The Crystal Tea Room
She was a princess. Heiress to the Pegasus Throne. One of the fastest fliers and most definitely the coolest under pressure. So why was she so nervous? On top of her previous qualifications, she had spent as much time with Izzy over the past few months as she had with her own sister over the past few years. There was no reason for her to be this nervous about meeting Izzy for lunch.
Except, there was one difference this time: they had confessed their love for each other. But even that didn’t make sense, right? They both felt the same way, so why was she still so nervous about this? I don’t want to buck it up.
“Hi Zipp!”
The cheerful greeting pulled her out of her head. She turned with her usual smirk, “Hey, Izz-”. Her throat clenched. She was wearing some eyeliner. That was it. Why was it so… And why did it make her….
“You like my makeup? Sunny helped me with it.” Izzy walked up and booped Zipp’s nose. “You do like it.” Her giggles trailed behind her as she strolled by and continued down the road. Zipp’s brain caught up and she trotted up behind Izzy.
“Yes. I like it. I like it a lot. I just wasn’t expecting it for a simple lunch date.”
Izzy chortled, “Oh Zipp. You’re cute. This isn’t going to be just a simple lunch date. We’re in Bridlewood. Unicorns have their magic back. You’re going to have the time of your life.”
Zipp nudged her date’s shoulder, “If it’s with you, I’m sure it will be.”
They walked down the road and found themselves outside the tea shop. Izzy opened the door and invited Zipp in. Zipp didn’t know what to expect, but it wasn’t this. The tea shop had been completely changed. Gone were the ratty wooden floor boards and broken chairs. In their places were Marble Tile and Crystal Furniture. The darkness had been dispelled by a massive glowing chandelier hanging above the center of the room. Zipp looked over to the bar and saw something that made her chuckle. While the bar and shelves had been replaced, Alphabittle still kept his old games still proudly on display.
Izzy motioned for Zipp to follow and they walked over to the bar. Izzy held her hoof up to keep Zipp quiet. Izzy stood at the bar and, in the deepest voice she could muster, “HEY! What’s a stallion gotta do for some service?”
Alphabittle raised his head, “You know you oughta be a little nicer to-”
Izzy started laughing at the surprised look on his face. Zipp couldn’t help but chuckle too. Alphabittle’s surprise soon turned to a smirk as he finished his sentence, “You oughta be nicer to ponies who serve you food and drink.” He looked over to the white pegasus. “Haven’t seen you in a while. How’ve you been?”
Zipp waved her hoof around a bit, “I’ve been okay. Been doing a lot of training up in Zephyr Heights. Now that we can fly, we have to make sure we can fly our best. Plus, you know, the whole princess thing, too.”
Alphabittle nodded. “Yeah I know. Responsibility always gets in the way of what we want to do. It’s a part of life. You here for a visit on your day off or something?”
“We’re on a date!” Izzy’s squeal made a few of the other patrons turn to look. Alphabittle looked to the smiling pegasus and she nodded. The large unicorn took a moment to process the information. Then he gave them both a large smile.
“Well then, let’s make it special. Sit tight. I’ll be right back.” He turned and left the two mares to sit alone at the bar. Izzy turned to Zipp and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Zipp smiled and nuzzled her in response. The periwinkle pony was beautiful in the glittering light. Her shining eyes and loving smile brought as much joy to her heart as flying high above Zephyr Heights. Maybe even more. Izzy reached out and grabbed her hoof on the bar.
The warmth was comforting and inviting. Then Zipp noticed something new about her marefriend. She was glowing. Except she wasn’t. But she was getting brighter. She should have been blinding to Zipp, but she wasn’t. The normal pain of bright lights wasn’t coming. And she could still see everything around her. She looked into those gorgeous magenta eyes and leaned in for a whisper.
“Izzy, you’re glowing.”
Izzy giggled, “It’s just my sparkle. You make me super happy, Zipp.” She closed the distance and left a kiss on her lips. Then she sat up straight and gave her best wry smirk. “Your sparkle is pretty bright right now, too.”
“Alright, here we go.” Alphabittle’s voice got Izzy excited and she clapped her hooves. With the loss of contact, Zipp lost the view of Izzy’s glowing sparkle. She felt like she had lost a limb or something. Something so wonderful was just taken away. Except it wasn’t. Izzy was still here. Even without seeing her amazing glow, Zipp could still bask in her unicorn’s wonderful ambrosia of giggles and smiles.
Alphabittle set out two covered plates before them. Izzy was vibrating next to her and Zipp was starting to feel her excitement. Alphabittle looked to both the mares and with a mighty flourish, he lifted to two cloches, "Ta da!"
Zipp's excitement dropped a few levels. It was fruit. Fresh and delicious looking, yes, but just fruit. They gave bowls of it to their prisoners. She looked up at Izzy. Her marefriend was clapping and so incredibly happy about it. Zipp smiled. It wasn't just fruit to Izzy. It was something that made her so happy. That made it special. Zipp scooted a little closer to Izzy and gave her another nuzzle, “This looks amazing. Thank you.”
Izzy giggled as Zipp’s muzzle tickled her neck. “Oh I’m glad you like it. I know that you have it in your dungeon, but it really is so good. Especially these!” She lifted two oranges and started spinning them slowly in the air with her magic. She floated one to Zipp and placed the other in her own hooves. Zipp took the orange and felt the tiniest tingle as her hoof brushed Izzy’s magic field.
“That’s so cool, Izzy. You just think about it and you can move stuff around.”
Izzy smiled, “It’s a bit more complicated than that. But for small things like this, it’s basically what happens.”
Zipp’s interest was piqued. “Really? What’s it like? I mean...would you even be able to explain it to someone that’s not a unicorn?”
Izzy giggled around a mouthful of orange. Then she took another bite and gained a look of deep thought. As she sat there thinking, Zipp took a bite of her own orange and quickly covered her muzzle as the juice tried to squirt out. She waved at Alphabittle. He chuckled and brought over a stack of napkins. Zipp swallowed and thanked him. She wiped her muzzle with the napkins and wondered how Izzy was eating the orange so cleanly. When she looked back over, she saw it.
The tiniest little glimmer of magic surrounded Izzy’s mouth with each bite she took. Catching and retaining every tiny quirt of the juicy fruit. It was barely visible. Izzy finished her orange and looked up to Zipp. “I don’t know, Zipp. It’s a basic instinct, I guess. I mean, I grew up without magic, but I was able to use it as soon as we restored it.”
Zipp let out a hearty guffaw and bit of laughter. She smiled as she wiped the tears of mirth from her eyes. “You know Izzy. I think you’re right. I mean, I was suddenly able to fly, right? It was just instinct. Maybe we’ll figure out how to explain it later, but for now,” She picked up an apple and tossed it to Izzy, “I just want to hang out with you.”
Izzy nodded as her smile widened, “I would love to hang out with you,” she held out her hoof to Zipp. Zipp looked at it and then at Izzy. Izzy nodded, shaking her hoof slightly inviting Zipp in. Zipp took her marefriend’s hoof and enjoyed the wonderful glow.