It had taken many, many, many, many, many lessons from Pinkie Pie for Twilight to finally perfect the art of cake making. Not simple from-the-box cakes, though. This was hand crafted from only the best ingredients. It had taken hours to complete. Days, if you counted the wait-time for some parts. It had been worth it, though.
The cake itself topped off just above Twilight’s horn. Five layers of favors, from the bottom made of decadent chocolate, to sweet strawberry, to vanilla, to red velvet to the very top made of the Princess’s very favorite flavor, coconut rum. It had been painstakingly frosted with a vanilla whipped topping.
Then Twilight had trimmed it, starting from the base, with the colors she associated with the Princess. The bottom three layers contained the colors of her mane. The layer next to the top was trimmed in a brilliant purple, and the top in red.
It hadn’t been hard convincing the palace staff to stay quiet about her little project. She may not have been a princess for long, but they had known her since she had been a small filly. She ruffled her feathers, taking a deep breath.
An uneasiness settled into her stomach as she thought of what she planned to do. She cast a glance to the snow storm out the window. Though it was early afternoon, the sky was dark from the clouds. Tearing her gaze away, she took a deep breath. Carefully, she guided the cake through the castle. Many of the staff who knew her plan smiled encouragingly at her.
Of course, she hadn’t told them why she hand wanted to surprise Celestia with a cake. Her stomach tightened at the thought. She hoped, desperately, that Celestia didn’t see her as a filly still. She knew their age difference was vast, but with a pony like Celestia, only two people were close in age with her.
Twilight focused on the cake, making sure nothing brushed against it. It had to be perfect. The Princess love her sweets. Every pony knew that. And Twilight felt, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that this cake would help her cause. She had made it for the Princess, specifically. It held everything she loved about cakes.
Still, when Twilight found herself outside of Celestia’s chambers, she paused. She had been over the facts in her head many times. The Princess didn’t see her as a little filly anymore. She was a princess herself, after all. Twilight had been dropping subtle hints, or so she felt, of her feelings, and the Princess had seemed to return them. At least, that’s what Rarity said.
Yet she couldn’t help the nagging pit of doubt growing her her stomach. Maybe what everyone said about the Princess was wrong. Maybe Celestia didn’t favor sweets like the staff had assured her. Maybe Twilight had made a mistake over the last few months, bringing the Princess sweets every week. Had she actually seen Celestia eat that box of chocolates? And the cupcake from last week had sat on the table the entire time they had chatted.
Just as Twilight was about to turn and leave, the Princess’s door opened. “Oh my, what’s this?“
Peaking out from behind the cake, Twilight pushed her worries from her mind. “Ah, I was…it’s a present for you, Princess. I was hoping we could talk.”
Celestia nodded, turning and heading back into the chambers. “This is certainly a surprise, my little pony. What’s the occasion?“
Twilight felt the heat rise to her cheeks. “I…I trust you know what today is, Princess?”
“Twilight,” Celestia began, but Twilight cut her off.
“Please, Princess, hear me out. I’ve been trying for so long…Have you liked the presents I’ve been bringing you?”
“Yes, I have enjoyed them. Sweets are my downfall.” A small smile graced Celestia’s lips, encouraging Twilight.
-time-
“Right. A-and I did all of that for a reason. I…” Twilight took a deep breath to gather her nerves. “I like you, Prin—" Twilight stopped, shaking her head. “I really like you, Celestia. I think I might even love you. I thought today would be the perfect day, since it is Hearts and Hooves, and…Celestia, will you be my special some pony.“
It was all Twilight could to do to continue looking at Celestia. Though the moment only lasted seconds, it felt like an eternity to Twilight. Celestia carefully reached out with her magic and cut a slice of the cake. Taking a small bit, her eyes lit up.
"My, my, Twilight. This cake is amazing.”
Twilight felt her ears droop. Celestia was going to ignore the entire confession. She stared at the floor, until a plate with a slice of cake floated over to her. “Would you like some? I think sharing cake with your special some pony is something of a custom, isn’t it?“
Twilight looked up at Celestia, wide-eyed. Her grin spread across her face, to match the one Celestia wore. “They always say the way to a mare’s heart is through her stomach. Turns out, that is doubly true for me.” Leaning in closer, so that Twilight could smell the coconut rum cake on Celestia’s breath, she added, “and it doesn’t hurt when the looks just as tasty.“
Looking into Celestia’s eyes, Twilight closed the gap.