I sit by the fireplace, enjoying the sound of the low roaring of the flames as well as the great heat. On my lap is a book, one which I've held near and dear to me ever since I obtained it. I find myself reading it a bit again, curious to see what else it would have within its pages.
Before I could get very far, though, my mistress enters the den. She's carrying with her a pair of glasses and a bottle of cider. I put my book on the floor and scoot over to accommodate for her. I look into her violet eyes, and smile. She smiles as well. Then, her horn lights up, and she begins pouring me a glass. She floats it over to me, and then pours some for herself, before joining me on the couch.
I begin drinking my fill. She, however, takes only a whiff of the drink before slowly placing her glass on the floor. She was never one to drink much, and she was always careful and methodical about what she did. Though today, she didn't drink any. I look at her barely touched glass, and ask her about it.
She sighs, and begins telling me about her day, and how she’d just gotten back from a trip she never intended to have. From the way she’s talking, and from what she’s telling me, it becomes obvious to me that she’s exhausted. I offer her a warm smile, and use my own horn to lift up her neglected glass, as well as mine. I tell her that we’ll skip on the drinks today, and she can go to sleep while I put everything away.
She thanks me before a large yawn escapes her lips. I get up, out of my spot, and carry away the glasses to the kitchen. After giving them a quick clean, I return to find her already asleep on the couch. I wanted to tell her she could sleep in a bed; my bed, even, or at least thank her for bringing out the cider in the first place. However, she just looks so content on the couch by the fire, that I decide to leave her alone for the night.
I instead focus on getting to bed myself. I walk back into the kitchen to grab a pitcher of water, and after drawing one, I walk back in and use it to douse the fire. After I'm certain there's nothing left but a few embers, I walk up into my bedroom. The bed hasn't been made yet, and several blankets are haphazardly thrown on top of it. I take one of them off and bring it to my sleeping mistress. I drape it over her, and as soon as I'm sure she's covered, I turn around and walk back up to my room.
As I lay in bed, I think about her. Twilight Sparkle. Ever since I got to know her, she's been nothing but nice. Sure, she's had some rough times with me, and we hadn't always agreed. In fact, she wasn't all too friendly to the idea of being with me, especially when we'd only just met. I smiled, thinking of what she would say about the idea of a relationship now. She may not have known it at the time, but I needed her, and I still need her now. I feel myself drifting off into sleep, thinking about her.
I wake up at my usual time, at the very crack of dawn. I throw off the covers, stretch, and step out of bed. I walk back down into the den. Twilight’s still asleep on the couch. I ponder whether or not I should wake her. She tends to be an early-morning pony. In the end, though, I figure that she deserves the rest, and I let her be.
I walk into the kitchen and get ready to start my day. The newspaper from yesterday is still sitting on the counter, and I had neglected to read it. Being somewhat curious, I pick it up begin to check the headlines. However, I can't help but keep looking over at the mare sleeping on my couch. My mistress. I keep looking back at the paper, but my eyes are always drifting back to the den. She looks so peaceful, sleeping on the couch, curled up, snoring softly.
I eventually figure that I'm not in the mood for reading the paper. I leave the kitchen momentarily to look at her again, and take in her beauty. Her proportions, her mane, her complexion and all its subtleties. She, in my eyes, is the perfect mare. And I want to be with her. To have her hold me. To stand by her side. To have her protect me. I desire that more than anything.
I snap out of my fantasy when I notice that my book from yesterday is still lying on the floor. I slowly pick it up, scolding myself for leaving it out in the open, and begin to carry it back to the kitchen. I stop, however, when I hear some movement behind me. I turn around and see Twilight stretching and letting out a yawn. She begins blinking the sleep from her eyes. I can't help but think that she's adorable even when she's getting up.
I greet her. She looks up at me, and returns the greeting through another yawn. She begins pulling herself out of bed. After she fully gets up, she smiles at me. I ask her about how well she slept, and whether or not she found everything to be comfortable. She nods her head and says that she slept fine. She also points at the blanket I brought her yesterday and thanks me for bringing it down for her.
I assure her that it wasn’t anything big, and then offer to make some breakfast for the two of us. She thanks me for offering. I can’t help but smile at her politeness. I turn away, with a stupid grin on my face, before walking toward the kitchen. However, I don't take two steps before she asks me something that makes me stop cold.
She asks me why I was staring at her and hovering over her a few seconds ago.
I struggle to come up with an excuse. I hadn't been aware that she saw that. Embarassed, I lie to her, and tell her simply that I was looking for my book. I show her the front cover. She looks at it for a few seconds, and then looks back up at me. She asks where I got such a book, to which I lie again, and say that I got it out of her library. I begin hoping against hope that she doesn't detect my nervousness.
She gives me an accusing stare, and explains that she takes close inventory of all the books in the library. She then tells me that this is the first time she’s ever seen this one, effectively backing me into a corner. Realizing that I’m digging my own hole, I admit that I wasn’t being truthful, and tell her that she broke me with a feigned sigh of defeat. I tell her that I got it on one of my trips into the capital: Canterlot. After eyeing me accusingly for a second, Twilight tilts her head and asks me what I could hope to gain out of reading such a book. She points out how old and arcane it appears; it’s a far stretch from what most other ponies read.
I take a look at the cover again. It does look strange, with old runes and scrawls on it. It is also quite thick, and the pages are yellowed at the edges. I explain to her that older, more complicated texts have always had a place in my heart, and this one just happens to be my favorite subject as of late. I then reiterate that I’d love to make her breakfast, in an attempt to change the subject.
Sure enough, though, it seems to work and she drops it. She apologizes for distracting me. After that, she herself volunteers to cook. I thank her for volunteering, and lean on the couch as she trots into the kitchen. After she’s out of earshot, I let out a sigh of relief, and open up the book again.
This book intrigued me, and it had come at a hefty price. It was an original, and also well over a hundred years old. I've poured countless nights into reading it, repairing it, and understanding it. It’s almost become a part of my life, like eating or sleeping. It's routine for me to read it. Like Twilight, it's important to me.
After reading several more pages and feeling satisfied, I walk into the kitchen, where my mistress is. She's hard at work, making a rather small variety of food. I walk over to her and put my head near hers. She turns to look at me, and smiles. I return her smile, and quietly tell her how beautiful she is. She turns her body away from the stove, and thanks me, while she begins blushing, much to my enjoyment. After a short pause, she also softly tells me that she loves me.
I feel my own face getting hot. I look deep into the violet pools of her eyes, and I whisper that I love her as well. She closes her eyes, and she begins bringing her face closer to mine. I likewise do the same. Eventually, our noses touch. She closes her eyes, and brings her lips toward mine. I lean forward into it, until I feel my horn touch hers. We begin kissing, and I feel her lower lip fall between my own.
After a few seconds, though, I feel something drip onto my nose, causing it to involuntarily twitch. I open my eyes, and jump back. Blood had begun running out of her nose. Twilight's eyes fly open, and she nervously asks me what’s wrong. I don’t hesitate to inform her of her problem, and I begin feeling a pit in my stomach.
She brings up a hoof and rubs under her nose. Her eyes widen when she looks at her hoof, but she looks at me and assure that it isn’t a big deal. I try to make light of it, despite our ruined moment. I tell her how reminiscent it is of the first time we met. Her friends had coaxed her into dating, and how she was nervous that her nose began bleeding then, too. I offer her a smile, and suggest that she may overthinking things and stressing herself out.
She looks at me, her hoof still under her nose. She angrily scolds me for sitting there watching her bleed and demands that I get her something to clean her face. I stop smiling and look for the tissue box on the counter. I light up my horn and try to pull out a few, but none come out. I lift it up and look inside, only to find it empty. I softly curse under my breath. I then run into the den, past the couch, and head to the closet. I throw it open, revealing all kinds of supplies. After quickly rummaging around, I find another box. Without bothering to put anything back, I dash back to the kitchen.
I lower the box into Twilight's open hoof. She uses her own magic to pull out a few tissues, begins wiping her nose, and looks at me graciously. She thanks me for getting her some, and apologizes. I reassure her that there’s no need to apologize, and that she hasn’t done anything that warranted apologizing. She seems to relax at my consolation, and lets out a sigh.
Suddenly, I become aware of a burning smell, and apparently Twilight does as well. She looks back at the stove. She gives me a panicked look, and begins frantically lifting the pan, in an attempt to try and save the meal. I look at the inside of the pan. Whatever had been cooking in the pan had been given a dark black color. My heart sinks as I realize that I'm the one who inadvertently caused it. I had been the one distracting her. Twilight dons a pout, and accuses me, reinforcing what I’m thinking.
In the end, she shakes her head and floats over to me the only thing that hadn’t burned: A small bowl of fruit. I chuckle, and take it. I lift it to my face and begin eating. She produces another one and begins eating it as well. Once we've had out fills, we say our goodbyes.
Before I head out, though, she tells me to meet her at the library after work. I consent to that, and tell her to say hi to her assistant Spike for me. She nods, and we both head out. As I walk away though, I feel butterflies in my stomach, and I don a look of pure bliss.
I rest my head on the stand that I'm working. I've been running it with a few other ponies for a couple of weeks now. The business tends to be slow. After all, what we sell is flowers. Of course, being long past holiday season, nopony really needed any.
Not that I mind. I haven't been focusing on the job at hand anyway. I've been thinking about Twilight. I was thinking about how much she actually meant with me. At first, I had nothing to go on besides the fact that she was a princess and she lived here. But ever since we began seeing each other regularly, I had developed strong feelings for her. And I know she had as well. We haven't done anything intimate, or outgoing. We aren't even engaged yet. But I know the time for that will come. And then everything will be perfect.
I've also been thinking about what happened this morning. How her nose had bled. It was something that tended to happen on occasion. I worry about her. I don't want anything to happen to her. She never seems to want to see anypony about it, though. In a way, I'm glad she doesn't put too much thought into it.
I feel something tap me on my shoulder and my head shoots up. I find myself looking into the eyes of an orange mare, who looks a tad annoyed. I don a nervous smile and greet her, asking her what she’d like to buy today. She looks at me with an air of slight accusation, and asks me for a dozen orchids. I hold out my hoof and float over some of the flowers behind me. She drops the coins in my hoof and grabs the flowers in her mouth. Without a word, she walks away.
I don't really pay any mind to her rudeness. I instead lose myself in thought again. About the mare I've come to love. I find myself grinning like a fool. Something about today. The fact that she told me to meet her at the library. The way she had been talking. The signs were telling me that today would be something special. And no grouchy pony is going to tarnish what I could only anticipate was coming.
I trot at a rather fast pace in the direction of the library. I can't help myself; I need to see her again. I'm sure that she's got something important to say. I find myself picking up the pace until at last, the lovely tree house looms before me. My body begins trembling with anticipation as Twilight emerges, followed by her friends. I call out to her, and we begin closing the distance between us.
Twilight, however, stops after a few steps. She starts avoiding eye contact with me as well. I stop as well. Confused, I try talking with her. Was something wrong? Did she not have something to say after all? I feel myself becoming very apprehensive. What if she doesn't have the same feelings I do? What if all I've worked for means nothing?
My fear subsides, however when her friend Pinkie Pie bounds over to me. She giggles before telling me that Twilight was just incredibly nervous about what she wanted to say. I ask her what it could be, and then she spills it. Twilight wants to marry me.
My heart leaps at the news. I look over at Twilight, who is now thoroughly blushing. She gets up and yells at Pinkie for betraying her like that. She begins talking at a breakneck pace, about how it isn’t really a marriage, and how she just wanted the princess to bless our relationship, and how she was acting stupid. I canter over to her and place my hoof over her mouth, and tell her that she’s overthinking things again. And with that, I embrace her. And she returns it.
I don't know whether or not I should consider myself the luckiest pony in the world or not. Also, I'm not sure what I'm happier about: the fact that a princess happens to be the mare of my dreams, or the fact that the mare of my dreams happens to be a princess. As I hear her friends gather around me, offering their congratulations and good wishes, I can't help but think of just how much better my life will be.
With a princess by your side, things begin to become insignificant. It doesn't matter that I don't sit well with the other princesses, that our relationship isn't exactly normal, that I stole a book of dark magic, or that I used it to give her a push to start liking me. Heck, the nosebleeds may in part be because of that. But it doesn't matter my past misdoings, or who I once was. Nopony would ever have the audacity to capture the beloved spouse of Princess Twilight Sparkle.
And no one will ever know, either. I love her. That is a fact. And while she didn't at the beginning, she believes that she does now. No one will see anything other than a normal couple. I love her, and she loves me. I am fully willing to give my life to her. Is there anything wrong with that? Isn't that what couples are supposed to do?
I wish I could apologize to her, for playing God with her feelings. I wish there had been another way. The poor girl I had to rearrange inside her is probably confused and hurt. But she's strong. She'll get over it. And I need the protection that this relationship brings. The princesses will be less likely to attempt anything that would hurt poor Twilight.
I let go of her and get back up. I look into her eyes, and give her the warmest smile. She returns it and pulls herself to her feet. She asks me if I want to come inside and talk with her. I nod. And with that, we walk, side by side, into her home.