Lucian and Twilight walked through the throne room, observing the various snacks and delicacies that had been laid out, as well as the dazzling multicolored lights, bright green bunches of freshly-picked holly, and delicately sculpted ice ornaments that now adorned the room. There was no doubt in their minds that the Princess’s private Hearth’s Warming party was going to be quite spectacular.
“I can’t wait for the party to start,” said Twilight.
“Me neither,” said Lucian. “I've never been to a Hearth’s Warming party before.”
“Really?” said Twilight. “Well then, we’d better make sure you enjoy it.”
“Indeed,” said a voice behind them. The two ponies turned back to see Celestia watching them with interest.
“I see you’re both here early,” she said. “Am I right in assuming that you wished to teach Lucian as much as you could about Hearth Warming parties before he got to experience his first one?”
“Oh, that’s right!” said Twilight. “I don’t want it to look like he doesn't understand anything and end up blowing his cover.”
“That would be a real disaster,” said Lucian.
“Really?” said Celestia, an amused smirk forming on her face. “Are you sure you wouldn't like more ponies to know that you've come out of the closet?”
“Don’t get any ideas, sis,” said Lucian. “If I want more ponies to know, I’ll tell them. Right now, though, I’d like to keep it a secret.”
“Fair enough, I guess,” said Celestia. “The party will begin in an hour, so make sure you look your best.”
Lucian and Twilight nodded, and then left to prepare themselves for the party. As they reached the throne room doors, Lucian noticed the strange plant that had been hung from the top. It was a plant with smooth oval leaves and a cluster of white berries.
“What’s that?” he asked, pointing his hoof at it.
“Oh, that’s just mistletoe.”
“Mistletoe?”
“It’s tradition to hang it from the ceiling during the Hearth Warming season,” explained Twilight. “Also, when a mare and a stallion are together under it, they have to-”
To Lucian’s surprise, Twilight stopped abruptly. She then took a few steps back, her face becoming red.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Nothing,” said Twilight. “It’s just… the mistletoe.”
“What about it?”
Twilight’s face became even redder as she looked away from him.
“If we were both under it, we’d have to kiss.”
Lucian’s face became as red as Twilight’s at this newest revelation. He then backed away from the door and joined her, eyeing the mistletoe fearfully.
“Okay,” he said. “You go first.”
“No, you go,” said Twilight. “I mean, you’re a prince.”
“No, ladies first,” said Lucian.
The two ponies looked nervously at the mistletoe, then back at each other. There was no way they’d be able to decide on who would walk through the door first, but going together would mean facing the mistletoe. They were trapped.
“You know you could just teleport, right?” said Celestia. “Or try the other doorway.”
“All right everypony! It's time to paaar-tay!”
Everypony cheered as Pinkie turned on the music. As the party began, most of the guests began to dance, while Pinkie Pie began to bounce around the tables, eager to stuff herself. Cadance, however, was currently listening to the woes of a certain pair of element bearers.
“And that's why I'm perfect for Lucian!” said Rarity. “I'm refined, elegant, and composed, unlike this unladylike ruffian!”
“Hey, I'm the fastest pony in Equestria!” said Rainbow. “I'm cool, awesome and radical!”
“Aren't those all the same thing?” Cadance asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Most ponies would think so,” said Rainbow. “But they're wrong!”
“Hey Cadance, Shining wants to know if you were interested in some peppermint...”
The two smaller mares turned excitedly towards the voice, which they knew belonged to the stallion of their dreams. He, in turn, simply stared at them in horror.
The minute that followed felt like years to Lucian.
“Yes!” said Cadance, wishing to break the tension. “I'm feeling hungry! Peppermint sounds good! It's festive, right?”
“Of course!” Rarity said, a wide smile forming on her face. “Lucian, dear, shall we go get something together?”
“Oh no you don't!” said Rainbow Dash. “I'm the one who's gonna get Lucian food!”
“I'm sorry,” said Rarity. “I don't recall him saying he'd go with you!”
“Well, he didn't say anything about not eating with me!” said Rainbow Dash. “And for the record, he didn't say anything about you either!”
“Why you-”
“Girls!”
The two arguing mares turned towards Lucian, who was glaring at them both with a frown on his face.
“Haven't you two agreed not to fight over me?”
Rarity and Rainbow looked back towards each other, both with pained expressions on their faces.
“Yes, we did,” said Rarity.
“Agreed,” said Rainbow Dash.
“Okay,” said Cadance. “So you both like Lucian, right? But he's just one guy. So we need to figure something out before you end up doing something really stupid.”
As she finished, Cadance raised her hoof to her chin, trying to think of a potential solution to their dilemma. She knew that Lucian didn't like either of the two mares. She also knew that he did have feelings for Twilight, and that Twilight had feelings for him too. There had to be some way to get them both together without incurring the wrath of Rarity and Rainbow.
She then scanned around the room, trying to find Twilight. As she looked however, her eyes fell on the mistletoe that had been hung from the entryway.
In an instant, a brilliant idea came to her.
“I got it!”
Rarity and Rainbow looked at her eagerly. Lucian did so too, although he was clearly less enthusiastic about it.
“So, do you ponies see that mistletoe over there?”
The three ponies turned around in the direction Cadance had pointed. Once they noticed the small plant, Rarity and Rainbow's faces turned into huge grins. Lucian, on the other hand, cringed in fear as the realization hit him.
“Here are the rules,” said Cadance. “The first mare to end up under the mistletoe with Lucian is the one who will have exclusive rights to dating him. May the best mare win!”
“Yes!” the two mares said together. Lucian, on the other hand, was shaking his head in terror.
No way, he thought, I did not come here for this! I need to get out of here! But they'd insist I stay... maybe I could tell them I have to feed Spike? No, he's here, that would never work! Oh, maybe if I said I forgot to do my laundry! But I hardly wear clothes other than my hoodie, and of course, I just had it washed last night! What do I do?
“So, Lucian!”
Lucian snapped out of his thoughts to see Rarity and Rainbow grinning at him in expectation. He jumped back a few inches in shock, then tried to speak.
“Oh, uh, hello! Nice to see you finally agree on something!”
He then chuckled awkwardly as the two mares kept grinning at him. As sweat began to form on his brow, he decided it was time to get out.
“Oh, hey, I'd like to stay and chat, but, you see, I... I forgot to feed my laundry!”
Before anypony could comment on this, Lucian had already teleported.
“Damn it, Cadance!”
Even though he was now alone, Lucian had still yelled out. Sighing in frustration, he took a moment to gather his bearings. Looking around, he noticed that he had landed in a rather heavily wooded part of the royal gardens. The ground around him was covered in freshly-fallen snow, but the pathway nearby had been swept clean. Through the thin veil of fragile snowflakes, he could see the castle, covered in white frost and colorful Hearth’s Warming lights.
Lucian then noticed a long, rough-looking branch lying under a snow-coated tree, one which seemed to have fallen off quite recently. Curious, he took it in his magical grip, taking a good look at it, getting a feeling of its approximate size and texture. As he did so, his horn glowed with magic power, bending the shape of the branch until it was very thin, with a curved end like a sort of hook.
Satisfied with his work, he began to walk through the garden, slinging the newly created staff onto his shoulders. As he admired the beauty which now covered the land, he noticed a patch of ground where the snow had been disturbed, revealing the ground beneath. With a smile on his face, he pointed his staff towards it and charged up a freezing spell. As he did so, the staff was slowly covered in icy energy, which was then shot from the hooked end towards the patch of ground. In an instant, the ground was once more covered in snow.
Lucian chuckled at his most recent action, and then turned his gaze upwards to observe the snowflakes falling upon him.
“You know, I could have been a snow spirit,” he said out loud. “I could have been flying through the sky right now, waving my staff and spreading winter across Equestria. I would’ve been great at doing that.”
“I bet you would.”
Hearing the voice behind him, Lucian turned around to see Cadance standing before him.
“Nice staff, by the way.”
“Uh, yeah,” said Lucian, the staff shaking slightly in his magic grip. “it’s… nice.”
For a moment, the pink alicorn looked towards him, waiting for him to elaborate. He did not, however, so she shrugged and turned her head upwards.
“It’s nice out here,” said Cadance. “Snow everywhere, peace and quiet.”
“Yeah,” said Lucian. “It’s nice.”
“Look,” said Cadance. “I’m sorry about what happened back there. I should have told you what I was thinking before I said that.”
“It’s all right,” said Lucian. “I should have been honest with them long ago.”
“Not just with them, Lucian.”
The dark blue stallion turned back to look towards the younger pink alicorn. She was looking at him with a concerned look on her face. While she didn’t say a word, Lucian understood perfectly well.
“Do you really think this is the right time?”
“I do,” Cadance, said, offering Lucian a warm smile. He smiled back, though it was quickly replaced by a frown.
“But what if it doesn’t work out?”
“Oh Lucian,” said Cadance. “What makes you think it wouldn’t work out?”
Lucian tried to speak, but he found himself unable to do so. Even though he wanted to talk about his past, and the tragedies that his love had brought so many centuries ago, he could not do so. Even though he wanted to open up to Cadance, he could not bring himself to do so, for that would mean another pony who could betray his trust.
That was all opening up to ponies had meant, after all. For once, so many years ago, he had decided to allow another pony to become a close friend, someone whom he believed he could have absolute faith in. But in the end, where had that led him? Nothing but pain, sorrow, and regrets.
It was the greatest reason he had never truly opened up to anypony, even those as close to him as Cadance. It was why he had spent so long locked away from the rest of the world after his return, never wanting to befriend other ponies. He couldn’t bear such betrayal.
But would Twilight Sparkle betray me as well?
From the day he had arrived at her library, Twilight had always supported him, never showing even the slightest hint of ill wishes towards him. Indeed, were it not for her support, he would never have managed to come out of his shell and get to know other ponies.
In an instant, Lucian was filled with determination. He understood that opening up to anypony could carry the risk of betrayal. However, he knew that, of all the ponies in the world, Twilight was undoubtedly the one who he was willing to to take that risk for.
“You’re right,” he said, looking straight at Cadance. “Just because putting my trust in others led me to tragedy once doesn’t mean it will do so this time.”
“What?”
“I need to tell Twilight,” said Lucian. “And also Rainbow and Rarity.”
He then began to walk back towards the castle. As he did so, he noticed the pink mare walking with him.
“Hey Cadance,” he said. “Do you think that maybe you could tell the mares that you decided to cancel their little competition? I’d do it myself, but I’m afraid they’re going to try to skin me alive for-”
“Who said anything about canceling?”
The lunar prince stopped in his tracks at the revelation.
“What?” he said. “I thought we agreed that we need to get them to stop chasing me!”
To his surprise, Cadance then began to giggle.
“Oh Lucian. Did you really think I’d let them get between the two of you?”
Twilight was dancing to the beat of the music. At least, if one were to ask her. If one were to ask anypony else, they would say she walking forward while flailing her front hooves wildly with her eyes closed and shaking her head in all directions. Regardless, she loved to do it at parties ever since the time she and her friends joined Rarity at Fancy Pants’ garden party.
She silently wondered why Spike was laughing at her, however.
Deciding it was time to take a break, she put her front hooves back on the floor and began to make her way towards the table. Just before she could reach it, however, there was a flash of blue magic, and Twilight jumped up as a certain blue stallion wielding a wooden staff appeared right in front of her.
“Hey, Twilight! Good to see you’re here!”
Having recovered from her initial shock, the violet mare now smiled upon seeing Lucian in front of her.
“Lucian! Where did you get that staff?”
“I made it myself while I was outside.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow as she observed the staff once more. After a moment, however, she decided it wasn’t really worth noting.
“That's nice, I guess. Anyways, I was just going to get something to eat! Do you want to join me?”
“That sounds like a great idea,” said Lucian.
Smiling, the two ponies began to look over the table, trying to decide what to eat. However, as they did, they were interrupted by a certain white unicorn who collapsed right in front of Lucian.
“Oh dear goodness!” she said. “I broke my heart!”
Everypony turned to look at Rarity, who was now lying on the floor, her legs stretched out dramatically.
“Oh dear,” she yelled out. “I am in such distress! If only there was a big, strong stallion nearby who could help take me to the royal doctor!”
As she finished, she looked hopefully towards the entryway, with the mistletoe hanging above it.
When Lucian, being the proper gentleman that he is, decides to carry me through those doors on his way to the nurse, we shall pass under the mistletoe, I’ll stop to kiss my heroic knight, and we shall live happily ever after! Why, my plan is flawless! There is nothing that can possibly-
“Hey Spike? Could you take her to the nurse?”
Rarity’s hopes were shattered as the young dragon rushed up to her and, with a burst of unexpected strength, gleefully picked her up in his arms.
“Fear not, milady!” he said excitedly. “I, Spike, shall save your life!”
To everypony’s surprise, he ran in the direction of the royal doctor’s office with impressive speed.
“How does he run while carrying her?” asked Pinkie Pie. “She’s like twice as big as he is!”
“You’re the one who’s questionin’ that?” asked Applejack.
“He’s so strong, heroic, brave, and handsome,” said Sweetie Belle, her voice full of admiration.
“Ah wish he’d carry me off like that,” Apple Bloom said as she stared in the direction Spike had gone running.
“Are you serious?!” yelled Scootaloo. “He probably has dragon cooties or something!”
As she finished, she noticed everypony staring at them in surprise. Then, everypony burst into laughter as Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom began to blush in embarrasment.
At the same time, however, a certain rainbow maned mare made her way towards Lucian.
“Hey Lucian!”
The stallion in question groaned as Rainbow made her way towards him.
“Hello, Rainbow.”
“What’s up?” she asked. “Hey, are you up for a little race?”
“Not really,” said Lucian. “I’m not a pegasus.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t use my wings, and I’ll go easy on you,” said Rainbow. “First pony to those doors is the winner. Sound good?”
“Wait, which doors?” asked Lucian. “You mean the big doors with the mistletoe, or-?”
“The big ones with the mistletoe!” said Rainbow, smiling as her plan began to approach fruition.
There was one small flaw in her plan, however.
“I’m not really an athlete, Rainbow.”
The blue pegasus smacked her hoof against her face.
“Come on!” she said in frustration. “All you have to do is run for a bit! You could even teleport if you want!”
“Like this?”
To Rainbow’s shock, Lucian suddenly vanished, re-appearing right in the doorway under the mistletoe.
“I guess I win.”
Rainbow gritted her teeth in anger. Lucian had just used her own words to beat her.
On the other hoof, he was now standing right in the sacred spot.
“Oh yeah?!” she said. “Well I’m gonna win this one!”
Before anypony could say a word, she was already flying right towards him at breakneck speeds. However, as determined as she was, she had failed to notice two things. First, Lucian’s horn was already glowing. Second, a cone of air was forming around her body.
“I cannot believe we were not invited to the Princess’s Hearth’s Warming Party!”
Jet Set sipped his tea and nodded in agreement as Upper Crust continued her rant about Celestia’s guests.
“To think that she would deny entry to members of the elite, and instead open her doors to… common ruffians!”
“Now, Upper Crust, my dear,” Fancypants said as he finished a scone. “I believe the Princess desires to spend the day with her closest friends and family. Therefore, I think they ought to be allowed to celebrate in peace.”
“Oh, yes, of course,” said Jet Set, immediately pretending to agree with Fancypants. “Still, I do hope they don’t end up damaging anything too valuable.”
“Oh, relax, you two,” said Fancypants. “What’s the worst that could happen?”
As if to answer his question, a thundering sound roared out in the distance. The three upper-class ponies jumped right out of their seats, with Jet Set and Upper Crust dropping their tea in shock. They then turned in the direction of the castle to see several bursts of light in all the colors of the rainbow shattering the windows. At the same time, a small figure that vaguely resembled a pony was shot out the doors, leaving a rainbow trail in its wake. For a moment, it curved upwards to fly up into the sky, then moved downwards in the direction of the castle. It then crashed through the ceiling, landing around the area where the castle doctor was known to reside.
For a moment, the three ponies stared silently at the rainbow-colored devastation of the castle. Jet Set and Upper Crust were imagining the misfortune they would no doubt have been caught up in had they been present at the party. They also couldn’t wait for Fancy Pants to speak, to admit how wrong he had been, and shamefully remark on how low the Princess’ standards had fallen.
They were thus shocked when Fancypants cheered enthusiastically while bouncing in place.
“Oh, did you two see that?!” he said. “Now that is what I call a party! Oh, and to think that I was berating you two for wishing to go! Oh, I definitely want to be invited next year!”
“Is everypony all right?”
After making sure Rainbow had been taken to the doctor, Celestia had returned to the throne room to ensure that nopony had been seriously injured. Fortunately, while they were all somewhat dazed and confused by the sudden turn of events, everypony seemed to be fine, though several were asking about what had happened to Rainbow.
“She'll be fine,” Celestia said reassuringly. “She just has a few minor bruises which the royal nurse will patch up, then she can come right back. That, and a broken wing.”
The others sighed in relief upon hearing this, and went back to enjoying what was left of their party. Scootaloo, however, remained worried.
“Are you sure?” she asked. “I don’t want anything bad to happen to her!”
“She's been through worse,” said Celestia. “And I have some of the best doctors and nurses working here. She's in good hooves.”
Finally relieved, Scootaloo ran off to join her friends, who were already planning on getting cutie marks in castle restoration. Not too far away, Twilight rolled her eyes.
“I can't believe Rarity and Rainbow had to put up a scene like that,” she sighed. “What did they want, anyway?”
“Why don't you take a guess?” asked Lucian, causing Twilight to giggle.
“Okay, but why did they want to now?”
“Well,” said Lucian, “Cadance had the bright idea of making a little game out of this.”
“Oh?” said Twilight. “What kind of game?”
“A game?! I love games!”
The two ponies turned their heads in surprise, and were immediately met by the sight of Pinkie Pie staring right at them.
“Oh, hey Pinkie,” said Lucian. “Sorry, but this isn't exactly a game you can play.”
“Aw, why not?”
“Yeah? Why not?”
To everypony's surprise, Applejack had just arrived, followed closely by Fluttershy.
“Ah kind of want to know what sorts of shenanigans Rarity and Rainbow got themselves into this time,” said Applejack. Ah thought they would’ve sorted this whole thing with Lucian months ago.”
“I would sort of like some explanations myself,” said Fluttershy. “I mean, if it's not too much trouble.”
“No, it's all right,” said Lucian. “I'm happy to explain.”
Shining Armor had worked on several of Cadance's match-making projects before. Some of them had been fun, some had been more tiring, and some had been flat-out weird. One thing they all had in common, however, was that they always resulted in the ponies involved getting a happily-ever-after.
None of those schemes, however, had ever involved his little sister.
“Are you sure about this, Cady?” he quietly asked for the umpteenth time. “I mean, this is Twily we're talking about, not two random ponies who you think ought to be together!”
“Shiniiiing,” Cadance whispered. “They're not random match-ups! The ponies I pair together are meant for each other! I mean, when have I ever been wrong?”
“Never,” said Shining. “But I worry about Twily! And I know that Lucian is a great guy, but he used to be a girl! Shouldn't there be, you know, laws about this sort of thing?”
“I know it’s not a normal situation in any way,” said Cadance. “And I know that there’s always the chance that he might go back to being Luna. If anything, it’s much more likely than him deciding to stay as a stallion forever.”
“Probably,” said Shining.
“However,” said Cadance, “I also know that my talents have never failed me before, and right now I know that Lucian and Twilight are meant for each other. We both know what’s best for Twilight, and I know that no matter what happens, those two will always be happy together.”
As Cadance finished, she looked into her husband’s eyes. Even though he still seemed reluctant, he was also starting to show signs of understanding and trust. Slowly, a smile began to form on his face, and even a small chuckle escaped his lips.
“Okay then!” he said finally. “Let's get to work!”
The couple giggled together, and then began to power up their horns, focusing their magic onto their target. As their plan was set into motion, Shining couldn't help but worry.
I really hope we don’t screw this up, he thought.
“And then she smashed through the roof.”
As Lucian finished his story, he took a moment to look over the faces of the four mares. Pinkie seemed as joyful as ever, Fluttershy was looking somewhat red, and Applejack was raising an eyebrow and giving him a frown.
“I knew it!” said Pinkie. “Rainbow is trying to fulfill her destiny!”
“Oh my,” said Fluttershy. “I didn't think Rarity would get into so much trouble.”
“Ah could see it comin' a mile away,” said Applejack. “That's why ah tried to stay out of it.”
Lucian shrugged, then turned to Twilight. Unlike her friends, her expression was much harder to read. Her face seemed to be mostly neutral, but there were a few moments when her eyes or lips would twitch. It almost seemed as if she was... jealous?
Finally, she closed her eyes and began to speak.
“That's very interesting, Lucian. But just out of curiosity, if you had to choose, who would you pick?”
“Neither of them.”
As he spoke, he noticed that both Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie’s jaws dropped. Applejack was simply chuckling to herself while muttering something about 'silly fillies', and Twilight's expression remained mostly unchanged. Still Lucian could swear he saw a brief smile flash across her face.
“Look girls,” he said. “The fact of the matter is that I'm not interested in either of them. It's not that I find them to be unattractive or anything, but they're just not my type.”
While Applejack seemed mostly indifferent, Pinkie and Fluttershy were looking towards each other in mutual understanding.
“Well,” said Pinkie, “I guess I could always help her get another good-looking stallion.”
“And Rarity will probably end up finding some new pony to fantasize over sooner or later,” said Fluttershy.
Lucian sighed in relief. Things were looking pretty good so far.
“So, if not them... what kind of mare are you interested in, Lucian?”
The disguised prince turned towards Twilight. She was looking at him with a small smile, and a glimmer of what seemed to be hope in her eye. She seemed very eager to listen to what he had to say, and he knew that it was now time to act.
Before any words could leave his mouth, a scream erupted out of nowhere.
“Incoming mortar!”
At that moment, Lucian heard a loud bang above him, and turned up to look. A large sack of bricks was falling from the ceiling, and it was going to land… right on the dessert table.
As it hit the table, several cakes were thrown into the air, and landed with uncanny precision right on top of the table where Celestia was currently seated. The only exception was a rogue chocolate cake which flew in the opposite direction, and landed on top of Shining’s head.
“Oh, come on!”
Everypony laughed at the annoyed unicorn’s predicament. Lucian stopped, however, when he heard a sudden cracking sound. As he looked up to figure out where it had come from, he noticed a large slab of roofing about to fall from the ceiling.
And to his horror, it was situated right above Twilight.
“Look out!”
Before Twilight could say anything, Lucian had already scooped her up in his hooves and dove out of the falling roof’s pathway. As it landed on the spot where she had been less than a second ago, the two ponies slid off to a safe spot not too far away.
Slowly, the shocked unicorn mare opened her eyes. As she did so, she saw her disguised alicorn roommate staring at her worriedly.
“Are you okay, Twilight?”
Suddenly realizing how close she was to him, Twilight began to blush intensely.
“I... I'm okay.”
As she spoke, she slowly began to get to her hooves. Lucian slowly did the same, using his staff to support himself.
It was at that point that they both realized that the staff had a small addition to it.
“Isn't that the mistletoe?”
They both let out a collective gasp as they realized that they were now both sitting under that same mistletoe.
At the same time, however, they were interrupted by two angry mares.
“Twilight! What do you think you're doing?!”
The lavender mare and royal blue stallion turned to see Rarity and Rainbow, the latter wearing a large number of bandages and a cast on her wing, staring at them with a mixture of anger and jealousy.
“Rarity! Rainbow! Are you all right?”
“I ought to be asking the same to you, Twilight,” said Rarity.
“Yeah,” said Rainbow. “You're getting in the way of our competition!”
“Actually, she just beat you both.”
Everypony present gasped in confusion as Cadance walked over to them. The two jealous mares, however, simply glared at her.
“What are you talking about?!” yelled Rainbow. “She's not part of this game!”
“Indeed,” said Rarity. “I don't remember her ever being mentioned when we set the rules for this game!”
“You're right,” said Cadance. “The rules never mentioned her.”
“Then why-”
“But they didn't mention you, either.”
Upon hearing this, the glares Rainbow and Rarity had been giving Cadance dissolved into looks of confusion.
“Huh?”
“Beg pardon?”
“You see,” said Cadance, “the only rule was that the first mare to end up under the mistletoe with Lucian is the one who will have exclusive rights to dating him. You never said that it had to be one of you two. And since Twilight was the one who ended up filling that requirement, she is officially the winner.”
The pink alicorn couldn't help but smirk as the two shocked mare gasped and stuttered, trying to process what she had just said.
A moment later, they both ran off in opposite directions, screaming in rage.
“Wow, what a drama queen,” said Pinkie Pie. “And Rarity's bad too.”
Lucian, however, hadn't heard a word. He was too busy staring at Twilight, who was now more red than purple.
“Well, that was... odd,” he said finally.
“Yeah,” she said.
“Guys,” said Cadance. “Don't forget that mistletoe!”
Lucian and Twilight suddenly realized that everypony was staring at them, awaiting that fateful moment. They began to blush even more intensely.
“But,” said Lucian, “I don't know what to do!”
“I... me neither.”
Even though it was only a few seconds, the silence that followed seemed to stretch on for hours. Lucian and Twilight stared at each other, unsure of how to proceed. Indeed, every fiber of their collective being wanted to run away screaming, never to be seen again.
Then, as thousand-year-old memories of another kiss came to the surface, Lucian moved towards Twilight, and their lips met.
Their first kiss proceeded slowly, with their lips softly caressing each other, and their tongues slowly moving in and out of each other's mouth. As it continued, they each felt the other's hooves slowly lifting up to tenderly stroke their faces.
Then, after what seemed like an infinite amount of time, the two broke off, silently staring into each other's eyes.
“Yaaaaay!”
The two lovers were brought back to reality by the sudden cacophony that erupted around them. They then realized that, with the exception of a gagging orange pegasus filly, everypony was cheering for them.
“Omigosh!” yelled Pinkie Pie. “Twilight and Lucian are totally dating now! I gotta organize a party to celebrate!”
Now the center of attention for everypony involved, Twilight and Lucian felt their insides dissolve into mush.
Before a single word could be spoken, both of them were gone in a flash.
Several groans were elicited, and the ponies slowly began to leave, the excitement having dissipated after the unusually eventful party.
However, one baby dragon who had just returned was currently gazing upon the wrecked throne room in shock.
“Did I miss something?”