Tuesday morning has arrived, and Matt walks through Ponyville on the way to Twilight’s castle. It’s been awhile since he has visited the Princess of Friendship, as she occasionally has to perform duties that such a title befits. Some of those duties do involve him every once in awhile; always in the form of sending Applejack and he out on a mission to solve a problem; a problem that ends in chair assaults, but Matt doesn’t complain too much. Still, a one on one was something that he truly missed, being that he was once a resident at her old home; where she took him in for study and for a genuine place to stay.
The human would have been lying to himself if he didn’t think back on those days with a degree of fondness. Telling Twilight the history of his world, albeit in a remarkably skewed piece of revisionist history, the days where they would walk around Ponyville, that time where she kicked him out of the house for pretending to be her boyfriend in front of her parents. Well, maybe not that part, even though it did lead him to his first meeting with Chrysalis. When Twilight’s parents found out about his relationship with Applejack, they demanded an explanation as to why he broke up with Twilight.
The yarn Twilight and he spun was extremely incoherent and wrought with logistical errors that they thought would be covered by an action beat or two, but her parents gave up halfway through the story, and simply accepted it.
Those were the days.
Ever since she became a Princess, his time with her had been limited. The rest of his pony friends were seen frequently, but less so with Twilight. When she asked him to come visit her during the Nightmare Night party for a surprise, he saw the opportunity to finally catch up with her for the past few months that he had not seen her, as only tales were relayed to him by Big Macintosh.
After a few hellos and well wishes from the folks in Ponyville, Matt made it to Twilight’s Castle, which stands as beautifully as it did all those years ago, after it formed shortly upon the defeat of Tirek, which Matt was not present for, due to being in a state of unconsciousness. Matt knocks on the door, but nopony answers. However, the door creaks open ever so slightly. Normally, if it were a horror movie, that would be the fist sign of trouble, but Ponyville has been generally trouble free, apart from any shenanigans that Matt’s friends would cause.
Matt walks through the door and into the castle, noting how clean it still is. No surprise, since Twilight was always one for perfection.
“Twilight?” Matt calls out, walking through the halls. No response. “Big Mac?” Matt tries again. Still no luck. “Am I early?” he silently mumbles to himself.
Unbeknownst to him, a shadow descends onto the floor. It’s a massive figure, but it walks along the hall as quiet as a mouse. It’s a tall figure; much taller than Matt, with its body covered in scales, and sharp claws ready to cut down anything in its path. It raises a clawed hand, ready to strike…
“SPIKE!” the voice of Twilight yells out from the end of the castle, catching Matt’s attention away from a slightly ajar door that led to the kitchen.
Matt quickly turns to Twilight’s voice, surprised and confused to Twilight’s uttering of Spike’s name.
“It’s me, Matt!” he says.
“Yes, Matt, I know. I’m addressing the dragon behind you!” she points her hoof at the shadow behind Matt.
The unassuming human turns around to see Spike standing right behind him. The little dragon who attacked him on sight back in the day is now much larger and taller; even when compared to when Matt saw him a few months ago, when Spike dropped by to celebrate Rarity’s birthday party. Matt looks up at Spike’s eight foot frame, and lets out a slight yelp and a step back at the sudden dragon.
“Gah! Come on, Spike!” Matt yells, “Don’t sneak up on me like that!”
“Dang it, Twlight!” Spike groans with a deep voice, “You ruined the surprise!”
“No, THANK you, Twilight! He was going to kill me with a heart attack!”
Twilight giggles at Spike’s complaining, but more so at Matt’s rapid breathing and holding his chest down with a pressed palm. Big Macintosh walks in from behind Twilight, looking at the scene with a confused expression.
“Did ah miss something?”
“Just Spike trying to scare Matt. Nothing too important.”
“Ah see, the usual, then.” Big Mac chuckles. “Ah guess we’ll give ya two some space.” He kisses Twilight on the cheek. “Let’s go, Spike. Ya can scare Matt another time.”
“But, who knows when I’ll get another chance?”
“You’ll get another chance. Come on.” Big Mac walks up next to Matt, as Spike walks out the door with his head hanging down. “Clem okay, Matt? Saw she got a little drunky at the party.”
“She’s fine. Grounded, but fine. You guys going out?”
“It’s been awhile since Spike’s been to the arcade. Wanted to take him before he gets too big to try his claws at the dancin’ games. Besides, ya and Twi could use the catchin’ up. Just no funny business when ah’m gone.”
“Big Mac, honestly.” Matt feigns disappointment, knowing that Mac is joking around. “What kind of man do you take me for?”
“Ah remember when ya first came ta Equestria. What was it somepony said? Oh, right. Instant chick magnet.”
“What gave them that idea?”
“Well, there was the time Lyra made out wit ya, goin’ out on a date with Rarity, wooin’ mah sister, and then there’s Queen Chrysalis…”
“Okay, I get it.” Matt playfully punches Big Mac on the shoulder. “Don’t worry. My hands stay on my side. Besides, if I was stupid enough to try anything, I give you permission to send me to the moon. But, you’ll have to tell your sister of my untimely demise.”
“Ah think she’ll enjoy it, given the circumstances.”
“Big Mac, please.” Twilight chortles, “Don’t you worry your handsome mane.” She walks up to Big Mac, kissing him on the lips. “There’s only on guy in my life that is more important to me than anypony else, and that’s you.”
“Ah know, darlin’.” He returns the kiss with his own. “Ya two have fun.”
Twilight goes to Matt’s side, and the two watch Big Mac and Spike take their leave. The stallion and the dragon turn and give a farewell wave, and Matt and twilight wave back to them. The castle doors close, leaving the two alone.
“Sorry about Spike.” Twilight smiles in her apology. “He may be bigger, but he’s still a bit of a prankster.”
“He’s the youngest of us old folks. He’s allowed.”
“Old? Please.” Twilight scoffs with a chuckle. “I’m immortal, and you’re as young as ever. It’ll be a long while before you start getting grey hairs and wrinkles.”
“I’m still waiting for those, actually.” Matt brushes his hair back. “When am I supposed to get them?”
“Not now, that’s for sure. “ Twilight trots forwards past Matt into the throne room, looking at him with expectant glee. “Hurry up. I want to give you your surprise.”
“This is a surprise that Applejack and Clementine will enjoy too, right?”
“Of course, but I want you to see it first.” Twilight giggles, ducking around the doorframe and out of sight.
Matt walks into the throne room. As beautiful as it ever was. He’s not a fan of those crystal seats however, as they are too hard for his rump. Suddenly, Twilight comes rushing out of seemingly nowhere, holding a massive book between her teeth. She hums what are probably the words “Ta-da!” but the muffle nature of her speech makes it seem nothing more than garbles.
“Oh, a book.” Matt steps back from the surprise, but takes the book with a smirk. “You shouldn’t have.”
“It’s not just any book Mr. Unimpressed.” Twilight says unhindered by a mouth full of book. “Open it up.”
Matt shrugs, giving her the satisfaction of opening the book. He opens it up straight to the first page, and upon seeing the words, his eyes light up like the night sky on a peaceful night.
“Matthew Williams: Life In Equestria.” Matt says the title, noting a picture of himself and Applejack on their wedding day at the bottom. “Is this…a photo album?” He asks after a lengthy pause.
“Yep. My own photo album.” Twilight gives a wide smile.
Matt flips through the book, seeing pictures of his time in Equestria thus far. From his beginnings, where he was heavier in the body frame, to when he started to show signs of improvement while working at Sweet Apple Acres. Pictures of him with Applejack, when Rarity came to pick him up for their fake date, all of them at the spa where they gathered around him in a sea of apologies. One thing is catching his attention however, is that these are pictures of events that Twilight didn’t have a camera on her for.
“I had no idea you had a camera on you during these days.”
“I didn’t.”
“Then, how did you get these pictures?”
“It’s a spell that Princess Luna taught me.” Twilight points to her head. “I’m able to go into my memories, and pluck frames of events out, like they’re pictures.”
“You’re able to make pictures through magic.” He asks with widening eyes. “That’s amazing!”
“I know. That’s what I said when Luna taught me. I had no idea that kind of magic was possible. I’m even able to manipulate the view to get myself in the picture. Most of them are point of view photos, though.”
“Twilight…” Matt whispers as he continues to flip through the pages. “I don’t know what to say…” Matt keeps going until he stops on one particular photograph. It’s a picture of himself getting ready for the hoedown; the night where he went on his first date with Applejack. It’s a harmless picture, as Matt is standing at the mirror in his get up, making sure it fits okay, but the picture is also taken from behind the crack of the bathroom door, as if he was being watched. “Huh…” Matt tilts his head, analyzing the image further. “You were watching me?”
“Y-yes.” Twilight blushes with embarrassment. “That was back when…you know.”
“Right.” Matt nods in understanding. Twilight had feelings for him back then, and didn’t tell him under the day after, when it was too late, and he had already fallen for Applejack. He remembers Twilight leaving Ponyville; staying in the confines of Canterlot Castle in order to move past him. “It’s a good picture, though.”
“It is.” Twilight agrees. Slowly, she walks up to him. She places a hoof under his palm, gradually moving it so that the book closes. “I put it in there because I liked it. And…and because there’s something I want to tell you.”
“Twilight, it’s fine. It’s all in the past.”
“I know it is. There’s nopony and nobody I love more than Big Mac. But…but this this something that I can’t keep a secret any longer.”
“Twilight? What’s the matter?”
“It’s…it’s probably better that we sit down for this.” Twilight goes to her throne, sitting down on it, waiting for Matt to sit in his spot. “I put a pillow on Applejack’s seat. I know how much these thrones make you uncomfortable.”
Matt cannot help but smile at that, sitting down on Applejack’s throne, where a nice and fluffy pillow awaited him. The comfort is short lived, when he looks up to see Twilight staring at him with regretful eyes, finding the words to tell him of whatever secret she held deep inside of her.
“This can’t be good, or else it wouldn’t be so hard to say.”
“Matt…do you remember…when I left Ponyville because of you?”
“Yeah…” Matt says, finding the irony as he was just thinking about that a few seconds ago. “I went to Celestia to give her my letter, and to bring you back.”
“Do you remember what you had to do to bring me back?”
“Twilight…”
“Please.” She almost seems desperate in her plea for an answer.
“Yes.” Matt says after thinking for moments. “You…asked me to kiss you…and I did. Why are you bringing this up? Everything is fine between us. There’s no reason to…”
“I was lying.” She interrupts.
“I…” her words reach his ears. “What?”
“I said that if you kissed me, I wouldn’t pursue you, and that everything would go back to normal. I was lying.”
“What do you mean you were lying? That’s what happened. You came back with me, you started dating Big Mac, and everything was normal…aside from Sombra, but everything else…”
“That wasn’t my plan. I was planning on…” her eyes water, shutting them in her guilt. “…putting a spell on you.” Matt cannot respond to this confession. “I was going to try and manipulate you into loving me. I had a spell prepared. It was going to erase your love for Applejack, and replace it with me. I told you that my feelings for you grew worse with time, and that was going to be the culmination of those feelings. I was going to trick you into loving me.”
Matt can’t believe what he was hearing. Twilight was planning on erasing what he was feeling for Applejack for her own personal gain. But, she didn’t. Nothing happened. She went with him, with no further desires for him displayed. But, why?
“Then…why didn’t you?” Matt gets the question out, but just barely.
“Because somepony did it first.” Twilight reopens her eyes, looking Matt full on. “Remember after I became a Princess? I asked you to come over to my house. This was about a month before you found out Applejack was pregnant.”
“Yeah…I remember.” Matt looks back on that day, finally noting its strangeness.
Matt approaches Twilight’s house with excitement, as it had been quite a bit since he last saw her. The day where she transformed into a Princess was one that he would never forget. Watching in awe as she descended from the sky, unfurling her wings in all their glory. He gasped just as loud and as wide as his friends did. That was two weeks ago, and now she has requested Matt come to visit her, both to catch up, and that he left a few things at her place before he moved out.
Matt brushes back his hair to look more presentable, stood up straight, and knocked on the door. He doesn’t have to wait long, as Twilight opened the door almost immediately after he knocked.
“Glad you could make it.” Twilight smiles.
“Hey, I said I’d be here on the dot. It’s not like me to disappoint.” Matt smiles back, walking inside to the house he had not set foot in for what felt like ages. “Like what you've done with the place.” Matt chuckles, noting the black singe mark on the floor that looked just like Twilight’s cutie mark.
“Very funny, you.” Twilight smirked, “The others thought they vaporized me!”
“It’s great seeing you again, Twi. You look great.”
“Oh…” Twilight gives off a considerable blush, but Matt has turned his attention to her library to notice. “Thank you.”
“So, what did I forget?”
“Oh, right!” Twilight’s blush disappears. “The clothes you forgot!” She gallops up the stairs to her room. Only a few moments pass by, and she comes back down, holding a box of clothes up with her magic. “You forgot the clothes that Rarity made for you. The hoedown outfit, and that suit she made for your fake date.”
Matt looks down at the box, seeing his clothes perfectly folded up. “I can’t believe I forgot about these!” Matt says in surprise, taking the box from her. “These looked good on me.”
“Yeah, they…they did…still do…” Twilight whispers to herself. Her eyes widen at her whispered admittance, and shakes her head of any lingering thoughts.
“So…” Matt places the box down at the front door. “It’s been quite a while since we last spoke. How you been, Twi? Adjusting to the wings?”
“It’s a work in progress.” Twilight hides her internal conflict with a smile on her face. “I flew around perfectly at the coronation, but now I’m Ms. Clumsy Wings. It’ll be longer than I thought before I can be as good as Spitfire.”
“Let’s be honest, can anypony be as good as Spitfire?”
“Good point.” Twilight chortles. Her eyes glance over at the warm and inviting couch. “Take a seat, Matt. Unless there’s somewhere you have to be.”
“Not yet, I do.” Matt sits down on the couch. “Applejack is visiting Granny Smith and Big Mac at the farm.”
“I see. You want something to drink?” She walks to the kitchen. “Water? Cider? Wine?”
“It’s almost noon, Twi. A bit early for wine. Cider is good. Regular cider, by the way.”
“I know, I know.” Twilight prepares two glasses of cider. As she pours the bottle of cider into the mugs, her eyes travel back to the human sitting comfortably on the couch. His friendly demeanor, his near permanent smile, that fit frame, it’s making her a bit flustered. A bead of sweat slides down her cheek and onto the counter. Quickly, she wipes it away in a panic, not fully comprehending the new thoughts in her head.
She trots back, holding the two mugs. Matt happily takes one as Twilight sits next to him. He doesn’t notice that she’s pretty close to him.
“How’s Big Mac? You two still good?”
“Huh?” Twilight seems caught in a thought.
“Big Mac. You guys okay?”
“O-oh, right. Of course. Couldn’t be better.” Twilight takes a sip.
“You sure? I mean, if there’s trouble, you can tell me.” Matt places a hand on her shoulder. “I’m sure it can be worked out…”
Suddenly, Twilight drops her mug of cider upon Matt’s touch with her shoulder. A yelp of surprise escapes her lips, and she immediately drops to the floor to clean up the mess. Matt goes down with her, grabbing a nearby cloth.
“I’m sorry!” she apologizes. “I don’t know what happened.”
“It’s fine.” Matt chuckles. “I’ve had my case of the butterfingers before. I guess in your case, it would be called butterhooves.” He laughs at his own joke.
Twilight looks up at his smiling face. Again, she thinks of everything that she finds charming about him. Mind, body, and soul. The thoughts consume her. She knows that it’s wrong to think about him this way, especially after the last time she tried to bare her feelings to him, but they’re even stronger now, and it’s becoming impossible to overcome.
In an urge of primal needs, Twilight tackles Matt onto his back, with her standing over him with lustful eyes. His smile and laugh stop abruptly upon impact, and now he can only look at her with shock and confusion.
“Tw…Twilight?” Matt silently questions, “Wh…what are you doing?”
Twilight gazes longingly into his eyes. Her lips hover over his. Matt recognizes this look. His hands rise up, stopping inches away from her chest, contemplating pushing her off of him. But his mind pauses, trying to decide the best course of force to place on her. He doesn’t want to push too hard to hurt her, but he doesn’t want to hold back too much to make her assume that he actually wants this.
The newly christened princess licks her lips and breathes heavily, hungrily getting closer and closer to his lips. So close that she can kiss him right now. But then, suddenly, something takes over. Something that she didn’t expect to take hold of her mind. A sense of lucidity against her actions affects her, and that look of lust soon turns into a mischievous smile.
“Got you.” she chuckles.
“What?”
“Got you!” Twilight moves away in a burst of laughter. “You thought…? That I was…? Oh my goodness, Matt!” Her laughter is nearly infectious. Matt can’t help but chuckle himself, but the confusion is still there.
“Sweet Celestia, Twilight. You scared the hell out of me!” Matt stands. “I thought you were trying to make out with me!”
“Oh please! I wasn’t even trying to hide my goof! You bought it hook, line, and sinker!”
“If that was you not trying, then I hate to see you put genuine effort into it.”
“Only one pony in my life will ever get that pleasure.” Twilight continues to laugh, as she cleans up the spilled cider. “Too bad my joke came at the expense of the nice carpet.”
“I’m sure it’ll clean out fine.” Matt takes a sip of his mug. The sip turns into a full on drink, as he finishes his mug in one sitting. “Hey, umm…” Matt gets his box of clothes. “I just remembered that I had to meet up with Applejack for lunch. She should be back at the house in a bit, and I don’t want to be late.” He’s not hiding his awkward demeanor, and Twilight can see it.
“Of course.” Twilight smiles. “You go see Applejack. Oh, and don’t tell her my joke. She might take it the wrong way.”
“Uhh…sure.” Matt nods. “I’ll see you later. Have a good one.” Matt exits the house in a bit of a hurry.
Immediately, Twilight drops the cloth, racing to the window to watch Matt walk away with a normal walk; hiding his weird experience from others. He stops, looking back at the house and staring at it for what feels like ages. His eyes don’t glance over at the hiding Twilight, who is peering out the window with the top of her head. He shrugs; no longer troubled by what happened, and shaking it off like the confusion he was feeling was just him being silly.
Once Matt is completely gone, Twilight’s horn glows, and she vanishes from the room.
Twilight reappears in the throne room of Canterlot Castle, where a very surprised Princess Celestia looks on from her throne interrupted by her reading of the Equestrian Sun Times. Twilight sees the shocked Princess, running to her at blinding speed.
“Twilight? What’s wr…”
“Princess Celestia!” Twilight interrupts, “You have to help me!”
“What do you mean? Has something happened? Did Tirek escape from Tartarus again?”
“No! Tirek hasn’t escaped! I almost kissed him!”
“You…almost kissed Tirek?”
“NO!” Twilight yells in frustration, “I almost kissed Matt!” Twilight watches Celestia pause, unsure how to respond to that. “He came to visit me and pick up a few things, and he was being so nice, and all I could think about was how handsome he was! We were talking, and suddenly, I jumped on him and almost kissed him!”
“Twilight?!” Celestia gasped.
“I know! I’m awful! I thought I got rid of those thoughts long ago, but they’re back, and I don’t know what to do! How did this happen? I was passed this! There’s no reason why I should be feeling this! Those feelings are gone!”
“Actually…they never left.” A familiar voice speaks behind Twilight. Princess Luna stand before her, looking upon Twilight with regret in her eyes. “Your romantic feelings for Matt never left you, Twilight. They were merely suppressed.”
“What?” Twilight is confounded. She looks to Celestia for clarification, but the Princess of the Sun remains silent. “What do you mean suppressed?”
Princess Luna sighs, having to tell Twilight a truth that has been hidden for quite a while. She approaches Twilight with trepidation, but also a sense of guilt.
“Twilight…Celestia and I felt the presence of King Sombra’s return before he descended upon Ponyville that day. We wanted you to be mentally clear of any doubts and conflicts before that day came. We knew of your desire for Matt, and how even in his absence, your love for him only grew. When he came to visit Celestia, we had hoped that he would be able to convince you to come with him, and when you demanded that he kiss you, I took my chance.”
“What are you talking about? How did you know…”
“I followed you to the train station. I saw you talk to him…and it was me who suppressed your feelings for him. I couldn’t erase them, only hold them back. Perhaps when you became an Alicorn, your magic abilities became strong enough to dispel the charm, and revert back to your former thoughts. I had hoped that your love for Big Macintosh would erase that, but…”
“You put a spell on me?”
“We had to, Twilight.” Celestia finally speaks up. “We knew of your deception. What you truly planned to do with Matt once he kissed you. How you wanted to place your own charm on him, and try to suppress his love for Applejack. We couldn’t let that happen, and for that we did what we had to do.”
“Why didn’t you tell me? I could have left for Ponyville within days! Not stay with my feelings simmering away at my core! I would have let you do it!”
“As you can see, even if you did, you would still be before us right here and now.”
“Perform the charm! Do it again! I can't…I can’t trust myself if these feelings remain! I don’t want to hurt anypony…ESPECIALLY not Matt and Applejack! I can’t!”
“And you won’t.” Another voice calls out from the end of the room. All turn to see Princess Cadance walk in with a small smile crossing her lips.
“Cadance…” Twilight whispers to herself. “What are you doing here?”
“Princess Luna sent me a note. She said you were in distress.”
“Luna?” Twilight glances over at Luna. “How did you…”
“I sent the letter while you were talking to Celestia. I'm pretty quick with the pen.” she says in a proud tone, before going back to her serious face.
“You knew about this, Cadance?”
“I did.” Cadance nods. “I admit, I didn’t fully agree with the Princess’ decision, but their intentions were good. Now, we’re paying for them.”
“This is…” Twilight steps away from them, processing the information. “…a lot to take in. The irony is that it was all for nothing.”
“What do you mean?” Celestia wondered.
“Sombra attacked on Matt and Applejack’s wedding day. We were all distracted. Our thoughts were so muddled by the wedding, that we lost sight of the incoming threat.”
“Oh…” Celestia understood, not doing much to hide her embarrassment. “It really was kind of a bust, wasn’t it?”
Twilight giggles at Celestia’s admittance; breaking away from her panicked and serious expression that she entered the throne room with. Twilight looks back to Cadance and walks over to her slowly.
“What are you going to do?” Twilight asks.
“I’m going to help you take your love for Matt, and replace it with Big Macintosh.”
“How? Are you going to use a spell?”
“No.” Cadance shakes her head, “No magic will be involved with this. You will remain here, and I will show you all the good times you had with Big Mac through pictures, videos, and mementos. He will come and visit you regularly. He will be one of your only visitors.”
“But…what about the others? What will you tell Mac?”
“The others will be informed that you are at the castle to further study your duties as Princess. Big Mac will be told the same, but we will summon him on behalf of you.”
“And…what about Matt? Wouldn’t time with him help with the healing process?”
“Only at the end. Trying to spend time with him during the process might…damage progress.”
Twilight sighs, once again having to separate herself from her friends, and essentially hole herself in the confines of Canterlot Castle. But the fact of the matter as to why comes to her quickly. She has to do this. She doesn’t want to cause any trouble for anypony because of her desires. Matt and Applejack deserve to be together, and she is going to make it stay that way.
“Okay…” Twilight says, “…I’ll do it.”
Matt has switched seats, taking the seat closest to Twilight’s, which is Spike's former throne, while also bringing the comfortable pillow with him. Even when enraptured in the story, he still wanted to be comfortable, especially in a seat that's smaller than he is. Twilight’s look of pain and guilt at the beginning has disappeared into an expression of happiness and content, as her tale reaches its satisfactory conclusion.
“Cadance guided me through the process. Big Mac visited me almost daily, unaware of the true nature of the visits. Soon, whatever I felt for you began to vanish, until finally…only your friendship remained.”
“That’s why I didn’t see you until I came by to announce Applejack’s pregnancy.”
“That’s right. When I hugged you, it was as a friend, and nothing but.”
“That hug did feel a little friendship-y to me.”
The two share a tension deflating laugh, airing out the seriousness that permeated the room all this time. As they calm their chuckles, they look at each other in the eyes, and all they do is smile. There is love in their eyes, but not a romantic kind. Instead, it’s the look of two friends.
“You really didn’t have to tell me.” Matt says.
“I know I didn’t. But I felt it was something you had to know. You and AJ have been so truthful towards each other, and I admired that about you two. Being able to be honest.”
“Well, AJ is the…”
“Element of Honesty, yes.” Twilight chuckles. “I just wanted you to know for sure…that whatever I felt for you all those years ago…is completely gone.”
“That’s a relief. For the last sixteen years, I was getting a little worried.”
“Quiet you.” Twilight playfully pushes him with a hoof. “This was very difficult for me to say.”
“I know. I’m sorry. You do know that there is a high probability that I’m going to tell AJ about this, right? Being that we’re so honest and all.”
“Yep, and I am prepared for whatever reaction she has.”
“Even if she punches you?”
“She won’t punch a Princess!”
“She kicked me across the living room one time, and I’m her husband.”
“Oh, then she might punch me.”
Matt smiles, picking up the photo album. He stands, tucking the album under his arm and inching towards the door.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Everything. This book. Your friendship.”
“Well…as everypony likes to say…friendship is…”
“Please, don’t.”
Twilight stops herself before she can complete the phrase. Instead, she smiles and waves goodbye, and Matt waves back, leaving the room and back to his house. Twilight continues to side, breathing a sigh of relief that she cleared the air with the thoughts that had been stowed away for the many years that she held them.
Matt did tell Applejack what Twilight said to him. Unaware that he forgot to tell her that he kissed Twilight in an attempt to bring her back to Ponyville.
Applejack punched Matt.
Applejack punched Twilight.
Applejack kissed Matt.
Applejack hugged Twilight.
Marriage intact.
Friendship remained.