No Sun-Queen Shall Rend Asunder

by Plough and Stars Pony

A Stolen Kiss (Totally Not An Official First Kiss)

One peaceful evening one month before the Grand Galloping Gala, our heroine and hero sit on a bench in the deepest secreted part of the Royal Palace policies. They had come together a half-hour after their suppers, met up and, together, wandered deep in to the gardens until they had found just the right spot.

Twilight and Flash could see only the tips of the highest penanced towers of the Palace. Tall trees rear all around them, leaves barely fluttering or sloughing, roots knotted in the banks of the small decorative ribbon-lake. Luna's moon was not in the right position to reflect on the water, but Twilight thinks it is lovely enough. The grey-silver aura is, however, shining down on the long scamandering path, straggling through the trees to the Palace, dappled by the trees.

It was almost religiously tranquil. Flash had only vaguely known it was here. As a Royal Guard, he of course had to memorise the policies' plan in case of an emergency or a break-in. He hadn't recognised the dim path under the trees, had looked at Twilight curiously, she only smiled pleasantly. Flash confessed he didn't recognise the place, had said it was not on the plans. Twilight only replied it was a secret meditative cubby-hole for the Princesses. Celestia had taken her here several times in her youth.

Flash had sighed in wonder. Twilight pulled him close with her wing for a moment, then had let go.

The two had spent the time, seated on the bench, reading the same book, leaning in to each other, wings draping round their backs, feathers placidly mixing. Twilight resting her head on her stallion's shoulder, Flash, in turn, resting his head on the poll of hers. Twilight's horn did not bother him at all. Both bask in the warmth leaching in to them. Not that the night was very cold.

In the stillness, the only words spoke were whispers of "Finished yet?", and either "Not yet," or "Yes". A horn would light and a page would flip.

Sound of breaths or sighs and random breezes, feeling of hearts' canals flicking in cheek or arm or leg. Hooves of arms braid the others.

Uncountable time later, Twilight whispers "Okay, that's enough for one night," closing the book, lowering it out of sight, stashing it at the far end of the bench.

Now instead of the sand-coloured paper-page book, the two dovey ponies see the long lake rippling ahead of them, in the distance it fades in to the lower boughs of the furthest trees.

Stallion and mare remain, still sitting and cuddling, not wanting to end it just yet.

Twilight lifts her head to nuzzle the side of her colt’s neck. Down below, they still hold hooves and fetlocks. Flash turns his head to look down at her, fondness and love shining in his eyes. He gently kisses the poll, where her magenta stripe narrows to a point in the midnight blue.

Twilight blushes, mouth curving in a happy smile, gazes in to his sapphire eyes.

Flash grins too.

Slowly and gently, their snouts touch. The two ponies blush all the more. The gaze of amethyst- and sapphire-ringed darkness holds. The warm pants of one tickles the nose of the other. Each feel their heart pulsing passionately. Grips on hooves subtly tighten.

He and she sense the giddy airiness, the joy, rising and rising in their lungs and they both know what is about to happen.

Both mare and stallion know this feeling. They had felt it before, when under the Aurora Borealis, in the Crystal Empire. Two ponies in love, on opposite sides of the greatest distance ever conceived, on the brink.

Twilight still looking in to Flash’s eyes, huffs in amusement, and slightly inclines her head. Flash recognised the sign – and drew his head back.

“Twily…do you want this, to do this? Um, the last time, I tried to…you didn’t want me to do it. The Aurora, remember?”

Twilight, pausing when he had moved, grinned again, by accident. They had sat here, virtually snuggling, in this peaceful, quite romantic, lakeside spot for ages, alone. The way her heart had beat for him since her second vacation, the way she had thought about the compassionate, bookish, young, handsome Guardspony nearly every day since then. To spend time with him, to talk to him, to be close, to laugh or discuss anything at all with him, to feel her heart to thump and sing, how happy it made her – surely Flash had felt the same she was feeling, her, now; all through the whole time they had been here?

The amusement she felt had this burst out in laughter. Free-ing her arms, she wraps them round his back just under his wings, left toe trailing the soft down in the middle there. Flash’s confusion melts in a replying laugh of his own.

Twilight leans forward to nuzzle the yellow fluff at the base of his throat and the fuzz on his neck.

“Oh, Flash, you silly silly silly pony,” Twilight whispers, the fur muffling her words. Nuzzling the other side, she says, “Yes, I want to, yes, yes, I want it; yes, I want it with you, I could think of no other pony to give my first kiss to.” The words sent indescribable shivers down Flash's withers and back. Drawing away a bit, Twilight locks eyes with Flash again. Right toe tracing patterns in the nap of fur there. “Yes, Flash, my first kiss.” Hoof flattens on his pecs. “Great responsibility there, buster.”

Flash chuckles. “No worry, babe.”

A pause.

“I suppose, if you’ve gone first, then I should…I haven’t kissed a filly or a mare before either.”

“Really? That makes two…Why weren’t the fillies flocking to a handsome Pegasus colt like you, Flash?”

It is Flash’s turn to nuzzle Twilight for a second. In deep seriousness, he answers. “You know I only crush on unicorns. Bit hard for a Pegasus to ask the pretty unicorn fillies out for dates, you know.”

“Aaaaww, Flash,” a hoof rubs his shoulder.

“The same for you, then? Well, those young colts missed the chance of their young lives not asking you out.”

“I was Celestia’s personal student. I guess they were a little intimidated, and I was buried in my books and my studies, and didn’t look beyond the next book or assignment, and besides there were other pretty fillies they could try their luck with.”

Twilight smiles. “But now I have you, Flash, my love.”

Flash’s ears twitch, his flush darkens, the stallion grins.

“I love you too, Twily.”

The first time those words had been spoke. The confession, the declaration. Stallion and mare gaze at each other, up and down, shyly, at and away.

Twilight leans in again. Flash leans in too.

Overcome, both ponies feel their eyes close, hearts thumping, nerves and bodies blazing with excitement. Both ponies, exultantly joyful in love, both impatient to express it, to claim this instant of eternity when their courtship ended and their dating began.

Both mare and stallion feel the other’s, their lover! , soft lips brush their own. Only enough time to feel it: the slow dance, the heat beginning to leach in – when they break apart.

Only an instant apart, but each feels the other’s breath panting and heaving in joy.

Only an instant apart, but it is too long, mare and stallion crave it a second time, they dip their heads to kiss again. The second time, a little longer. This time, the texture of the lips is felt, and enjoyed, more deeply. Each feels the other’s heartbeat pulsing in time through their lips, through the enwrapping feathers.

Flash circles his arms round Twilight’s, his mare’s, waist beneath her wings. Not tight or loose, just holding her.

Twilight opens her mouth at the considerate touch, prompting Flash to open his mouth too.

Mare and stallion break apart a second time. Faces dark under the shadows of the trees and the blushes of their love. Both smile.

They lean in yet again.

The kiss is the longest yet. A proper slow dance, savouring the small kisses and the longer ones on top of them.

As the dance felt so natural, it was then only so natural that Flash head tilts to one side. Twilight is forced to tilt he head too.

And it was only then, that their lips mould perfectly, just perfectly, in to each other.

Over the top of their thumping pulses, there was almost no sound in the trees and the lake. Like the world was holding its breath.

The time came when they decided late was late and they should get back to the Palace. Unlacing arms and furling wings, rising from the bench, tearing their braided tails apart.

Still, a lazy stroll up the dappled path to the gate under the arch.

Flash said in a low voice:

“May I be so bold as too escort Her Highness back to the Palace?”

“Oh, you certainly may, Flash, my love,” she says, slipping her arm in to his. “I’m sure we can get away with this just once.”

And so they had walked, together, out of their hiding place, back to the lights, in to time, and the responsibilities and the roles the Order had tunnelled for them. Known to only a few, they both had carved out a hollow knot in the stifling unrewarding society that Celestia had allowed to hold Equestria in for over one thousand years.

In the open squares of lawn between topiary bushes and hedges, no Guards to be seen just yet, Twilight spoke up.

“Flash?” Twilight says softly. “I just want to say thank you so much for this evening.”

“No, thank you, beautiful,” Flash replies. “Thank you so deeply for this magical evening.”

“Oh, Flash, you don’t need to say-,”

“Shoosh, it’s true. It wouldn’t have happened without you. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

At the first Guardspony they saw, they quickly unhooked their arms and stepping apart, stumbling just a bit as they had unconsciously been leaning on the other.

Through the trails of the Guardsponies on their patrols, the heads cased in gleaming metal turning their way, the large eyes following them just for a moment. The scattered bows and the murmurs on their hoof-beats.

“I can take it from here, Flash. Thank you, and good night.”

“As you wish, Your Highness. Good night.”

He nor she moved for several seconds in silence.

Twilight chuckles. Turns away.

Flash allows a final smile to split his muzzle, before his caution wipes it off, becoming once again the stony silent stoic standard Guardspony. With nothing left to do he marches to his quarters. When he sees the sparseness of the hallway of Guards or other ponies on this week’s evening, it is only then he allows himself to cut loose. Allows his wings to unfurl to their fullest extent. To sweep the tips up and down, front and behind. Not walking, but hops and skips.

It was the night when he had made Twilight his own, nopony else’s. Iron-ass could never have her now. This is victory. Isn’t it so sweet?
…
When can I kiss her again?

Happy, he half-dances down the corridor to his room.

Happy, he unlocks the door and swings it open in a flourish.

Happy, he swaggers inside and closes the door.

Alone, Flash continues his dance, shake, and shuffle.

Plenty of time yet until he decided it was time to bunk down.

She felt so light.

This needed checking off the Checklist. The long secret Checklist that only she and Cadance knew about, and that Celestia and Luna didn’t. The secret Checklist in a secret place. “First Kiss (First Base)”…

Speaking of which…Twilight levitates the book that she had brought with her that evening and had read with Flash and…the secretive shy smile twists he muzzle again. He had kissed her. She had kissed him.

Twilight rests the book beside her cheek and sighs. Floating the book in front of her again, “I love you,” she said before kissing the cover, her mind on Flash embracing her, him kissing her, the loving look in his eyes. “I love you,” she says again, kissing the book. It had brought them together for that. She was so light and happy and silly she could sing. Twilight floats the book round to nuzzle it again, breaking in to a canter, wanting badly to be alone.

Twilight had not noticed the Guards during this. One of them glances over to his mate beside him surprised, seeing a surprised and half-disturbed look in his. Cupping a hoof to his mouth, he mutters “Should we be concerned?”

“Hmmm, nnaaaah,” his mate answers, wide eyes on the spot where she had vanished from sight. “I know she likes books. But I didn’t know she liked books that much.”

“She’s a weird pony.”

“Was she always this weird?”

“I dunno. Priness Celestia sure doesn’t seem to mind, though.”

“Quiet,” a third Guardspony hisses. “You are on duty, soldiers.”

That shut the two blabbermouths up.

Twilight’s magic floats the big Top Secret Checklist Scroll out of its hiding place. Unrolling it from the top, she absently notes the milestones she and Flash had passed and she had checked off until she reaches a blank box beside the mesmerising cursive First Kiss (a.k.a. “First Base”).

A swish of the quill.

“Check,” Twilight whispers.

Flash wakes on the trumpet-blast. As he had done on countless mornings in Canterlot Palace. Like all the times, he sees himself in the wardrobe mirror. Mane-hair tousled, eyes blinking away the dust in the corners. On mornings past, he had seen himself with grey shadows under his eyes, fur matted with tears and sweat. Not this morning. Flash sees his blue eyes bright and sparkling, his fur and feathers pristine…hah, sparkling! The stallion breaks in to a huge grin as last night surges through his consciousness. “Oh, you absolute mare-slayer, you,” he mutters. Flash laughs, sitting up, stretching his arms and wings.

A knock on the door.

Continuing to stretch, Flash calls out “You can come in, Greyhoof. Good morning to you.”

The lock clicks and the door squeaks open.

“Good morning to you too, Sire, and how are you?”

“Never better, Greyhoof, never better.”

“Glad to hear that, Flash.”

“Greyhoof nudges open the wardrobe and takes out the mane-brush. “Do you want me to, or will you do it yourself?”

“No, you do it, Greyhoof.”

“Of course, Sire.”

Thus, Greyhoof tidied his master’s and his friend’s mane, Flash looking away, his eyes strangely glazed over, an unreadable enigmatic smile spread across his muzzle, sighing at the calming strokes the brush made.

“What will you plan to do to-day, Sire?”

“Oah, take it easy to-day, it’s Celesday. Maybe go for a short fly, later.”

“Okay, Flash. That sounds nice. I might be able to take it easy too, heh.”

“That’s good, Greyhoof. You…don’t want to hurt yourself.”

“I’m getting on years, Flash, you can say it.”

“Okay, Greyhoof.”

“Are you going to tell me what’s on your mind this morning?”

“Heh, heh, maybe.”

“Will you be taking breakfast in the Hall or in your room?”

“Down in the Hall.”

“Okay, does your armour need polishing? No? Shall I put it on for you?”

“Yeah.”

Minutes later, armour donned, he left Greyhoof to head down to the Hall.

All Flash wanted to do was lie in his sheets, for hours and hours, eyes tracking the shifting column of sunlight across the wall. All he could think of was the night before: the reading and the snuggling and the kissing and the snuggling. That moment…his heart thumps joyfully, his arms itch to hold her again. His wings stiffen and stretch open.

Most of the way there, he came across Steel Wind and Sharp Spear, leaving their room.

Flash finds his lips couldn’t stop tingling. He couldn’t forget the feeling of Twilight’s lips moving on his own. He finds couldn’t help himself from tracing them with a wing-feather, as if to reassure himself he really had kissed her.

Every few minutes, the longest feathers would be tracing his lips. This, Steel and Sharp couldn’t help but notice.

"Your mouth a bit sore, Flash?”

“Oh, heh, not reeaally,”

“Then why d’you keep touching your mouth like that?”

“Oh, I…dunno, Steel,” Flash says, feeling his cheeks warm.

“You’re acting oddly to-day, Flash.”

“Am I? Oh, heh heh, right.” His cheeks begin to smoulder.

“Did anything happen that you want to tell us?”

The cheeks pass smouldering and on to burning raging heat.

“…yeah…something did…h-haappen,” toe of a hoof pawing the ground, finding he couldn’t look at them. His secret, his and
Twilight’s secret, the secret his friends had figured out.

Sharp walks to the front of him to peer closely.

“Flash, is it to do with her?”

“Uh…,” the burning raging redness spoke for him. “Yeah.”

Steel throws a comforting wing over his friend’s back. “So, what’cha get up to? You can tell us. We won’t tell anypony.”

A long pause.

“I kissed her. We kissed, Steel, Sharp.”

“Ooaaah ho ho, did you now?”

“Wh – what…was it like, Flash?”

“Just – just a…amazing!”

“Flash, you’re red as a tomato, honest.”

“Did - did…she, well, did she, you know, like it?”

“Uh – yeah, yeah, she did.”

“Tell us, Flash, what did you wish for?”

“Wish for? What do you mean, Sharp?”

“You got a kiss from, well…you know who, and that gives you a lucky wish. Didn’t you know?”

“Kissing Twilight gives me a lucky wish?”

“Well, it’s an old nag’s story. A pony being kissed by an alicorn, and that pony can wish on anything he wants.”

“Really? To be honest, I wouldn’t want to wish on anything.”

“I always kinda thought those shy colts who want first kisses from pop-stars were, you know, pathetic.”

“Oh, yeah, definitely, Steel.”

Twilight’s magic floats a scroll of parchment out of her writing drawer. As per her agreement with Cadance, she would be penning a letter to her former foal-sitter to tell her, as circumspectly as she could bear, about the latest developments in her and Flash’s affair.

Parchment flat on the desk, ink-well full and uncapped, quill hovering in the air.

Dear Cadance,
I hope you and Shining Armor are very well and that the Crystal Empire is fine too. I am very well too. There is something I have to tell you about what Flash and I did last night -,

Twilight stops, brings the quill high in the air above the sheet. How could she put this? To put in words her first kiss with a stallion to her second-oldest friend. Twilight found her cheeks a little warm. She couldn’t tell Cadance everything - that would be too embarrassing. A long description was out then.

Logically, the only remaining conclusion was it to be short and succinct sentences. In the form of – Last night, I was out with Flash in the gardens and we kissed…or…I was out in the gardens with Flash. We were reading one of my books. One thing lead to another. We cuddled, we nuzzled, and we kissed…

Along the lines of that, yes.

Her magic directs the quill in web-thin loops and curves.

Twilight gasps, as if she had been holding her breath.

There. He thoughts, now down on parchment. A infinitely tender moment, preserved in the amber of memory, now shared to the sheet before her. A sheet that could be read by her, Cadance…Shiny…anypony. It would still be a secret, a large secret…but still a secret. What was the quotation from the hugely popular book series that had had everypony enthused, quoting it, playing it out, writing fanfictions, drawing out scenes? “It’s not a secret anymore, it’s information.”

She rolls up the scroll, draws out a ribbon tying it in a bow on the creamy neck. Next, she levitates up the wax pencil used for sealing documents. The glow of aura is replaced by a small flame. Wax dribbles on to the ribbon. Twilight presses her personal seal to the wax

All ready to be sent.

Remember, here "policies" refer to a Scottish dialect word for grounds and gardens surrounding a manor or mansion.

Author's Note:

I know bronies and pegasisters who loved Badsy's original story were reading and waiting on tenterhooks for Twilight's and Flash's precious first loving tryst; a desire, which, sadly, was left unfulfilled.

I do know I performed fabulously in peoples' expectations, and I hope I exceeded them.

I do wonder how Badsy is getting along; in her corner of the American Union. In countries trembling with violent racial uprising and repression, in the throes of a new Great Depression, and the pandemic of the Pale Rider's Crown.

Comments

[Alphamon_Ouryuken]

This chapter was satisfactory on so many levels, thank you!