A/N: Featuring guest writer Cerulean1313! He’s great at comedy, so as a favour he wrote the entire first scene with Twi and Co. If you like what you see, go and check him out! (His first story is going under modifications, so trust me when I say it gets better! Now, onto the chapter!)

Spike’s lavender friend had been nothing short of aggravatingly obstinate when it came to his inquiries regarding where foals come from, but after a little goading and a little begging, he received the discourse he had desired for so long, and when his mind finally did pick up the pieces some time later, he realized that Twilight may have been right; he wasn’t ready.

“So that’s, um, how babies are made. Do you want to know how they come out?” Fluttershy offered, glancing behind her at the shell-shocked dragon whose irises were mere specks in a sea of white, being much too traumatized to respond.

“Oh, you poor thing,” Rarity cooed, levitating him onto her back and offering gentle words of support.

“Now look what ya did,” Applejack said with a sigh, giving the “I told you so” look to the gentle pegasus who had been disturbingly free with the closely guarded secrets of reproduction. “How do you know so much about it, anyhow? You ain’t been indulgin’ that kind o’ thing, ‘ave ya?”

“Oh, goodness, no! I just, well, bunnies are very, well, active. Poor Angel, he never can find a mate.”

“I bet that’s ‘cause he’s always so ‘grrr!’ He needs more ‘woohoo!’ You know?” Pinkie chortled, prancing along and unsurprisingly undisturbed by the subject matter.

“An’ she knows all about ‘woohoo,’ ah’m sure,” Applejack said with a sigh, wondering if she were the only clean-minded mare of the lot. She took solace in the fact that Rainbow Dash wore much the same facial expression as Spike, merely continuing to walk, consuming all the bandwidth she had remaining. “Ah can’t believe... you really didn’t know, Dash?”

“Well, I knew about, you know, rolling in the hay and stuff, but I didn’t know... that’s how... Oh man, I’m so glad I never did that! I’m not ready to be a mom!”

“Dash, dearie, how could somepony as elegant as yourself not know their way around a stallion?”

“What, like I’d pay attention in school?” she fired back. “Besides, I haven’t even really gotten to speak to... I mean...”

“Well now, this just got right interestin’,” Applejack chuckled, teaming with Rarity and approaching from either side. With her juicy gossip alarm blaring red alert, Rarity adopted an appropriate tone and eased into the subject, using her wiles to skillfully extract the information in the most painless way possible. Or, at least, as painless as one can be without physically holding a pony down and bellowing in their face.

“There’s nothing to tell! I’ve only been writing to him for a few weeks now, we haven’t even seen each other face to face since Shining Armor got married!” Dang it, that was too much! Indeed, her suspicions were quite founded, as Rarity’s interest in gossip and basically any information regarding relationships that wasn’t hers to know was approximately as exciting as Spike living out an ice cream dream which, judging by his stone-faced silence, he could probably use.

“You said ‘him,’ so it’s clearly a stallion. Have we met him? Is he single? Married? Oooh, now that would be delicious! Come now, stop looking so coy and talk to me, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity pressed, eyes shining and decency cast aside.

“Oh ho, ah think ah’ve a fair idea now. It’s...” Applejack got no further as a frantic Rainbow Dash reallocated the brain power being spent placing one hoof in front of the other without tripping over herself and used it to forcefully gag her perceptive friend with a unadorned hoof sandwich. The procession came to a halt as Rarity allowed a temporary breach of her abstinence from anything more strenuous than strutting and attempted to pry Rainbow Dash off of Applejack, the pair having fallen to the ground amongst that hideous substance known as “dirt.” She was fortunately spared her foray into the mess as Fluttershy became the voice of reason and agitation all at once.

“Fluttershy, you traitor! Don’t say it!” Dash cried, yanking herself away and leaping to her hooves. “We’re just pen pals, that’s all there is to it! I haven’t even thought of dating him, much less rolling in...”

“Careful, Dash. You ain’t that great of a liar, an’ ah could tell anyhow,” Applejack warned. Taking the earth pony at her word, Dash prepped her wings to take flight, fleeing the scene only to nearly run smack into the library, the group having had their little interrogation just hoof-lengths away. Still, expecting a few brief seconds of solace for questions she hadn’t even answered herself, Rainbow Dash entered ahead of the rest of her so-called friends and their prying words. As she barreled through the door and slammed it behind her, it occurred to her to ask Twilight to cast some sort of group silencing spell, but as she actually took a moment to look around, she found her brainiac friend quite contentedly asleep where she had fallen.

“Twilight? Hey, wake up,” Dash urged, shaking her lightly and nodding sagely as the unicorn stirred, groaning and instantly bringing both hooves to her head where a sizable lump at arisen from her unexpected meeting with her hardwood floor. “Must have been a pretty big crash, Twilight. What...” Further inquiries were set aside as the rest of the mane six made their none-too-quiet entrance, much to Twilight’s chagrin and cranial discomfort. Spike, who up until this point had been picking up the pieces of a once innocent mind, was jarred back to reality upon seeing Twilight struggle to her hooves, and with some reluctance slid from Rarity’s back and walked over.

“Your friends are here. You were right. I’m going to sleep.” Without further explanation, he quietly excused himself and ascended the stairs, hoping that a nap would cleanse his mind and bring an immediate cessation of thoughts that shouldn’t be but were.

“Twilight? That looks dreadful. Oh, and painful, too,” Rarity commented, fretting over the cosmetic atrocity.

“Thank you for your concern, Rarity,” Twilight muttered, disinterested in her appearance and lamenting the loss of a few brain cells that would never again join the rest in intellectual revery. Upon seeing Twilight was injured, Fluttershy had immediately left to fetch some ice to ease the swelling, and Twilight accepted the soothing cold with a grateful sigh while a much less intrusive mare made her inquiry.

“Um, Twilight? What were you doing when you had your little ‘accident?’”

“I don’t know. I got a letter from my brother, and it said I was going to be an aunt... And then...” And then physical discomfort took a backseat to let panic take charge, the ice quickly cast aside as Twilight began scrambling furiously around the room, checking shelves, tearing down books, and generally making a mess that guaranteed a very worn out dragon in the imminent future.

“Twilight’s going to be an aunt? Well, now isn’t that wonderful! That means that...”

“Don’t say it!” Twilight shrieked, doubling her efforts. “There just has to be another way! He just... it can’t... not my brother and my foalsitter! It’s just too...”

“That’s got t’ be right awkward, thinkin’ ‘bout yer brother like that,” Applejack murmured, thankful that, to her knowledge, Big Mac was not currently courting anypony. Twilight didn’t bother sympathizing with the mare, and Applejack glanced over in time to see a suppressed smile slowly spread across Rarity’s lips. Oh dear Celestia, she’s in one of her moods again...

“So, Twilight, you wish that your dear foal-sitter conceived someway other than the traditional method?”

“Really?!?” Twilight squealed, overjoyed for anything with which to ease her troubled mind.

“Why of course! A unicorn’s horn isn’t just for show, I assure you. There are other, more... how shall I say, ‘intimate’ uses?” Twilight froze in place, her hoof hovering just inches from the tome in question, but her early answer was about as alleviating to her mind as mud would be to her empty stomach.

“Oh, so that’s what that shiny stuff is! That’s so funny!” Pinkie quipped, adding a hoofful of sawdust to the mental meal Twilight was currently attempting to digest. Everypony that didn’t fall under the category of “shell-shocked lavender unicorn” turned and stared at Pinkie with varying levels of trepidation or, in Fluttershy’s case, mimicking Twilight but with both hooves held over her mouth.

“Pinkie, how in Equestria do you know about that?” Rarity inquired, suddenly uncomfortable with the subject.

“I give ponies massages at Sugarcube Corner twice a week,” she mentioned casually, waving a hoof. “I always start with their backs and stuff, but somehow it always ends up moving to the horns and wings.” Her musing were met with stares, though the shock soon moved to embarrassment and obvious discomfort, to a point that even Pinkie noticed. “What? It makes ponies smile, so what’s the big deal?”

“Ah’ll bet it does...” Applejack muttered, not terribly surprised and yet unwilling to accept the information.

“Pinkie Pie, rubbing somepony’s horn is not the same as cupcakes!” Rarity cried. Her disparity only grew greater as Pinkie’s logic held her own in a stranglehold.

“It so is the same! There’s even frosting and everything! Come on, Twilight, help me out here... Twilight?” Rather than letting her off easy and terminating consciousness as before, the revelation and subsequent conversation simply robbed her of the capacity for basic life support functions. Her cheeks turned a rather becoming shade of blue, much like the night sky, before she teetered momentarily and fell back, blissfully unconscious and sporting a new lump. “Wow, I think Twilight likes frosting almost as much as me? See, she totally agrees with me!”

Moonstone gaped at her for a moment, before turning away again, slowly making his way to the kitchen. Don’t stare, even if you’re confused, that’s what she said before. “A-are you sure? I wouldn’t want to impose or anything. You don’t owe me anyth-”

“I’m sure,” she interrupted quickly, looking up at him as they walked. “A date isn’t just something you want to do when you want to learn if you want to marry somepony. It’s a way to get to know others better! The actual definition of a date is a pre-arranged social gathering, and I... I want to get to know you better.” Do you have any idea just how different you are from all of the other nobles around here? Do you even know? What makes you different?

“O-oh, alright,” Moonstone replied, blushing slightly. “I want to learn more about you too, so I guess I’m fine with that. So... Umm...”

Starlight watched, amused as he looked around before asking, “So where do you store the ice cream? And while we’re talking about that, how does it stay cold? Is there some sort of magic that goes into it, like donuts?”

Like donuts? Starlight blinked, then shook her head to clear it, answering, “Well, we keep the ice cream in the freezer, which is right over there.”

Moonstone followed her pointing hoof, following it to a large, rectangular white box. He frowned at it for a moment, before seeing a metal bar protruding from it, attached to the box. This must be how you open it! As the door opened easily with his magic, he allowed himself a small smile at having figured it out all on his own, until his face made an unfortunate greeting with the door. “Ow!”

Starlight started to giggle as he sat down heavily, nursing his injured face, muttering under his breath. She walked over, grabbing a carton of ice cream, before deftly flicking it to a nearby countertop with one wing, while using the other to close the door. “Wow...”

Moonstone’s comment caught her off-guard, causing her to spin around to look at him, blushing. “W-what? Is your face okay?”

“That was amazing!” Moonstone gasped, staring at her. “I’ve never seen pegasuses do that before! Is everypony that dexterous?”

“I... That... W-we’re called Pagasi, not pegasuses,” She flustered, face growing darker from the complement. “And I don’t know... I never... I mean, I’ve always been able to... I don’t know!” she yelled. Oh no, I’m yelling again! Stop getting so flustered! Why does he make you so nervous?! “I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“I-it’s okay, I think I understand what you mean,” Moonstone said quickly, cutting her off. No, I don’t know what you mean, but if it keeps you from apologizing to yourself for something you didn’t mean to do...

Starlight looked at him in silence for a moment, before smiling gently. “Thanks... N-now come on, let’s have our ice cream! Unless you wanted to get started on teaching magic first?”

Moonstone suddenly fidgeted, fiddling with his hooves as he murmured, “R-right, teaching magic... I have no idea what I’m doing, really... What if I can’t explain anything right? What if I’m a horrible teacher, and she doesn’t-”

“Then we’ll figure out what to do then,” Starlight snapped, her voice sharp. “There’s no point in worrying about something you can’t control! Just focus on the here and now, and what you can do, and we’ll go from there.”

Buck, I yelled again, angrily... What... What’s wrong with me? Starlight’s wings drooped as she bowed her head, whispering, “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to shout.”

Her eyes snapped open in surprise as he nudged her face back up with his nose, chiding gently, “Now now, what did I tell you about apologizing? I... I needed that. If you had meant it in any other way but helping, then you wouldn’t have tried to apologize, so just drop it, alright? Now smile.”

“Lexie? You mean Galexia? What are you calling her fo-waha! Wh-whahat is she,” she started to laugh, trying to shake off the sudden black pest running on her coat, tickling every inch she could reach. “S-stop, it,” she giggled, falling to her side, fighting the ferret futilely.

Moonstone started to laugh as Starlight started to roll around on the floor, helpless before the ferret onslaught. Grinning to himself, Moonstone joined in as well, starting to tickle her sides, when Galexia decided to defect to Starlight, starting to help her tickle the stallion who had caused her such humiliation. I don’t know why you decided to help, but I’ll get my payback later, you little rat! Starlight thought to herself, launching her counter-attack.

“W-what? Ga-Galex-Exia, wh-what,” Moonstone gasped out, doing his best not to laugh, though he was failing miserably. “Y-you b... Be-trayed me?” Lex... Why would you do that to me? Traitor!

After a few minutes, both sides agreed to a temporary truce, allowing them both to catch their breath. Starlight lay on top of Moonstone, her wings spread helplessly to the sides, covering both of them. After a moment, still smiling, she looked down at Moonstone, who seemed strangely happy with himself. “And what... Are you so proud of? We were winning!”

“Because you were sad for a stupid reason,” Moonstone explained softly, smiling. “That, and you’re radiant when you smile...”

Starlight blinked, before a heavy blush crossed her face, causing her to duck behind her mane. I... What is he... Does he really like me, or is he just trying to cheer me up? That sounded like a line, but he looked and sounded like he really meant it... What do I do? How do I know?

~Ah-ah-ah, you’re frowning again~ Moonstone said in a singing voice, grinning evilly once more.

While Moonstone had started out with the initiative, Galexia kept defecting every minute or so, keeping both sides fairly evenly matched, until they both heard a voice... A voice that spelled both of their dooms...

“Sissy, you’re having tickle time without me?!” Milky Way protested, her eyes wide and her jaw on the floor. As her left eyelid twitched, Moonstone knew that he was about to be in for a world of trouble. “No! That’s unacceptable! It’s my birthday! You don’t have tickle time without me! Hey everybody!” she screamed at the top of her lungs, surely alerting the entirety of Canterlot proper. “Tickle time in the kitchen right now!”

Moonstone and Starlight looked at each other for a moment, sharing the same thought. Oh Dear Sweet Celestia and Luna, what have we done...

“All right, time to take a break, Milky, we don’t want to strain what magic you have,” Moonstone cautioned, stopping the lesson short.

The filly complied, but complained, “Aww, do I have to? I can almost lift it now! Just five more minutes, please?”

The filly’s begging eyes made Moonstone pause, his eyes slowly growing wider as he felt his will crumbling. Well, could five minutes really matter much? I mean, she seems fairly dedicated, and wants to-

Moonstone was snapped out of it as Galexia perched on his muzzle, having slapped him as hard as she could. He blinked, then frowned, lecturing as he refocused. “No, you need to take a break. We can practice more later, But you can’t use your magic all the time at such a young age. You have to let it rest, so it can rebuild itself.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but was stopped by her father, who shook his head sternly, ordering, “Now Milly, listen to Mr. Moonstone. He knows what he’s talking about, so you need to listen to him. I know you’re eager to learn magic, but you can’t rush things, just like you can’t rush getting a cutie mark. Now come on, it’s time for your reading hour.”

“Aww, but da-ad, reading is so boring!” she whined, folding her ears down. “I’m such a slow reader, and the words are always too big!”

“Well, you’re not going to learn how to read faster or bigger words if you never practice, now will you?” Digit Pi smiled, swooping his daughter up into his forelegs, nuzzling her.

“You’re not stupid,” Starlight soothed, nuzzling her sister, before taking her from their father. “You have to have The Dumbs to be stupid! You don’t have The Dumbs now, do you? Because you know what we do to ponies around here who have The Dumbs...”

“We... tickle them!” Starlight roared, using her size and her wings to her advantage, tickling her sister mercilessly, while preventing her sister from retaliating.

After a moment of helpless giggles, Star let up, asking, “Do you still have The Dumbs? ~I have more of the cure right here~”

“N-no! I-I’m not stupid!” Milky Way protested weakly, trying to shield her head with her forelegs.

“There, I thought not!” Starlight grinned triumphantly at her little sister. She then laid down, nuzzling her sister gently as she whispered, “I love you, Milly.”

Moonstone blinked, then looked away, puzzled. Why does my chest hurt? Aren’t I happy that they’re happy? Is that... what it’s like to have a family?

“Sissy, could you... Could you read with me? Please?” Milky Way asked quietly, begging her sister.

Starlight’s eyes softened, and she nodded, pushing her sister up to her legs with her head with a smile. “Yeah, I think I’d like that... Come on, Milly, let’s go find a good book. Moonstone? Would you like to find a book too, or did you want some time to yourself?”

“Hmm? U-uh...” Moonstone stammered for a second, collecting his thoughts. Book? Sure, how hard could it be? “Y-yeah, sure, I’ll come too, thanks.”

Following the two sisters to a bookshelf, he watched as Starlight looking among the books, before selecting a medium sized purple book. “There. How about Daring Doo and the Golden Scootaloo? You haven’t read that one yet, right?”

“Yeah! I love love love Daring Doo! She’s all ~woosh~, then ~pow~, then ~yeah, I’m awesome!~” she cheered, adding motions to go along with her sound effects.

Starlight laughed, before looking over to Moonstone, asking, “Do you need me to grab something? What do you want to read?”

“Umm...” Thinking quickly, he levitated out the book that was next to the one currently in Milky Way’s hooves. “I-I’ll do this one, I guess.”

“Daring Doo and the Everfree Emerald? You’re a fan of Daring Doo?” she questioned, shocked.

“Umm... Not really,” Moonstone admitted, looking away to hide the slight blush playing on his face. “But Milky made it sound so interesting, so...”

“Oh. Alright then! Hope you enjoy it!” She smiled warmly at him, before trotting over to where her sister had reclined on the floor, snuggled deep under a blanket on top of a large throw pillow. Milky looked up with a pouting frown as her sister took away the blanket, before squeeing in delight when she laid down next to her, covering her with a soft, caressing wing. Milky Way proceeded to snuggle closer to her sister, wrapping the wing tighter around herself.

Moonstone watched in silence, before looking away again, his chest hurting again in that strange way as before. Turning away, he settled down, opening the book idly, flipping through to the first page, before frowning, turning the page. And then the next one. And the next one. And the next one.

Starlight Sonata and her sister looked up, distracted from the somewhat swift page-turning of the white stallion, watching as he seemed to look at one page, then the other, before turning the page, glancing at both pages, then turning another page. “Wow...” Milky Way gasped in admiration. “Mr. Moonstone, where did you learn to read so fast?!”

Milky Way dragged her sister over, hoping to learn how to read as fast as Moonstone, when Starlight frowned. “You’re reading a book... Upside-down and backwards?”

Moonstone looked up, his eyes wide, before he stammered, ‘U-um, well, I... uh... yes?” he answered meekly, wilting underneath the accusatory glare of the mare in front of him.

“Moonstone, look at me,” Starlight ordered quietly, her voice commanding. He turned his head to her slowly, his ears flat against his skull as she asked, “Moonstone? Do you not know how to read?”

“I-I...” Moonstone whimpered, wincing away from the purple pegasus. “N-no?”

Starlight frowned in thought, trying to figure out what to make of it. How can he have made it this far without learning how to read? I never took reading as being a luxury, but... Oh no, I’m frightening him! Quick, say something, say something! “Why?” Noooooooo! Dammit! Stupid brain, work faster!

“I... I don’t know,” Moonstone mumbled, looking at the floor beside him, too afraid to face the stern mare in front of him.

“What’s this?” Digit Pi asked, poking his head back into the Library. He jumped to a conclusion, seeing Starlight in an aggressive stance, Moonstone lying on the floor, and Milky Way in shock. “Starlight, why are you terrorizing Moonstone again?!”

“He doesn’t know how to read?!” Milky Way gasped, her foal’s mind still caught onto that one fact. “But.... But... Everypony should know how to read!”

“Starlight, I’m disappointed in you,” Digit sighed, his eyes reflecting his sadness. “Come on, Moonstone, I’ll teach you how to r-”

“No!” Starlight snapped, whirling on her father in a rage. “I was not ‘terrorizing’ Moonstone, and if anypony is going to teach him how to read, it’s going to be me, got it?!”

Digit Pi’s eyebrows rose in surprise at the force of his daughter’s voice, before he gazed at her sternly, just observing her.

Starlight stood her ground, but she knew she was nervous, and she struggled to keep her touch exterior in front of her father. Please don’t look at me like that, I’m not trying to be rebellions! I just want to help him, I owe it to him! This is a chance to get to know more about him, why he doesn’t know...

So, she’s starting to finally show some independence, or is it just guilt? Either way, it seems like she means it... I can always test him later to see if she kept her word or not.

Starlight watched as her father left without another word, leaving her wondering if she did something right, or wrong. Sighing in relief, she turned back to Moonstone, calming herself down. Trying to understand what he could be feeling, she knelt down in front of him, asking gently, “Moonstone? I know you feel embarrassed, and... I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel stupid, or that you were... Look, it’s not your fault you don’t know, alright? It’s not something that you can just pick up on, but... Would you like to learn how? I don’t want to force you, or make you feel like you have to, but if you do, I’m here for you, alright?”

Moonstone practically melted in relief, nodding firmly. “Please... I don’t want other ponies to... to...”

“I know,” Starlight murmured comfortingly, laying down next to him, tucking a wing around him. “It’s okay, I know... I know. It’s okay, we’ll take it one step at a time, alright?” Turning to her sister, she asked quietly, “Milly, could you get me that yellow book on the bottom shelf right over there?”

“Y-yeah, sure,” she agreed, slowly trotting over to the bookshelf in question, pulling out a small, yellow book. “Here you go, Sissy... I guess I’ll just read over there,” she stated quietly, depressed.

“Oh no you don’t,” Starlight chuckled, barely catching her sister’s tail with her teeth, and pulling her back slowly with a squeal. “You’re going to stay next to me, you little trouble-maker! I said I’d read with you, and I’m going to try! I know you don’t know all of the big words, but it’s good practice, alright? Just pretend that I’m not here, and if you’re certain that you can’t read the word, then you ask, alright? Mr. Moonstone was nice enough to help you with your magic, so now I get to help him learn to read.”

“Alright...” Milky Way sighed, before smiling as Starlight threatened to tickle her.

“That’s what I thought,” Starlight giggled, nuzzling her sister. “Now,” she continued, her voice growing more serious as she faced Moonstone. “Let’s get started...”

Several hours later found the white stallion reading the first Daring Doo book slowly, but with growing confidence. How did he learn to read so quickly? I barely told him more than the alphabet, and he just... “How did you learn to read so quickly? It takes us weeks, months to learn, but you picked it up in just a few hours? How?”

Moonstone chuckled nervously, glancing away for a moment, before looking back at Starlight. “Well, I... I mean, I already know all of the words, you know? I just... Didn’t know how to translate them into seeing them. I uh... I don’t talk about it, because it seems to really freak other ponies out, but if you really want to know, I...”

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Starlight started, placing a hoof over his, squeezing it gently to reassure him. “But if you want to, I’m willing to listen... I said I wanted to learn more about you, and that hasn’t changed.”

Moonstone nodded slowly. “Well, I mean... Everything I hear. I only remember what I hear...”

“Wow,” Starlight breathed, her eyes wide. “That’s amazing... I wish I had that ability... Certainly would have made school a lot easier...”

“Sissy? What’s this word mean?” Milky Way asked quietly, poking her sister on her hoof.

“Just a sec, Milly. Moonstone? Will you be fine reading on your own? Just ask me if there’s a word you don’t understand, alright?” Don’t be too stubborn, alright? I’m just trying to help...

Starlight watched him for just a moment, surprised at how foal-like he was, his eyes wide open in fascination as he read of the adventures of the great treasure hunter Daring Doo.

“Sissy? Can you help me now? Sorry if I’m interrupting...” Milky Way apologized meekly, nudging her sister.

“Hmm? O-oh, right, sorry Milly. That word is ‘Exasperated’. It means that she’s... that she’s really, really upset and tired of what’s going on. Like...” Starlight sighed heavily, then said in a tougher, coltish voice, “Come on! Can’t you keep up? They’re gaining on us!”

Milky Way giggled at her sister’s impersonation, nodding as she understood. “Oh, okay... Thanks Sissy,” Milky Way murmured, nestling closer to her sister’s coat.

“You’re welcome, Milly,” she replied, kissing her sister on the top of the head. “You’ve been very good so far on reading on your own! Would you like me to read to you for a little bit?”

Milky’s eyes lit up as she nodded eagerly. “Yush! And will you please do your voices? I just love love love them! Pwease?” she sniffled, using her puppy eyes.

Starlight nuzzled her sister, laughing, “Of course! You really think I would offer if I wouldn’t do it? Alright, now let’s see...”

Starlight spent some time reading to her sister, reading first one chapter, then another, and another. Finally, it occurred to her that she hadn’t heard from Moonstone in awhile, so she turned to see how he was doing, when her breath caught in her throat. Moonstone was fast asleep, a smile on his face as he laid against her, covered in her soft, purple feathers. She shifted slightly, watching in surprise as he followed along with her, staying close to her side. Why is he... But he’s sleeping! How can... why...

After a minute of thinking, she finally sighed, using her wing to make sure he was tucked against her, before making sure that her wing was wrapped around him tightly, keeping him warm. She leaned over, making sure his mane was still tidy, before looking back to her sister, who was watching her with wide eyes. “W-what’s wrong, Milly? Why are you staring at me?”

“W-what?! I-I am not blushing!” Star protested, her face becoming even brighter from the blood rushing to her face.

Milky’s gasp filed the library. “Ohmygosh, you are blushing! Why are you blushing, Sissy? Come on, you can tell me! I can keep a promise! I can!”

“S-shh, y-you’re going to wake up Moonstone!” Starlight stammered, trying to think of anything to get her sister to stop teasing her.

“Oh? Mr. Moonstone is asleep? But he was...” the unicorn filly trailed off, thinking hard for a moment, before her eyes lit up. “That’s it! Mr. Moonstone fell asleep under your wing... And you’re blushing... So...”

Her jaw dropped as the only logical conclusion her filly mind could come up with. “You have a crush on Moonstone!”

~Sona and Moonstone sittin in a tree!~ Milky Way started to sing, grinning widely when she saw how flustered her sister was getting. “Ha! You do like him! So when are you going to ask him out? Is he going to become your special somepony?”

“I... He...” Starlight stammered, her face now as dark as equinely possible. “I-I don’t know,” she mumbled, staring at the ground. “I’m just trying to help him, alright? And I’m not going to ask him out.”

Starlight thought her heart was going to break for just a moment, her sister’s voice was so small and pitiful... Until she remembered that it was just a ploy. “N-no, I’m not, okay?”

“B-because I already asked him out for another date later, alright?!” Starlight said quickly, flustered. “I don’t know if I like him, I don’t know if he’ll be my special somepony, and no, I don’t know if I want him to be my special somepony! I just want to find out more about him, to figure out why he’s so different! I want to like him, but I have to make sure he won’t-” Oh buck, I said too much...

“Won’t what, Sissy? What would Mr. Moonstone do, he’s nice!” Milky Way protested, stomping a small hoof on the floor.

Starlight was jarred from her thoughts, a small hoof connecting to her head. “No! You’re being stoopid! Daddy, daddy told us before that you can’t have a, a loving re-la-tion-ship without trust! Ei-either you trust him, or you don’t, so make up your mind already!”

Huffing at her sister, Milky Way turned her back on her sister, going back to her book, starting to read eagerly once more, leaving her sister alone to her thoughts.

Guide You Home

by Magical Trevor

Chapter the Ninth