Now, I'm not trying to lead you on, you really do need to try and find yourself somepony or someone, Twilight." Philomena's voice was slightly muffled from the mane filling her vision. "Plus, I still have to train him anyways."
Twilight moved back, completely baffled. "...train? What do you mean by that?" Philomena leaned in closely and began whispering into her ears. Her confusion gave way to a small amount of understanding, which then yielded to embarrassment as she pushed Philomena back with her hooves. "Too much information! I didn't want to know that!" Philomena's laughter rang loud and clear through the crisp afternoon air.