Counterclockwise

by AdrianJNovelle

Two Hundred, Twenty

1,849,471...

"I notice you've been eyeing that stallion over there," said Princess Aurora.

"Hmm?" asked the mare, looking up from her book to the royal figure.

"I said I've noticed you've been eyeing that stallion over there," she repeated.

"Have you now?" she lowered her spectacles, which made her look admittedly older.

The Princess nodded. "You may have your face buried in a book, but I can tell when you're reading and when you're trying to hide something."

"Hiding? I'm not hiding anything," said the mare, setting her book page-down on the table hastily. She got a worried look in her eye, as if she had been found-out.

"Don't lie to me, Twilight."

She sighed. "You got me..." she glanced at the stallion in a fancy, ashen suit - like something Fancypants would be wearing - sipping a glass of a yellow beverage he was holding while conversing with an attractive-looking mare, who, just by looking at her, was considerably younger than Twilight.

She was way older now, her body still retaining most of its youth. Sure, she may not have been as robust as she was in her forties, but, thanks to a certain spell - the casting of which she can hardly recall - she looked almost as young as such. Her age was her constant rival, now. And her youthful appearance only worsened the situation. She was way older than anypony at this party. But, as far as they knew, she was not outcast in terms of age.

Of all things she had forgotten, the loss of her dear friends was one memory which still haunted her to this day. She had told Princess Ellistar, Princess Aurora, and every Princess in between since the Restoration of Equestria her tragic story. As a marital relative to Canterlot Royalty, and as a Canterlot-born mare, Twilight had befriended every Princess who served and died.

"I understand your hesitation," continued Princess Aurora. "But if you don't at least try, you can never succeed."

"It's not that," Twilight rolled her eyes.

"What is it, then?"

She pointed to the stallion with both of her free hooves. "Look! He's chatting away at that mare." She shook her head. "I don't have a chance with him."

"Do you? How would you know?"

"Because she's young! She must be like twenty-five!"

"And you're over two hundred...one thing about age, Twilight, is that it's all in your head. Your body is only as old as your mind makes it out to be, and the age in your mind is only as old as you say you are. So it's been two hundred and twenty years since you were born. So what? You're only as old as you feel. Now do you feel that old?"

Twilight sighed. "No...but that's because the spell-"

"Who says the spell is actually keeping you young? Who's to say it's not you who are keeping you young?"

Twilight looked back up at the Princess, who stood hovering over her, an authentic smile on her face. She gestured to the pony by cocking her head.

"Go to him," she said. "Converse. Introduce yourself. You are a wonderful, beautiful mare. I doubt he'll kiss you off."

Twilight gazed back at the stallion.

"Okay, Princess," she mumbled.

"Atta girl! I-"

"Princess Aurora," a pegasus began, approaching the Princess from the sky. "You're needed in the Castle."

The Princess politely groaned. She looked down at Twilight. "Lemme know how it turns out," she said before lifting her wings, flapping them gracefully, and taking off into the moonlit sky.

I wish I could fly Twilight thought to herself. She faced back at the lone stallion.

She sighed softly. "Here goes nothing."

She got up away from her table - the one closest to the wall - and casually approached the attractive stallion. The mare he had been conversing with excused herself and took off as he took another sip of what now appeared to be cider.

"Excuse me," Twilight said, then realizing what had spilled out of her mouth instead of the conventional 'Hello.' Or, if you're Pinkie Pie, 'Hi hi hi!'

The stallion, by name of Dawn Le'Mare - or simply Dawn - pardoned Twilight's intrusion with a: "Not a problem, Miss..."

"Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle."

"Twilight Sparkle," repeated Dawn. "What a pretty name for a pretty mare."

Twilight blushed. "Thank you...and you are?"

"Dawn," he replied. "Dawn Le'Mare, but my friends call me Dawn."

"Really? My friends are all dead."

There was a sudden halt of activity from everypony. A pony in the middle of taking a drink of cider spit it out. His refuse got all over the hairdo of a fellow mare, who screamed.

Dead silence.

Nopony spoke a word. Not even Dawn.

Twilight closed her eyes, and prepared herself for the beating she anticipated. The silence tore at her. Finally, a hearty laugh broke out. Twilight opened her eyes to find that it was coming from Dawn himself.

"Ha ha ha!" he wept. "Ho ho ho ha ha aha!" He cleared his throat. "Nothing like a bit of dark humor to keep a pony on his toes, eh? Not that I have any."

Activity of the party resumed.

"Dawn...I..."

Dawn put his hoof to Twilight's mouth. "Not another word, Lady Twilight. Come with me."

Dawn showed Twilight out of the courtyard and to a bridge which connected the city grounds of Canterlot with the Castle grounds, and curved over a river. The pale moon in the night shined brightly overhead, its reflection shimmering in the calm tide below as a thousand stars sparkled and twinkled around it.

"Why'd you lead me out here?" Twilight asked.

"I wanted to talk to you," Dawn answered.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"What? Why?"

"It's nothing to be apologetic about."

"I'm sorry, I just-"

"Don't be sorry."

"I know; I just wanted to say that, well...I'm not very good with conversation anymore. Back when I was with all my friends, I learned the art of conversation pretty well, but I haven't seen them in almost two centuries, and-"

"Wait...did you say...two centuries?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes."

Dawn scrutinized Twilight's appearance. Other than her sincere lack of formalwear - rather, any wear - she seemed formidable.

"How old are you, exactly?"

"Just two hundred and twenty."

Dawn's eyes widened.

"I know what you're thinking...it's just due to an age retardation spell."

"An age retardation spell, huh," pondered Dawn. "Never heard that one before."

Twilight felt hit upon. She almost blushed.

"I'm sorta really good with magic," she said, rubbing the back of her mane with her hoof. "It's kinda my specialty."

"Is it now? Does that explain what your cutie mark symbolizes?"

Twilight nodded. "Indeed it does." She took a glance at Dawn's flank, but his cutie mark was invisible under his suit. Dawn noticed her awkward staring.

"Pardon me," he said, parting his suit from his white-coated flank, exposing his cutie mark. "That's my little girl. You can probably tell what my special talent is."

Dawn's cutie mark was a paintbrush.

"Lemme guess...painting."

"You got me," Dawn said. "I'm a painter. I'm not much for magic even though I'm a unicorn, but I've honed my painting talent around my magic. You've probably seen much of my work around Canterlot without even knowing it."

"If you're as good as I imagine you to be, I don't doubt that," Twilight remarked.

Dawn smiled. He turned and faced the moon. "As a painter, I've learned to observe and appreciate. Look at that moon." He put his hooves on the brick-built edge of the bridge. "It's beautiful, isn't it, Twilight?"

Twilight hopped up on the edge of the bridge, too. She gazed up into the night sky at the moon. "It is," she said softly.

"I've painted the moon: I've come out here on nights like these, and just painted until the sun came up. I'm just fascinated by the world and, especially, the ponies who inhabit it." Dawn turned his head to face Twilight; Twilight faced him. "Some ponies," he continued, "I find as beautiful and fascinating as the moon itself."

Dawn curled his lips and leaned forward. Twilight leaned forward closer to Dawn, curled her lips, and closed her eyes. Their lips pecked together.

It seemed like that kiss would last forever.

Comments

[JDC2263]

i like where this is going