> Tired of the Daily Routine
>  by Feedbacker
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> In the Flowers
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia sighed. She had hoped that she would spend the next week on vacation. After all, it was the first time in months she had no speeches to give, or sessions of the local legislature to manage, or monuments to dedicate, or ships to set sail, or... Well, any of the duties of being the god-princess of a major nation. She had hoped to relax, maybe on a beach, and get away from it all. She had her own problems to think about, after all.
But no. The Griffon Nation just had to decide to get into a trade dispute right as she was packing her towel and umbrella. Well, the guards were packing those things for her, but it was the thought that counted. Either way, instead of flying to the beach, she was flying to the Grand Palace of the Most Honorable and Noble King of the Griffon Nation, who was just as arrogant as his title made him sound. The fact it was a five hour flight didn't help her spirits much.
She sighed, looking down. Her entire life was stupid politics. Corruption, arguments, anger, scandals – You name it, her day-to-day was filled with it. It wasn't very fun, to say the least.
Of course, she could manage – And had managed, for the last few thousand years. But it was starting to get on her nerves a bit. She hadn't taken a vacation in Starswirl knows how long, and now her one chance to do so had been interrupted by a pompous ass who was probably only causing trouble to stroke his ego. She had to admit, she was quite angry.
She had been flying for about three hours now, and was extremely bored. After all, she had decided to take this particular flight solo – Going will her full entourage would no doubt give publicity to the situation, which is the last thing she wanted in the situation. Trade disputes were hard enough without political commentators blaming everybody in sight. Still, as much as she loved flying, having nopony to talk to got to her after a while.
Celestia’s eyes wondered, trying to see anything interesting. She was flying over some sort of meadow, a large green plain coated with flowers. It was exactly like hundreds of others in Equestria. Legend had it that long ago a pony had dedicated their life to making the world more beautiful by planting flowers everywhere, but Celestia knew that it was actually the result of federal beatification projects she had put into place to get Equestria out of an economic slump. While it looked rather nice, it wasn’t anything special or interesting.
Until she saw her.
The pony was white, with an electric blue mane. She was obviously female, judging by her size and the shape of her skull. She was a unicorn, and about as tall as the average pony. Her cutie mark wasn’t discernible from the height Celestia was flying at.
The pony was dancing. There was a record player nearby, playing some sort of music Celestia couldn’t hear. This would have normally been a cause for confusion – Who dances in a field? – But, for some reason, this was different. There was something refreshing about it, some sort of manic energy. She felt it in her very soul. 
Celestia glided downwards, being careful to avoid the pony’s line of sight. She landed about a hundred meters away, and sat down. The pony continued to dance, oblivious to her new spectator. Celestia got the feeling that the dancer wouldn’t have cared even if she knew who was watching her. It seemed like she could dance despite anything. 
A few minutes later, the unicorn stopped her dance as the music ended. She turned to her left and grinned at something. Celestia was surprised when she heard clapping, and saw another pony stand up, emerging from the tall grass. This one was an Earth pony with a gray coat. The dancer plucked a flower out of the ground with magic and floated it over to her, continuing to grin. The gray-coated pony accepted it shyly, placing it in her mane.
Celestia felt a small ping of emotion. It was like… She actually cared about this random couple, for some reason. Maybe it was the strangeness of the situation, but she suddenly wanted them to succeed.
And there was something else there, too…
Celestia took off, shaking her head while flapping her wings. She needed to think, and flying helped her with that. Maybe it was the thin air that cleared her mind. The fact that she needed to fly to get to the meeting was really only an afterthought.
That other feeling… It was something like envy. Celestia had no time for relationships or romance. She only had time to run her country. It was her duty as Princess, after all. Then again, she hadn’t chosen this life. It was thrust upon her, simply because she happened to an Alicorn. The ponies would follow her no matter what she did, only because she was in a body that signified she was a part of the sun. She would never be able to get away from it all, simply because she was born a certain way in a certain body.
Then again, if she could somehow leave that responsibility…
Then she could be the dancer in the field. Handing a flower to somepony she loved, carefree. The pony that popped up in her vision startled her, but it felt right, somehow. Even though she didn’t see her that often, she always missed her when she had to leave. But if she wasn’t a royal, they could stay together. No more twangs of loss. They could dance in the field, smiling at each other. Lost in the music, in their love. Nothing would be wrong. Everything perfect.
No more meeting, trade disputes, interviews, accusations, corruption. No feelings of selfishness every time she considered something but her country. Just her, her own feelings, her own emotions.
The ability to just, for once, hold somepony and be held by them, with no stress or anger tainting the moment. Hold them in, close, thinking of nothing but the future. That’s all she wanted. Just once.
She was drawn from her thoughts when she saw an extravagant palace on the horizon. No. That wouldn’t happen to her. She had duty to attend to, after all. She shouldn’t have even thought those things in the first place.
Still, in the corner of her mind, there was a desire to leave a flower somewhere where the one she was thinking of would find it… Some token of thoughts-
She shook her head. No. She had to get those thoughts out. That was impossible. She had to settle this trade dispute, than get back to her life. No need to fill her head with impossible fantasies.
Sighing, she knocked on the door of the Palace, waiting for the King’s doorman to answer her. 

> A Change in House
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	She waited a full five minutes before realizing something was wrong. Normally she would have been treated to much pomp and circumstance as the King tried to impress her, but nobody even opened the door. Wonderful. Maybe the King was so arrogant he now considered himself above the mere Sun God. 
Sighing, Celestia opened the door, and stepped in. Here we go again, she thought to herself.
Then she noticed the interior
What? How-
Empty. No large gold statues, no jewels set in cases, no armada of servants dressed in silk. The chandeliers had been replaced with simple, small lamps suspended from cables. No portraits of past kings on the walls. The rug had even been removed, revealing the hard wood flooring underneath. The entire place was completely different.
Celestia's horn lit up. This could be some sort of trap. It would not succeed, of course – She was the God of the Sun, after all. Still, it would be smart to proceed with caution.
Celestia walked the length of the hallway and opened the door to the throne room, prepared to disintegrate anything inside.
To her surprise, it was almost entirely empty. There was a griffon sitting on the throne, but he looked much younger – and friendlier – then the old king. A few feet in front of him sat two smaller chairs, both of which had the odd look to them furniture purchased at a discount store always had. Besides that, there was only a single servant holding a tray with two full glasses on it, presumably filled with champagne, and empty space. It was very different from the flashy throne room she was used to.
“Ah, there you are, your highness. Please, take a seat.”
He gestured to one of the seats, then hopped off his own throne and paced to the other, sitting down. Skeptically, Celestia sat down in the seat opposite him.
“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Avery, the current king of the Griffon kingdom. Pleasure to meet you, your highness.”
He dipped his head a bit, as if bowing. Celestia was taken aback. The old king had been so arrogant he had always insisted to be referred to by his full title, but this newcomer was evidently fine with his given name. Not only that, but he evidently considered Celestia to be a higher power then him, judging by how he referred to her.
“And you,” she responded, still taken aback. “I must have missed your coronation.”
“Oh, I did not have any sort of formal reception. I don't care much for fancy things of that sort.”
“...Right.”
This was... New. Extremely new.
“I did not receive news of king-”
What was his name again? I never actually used it...
“Yorke,” Avery provided, understandingly
“Yorke, that's right. I did not receive news of his death.”
“Oh, he did not die. The griffon people decided to expel him from power and installed me instead.”
“A rebellion?”
“If you can call it that. There was no violence. Nobody tried to stop it from happening. It only took a few hours. This all happened around three weeks ago, of course.”
Celestia knew that they didn't receive news from this area of the world very often, but this seemed like something she should have been informed of.
“And why was I not told? The only message I have received from our embassies was of some sort of urgent 'trade disagreement.' I should have been informed immediately.”
“Well, that is why I called you here. I wanted to tell you the news in person, especially since this will mean a major change in the relationship of our nations.”
And here it was. The stinger. With her current luck, they'd invented some sort of superweapon and were going to destroy Equestria if she didn't give into their demands. She lit up her horn, hopefully not enough for Avery to notice, just in case.
“And what would this change be?” Although she tried to hide it, there was an edge to her voice.
“Well, if I recall correctly, we currently import over fifty billion bits worth of luxuries a year from your nation, correct?”
“It varies, but in that general area,” Celestia responded. Yorke had had a taste for expensive things, and was more than willing to tax his citizens to satisfy it. The Griffon Kingdom wasn't even near Equestria's biggest destination of exports, but it certainly purchased a lot for such a small nation.
“Well, that number will be decreasing. Most of it was spent on the wealth in this very palace, and, as you can see...”
Avery gestured to the empty spots where large statues once stood.
“There wasn't much here I felt I needed. My country needed it more, especially with our poverty rates. So I sold most of it to various other countries. I'm currently using the money to provide for those who had been asking for help. Hopefully, I can satisfy them.”
Celestia blinked. This was certainly a new development. It wasn't the strangest thing she had dealt with over her career, but that didn't make it any more unexpected.
“I... See. Well, it certainly is noble of you.”
“I suppose. My father was extremely poor, and died when I was young. I swore on his grave I would provide for those in situations like my family's if I ever managed to make it big. And, well, I did.”
The servant tipped her tray towards Celestia, offering a drink, but she shook her head. She never drank anything but water in negotiations. She turned back to Avery.
“I see.”
“It might be rather surprising, I know. Yorke was... Well, he was quite different from me. I imagine you had trouble dealing with him. He always seemed to be in a viscous race to make himself more impressive.”
Celestia nodded. He was quite a pain to deal with.
“Me, well, I don't feel a need to impress others, or even seem like I care about material things in the way the old king did. I do not care much about my image. I simply need four walls and some sort of roof over my head, and this palace certainly has four falls and a roof. Even if I miss the adobe slats of my own home, this is a proper house.”
Celestia thought about it for a moment. His casual language showed that he was either inexperienced in how these meetings usually went – Which would fit in with this story – Or he was a very good actor. Then again, she was inclined to believe him. They had received reports of civil unrest in the area before, after all, and she got almost all of her news about the nation from the embassies. If this new king had prevented them from sending messages, then it would be feasible she wouldn't hear of a rebellion. And she was sure she had heard Avery's name before, now that she thought about it. She would be sure to investigate further, but for now, she only had one major question.
“Why did they choose you to be the new ruler?”
“I ran a few charities in the area. Yorke's taxes were extremely high, but I managed to make a decent amount of money by increasing the efficiency of quick-cloud machines. I suppose the people thought I was the best griffon for the job.”
That's where she had his name. Equestria did not import much from the Griffons, but the more efficient quick-cloud machines had become extremely popular. She must have read his name in the report before she decided to buy some.
“Ah, yes. I knew I'd heard of you from somewhere.”
“I do not know if I am qualified to rule a whole country, but I will certainly try my best.”
“We shall see. Although, a change of this magnitude will certainly have repercussions – for both us and you. Hopefully they are mostly good. But, back to business. What is your timeframe for diminishing imports?”
“I have already sent my financial advisers to Equestria, and they should be arriving shortly. They know more specifics then I do, but rest assured it will be gradual enough to lessen the effect on your economy. I mostly called this meeting to make you aware of the change in a manner more personal than receiving a report.”
Celestia nodded. Normally she wouldn't accept this story so easily, but she had many other things on her mind at the moment. She would investigate much more later.
“Thank you for taking the time to tell me in person. I'm sure you are very busy with adjusting the nation to the new situation.”
“I image you are even more busy then me, your highness. Do you have any further questions?”
“Not at the moment. I will discuss with my advisers and get back to you.”
“As you wish.”
Within half an hour, Celestia was flying back to Equestria. In total, she had met with the griffon for about an hour, much shorter then her usual meetings. She wasn't angry, though. For such a small period of time, it had major implications for relations between the countries. It was the kind of news she liked to receive in person. Hopefully things would progress well, although they almost never did in this business.
The new situation provided Celestia with a nice distraction. However, she still thought about other things – the dancer, the flowers, and the odd feeling she now got when she imaged – Well, it was a silly idea, of course. She had much more important things to deal with.
But something in her chest seemed to slam the notion back into her head with every life-giving beat.
> Also Frightened
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia was almost to Canterlot. Unlike the flight there, the flight back from the Griffon Nation had been uneventful. Nothing interesting had happened, the cold air being her only company on the long trip.
This was the worst possible thing that could have happened.
The silence allowed Celestia's mind to wander, and wander it did. She tried to think about the new trade arrangements for as long as possible, but there wasn't much to consider. Some ponies would praise Avery's thoughtfulness, others would be angry at the loss of revenue for Canterlot, and business would mostly continue as usual. She'd probably have to do a press conference, maybe appear on a few news shows, but not much else. Eventually, she got tired of running mental interviews in her head and found herself considering more... Personal matters.
It was that stupid dancer's fault. Celestia had never even considered a romantic relationship with anybody before she saw how carefree that pony had seemed, but now she was honestly thinking about-
No, she couldn't do that. It was a silly idea, anyway. It would be a public relations nightmare - The God-Princess of Equestria, dating somepony? And a mare at that? Everypony even tangentially related to the relationship would be swarmed by paparazzi. And the news would tear her apart, and she'd definitely get a call from the Dragon Lord, and she didn't know how Luna would react, and her enemies might try to get to her through her lover, and...
And none of these excuses even dented her feelings.
Celestia sighed. She didn't need this right now. Ruling was hard enough without having this issue nagging at the back of her mind all the time. But she couldn't tear her thoughts away, and for the whole trip home, almost nothing else entered her mind but the thought of them together.
Luna was already awake by the time she touched down at the castle. Alicorns didn't need to sleep very often, but Celestia was exhausted. All she wanted to do was get to bed -
"How did the negotiations go, sister?" Luna asked. "Anything important?"
Celestia closed her eyes in frustration. Of course her sister wanted to know about the negotiations. Luna was just as much of a monarch as she was. But Celestia was tired, and her stomach seemed to be churning over her recent emotions at least twice as much as her mind was. She couldn't talk to her sister now.
"I'll tell you about it later," Celestia snapped in frustration. "For now, all I want to do is get some rest."
Luna didn't respond, choosing instead to stare at her while she walked off.
Celestia didn't bother to do any of her usual pre-sleep rituals, and flopped down on the bed instead. Within minutes, she was fast asleep.

***

When Celestia awoke, Luna was in her room.
"Sleep well, sister?"
Celestia blinked a few times, the fog of sleep not fully cleared from her mind yet.
"Luna... Why are you...?"
The look on Luna's face cut Celestia off. She could read her sister well, better then anypony, but Luna's face showed such a wide spread of emotion that it was hard to classify. The intense focus of her eyes showed that she was deep in thought, but the light blush on her face showed hints of shame. The corners of her mouth twitched as if amused, but there was also a softness there- Sympathy?
"Your dreams, Sister."
Oh no. She- She had-
Celestia suddenly couldn't breathe. Images of last night's visions forced themselves to the forefront of her mind. She had-
"What dreams?" Celestia replied, trying to sound as innocent as possible. This effort, while impressive, was a complete failure.
"You know the one."
Oh, boy did she ever.
"Maybe... Maybe you were confusing me with somebody else?"
"Sister, you're the most powerful magical being alive today. Even if we- I wasn't the goddess of dreams, I would be able to tell when I was in one of yours."
"But..."
Maybe anger could make her drop the subject?
"Did I give you permission to enter my mind? Those are my private thoughts, sister! This is a betrayal of trust that I simply cannot toler-"
Luna cut her off.
"W- I only popped in to discuss the trade meeting. There were at least fifty reporters standing in our courtyard when you came back, hungering for information. When you went to bed without commenting, they assumed the worst. You have no idea what kind of headache we- I was having to try and clam them down. So, I simply thought that I could talk to you while you were asleep, to get information without disturbing your rest."
Celestia's heart was still pounding. Okay, so she had been in her dreams. But had she seen...?
"Of course, when I saw what you were dreaming about, I decided to let you be."
The twitching corners of her sister's mouth gave Celestia the answer. Oh, Starswirl, she had.
Fragments of the dream flooded Celestia's mind. A streak of purple running into the darkness, laughing, calling Celestia to follow. Crawling through large logs over streams, laughing, kissing, their voices growing wild until...
New noises joining the singing of birds, small amounts of brown dirt covering white and purple fur as they...
And Luna had seen all of it.
"I- I didn't- The dream was-"
Luna, curse her, actually had to put a hoof to her mouth to keep from laughing.
"...How much of it did you see?"
"Enough."
Celestia slumped back into her bed. Wonderful.
"So. I suppose you know now."
"Yes, I do. Not that I'm surprised. You always seemed a little too eager to read those letters."
Celestia remained silent for a while.
"So, now that you're taken the task of explaining what's going on off my shoulders. How do you think I should proceed?"
"Well, tell her, of course!"
"But- The media will-"
"Horsefeathers to them! You have to tell her. Remember the last time one of us didn't communicate?"
An image of the Elements of Harmony flashed into Celestia's head.
"Yes, I do."
"And how did that turn out?"
"Poorly."
"So don't do it again. Talk to her. While I don't know her as well as you do-"
Luna, evidently not content with how embarrassed her sister was already, winked before continuing, "I do know that she's a kindhearted mare. And, to be honest, I could see her returning the feelings."
Celestia's heart, curse it, fluttered at the words.
"Well... I suppose I could..."
Her voice trailed off. There was so many things that could go wrong...
"Hey." Luna's voice was gentler. "Thou art- You are a kind pony. So is she. At the very least, she will understand."
"Yes, but- The paparazzi will never leave her alone, and her friends, what will they think, and I've known her since she was just a filly, what will the media say about that, and what will they start saying about you, or the monarchy, and Equestria in general, and I know that the dragons might-"
Her sister was strangely calm for the situation.
"I just... Is it- Is it-"
She searched for the words.
"Am I over-reacting? Do I have anything to be scared about? Are you also frightened?"
Luna smiled.
"As they say in today's vernacular, totally. But I know you can get through. Now get up. We must discuss this further - After you explain yesterday's trade meeting."
> Around with You
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Oh gods. thought Celestia. It's today. Today's the day.
She had been laying in her bed all night, only sporadically catching sleep. She felt like her stomach was full of boiling mercury as she played all the ways the day could go wrong in her head. The fact that the air conditioning in the palace had broken the night before, causing her sleep to be fitful at best, didn't help her nerves much.
She sat up, gazing at the sky. It was about two hours before when she was scheduled to raise the sun, which means that she had four until she had to meet Twilight. Her stomach churned with a strange combination of glee and terror. She was finally-
Of course, it was going to go wrong, and Twilight would never talk to her again, and-
No, that wasn't going to happen. Twilight would scream yes and they-
No, no, no. Twilight was going to be deeply disturbed by the notion, and-
Celestia shook her head. She had to stop over-thinking this. She had to just go with the flow, stop overthinking things.
She slowly climbed out of her bed. It must have been a good ninety degrees last night, and both her forehead and her sheets were soaked with sweat. She'd have to shampoo twice if her main was going to look even remotely presentable.
The princess of the sun made her way to the bathroom and turned on a sink. She poured herself a glass of cold water and drank it.
Two glasses later, she gave up and dunked her head under the stream of water. She loved Canterlot, but the summers could be unbearable.
An hour and a half of shower and frantic mane-fixing later, Celestia stepped out of her bedroom and walked downstairs. Her sister was in the small dining room, eating a bowl of Daring Doo's Chocolate-Frosted Sugar Bombs. Celestia smiled, amused at the disconnect between the cereal and the personality of the pony eating it.
"Ah, sister!" Luna exclaimed, putting down her spoon. "You're up!"
She glanced at the clock behind her.
"And just in time, to! You only have a half hour to raise the sun, and after that, well..."
Celestia took a few steps towards the table, moving a chair aside with magic. "Sister, I know that I promised to tell her this morning, but maybe I should postpone my meeting. I'm tired, after all. I could tell her tonight inst-"
Her sister cut her off. "Nonsense! You are going to admit your feelings this morning after a lovely private brunch, like you promised."
Celestia's voice became slightly higher as her stomach, impossibly, sunk even lower. "But- I don't think I can do it today, what with the air conditioning breaking. I barely got any sleep, and-"
Luna, again, cut her off. While she was getting better at using non-Victorian pronouns and a reasonable volume, she was still pushy in conversations. "Come now, Sister. I know as well as you that we do not need sleep like normal ponies, and you slept two nights ago. Besides..."
Luna turned around her box of cereal, revealing a pot of coffee so black that Celestia could have sworn some kind of magic was involved in brewing it.
"...You're not going to be tired. Come, now! The hour is at hand!"

***

Celestia couldn't breathe. Her chest felt constricted by some unseen force. She was- She was actually going to-
She shook her head slightly, trying to clear her mind.
"Something wrong, Princess?"
The sound of the purple unicorn's voice sent fresh waves of terror up Celestia's neck. In only a few minutes, she...
"No, Twilight. Everything is fine."
Celestia was surprised that her voice came out as steady as it did.
"Are you sure? Because if I haven't turned something in, I'll be sure to fix that right away! It's been a busy week and I might have-"
Celestia cut her off. She knew how Twilight could work herself up into a fit. Honestly, she found it rather... cute?
Oh gods. What the hell was she doing?
"No, Twilight, everything is fine. I just felt like having breakfast with you."
Oh, that was the wrong thing to say. Twilight was going to be nervous and then when Celestia told her she would react badly and-
"Really?"
Celestia's train of thought was shattered by Twilight's tone. There was something in it...
"Yes. I do enjoy your company."
A few moments of silence lingered in the air.
"So, where are we eating?"
"I suppose it doesn't really matter. We can go where you feel."
"Ah. Well, in that case..."
Twilight gestured to a Doughnut Shop across the way. Celestia vaguely recognized it as the shop she had went to after the Grand Galloping Gala last year.
"It's not very fancy, but the doughnuts are very good..."
Celestia smiled. "I'd love to eat there."
They walked inside. Over breakfast, they made smalltalk. Celestia tried to keep herself as calm as possible, but her brain was working overtime to over-analyze the situation. She just wanted to scream... Well, what did she want to scream? This had all happened so suddenly...
Or maybe it hadn't. Those mares in the flowers hadn't created these feelings, just brought them to light. Celestia had known Twilight for so long. She was the first pony Celestia could really connect with. Yes, there was Luna, but that was different. Twilight was more...
Celestia shook her head again, an action which Twilight, mercifully, decided not to comment on.
When they were finished, Twilight looked up, gazing into Celestia's eyes. "So... What do you want to do now?"
"Well, I guess... I dunno, I guess I just want to walk around with you."
Oh gods no, too much, too much, too much!
"I need to stretch my legs, and walking around Canterlot is always nice. I know of a river, just outside of town. It's a beautiful view, and not too far. There's a path right to it."
Celestia's save did not come out as steady as she intended it. It was a bit too shaky. She could only hope Twilight wouldn't notice-
"Oh... Kay, princess. I'd be glad to walk with you."
She'd noticed. She'd-
While her heart desperately tried to go careening out of her chest cavity and across the restaurant, Celestia tried to keep a straight face. Twilight knew something was up. Celestia didn't know what Twilight thought it was, but she couldn't imagine it would be anything good. Or, worst of all, Twilight knew exactly what Celestia was feeling and didn't like it. Or maybe she did. Or maybe-
"Shall we be going?"
Twilight's words acted as a retardant to the flames of panic. "Yes, I think we shall."
Celestia walked out of the restaurant, gesturing for Twilight to follow. She did so, maintaining her pace at Celestia's side. They continued to make idle chitchat as the hustle and bustle of Canterlot slowly faded into the sounds of the river. Loosely inspired by a similar walkway the Reindeer had built in San Antlernio, the river had a sidewalk next to it and a few buildings. The project had been completed some two hundred years ago, and it hadn't became as popular as Celestia expected. Most of the restaurants and shops had closed down, and the buildings were decaying. Fortunately, the marble edifices were decaying in a charming rather than creepy way, and the place had become a popular destination for urban explorers and hikers alike. Celestia had often spent alone time there when she needed to think. There was something relaxing about the place. . .
"Wow. This place is really nice."
Celestia nodded. She was still nervous, but less so now.
"Yeah... It is..."
They continued to walk in silence for another few minutes, the sights and smells of Canterlot long behind them. Celestia remained mostly calm on the outside, but her stomach churned on the inside. Maybe she shouldn't. Maybe it was a bad idea. Maybe...
Celestia's eyes caught on a flower, hanging from a wall. Her mind was instantly flooded with the image of the dancer.
No. She had to do this.
"Twilight..."
"Yes, Princess?"
"Twilight, I've been thinking."
"...Yes?"
Twilight's hesitation almost killed Celestia's nerve, but she pushed on.
"I... I've known you for so long, and, well, I-" Celestia's voice was uneven, but she couldn't stop now. She swallowed, then continued. "Our- Our relationship has always been fairly close, but I have been distant sometimes, with my royal duties, and I..."
Twilight was just staring at her, blank-faced. And she was rambling. And this wasn't going well. 
And stopping now could only make it worse.
"I don't like that distance. I really do enjoy your company, and I was wondering if you would like to spend more time together."
Twilight took a few seconds to respond.
"In what... way?" She asked, sounding extremely uncertain about the whole thing. Celestia's heart, which had previously been racing faster then it ever had before, seemed to stop working as she continued, "In a friendly way, or..."
She stopped herself, shaking her head as if she couldn't believe what she was saying. Celestia was pretty sure that her entire body had turned to stone, and was unable to breath, much less speak. After a few seconds, Twilight continued.
"Are you asking me if... I want to start... Dating you?"
With an effort greater than lifting the sun, greater than defeating Discord, and almost as great as banishing her sister, Celestia managed to respond with four words: "I- I think so, yes."
Twilight's jaw trembled as she stared at Celestia. Apparently she was under stress right now as well.
"I... Uh..."
Twilight looked around, as if trying to find an escape. "I mean, I would- But-"
Twilight looked like she had just missed a very important assignment. "I mean- I- I just- Need to think about it?"
Celestia remained silent, staring at Twilight as if frozen in time.
"I just- There's-"
Twilight's voice was shaky. "I- I have to go-"
And with that, her horn lit up and she teleported away, leaving Celestia alone as the feeling slowly drained out of her chest.
> Routine
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"So, how'd it go?"
Luna's bright voice had no effect on Celestia, who remained inexpressive as she entered the castle.
"Did... She...?"
Luna's voice slowly trailed off as her sister walked by her without speaking, walking up the stairs.
Luna perked an eyebrow. This was not something that she had expected. While she didn't know Twilight very well, her awkward student-teacher crush on Luna's sister had been extremely obvious. Almost pathetically so. That unicorn had worshiped Celestia. She could tell from what few letters she had read, and a few dreams she had gotten a glance of. As much as she was embarrassed to admit it, some part of Luna had wanted Twilight and her sister to be together. So why hadn't she said yes?
Maybe Luna had misread the student's interaction with her teacher. Maybe it really was a platonic interaction, or maybe Celestia really was a mother figure. But she didn't think so. She might not have been the best at reading ponies, but she had an almost unnatural talent for determining crushes. Maybe it had something to do with how romantic most considered the night sky. Either way, Luna was positive that, at one point, Twilight wanted to be in a relationship with her sister.
So what had changed?
First off, she needed to know how the reaction was. Ignoring the voice in her brain that told her to stay out of other ponies' business (something she had considerable practice at), Luna trotted after her sister at a slightly faster place. She had caught up with her by the time she crested the stairs.
"Sister, I really must insist you inform me of what has happened. I must know everything."
Celestia's reply was almost inaudible. "I don't want to talk about it."
Luna, undeterred, pressed on. "But you must! At least tell me what she said!"
Celestia slowly turned to face her.
"She needs time... To think."
"And then?"
"She- She ran."
Luna remained silent as Celestia turned around, walked into her bedroom, and closed the door.
Luna's wheels turned as she walked back down the stairs. Twilight needed time to think. That could mean a lot of things. It could mean that she legitimately just needed time to think, but nopony actually ever said that honestly, so that was basically off the table. She could be concerned that Celestia's request was really more of a demand, which would mean that she was currently contemplating if being a forced concubine was better than dying. But that didn't make any sense - Twilight, in all honesty, knew her sister better then she herself did, and that would be the last thing from her mind. Maybe Twilight had honestly just said it in the way everypony else did - A code-phrase for "Hell no, but I'm too much of a coward to say that to your face." But even that seemed unlikely.
She had also ran, which pointed to a something slightly more dramatic. Then again, Twilight's emotions around Celestia were always on overdrive...
Luna found herself outside of the castle, pacing the courtyard. How long had they been at breakfast? The sun was already going down from the top of the sky-
Oh, that reminds me, she thought, her horn lighting up. Within a few seconds, the moon was safe at the edge of the sky. Normally, she would be out at a Jazzclub or in somepony's dream at this hour, but she was too busy thinking about-
Luna nearly slapped herself. Dreams. Of course. That was the ticket. All she had to do was invade Twilight's dream and talk to her about Celestia. It would be simple, if a bit... Unethical. But all's fair in love and war, right?
Then again... She might see it as an act of aggression. God-princess of the night, come to take revenge for breaking her sister's heart by tormenting her in a dream... Twilight had always been kind to Luna, but it would probably still be a bad idea to enter her dreams tonight. 
Or, at least, it would be bad for her to know...

* * *

Luna took another deep breath as she plunged into the dream. The purple unicorn hadn't gone to bed at her usual hour that night, which meant that Luna had spent the past several hours bouncing back and fourth between the dreams of various ponies. Nothing really interesting had happened in any of them - They were just the usual. Of course, any other pony would be deeply embarrassed by "the usual," but Luna had gotten more than used to it. If anything, she had been the cause of much worse during her time in exile, when she had resorted to giving ponies nightmares in the place of eternal night - But she didn't like to think about that horrible time, and besides, doing so could potentially trap her in a nightmare, which would be extremely dangerous for Twilight. That is, if this was Twilight...
Luna saw rather quickly that no, it was not. There was no reason for Twilight to be dreaming of a cottage full of Griffons, especially since Luna could sense they were the dreamer's family. So, Twilight was still awake - And it had to be at least midnight right now. Luna was beginning to get rather concerned, which was not helped by being within the distorted world of a dream.
After a few minutes of idly watching the griffon's dream, Luna exited, preparing to dive into another one. Her body remained in a trance-like state while she did so, leaving her mind perceiving a blank white expanse. Luna shifted on her hooves, preparing to enter Twilight's dream again. If she still wasn't asleep, Luna's magic would automatically re-route her into some other dream, to prevent her from getting stuck in limbo. It was a mostly automatic process, but that didn't make it any less annoying.
Luna glanced around as the dreamscape slowly materialized in front of her. She was in a long hallway, unlit except for strange shards of color and light that didn't follow the normal rules of physics. The air around her was tense and acidic, and her head felt foggy. She was in a nightmare.
Her horn lit up, preparing her for whatever might come. Nightmares were, of course, no trouble for her - She was the goddess of the night, after all - But she didn't take any chances. She would have preferred to leave the dream instead of venturing inwards, but she had to make sure it wasn't Twilight's. Once she confirmed that, she could get out and go someplace more pleasant.
Luna slowly paced forward, checking behind her occasionally. Eventually, she came to a door, which she opened, revealing another long hallway.
Where does that hallway lead to? she asked herself, stepping into it. Three hundred yards later, there was still no sign of the dreamer. Normally it didn't take nearly as long-
Luna heard a scream from the other end. A familiar scream.
Twilight's scream.
Luna broke into a gallop. She could extract a lot of valuable information from a nightmare. More than from a regular dream, in all honesty. She was lucky Twilight happened to be having one.
As she suppressed the guilt that came with that thought, Luna came upon another door. She could barely see the silhouettes of around eight ponies through it, which formed a circle.
Twilight's friends surrounding her, obviously, Luna guessed, stepping lightly again in hopes she had not been heard galloping. But what of the others? Family?
Luna's horn glowed again, cloaking her in darkness as she stepped into the room. She glanced upwards, but she couldn't make out the ceiling.
I can probably fly in here.
Luna spread her wings.
Am I right, or am I wrong?
She flapped twice, her powerful wings lifting her a good four yards. Within a few seconds, she had a bird's-eye view of the scenario. Now to see what was going on.
"I- I just don't- I didn't want to-" Twilight was in the middle of the circle, crying.
"A mare?"
Luna arched an eyebrow. She had heard that voice somewhere...
"Your father and I are just-" The speaker didn't continue, apparently unable to form words. She settled on making a few sounds of indignation instead. Luna decided that was Twilight's mother.
"After all this time, you didn't tell us? Your best friends, and you didn't tell us about her?"
Luna recognized that one. Fluttershy. It wasn't like her to be this loud.
"I-"
The other pegasus - Rainbow Dash, Luna recalled - Didn't let her get a word in edgewise. "All these years, and you weren't her 'Student' at all!"
"No, tha-"
A new unicorn stepped forward. He was male. Luna had a vague memory of seeing him, but she couldn't remember where from.
"Your mother and I are just- Just-" Twilight's Father's voice shook with rage. "We let you go to that school, and she just- She- She turns you gay?"
Luna perked an eyebrow as she continued watching.
"It's- It's not- I've crushed on her, but she never-"
"And you, I just- I can't-" Fluttershy was yelling again. "You never told us? Your best friends? Not only about her and you, but about the whole- The whole Lesbian thing?"
"I- I was afraid you'd-"
"And you'll never give me and your father grandchildren!"
"Darling, I simply cannot believe you!"
"But- But- It's- I'm the same as I ever was!" Twilight exclaimed, tears streaming down her cheeks. Luna could feel the air in the room getting thinner, a sign that her dream was close to ending. The words of the ponies started swirling together, losing any indication of who they were from as the dream collapsed and the figures advanced on Twilight. 
"How could you do this?"
"Don't you know yer kind are going to be the death of us? Good god, even the Goddesses are doing it now! I don't know much, but I do know that Fillyfoolin' only leads to underpopulation!"
"Thanks for being honest about it to us!"
"I can't believe you!"
"I hate you!"
"My god," Twilight screamed above the din, "What have I done?"
Luna barely had time to register this before she was flung from the dream.

* * *

"Sister!"
Luna gave up subtlety, switching to her Royal Canterlot Voice. She had been doing very well about not slipping into it lately, but she felt the timed called for it.
"I must insist thou open this door for us immediately! We have urgent news to tell thee!"
"Go away!"
"Sister, now!"
"I just- Can't you just leave me alone?"
"NOW!"
Luna banged on the door with a hoof again. It hurt quite a bit, but she didn't notice the pain over the urgency of her message.
"Okay, okay!"
Luna heard the sound of hooves on the floor, then the door opened.
"Can't I just be alone-"
"She returns thine-" Luna coughed, snapping herself out of the extremely loud voice. Celestia was, after all, only a few feet in front of her. "She returns your feelings!"
Celestia stared at Luna for a solid thirty seconds before responding.
"You- You honestly-"
Her eyes narrowed.
"You would mock me? Now? After forcing me to embarrass myself, that's not enough, you have to mock me as well?"
Luna rolled her eyes. It seemed like her sister thought the worst of her sometimes. "Of course not! I have confirmed this myself!"
Another thirty seconds.
"Really? How?"
"Last night, I was confused by her reaction," Luna began, ignoring the sting Celestia's tone left, "as she had always seemed like she was very much interested in you - To me, at least. Anyway, last night, I decided to investigate for myself, so-"
"You weren't stupid enough to go to her house and scare her, were you?" Celestia snapped.
"Of course not!" Luna responded, indignant. Luna hadn't seen Celestia like this since - Well, since she had gotten banished. She quickly pushed the thought from her mind. "I merely entered her dream-"
"Oh, even better! Let's scare her while she-"
Luna cut her off, switching back to the Royal Canterlot Voice. "Sister, we are neither children nor morons. Thou shall listen to us speak fully without further comments. We are trying to help thee.
Celestia's voiced remained set in stone, but she shut her mouth.
"I merely observed her dream," Luna continued, switching back to her normal tone of voice, "Without her knowing. I wanted to see what she was feeling. Imagine my surprise when she was in a nightmare - No, do not give me that look, I had no hand in causing that. I'm actually rather hurt you would even consider-"
Luna took a deep breath. "Regardless. In said nightmare, the unicorn was surrounded by her friends and family. They were accusing her of many things - Things that you had expressed concern about to me, in fact. They were screaming. It was rather unpleasant."
Luna pressed on in spite of Celestia's face, which was getting dangerously close to the danger zone of sadness. "But, the important part is- She said she liked you! That she had a crush on you!"
Celestia's face contorted into an expression of confusion. "But- If she does, why did she-"
"She's scared- Scared of what it might mean. But so are you. So if you work through it together..."
Celestia briefly considered this.
"Are you telling the truth?"
"Yes," Luna responded, suppressing the sadness that came with her sister's disbelief. She was quite surprised to find herself in the middle of a hug a few seconds later.
"Thank you for doing this for me. And sorry I treated you poorly."
Luna nodded. "It's fine."
"But... I don't think I will be pursuing this matter further."
"Less fine."
"It's just too... Too complicated. I don't want to hurt her."
Luna rolled her eyes again. "I think being away from you is hurting her. You have to at least try."
"But... I just-"
"No. No no no. You and her are going to meet tomorrow."
"And- And how do you hope to accomplish this?"
"Oh, I can get it done. I have a plan," Luna lied, "that's foolproof. All you need to do is be at dinner at 9:00 tomorrow night."
"If... If you say so. Can I go back inside now? I need some time to think."
"Fair enough," Luna responded. "Think it over. But you cannot back down from this."
Celestia nodded, then closed the door.
As Celestia relished the feeling of the color coming back into the world, Luna walked down the stairs. She had succeeded in her mission - Twilight and her sister now had a possibility of being together again.
Now she had to come up with a brilliant plan to ease Twilight's fears enough to that she would be willing to attend the date. And she had less than an hour to do so.
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, after all.
> Bluish
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Trying to remain inconspicuous when you are a monarch, a goddess, and twice the size of everypony else is not an easy task.
Luna was well aware of this fact as she walked down the Ponyville's main street. She was also aware of how completely she was failing at said task. While the ponies around her tried to conceal their pointing and whispering, they weren't succeeding.
Luna mentally questioned why she was there. Did she honestly just plan to swoop into the library and tell Twilight about the dinner? "Hey, I - Y'know, little ol' Goddess of the moon - just wanted you to know, you know that relationship that you had the horrible nightmare about? The goddess of the sun - Who is also your supreme ruler, and who has a giant crush on you -wants to work on that. Also, I invaded your dreams and saw your most private fears about it, because I want you to date my sister for reasons unknown to myself. Even after I saw my sister dreaming about you and her gettin' busy. So, if you could be at the castle at 9:00 tomorrow night, that would be just peachy!" Yeah, that would go over well.
Luna had tried to plan this exchange out. She had tried to come up with the "foolproof plan" she had promised Celestia. It hadn't worked. So she had decided to just wing it. While that was probably a bad idea, it was the best she had.
So now she was slowly walking through Ponyville, with no excuse for being in the town, and no idea what to do. If she was lucky, she'd get a brilliant idea. If she wasn't... Well, hopefully that wouldn't happen.
While no brilliant ideas popped into her head, luck came to her into another form. Specifically, the form of a cyan Pegasus with an extremely colorful mane, who touched down some ten feet in front of Luna and began trotting to a building that looked like a giant gingerbread house. Luna, recognizing her as one of Twilight's friends, decided to follow her.
She stepped through the door a few seconds later, hoping that a crowd wouldn't follow her.
"Pinkie, can you get that?" A voice called from the back. Male, and not one Luna had heard before.
"Yes!" The bight pink pony responded, turning away from her pegasus friend. "Sorry, Dashie, this will only take a- Princess!"
Pinkie looked surprised, and rather pleased, to see her. Luna and her had some interesting interactions the last time she was here, and the party pony obviously remembered. Luna trotted up to the counter.
"Hello, Pi-"
"Princess?"
Luna was cut off by the same male voice, which now showed a mixture of excitement and fear. A fraction of a second later, there was an older yellow stallion at the counter.
"Oh, Celestia, so nice of you to..." The stallion trailed off in horror as he realized that Luna was not, in fact, her sister. He attempted to recover, his voice barely understandable underneath how shaky it was, "I mean - Uh - Luna, so nice to see you!"
Luna swallowed her inner annoyance. She was only mildly offended, but some part of her wanted to scream something about disrespect and dungeons, just to see the stallion's reaction. On any other day, she would have done so, but today she was on a mission.
"And you as well, Mr....?"
"Cake, Mr. Cake. Your highness," the pony continued, bowing deeply, "How may I serve you?"
"Well, actually," Luna replied, trying to keep her voice neutral, "I wanted to talk to your employee and her friend."
Pinkie smiled brightly at this, and probably would have interrupted the dark blue Alicorn if Rainbow hadn't shoved a hoof over her mouth.
"Bu- But of course!" Mr. Cake exclaimed, as best as he could over his nerves, "I'm sure she'd love to talk to you!"
Luna nodded, smiling. Mr. Cake nodded back. It took him a good four seconds to realize that Luna wanted to talk to them alone, but he eventually muttered something about giving them privacy and shuffled into the back room again.
Luna turned to the two remaining ponies, smiling. "And how have you been?"
"Ohmigosh, I've been so good and wonderful and now you're here and that's just-"
Dash cut off Pinkie's rant before it got out of control with a hoof again, while herself responding "Very well. And you, your highness?"
Luna shrugged. "Good enough, I suppose. So... Has Twilight discussed anything with you girls recently? Something important?"
That was a mistake. The others in the room stared at her, looking worried. Pinkie was the first to respond.
"No, she didn't. She's not in trouble, is she? Because," she said, her voice getting progressively less cheery and more pleading, "She hasn't done anything wrong, and if she has, she didn't mean it, and-"
Luna cut her off. "Oh no, no trouble. No trouble for any of you. It's just... Well, I need to talk to her, and I don't want to scare her, because she might think she's in trouble. So I was wondering if you girls could maybe go with me, so Twilight doesn't get scared."
"Why would she be scared?" Rainbow asked, arching an eyebrow. "I mean, it's not like you really talk with her a lot - As far as I know, at least."
"Well, that's exactly the reason. She would wonder why my sister wasn't visiting her, and that could frighten her."
Luna was relieved to see that her friends appeared to buy her story. They were probably still mildly suspicious, but not as much as they could have been. Things were looking up.
"So, what, we just walk with you to the library?"
"That would be wonderful."
"Well, what are we waiting for?" Exclaimed Pinkie, "Let's go!"
A few minutes later, they were on their way to Twilight's residence. So far, Luna's plan was going great.
Except for the fact that she had no idea what to say to Twilight. That part wasn't so great.
It was with these thoughts that Luna knocked on the door of the library. Then knocked again. And again.
She turned to Rainbow. "Could you say something?"
"Twilight!" Rainbow shouted, "We want to talk with you!"
The cyan Pegasus turned to Luna for confirmation that she had done well, which the princess gave with a nod.
The sound of hooves greeted them a few seconds later. Apparently Twilight was answering the door. This was good. This was very good.
"Yes?" Twilight said in a tired voice, opening the door. "What is-"
Twilight froze in place when she saw Luna. 
"Oh, Twilight, thank you for answering the door," Luna said, struggling to keep her voice non-threatening. "I just had your friends come with me, so you wouldn't be afraid, because I wanted to clear up that matter with my sister. Do you mind if I come in?"
When Twilight did not give an answer, Luna decided that it would be okay to walk inside the library and close the door, leaving a very confused Pinkie and Rainbow standing outside.
Twilight continue to stare at the princess. The more Luna looked at her, the more worried she got. Twilight was a mess. She probably hadn't showered since the incident, much less combed her mane or coat. Any sleep she might have gotten wasn't very restful, and she had bags under her eyes. And now, the way she was looking at Luna... It almost broke her heart to see the fear in the little unicorn's eyes. She couldn't even imagine what this image would do to her sister.
Luna slowly crouched down, laying on the floor, in an attempt to be less intimidating. She was terrible at comforting ponies, but she had to try, for her sister's sake.
"I want to let you know that Celestia isn't angry."
Twilight didn't respond.
"In fact, she's rather sad at your reaction."
Still nothing.
"I just want to know, though - And this is me talking, my sister doesn't know I am asking this, and I will not tell her the response - Do you love her?"
Twilight was silent for a long time.
"I- I want you to leave, please."
Luna, for better or for worse, did not take this response.
"Please, Twilight. Just tell me."
Twilight shook her head. "I don't - I don't know. I thought I did, but now that it's out in front of me..."
She looked up at Luna.
"I don't even know why I'm telling you this."
Luna nodded. "Twilight, I know you're scared. My sister is as well. But the greatest regret I have was not communicating. Not talking about how I felt."
Luna briefly flashed back to a time she had tried to forget - Desolate, cold, and dark, the blue marble that was her home floating in the distance, deep sadness poisoned by hatred and regret - She shook her head, trying to clear it, then continued, "I don't want you to feel that."
Twilight briefly considered this. "But - I mean, we've known each other for so long - Me and Celestia - And this would just be - I mean, my parents don't even know I'm - And my friends, they don't either, and I know a lot of ponies don't really take kindly to - And-"
She ran out of breath, but did not continue after sucking in another lungful.
"Twilight," Luna continued, "I know. You are afraid. So is my sister. But all she wants to do is talk to you about it."
Twilight remained silent.
"Will you please do that? For both of you?"
Twilight still refused to respond.
"Please. All she wants is one night-"
Twilight's head jerked up in shock. What had Luna said that -
Luna quickly realized the phrasing issue. "No, no, no! Not like that. A dinner. She only wants a dinner."
Twilight nodded, her eyes slowly shrinking back to their normal size in relief. 
"Do you think you can do that?"
Twilight looked uncertain. Her mind was, no doubt, filled with hundreds of possible ways the idea could go wrong. Luna was worried that she would reject the proposal, and began to mentally plan for that possibility. Thankfully, she was wrong.
"I- I think I can try. But no promises. Okay?"
Luna smiled brightly. Maybe I should take over from Cadence as the princess of romance.
Luna nearly slapped herself after that thought. Cadence! I could have talked to her! This is her job! Why didn't I- Ah well, it's too late now. Besides, I didn't need her. I just got my sister a date!
"Wonderful!" Luna exclaimed aloud, oblivious to the strangeness of her previous thought, "That will be just wonderful. Let's say, the palace, tomorrow night, at around... Five o'clock?"
Twilight nodded.
"Oh, just great. I'll be sure to go tell her right away. Oh, and be sure to not wear anything super-fancy, that would arouse suspicion. So, yeah, I'll just be going. Er- You don't mind if I leave, do you?"
Twilight shook her head, then watched as the Goddess of the Night turned and trotted happily out the door.
Right as the door closed, all of the scenarios playing out in Twilight's head were momentarily silenced by one single thought:
What the hell did I just get myself into?

* * *

Celestia was nervous. This was to be expected. After all, this was her first date in... Dear god, she couldn't even remember how long. Her life had been so full of meeting and treaties and laws that she never got much time for romance. And now that she finally did, it felt like a python as squeezing her chest. She was actually on a date. A date. Good lord.
She shifted in the chair, quickly adjusting her crown. She could never keep the damn thing straight. Wait, maybe she shouldn't be wearing the crown - That could imply that she was above Twilight, which was the last thing she wanted, and - Yes, it was a good idea to take it off.
Celestia quickly magicked her regalia off of her, looking for a place to put it. Thankfully, a servant noticed, and quickly came to her with a pillow. She placed the crown on top, and the servant shuffled away. With the crown safely out of sight, she could get back to panicking about what to say. It had to be casual, not nervous, and-
She heard a knock on the door to the dining room, quickly followed by her sister's distinct voice: "Sister, she's at the gate! She'll be in in a few minutes!"
Oh gods! She- She was almost-
Celestia wanted to run. She wanted to hide, to shrink out of sight, to disappear, to-
She took a deep breath. She hadn't ever felt this vulnerable before. Here she was, god-empress of the most powerful nation on the planet, and she was panicking over a date like a schoolfilly.
Twilight entered the room a few minutes later, looking like how Celestia felt. So at least they were on the same level. Twilight wasn't wearing a dress, as per Luna's instructions. Celestia's sister had tried to make the atmosphere as casual as possible. The normally elegant dining table had been replaced with a much smaller, circular one, and the chairs with slightly simpler ones. The tablecloth was a plain white sheet, without its normal frills and lace. It was set for two ponies, with stark white plates and simple glass cups. Lighting was provided by three candles in the middle of the table, as well as the lamps around the room.
Twilight sat down.
"Uh - Hi."
Genius, Celestia. Really great opener.
"Hi," Twilight responded, sounding uncertain.
After a few seconds, Celestia tried to break the silence. "I'm - I'm really glad you're here. After, y'know, I sprung the whole... Dating... Thing.... On you. I know that must have made you nervous."
Twilight smirked. "Yeah, a bit."
Celestia's voice dried up in her throat. That almost sounded angry. Was she mad? Maybe she didn't want to be here. Maybe-
"I'm glad you did, though."
Celestia's heart, impossibly, started to beat faster. She was-
"Not that- I've ever- Thought about the idea before, but, I, Uh-"
From the doorway, Luna suppressed a giggle. Good lord, this was adorable, in a painful and awkward way. This thought brought on a sudden realization that the spying she was doing was, in fact, extremely creepy, leading her to retreat from the doorway to go and check on the food.
"It's okay. I mean, I've - This all came on rather suddenly, and-"
Celestia's voice trailed off.
"Yeah, I know," Twilight responded. "It's been... Well, a bit startling. I must admit."
The atmosphere in the room was slowly warming up. Both ponies were starting, in spite of themselves, to relax.
"Yeah. I'm sorry for that."
"It's okay, it really is. If anything, I should be apologizing for just running off like that. It was inappropriate."
"It's okay. You were scared. I mean, I did just spring this on you."
Twilight nodded. "It was terrifying, actually."
Upon seeing Celestia's reaction, the purple unicorn was quick to continue, "I mean- It was terrifying, in a good way. Like - Like those action parts of the Daring Doo books. Or, no, it was more like - A romance novel, I guess."
Celestia smiled again. Always back to books with her. For some reason, she liked that. "Do you read a lot of romance?"
Twilight shook her head. "Not really. I find most of them to lack anything that resembles a story. It tends to mostly be rather juvenile."
Celestia nodded. "As I've heard. I don't get much time to read fiction."
Twilight nodded. "Being a princess must be busy. Still, it's a shame you don't get to read more - Believe it or not, I think it's a wonderful pastime."
They both chuckled at Twilight's joke.
"Quite..."
They sat in silence for another few seconds, but it was a different kind of silence. The awkwardness that penetrated the room was slowly turning into something else, a bluish red atmosphere that permeated these types of situations.
"Maybe you can recommend me some books sometime."
"I'd love to."
They looked at each other for a while before the sound of a door opening interrupted them. Two servants entered, each carrying a small booklet that listed wines.
"What would you like to drink, my ladies?" One questioned, passing a book to Celestia as his partner handed one to Twilight.
"Hmm... What are we eating for dinner, again?"
"A lettuce and carrot salad, lightly dressed with sweet vinegar, followed by a cake of Fer De Bâck oats in a thick carrot gravy. I'd recommend something dryer."
"In that case, get what you recommend."
The servant nodded, turning to Twilight. "And for you, miss?"
Twilight looked confused. "I don't actually have any experience in wine tasting. In fact, I rarely drink it. So, uh... Maybe I could just have what the princess is having?"
The servant nodded again, before shuffling out of the room.
"I'm terribly sorry," Celestia said, feeling her nerves perk up again, "I shouldn't have had them put you on the spot like that."
"No, no, it's okay," Twilight muttered back, "It's my fault for not being sophisticated enough to know what to order. I should have remembered I was in a palace."
Celestia's heart sank. "No, no, don't think like that! You don't need to know useless things like what wine to get. In fact, I barely know myself."
"Still," Twilight responded, "This just seems a bit... Over my head. I'm... I'm just a librarian. Not anybody special."
"But..." Celestia's voice was a mixture of depression and pleading, "That's not true. You are somepony special. You're - You're wonderfully intelligent, hardworking, ingenious, creative..."
Twilight and Celestia were both, at this point, blushing deeply.
"You're amazing."
Twilight looked down at her plate, embarrassed. "Glad you think so."
"Yeah..."
They talked about various subjects - How Twilight's research was going, what her friends were doing, and the like - Until the food came in, some five minutes later. They ate mostly in silence, both attempting to be as neat as possible.
"Well, that was delicious," Celestia said after they had finished.
"I agree," Twilight responded, "It was quite good. So, I must ask..."
Celestia waited expectantly.
"Why... Now?"
Celestia arched an eyebrow, leading Twilight to elaborate, "I mean, why would you ask now? Not that I'm complaining, of course, but I don't know why - I mean, you of all ponies, a goddess, wanting to date some silly little unicorn, and all so suddenly, and I was wondering why..."
Her voice trailed off, her nervousness finally managing to shut her mouth. Celestia, for her part, attempted to suppress the part of her brain that was screaming about how cute she was when she rambled.
"I just... I saw another couple. On a stressful trip. And they were dancing, just - Just dancing, in a field, and they just looked so happy... And I started to wonder what it would be like if I could be that happy with another, and... And I realized that you were the one that came to mind."
Celestia looked into her eyes.
"And then I couldn't get the idea out of my head, so I decided to ask, and, well, you know the story from there."
"So it was just... Just a sudden burst?"
Twilight looked nervous.
"I- I don't think so. It was more like - More like all of these feelings I'd been suppressing because I was too worried about so many things just forced themselves into the foreground of my mind."
After briefly considering, Celestia continued, "And I am so glad they did. Because here, looking at you... There's just some- Some kind of magic in the way you're sitting there. In everything about you."
Twilight, understandably, blushed. "Thanks, Princess."
"Please. Call me Celestia."
"Thanks, Celestia."
She nodded. A few seconds later, the servants returned with the main course, which both of them ate nervously. They were really into it now. Really, actually, truly dating. Talking like a couple. And, with all the nervousness that brought, both of them were overjoyed at the prospect.
After they finished, Celestia turned to Twilight.
"So. What happens now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Would you- Would you like to do this again?"
Twilight thought for only a second before answering. Yes, there was so much that could go wrong. But this was one of her dreams, something that she had wanted for so long. She wasn't going to let it slip away.
"Yes, Celestia. I would. I very much would. So, should I leave now, or...?"
"You don't have to, if you don't want to. I'd love to spend more time with you."
Twilight nodded. "So... Maybe we could go up to the observatory? I always love watching the stars..."
Celestia nodded. A few minutes later, both of them were in the highest tower in the palace, looking up at the stars.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Twilight said, still staring upwards.
"Very much so..." Celestia responded. She was nervous, but she managed to continue, "Just like you."
Twilight turned to look at her, surprised. She slowly faded into a smile. "And you, Celestia."
They both looked up at the stars again. Twilight perked an eyebrow.
"Is that- Are those stars moving?"
She pointed to a spot in the sky, which Celestia looked at. The stars were, in fact, in motion. Both ponies were confused until a few seconds later, when the stars stopped. There was now a very obvious constellation that said, in capital letters, "KISS HER."
Much to Luna's delight, they both obliged her request. 
> Eyes
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Message in the Stars Shocks Citizens!
Residents of Equestria and the world were stunned last night when the stars themselves moved to form a message. Presumed to be the work of Princess Luna, the night sky spelled out "KISS HER" in capital letters for approximately ten minutes last night. What everypony is wondering: Who was the message for?

Speculation so far has a few suspects. The famed musician Hoof Moon was apparently on a date with an unknown mare last night, leading some to believe that Luna's request was direct at him. However, when asked for comment, he claimed (with trademark subtly) that him and his marefriend were "Doing a lot more than kissing" when the message appeared. Others have claimed the message was for any number of normal couples. Some say that it might be directed at a Royal, prehaps the recently wed Princess Cadence. A few even suggest that Celestia may have a lover, asking why Luna would do something so drastic for anypony else, but that premise is, of course, outlandish. 

Reception to the move has not all been positive. One resident of Ponyville comments: "It was inappropriate for the Princess to interfere with the lives of so many ponies for something so trivial. Mares get kissed all the time, but does Luna really need to make a star message?" Another questions, "Did Luna think this through? She must have effected thousands of couples. I personally think that Celestia should reprimand her, at the very least."

Others are more cheerful. "I think it's sweet," commented one mare, "It's nice to see the princesses get involved in the daily lives and routines of ponies." Another agreed, saying, "I wish I was the pony that message was for. She must be extremely lucky."

The Canterlot Herald will follow-up on the story as details trickle in. 



 *** 


Celestia stared worriedly down at the newspaper. She didn't blame her sister for the gesture - In fact, she was grateful for it - But she had no idea how to respond to these stories. It didn't help that this newspaper was the first in a stack of twenty at her door, all of which probably pertained to the issue. Her Public Relations Manager only dropped off newspapers that needed her "urgent attention," and she couldn't think of anything else that fit the category.
She slowly flipped through the others, trying to ignore the noise of the shower in the other room. She was correct, all of them were running a cover story about the message in the stars. Wonderful. She had no idea how Luna would-
"SISTER!"
Speak of the devil. By the time Celestia had the chance to look up, the goddess of the night was only a few paces away from the door to her room.
"I just wanted to apologize for my behavior last night!" Her sibling rambled, "It was inappropriate and unwise and immature and I-"
Celestia cut her off by waving a hoof. "It's alright, Luna. I'm not angry."
"Oh thank Starswirl," Luna said, exhaling. "I was afraid you were... Well, I don't know what, but nothing pleasant."
Celestia shook her head. "No, no, it's fine. I'm not angry. I'm just a bit concerned of how we'll spin this one."
"Oh, well, I do have a few ideas," Luna said, still sounding mildly nervous, "which we could discuss. Here, let's-"
Luna took a step forward, only to be blocked by her sister. "Uh... Celestia, may I come in? We have urgent matters to discuss, after all."
"No, that's- That's fine, Luna," Celestia said, suddenly looking very nervous herself, "We can talk at breakfast. My room is not in its usual state of tidiness right now, and it's not a fitting place to have a meeting."
Luna looked at her sister for a full minute, confused. "If you insist... I suppose I shall go downstairs. I'm sure we can figure out a solution to this matter over a few bowls of cereal."
Luna turned and walked a few paces away, leading Celestia to sigh in relief. That was close.
"Oh, wait a minute," Luna, much to her sister's despair, said. To further her bad luck, Luna also turned around. "I must know - How did the rest of your date go?"
Celestia froze. "Fine. It went - Fine."
"Sister?"
"No, really, it was just fine. I really- Really enjoyed it. Now, off to breakfast then, yes?"
"...Sister?"
"No, really, you should eat. You're hungry. I am too. Let's go to breakfast now, shall w-"
In the background, the noise of the shower suddenly ceased. Luna's face displayed confusion, while Celestia's nervous smile reached suspicious levels of width. A few seconds later, the sound of hooves on tile replaced the noise. Luna only took a few seconds to put the pieces together.
As the noise approached them, Celestia's face slowly turned a deep shade of crimson while Luna's eyes widened to an almost comical level.
"Oh, Celestia," yawned Twilight, drying off her hair with magic as she exited the bathroom, "that was-"
Twilight froze in place as her eyes locked upon the two ponies standing at the doorway, in much the same way as Luna's gaze was fixed on her.
For a few seconds, the room stood perfectly still.
Luna slowly managed to draw herself away from the sight of the unicorn, locking eyes with her sister.
"Did- Did you...?"
No answer.
"I mean, did- And she's- And-"
Still no answer.
"You two..."
Both her sister and Twilight, who was by now in the midst of a blush that rivaled Celestia's, did not respond.
"You two actually-"
Luna blinked.
"On the first date?"
Celestia's face fell slightly, leading her sister to quickly backpedal.
"I mean - Not that I'm judging, y'know, it's your- But I didn't expect you girls to be so-"
Celestia cleared her throat, silencing her sibling.
"Luna, it would be great if we could discuss this later."
Luna's shocked mind took a few seconds to process the words. "Oh, yes, right. I- I'll be going now."
With that, she turned and walked away, leaving two extremely embarrassed ponies behind her.

* * *

Luna stared at her Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs, eyes still wide. Normally, she would be eating in a most nu-sophisticated way - Breakfast was, after all, her favorite meal - but she found herself unable to even lift the spoon, much less go through the whole process of getting cereal in her mouth. Her sister - And Twilight - The first -
Luna shook her head. She would get nowhere with thought fragments, and she had to figure out how to deal with the revelation before her sister came downstairs. Maybe she should just ignore it? After all, it was their private business what they did behind closed doors. Still, this was a fairly major change in the dynamic of Celestia's new relationship, and so soon, too. Any number of factors could have lead to this. Maybe it was cause for concern. . .
So ignoring it was off the table, then. Now the only question was how to approach it. She obviously couldn't directly ask. Innuendo would be even more foolish. She would have to give her sister some space. She obviously couldn't ask at this breakfast. By lunch, maybe. After she had some time away from Twilight.
Luna's head perked up slightly. Twilight. She was still, to the best of her knowledge, here. Oh gods. What would the guards think? Servants? Luna had ensured that only ones she could trust were at the dinner, but she hadn't taken such precautions for the morning afterwards. And why would she? She had no idea her sister and Twilight would actually fu-
Luna took a deep breath, trying to calm her mind before she started panicking any more than she was. Okay. So guards. This would be a huge problem. She would have to go upstairs and tell her sister... Well, what would she tell her? "Hey sis, I think it would be really bad if all of Equestria knew that, y'know, you just screwed your student. So maybe it would be a great idea to like, teleport her out of here, or something. Yeah, that would be great. I know it's customary to give the pony you recently 'had coffee' with breakfast afterwards, but if you did that, you would probably cause a national scandal." Yeah, right.
Luna got up, quickly pacing up the stairs. Again, she was going to have to wing this. Just before she reached Celestia's door, she made a mental note to pick up some books on quick planning. This was getting ridiculous.
Luna tapped sharply on the door twice. "Uh, sister - we might have a problem."
Celestia answered a few seconds later, peaking her head out the door.
"Yes?" She asked, gruffly. She was obviously a little angry her little sister had found out about her previous night's activities.
"Well, uh," Luna stuttered, still trying to find the right words, "W- I just recalled that I did not take any precautions for the morning after your date with Twilight, as I had assumed that you- Er - That she would not be around. As such, I cannot ensure the trustworthiness of the palace staff at this time, leading me to believe that it may be prudent for Twilight to leave in an undetectable manner, if you should wish to avoid any issues of publicity."
"She's already gone," Celestia responded, sounding annoyed. "Teleported out. Now, can I please take a shower?"
"Ah- Yes," Luna responded, "Enjoy it."
Luna turned and trotted off. Okay, nevermind lunch. If she did bring this subject up again, she would wait for at least a day.

* * *

Luna cleared her throat. It had been almost a week since Celestia's date, and she figured that tonight as as good of a time as any to talk about it.
"Guards," she said, her voice only slightly louder than usual, "Please leave me and my sister alone. We have matters to discuss."
Celestia gave her a look while the guards shuffled out of the dining room, leaving Celestia and Luna alone at opposite ends of the table.
"So, sister," Luna began, after they were gone, "I just wanted to ask - And you don't have to tell me anything more than you want to - How-"
Celestia, mercifully, cut her off.
"It went well... I think," she muttered, looking extremely uncomfortable, "I mean- It's complicated, okay?"
"Sister," Luna responded, arching an eyebrow, "You can tell me anything."
Celestia shrugged. "I know, but. . . I don't think I really need to. Do I?"
"Well," Luna said, shrugging in return, "It's always best to communicate. I mean, look where it's gotten you!"
"Quite," muttered Celestia, her tone becoming slightly sarcastic, "Look where it has."
A bit of concern spiked in Luna's mind. "You are satisfied with the current situation, yes? I mean - The date was obviously very successful. Surely you are overjoyed?"
"I know I should be, but..." Celestia started, shaking her head, "I- There's problems. I just - Things got out of control."
Luna nodded, encouraging her sister to continue.
"I think," Celestia continued, "That I might have made a mistake. It was just - Such a charged night, all the way through. Emotions were high, we all had so many expectations, and then you requested that we kiss, and we did, and then we just... Did what our bodies wanted..."
Luna watched her sister intently as her voice trailed off.
"I mean - I didn't dislike it," Celestia said, still looking squeamish, "But I don't know if it was wise, to go so far so soon. And we haven't even told anypony else yet. It almost feels... Juvenile."
Celestia was silent for a few seconds. Luna opened her mouth to speak, but Celestia was evidently not finished.
"Even so, I- I think I might love her."

> Taste
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	They were supposed to feel sublime.
It was not supposed to be like this.
It had started right. Warm breath against fur, lips touching, dinners, the garden, moonlit nights. Perfection. That warm feeling in your chest she cherished so much.
Celestia's thoughts drifted backwards, to dinners and walks past. Conversations about magic and life. Her beautiful face caressed by candle light, tiny photon fingers making her seem like the star Celestia controlled. So wonderful, and perfect, and-
It had all been a lie, hadn't it?
Just - Just a product of lust and fear and stupidity.
Her thoughts came closer to the present now, to a few weeks ago. First cracks. A slight pause in her speech where it shouldn't have been, annoyance in her mind that lingered for longer than it usual. It had all felt magical at first, even with the uncertainty, but that feeling started to go away, and...
Neither of them had known what to do. They hadn't even talked about it, although they both knew the other was feeling the same way. Maybe that was the issue. Maybe.
But now, staring at the empty space, Celestia felt cold.
It was a strange fight. Twilight's voice had risen in volume, but only slightly. She never screamed. Celestia, for her part, maintained a lower volume, trying to get herself in a mood she normally reserved for dealing with moronic diplomats. While she had maintained her volume, she could not prevent her voice from faltering.
Twilight had started it. In Celestia's mind, anyway. "So... Are we ever going to tell anybody about this? About us?"
"Of course, Twi," Celestia responded, trying to put off the subject. It wasn't something she liked to think about. She enjoyed her time with Twilight - More than any other time she had ever experienced - But she couldn't imagine the people would take kindly to their goddess taking her student as an intimate partner.
"When, though?" Twilight replied, pushing the issue. "I mean- I'm a bit frightened about the whole thing, but we've been dating for a few months, and... We have to tell somebody eventually, right?"
Although Celestia had no way of knowing, Twilight had been working up the courage to ask this for a long time. Her friends had always gone to her with their personal lives. Spike, Applejack, Rarity - They didn't keep many secrets, and when they did, it almost always lead to ruin. Even though she was terrified of what their reaction might be, she had to tell them. It felt wrong not to.
"Just- Not now, okay?"
"Why not now?"
"It's not time."
"I- I mean, when will it be time?"
"Eventually, Twilight. These things are complicated. Politics, and such."
"Oh."
The candles on the table in front of them flickered slightly. The room was filled with suffocating silence for a few moments, before Twilight spoke again.
"Guess I wouldn't know about that, then."
"Well," Celestia replied, "I guess you wouldn't. You aren't really that involved in political matters."
The corners of Twilight's mouth twitched slightly.
"Yeah, just into books and studying. Unimportant librarian, somehow dating a sun goddess."
"Hey, you're not unimportant!" Celestia exclaimed, trying to backtrack. She was annoyed, but Twilight's words still gave her pings of dull pain. "You're the only person in the whole world I really feel connected to!"
"So why can't we tell anybody? Why can't we share that?"
Celestia's response seemed strained.
"It's- It would cause disaster!"
The words seemed to smack the very air around them.
"I- People would panic, and-"
"Oh, disaster," Twilight said, her voice growing in maliciousness but not volume, "Yeah, great way to describe us."
"No, we're- We're not-"
"Student dating a teacher who happens to be, quite literally, thousands of years older than her?" Twilight cocked her head slightly, her brown descending upon her eyes, "Yeah, I'm sure we're not a disaster. My parents won't think we're a disaster at all."
"Then why do you want to tell them?"
"Because we need to be honest! We can't keep hiding! Who knows what could happen if we-"
"Twilight, you really must understand," Celestia interrupted, trying to regain control of the situation, "We need to think of a way to break it to them. If it's too jarring, we could make them overly hostile, and that would just hurt our case."
"Oh. Right. So how about we discuss it? We haven't even-"
"I'm sure we can get to that some other time, when we're more calm. In fact, me and my sister have been talking about it, and I think we have a few ideas. For now, can we please just finish dinner?"
Twilight stared at her for a few seconds, before speaking in a blank voice.
"You've... Discussed it with your sister."
"Yes. She often helps me in times like this."
Twilight shook her head slightly as she spoke.
"But... Not... Me."
Celestia only nodded as Twilight slowly stood up from her chair.
"I'm sorry, I- I have to be going. I forgot something very important."
"Twilight, don't-"
But, a flash of her horn later, she was gone.
With her, it seemed, went Celestia's chest. Still staring at the spot that had once been Twilight a half an hour later, she struggled to describe the feeling.
Dim. Unlit. The sun goddess thought. That's it.
> In a Coma
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Four weeks since she had seen her. A month. A whole month apart.

Celestia traversed the streets with her head held slightly down, dodging merchant carts. The ponies around stared at her, confused as to why their goddess and ruler would be in that part of town. Celestia paid them no notice. She could have been anywhere else, and it would have made no difference. She had no aim for being there.

She needed to get over this. It had been quite a while, right? She had stuff to do.

But some part of her knew it wouldn't happen. Her cheeks would remain chewed nervously, eyes slightly drooping from lack of sleep.

The hustling crowds around her only made her tired, but at least it was a distraction. Something to think about.

Soon she was out of the city, in the forest. Dammit, she didn't want to go here.

The first time Twilight had ran away. At least she had come back then, not stayed so frustratingly out of her reach.

Celestia looked at a leaf. Why did it have to be so brief? They had only been together for, what, two months? Not even a quarter of a year. And then it had collapsed.

Ponies were noticing her attitude. She hadn't been to any meetings since it had happened, delegating those tasks to her sister. She sometimes caught a glimpse of a magazine cover with her face on it, a headline questioning her health sprawled across the top. Ponies thought she was dying.

They didn't know that she was already dead.

All she wanted was it back. Not the physical intimacy. That wasn't what she craved. She wanted to talk about magic and friendship over dinner. She wanted to hear Twilight awkwardly explain her strange taste in music. She wanted to converse about the symbolism in Donkey Oat.

She just wanted Twilight back. But it wouldn't happen. It was a stupid idea, a horrible one. Relationships with age differences of ten years never lasted, much less thousands. It was wrong.

But none of those excuses would stick in her mind, it wasn’t enough. She wanted it back.

And, without it, she felt as if a shadow was over her. Almost like her heart was in a coma.


* * *


Twilight, somewhat ironically, felt almost the exact same way.

She herself had spent most of her time in the library, quietly contemplating her own faults. She had barely ventured outside. Normally her friends comforted her, but now they served as horrible reminders of her apparent inability to keep the most important relationship she had.  Ponies were starting to notice.

She had overreacted. That much was obvious. So had Celestia, really.

Of course, she couldn't really shake the feeling that they should have told others. It might have made the relationship stronger. Or it could have killed all the suspense, ruining it. But wasn't it based off something deeper than the fear of getting caught?

Twilight ran the ideas over and over in her mind. She just couldn't make sense of them, a jumble of emotions that didn't really seem to go up there. She didn't know what to do. Didn't agree with most of her own thoughts. It was horrible.

Some part of her wanted things to go back to how they were - Her, five best friends, and a crush that she assumed would come to nothing. It would have been much easier than this. Yeah, sure, she was supposed to be glad it happened, not sorry that it was over, but she couldn't shake the feeling of regret. The purple mare put her head in her hooves, sighing. She was past crying, but she still couldn't shake the empty feeling in her chest.

"Twilight!"

Her ears perked up at the sound of her name, before being assaulted by a barrage of knocks.

"Twilight, darnit! You've been shut up in that dang library for a month!"

"Darling, we're worried about you!"

Twilight ignored them. She couldn't talk to them right now. She didn't have the strength. She knew they would go away if she just waited long enough-

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of a window opening.

"Twilight! Are you alright?"

Twilight glanced upwards, noticing a cyan pegasus just in front of her (apparently unlocked) window.

"Rainbow! I can't believe you just broke into-"

"It's not like she was going to talk to us any other way!" the pegasus snapped, cutting of Rarity. "C'mon, Twilight. Can't you just talk to us?"

Seeing no other option, Twilight stood up, staring irritably at the intruder. "Maybe if you hadn't just broken into my house."

"Twilight. Please."

Rainbow swooped down to the door, unlocking it. 

"We're trying to help."

Twilight bit back a response. She wanted nothing more than to take out her anger on something, anything, and her friends presented a prime opportunity.

"Twi," Applejack eventually began, taking care to break the several seconds of silence gently, "Can you just tell us why you've been cooped up?"

"Studying," Twilight responded, hoping they would buy her excuse.

"Without any books in front of you, in a dark room?" Rarity questioned.

Damn.

Well, there went that plan. Twilight searched her head for an excuse.

"I just don't feel good, okay?

"Are ya sick?"

"Yes. I have a flu."

"A month-long flu, and you haven't visited the doctor once?"

"I mean... Okay, fine, I'm not sick."

"Then what happened?"

"I- I mean," Twilight began, trying to think up an excuse.

"Look, Twilight. You spent the past couple'a weeks gone over to the Princesses' every other day. You were always busy- I mean, ya missed Pinkie's party for Winona's eighth Birthday, not to mention all our pet picnics. We assumed you two were workin' on an important project. Then you suddenly come back here and disappear into your library. We've hardly seen ya in a month. So I have a hunch this has somethin' to do with the princess."

"Darling, did something bad happen?"

"You didn't get, y'know, expelled, did you?"

Both Rarity and Applejack shot Rainbow a disapproving look.

"Er- Sorry," she added, sheepishly.

"Not... Exactly." Twilight said, panic slowly rising in her chest. "We, uh, we were working on something, and we had a fight on, uh, how to proceed, and it got a bit, uh, angry, and we might have, you know, yelled, and then, well, she hasn't contacted me, so I thought that maybe she was angry, so I've been-"

Applejack cut her off before she could ramble any more. "Calm down, sugarcube."

"You yelled at the princess?" Rarity asked, shocked.

"Uh, not really yelled, more of a louder voice, I mean, I wasn't screaming, or anything, that would-"

Applejack cut her off again. "Twi, that's enough. Look. She hasn't talked to you at all?"

Twilight nodded.

"Well that's a might suspicious."

"Maybe she wants you to talk to her?" Rainbow piped up, still hovering a few inches off the ground. "Like, a friendship lesson, or something?"

"Yeah, friendship," Twilight muttered, just barely quiet enough that nobody in the room could hear her.

"Y'know, Rainbow has a point," Applejack said, still trying to be gentle, "She might be tryin' to teach you a lesson about friendship."

"It does seem like something the Princess would do," Rarity commented.

Twilight smirked. Oh, if only they knew...

Still. They kind of had a point. Letting everything go because of one argument was childish. Both of them were better than that.

"I... I guess you're right," Twilight responded. "I have been feeling a bit off, after the fight. It would feel good to just talk to her."

Her friends nodded.

"Send her a letter?" Applejack suggested.

"No, don't do that! Talk to her in person," Rarity interjected, before Twilight could respond, "It's always much better to do it that way, dear."

"So, what, she's just going to walk up to the palace and ask for a private audience with the princess?" Rainbow asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, fine," Rarity responded after a slight pause, "Maybe send her a letter to let her know you want to talk."

Twilight swallowed. Her friends had no idea how serious this really was. Still, there was something comforting about how they tried to help. After mentally struggling for a moment, Twilight resolved to follow their advice.

"I think I will," she said, a burst of hope hitting her in the chest.

"That's the spirit! Giving up is never the right option."

"Yeah. You gotta work through it."

Twilight smiled and nodded.

"We'll give you some space, then," Rarity said, turning towards the door, "Wouldn't want to distract you from writing!"

Getting the hint, the other two ponies left, leaving Twilight alone in the library.

As Twilight placed a piece of parchment on her desk, she wrestled with her stomach. This was it. The most important letter she would ever write to the princess.

The familiarity of the action was strange, considering the context. She hadn't written a single letter since she had started the relationship with her former mentor. She was still writing, but it felt worlds apart from before.

She took a deep breath and began.

"Dear Princess Celestia..."
> No More (Part 1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"I think... I think we made a mistake."
Celestia, mercifully, had broken the ice. Nothing is worse than sitting awkwardly in the same room as a significant other that you've recently had a fight with, both silent. Then again, nothing was harder than breaking that silence...
Twilight shook her head, clearing her thoughts. A mistake. The relationship was a mistake.
Well, her heart was broken anyway. A bit more damage couldn't really do that much, could it?
"I- It went too fast. We were both so excited that we... Jumped in, and, uh..."
Celestia's voice died. Articulating this was a herculean feat, seemingly infinitely difficult. Raising the sun was easier.
"I understand."
Twilight's voice was near silence, thickly spoken behind a wall of suppressed tears. 
"So... Back to student-teacher? Or should we just split?" Twilight asked.
Celestia was startled. That wasn't what she meant at all.
"No! No, a thousand times no. I just... The mistake was the speed at which we undertook this, not the journey itself."
Twilight's eyes widened. She hadn't meant--
The singing of her heart was drowned out by doubt. She had jumped to the breakup conclusion a bit fast. What if Celestia thought...
"But, if you want to... Uh- Break-"
Celestia stopped talking, looking down at the floor. Her eyes were tightly shut, trying to keep a thousand emotions in.
"No!"
Twilight's voice was loud now, unsuppressed.
"No, I- That's the absolute last thing I want." 
Celestia looked up. For a moment, their eyes met.
"You'll stay?"
"I- Yes. Yes, of course. I wouldn't want anything else."
"Even if we do... Take things a bit slower?"
"I- Yes. Please. Yes."
Celestia blinked. This was going much better than expected. Maybe Luna had been right when she screamed (multiple times) to "Just talk to her!"
"But- I thought you were angry at the fact that it was still... y'know... Secret."
So, of course, her stupid mouth had to go and ruin it. Now the fight would start again, and they would separate, and that horrible feeling of-
"I was angry. But not... Not angry enough to get rid of this. Get rid of, uh... Us, I guess."
Twilight shuffled her legs awkwardly. This wasn't something either of them were experienced at.
After several seconds of silence, Celestia spoke again. "Do you still want to talk about it?"
Twilight paused, considered the question, and nodded.
"Alright. Now?"
"Might as well get it over with."
Celestia nodded in return. Now Twilight had the floor. Hopefully this conversation went as well as the last...
"I just... I don't want to keep running. I want to let the world know that we're together, because, I, uh, I guess I just... I love you so much, and I hate having to hide it. You are far too amazing and wonderful, too..."
Twilight shook her head.
"I can't hide this."
Celestia remained silent. She was afraid of what being in a relationship would do to her public image. She was worried about panic, and riots, and ponies whispering things about her... But, then again, she had no reason to believe this would happen. She had just assumed it would be so, assumed that things would end badly.
But... Why? Why would she assume that?
She was afraid to tell people. But maybe it wasn't their reactions. Maybe it was internal, not external, some fear of... Judgement? That was obviously a part of it, but it still felt like an excuse.
Maybe it was something to do with the future. If everypony knew, then it would be more public. Harder to handle. Less... Simple. Simplicity was good.
But it wasn't how things worked. She couldn't just lock the doors, continue with Twilight in secret. Her friends were probably already starting to wonder why she was gone so much. If they didn't figure it out, they would probably assume Twilight cared less for them, and turn their thoughts away. It certainly wouldn't have any good effects.
"I'm just... I'm scared, Twilight."
Twilight took a step towards the white alicorn, bringing their faces within inches. She nuzzled up against her neck, and Celestia could feel her warmth. It was comforting.
"I'm... I'm afraid too. My parents, and my friends, and my brother... They're not as scary as the whole world, of course, but they do frighten me. But I- I know we need to face it eventually. And I know that we won't lose our faith in each other, even if... Even if external forces act upon us."
"We certainly let this fight affect us..." Celestia murmured, her voice not angry, but uncertain.
"Yes, but- Well, we're fine now, right?"
"Right."
Silence ruled the room for a few seconds.
"You- You're right," Celestia began, "We need to tell people. Not the world at first, just... Just the people we care about. Your parents, friends... Then, after some time, we can announce whatever this is. Better than a reporter finding out, right?"
"Thank you," Twilight softly spoke.
Celestia slowly sat down on the floor, Twilight following her, still close together. 
Both of them felt ecstatic, amazing at a level they hadn't previously thought possible. They were back together. It was the kind of feeling that songs are written about, ballads performed in honor of, immortalized in the words of thousands of poets.
But the purest expression of it was just them, together, on the palace floor. Not kissing, not talking, not anything obvious. Just them, together at last.

* * *

Luna drew the cup away from the door. 
Technically, it was wrong to spy on her sister. That was a private moment. But, considering how stupid their last fight had been, she felt like they needed some insurance.
So, they were back together. Thank the gods. If they had actually broken up Luna would have probably cried almost as much as Celestia. Now all they had to do was tell the world.
Hopefully, that would go as well as their talk did...
> No More (Part 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight couldn't breathe.
She tried to inhale, to get some air, but her efforts went to waste. There was definitely something wrong. Something in her throat, constricting her diaphragm and depriving her brain of precious oxygen. Maybe the weight of the situation had actually crushed her ribcage.
Celestia nudged her. "You okay?"
Twilight shook her head, a breath coming at last. "Fine. Just- Just nervous."
Celestia nodded and turned back to the road. Both of them were in Ponyville, trying to remain inconspicuous as they trotted down Main Street. This was no easy task for the ruler of the country, but Celestia had been in town before. Most ponies assumed it was just part of Twilight's training. Certainly, nobody knew the true purpose of the visit.
Both mares walked without conversing, mentally preparing themselves for what was about to come. Twilight knew her friends would probably be supportive, but ponies reacted weirdly to... This kind of stuff. Things could go out of hand.
Beyond the nerves, there was some pangs of guilt. She really should have told her parents first. Her brother had already married an Alicorn, so it wouldn't be too much of a stretch for her to be in a relationship with one. Then again, Cadence was the opposite sex of her brother, not the same, which really was the linchpin of the situation. Her friends had at least shown some signs that they were okay with it - Dash had mentioned that one of the other mares on the flight team wasn't straight in passing once, and hadn't seemed to think anything of it - and there was no way she'd be able to tell anybody else if her parents took things poorly. Hopefully, they would be fine with it, which would give her friends strength to face her parents, since their reaction was still up in the air.
Finally, they were at the door to the library. Twilight was pretty sure her blood pressure was high enough that her arteries were in danger of popping.
Celestia made a small gulping noise. "You want me to go first?"
"Uh... Together?"
"I don't think we'd fit in the door."
"That's true. Uh..."
Twilight took a step forward, trying to seem confident. It wasn't fooling anybody, but it helped her a little.
"Well. Nothing to lose, right?"
Except my closest friends and my dignity and Celestia's popularity with the masses and-
Twilight, again, shook her head. No. She couldn't think that now.
As she opened the door, she glanced at Celestia, who nodded slightly. At least, if they got screamed at, they would be screamed at together.
The door creaked as it slowly opened, like some kind of movie prop. Twilight took a few steps inside, Celestia behind her.
Her friends immediately bowed. Luna had set up everything perfectly - Her friends all received letters, alerting them to be in the library at this exact time, for an important meeting with the Princess. Twilight originally planned to tell them in person, and had even gotten halfway to Applejack's farm before losing her nerve. When she asked Celestia for assistance, her princess consulted her sister (after getting Twilight's permission to do so, of course), and Luna came up with the letter plan. In fact, Luna even wrote the carefully-worded letters herself, in a suspiciously small amount of time - almost as if they were pre-written. Twilight had tried not to think too much about it.
Celestia motioned for her friends to rise as Twilight trotted in the middle of the room. Both of the mares had earlier agreed that Twilight would be the one to speak. She felt like she had to. Celestia promised that she would only talk after Twilight had told them.
"I'm... Sure you're all wondering why you needed to be here," she began, trying to stay calm.
"Monsters? Invasion? Something we need to mop up with the elements of harmony?" Rainbow asked, interrupting her.
"Uh, no, nothing like that," Twilight responded, causing Fluttershy to visibly sigh in relief. "In fact, it's, uh, well, I guess you could call it good news."
After seeing Celestia glance at her, she clarified "I mean, I- I certainly think it's good news."
"Oh, darling, are you getting promoted? Going to live in the castle?" Rarity asked, visions of balls and frequent visits no doubt already dancing in her head.
"No, not- Not really that, either." Twilight said.
"Oo! Are we going to a party?" Pinkie began, "The Grand Galloping Gala wasn't much of a party but I'd love to go to another one, I hear that there's this place called 'Club ViQuo Dis'  in Canterlot that plays this really fast music and ponies dance and there's not cake but there's all sorts of weird drinks and that sounds like it would be--"
Mercifully, Applejack covered her mouth before she could continue rambling. "C'mon y'all. Let Twi finish what she's tryin' to say!"
"Thanks, Applejack," Twilight said. "I- Uh- Well, you probably noticed that I've recently spending a lot of time away from the library. Most of the time, when I left, I went to Canterlot, which you probably have already guessed."
"Were you working with Celestia on a secret, super-cool research project?" Rainbow asked, adding "Sorry" when she noticed Applejack glaring at her.
"No, I wasn't." Twilight answered. "I was actually... Uh... Well, I was with Celestia for pretty much that entire time. And I've been... Well, we have..."
She couldn't breathe again. No matter how hard she tried to inhale, she didn't seem to get any oxygen. Maybe this was a bad idea. Maybe she should have just kept it a secret. It certainly would have been easier.
"We've- Y'know, in Canterlot, me and Celestia have been-"
Suddenly, Twilight felt Celestia's hoof on her shoulder. She turned to face her former teacher and current girlfriend, which was still a concept her brain was getting used to. Celestia gave her a small smile, and a smaller nod. Twilight could tell that she, too, was nervous. Probably more nervous than she was. But she was still trying to help Twilight through, even if she wasn't any more confident about the situation.
That was all the motivation Twilight needed. She turned back to her friends.
"Me and Celestia have been dating."
The room suddenly went completely silent, as if her voice had sent a shockwave through it. All of her friends stared at her, their eyes showing a complex mix of a thousand emotions.
They stood, silent in the library, for an eternity. Twilight swallowed, trying but failing to keep eye contact. In a way, this shock was worse than yelling.
"Uh... You mean, like, date dates?" Applejack finally asked, her jaw still slightly agape.
"Yes." Celestia was the one to speak this time, her soft voice still containing a tinge of fear.
"Romantic dates?" Rarity asked, still in disbelief.
"Yes." Twilight responded.
Rarity blinked a few times, then turned  and stared at the floor. Most of her other friends did the same.
"...Are you guys pranking us?" Pinkie asked, eyes narrow.
"No." Celestia replied, her hoof still resting on Twilight's shoulder. "We have been romantically involved for a few months now. We- We thought we should tell you."
For an agonizing minute, her friends considered the development. Surprisingly, Fluttershy was the first to speak up.
"Well, I, uh..." she began, "I think that's very sweet."
"And a bit shocking," Rainbow muttered. "I mean, I didn't even know either of you were-- uh- into that, y'know, that kinda thing. Mares."
Twilight clenched her jaw. This was agony.
"I mean... I guess I just expected you to tell us that kind of thing, darling," Rarity said, slowly turning to face them. "You didn't keep secrets before."
"Well, she sure had a good reason tah," Applejack said, "I mean, that's mighty big news, right? It's hard for a mare to-- y'know, come out."
"Especially when you're dating a Princess," Fluttershy mumbled.
"I mean, it's- It's a bit, well, strange," Applejack said, her face beginning to turn red, "Not- Not bad strange, mind, but still hard ta wrap my head around."
"I mean, I don't-- I don't have a problem with it, or anything, but it's still kinda weird for me to think that you're dating the Princess." Rainbow said, quickly adding "No offense, of course. It's not bad weird, just... Weird."
"I..." Pinkie muttered, then shut her mouth.
"Just-- Look, Twi. This is a lot to drop on us." Applejack said. "Right, y'all?"
Her friends nodded.
"So, I think that, and I'm sure they'll all agree," she continued, obviously trying very hard to keep her voice level, "We need a bit'a time alone, to just, well, think it over. Maybe talk it out a bit, too. Just- Fifteen minutes?"
"I- I understand," Twilight said. She didn't really know if she should be happy or crying, and her head was filled with a strange numbness instead of any strong emotion. In a way, that was worse. "Should we just- Step out, or...?"
"That'd be mighty fine." Applejack responded.
Twilight turned to Celestia, who remained silent. Slowly, they walked out of the room.
Outside, Twilight and Celestia found a bench and sat down. Ponies milled around them, trying not to stare at the Princess.
Twilight slowly moved her hoof towards Celestia's. They only slightly touched, careful to be unnocitable to the passerby. But it was enough to bring some warmth back to Twilight's chest.
Now all they could do was wait.
> No More (Part 3)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	"Told ya!"
Applejack glared at Rainbow. Honestly, she had been surprised that she hadn't blurted that while Twilight was still in the room. Apparently, she had listened to that little talk they'd had.
Everypony had noticed that something fishy was up. Twilight's actions in the past months had been so dissimilar to the norm that Applejack had half a mind to inquire about Changelings. With the amount of time she was spending in Canterlot, the girls had been able to narrow it down to a few options: research project, preparing for some sort of graduation or ascension, or secret special somepony.
Of course, all the girls had expected that special somepony to be a professor or guard, and definitely not a princess. Hell, everybody except for Rainbow had expected it to be male.
"C'mon, Rainbow," Applejack groaned. "You thought it was probably another librarian. Not the princess."
"Still guessed that she was into mares!" Rainbow boasted.
"You say that about everybody," Applejack countered.
"Wonder why," Rarity muttered.
Dash, completely oblivious to Rarity's insinuation, just smiled.
"Still, uh," Applejack said, trying to find the correct words, "That's... Well, a might unexpected."
"It's so romantic, though," Rarity said, "A young student longing for love, a wise teacher willing to give!"
"Sounds like one of those romance 'novels' you read," Rainbow snickered.
"Hey!"
"What? You read them, don't ya?"
"Yes, but-"
"Girls!" Applejack shouted. "Back on topic!"
Rarity nodded. "So... The Princess."
"That's kinda adorable, but also really weird." Pinkie said.
"Yeah... I mean, I'm happy for them, but boy, that was out of left field," Rainbow agreed. "Still, kinda awesome. Hey, would Twilight be a princess too if they got married? I think Princesses hang out with the Wonderbolts a lot."
"Rainbow!" Applejack cried. "It's a bit early for that!"
"Well, yeah, but still."
Applejack shook her head.
"Girls, uh," Fluttershy mumbled, the temporary silence finally giving her a chance to speak up, "Twilight is probably really worried right now."
"Why would she be worried?" Pinkie asked. "We just needed to get our heads around it. It's kind of a big deal, right?"
"Yes, but, uh," Fluttershy replied, "We kinda... Just asked her to leave, and she looked pretty nervous."
"Well, yes, but - It's not like we could have had this conversation with her in the room!" Rarity said, more to assure herself than Fluttershy.
"Well, she does have a point," Applejack admitted. "I mean, I know I'd be a bit scared if I both came out and admitted I was dating royalty."
"Well, it's not like hearing this conversation would help!" Rainbow replied.
"I know, but I think that we probably should have made it a bit clearer that we were okay with it first." Applejack said. "I mean..."
Applejack walked to the window near the library's door and opened it, revealing Twilight and Celestia on a bench. Twilight was staring at the ground, Celestia's hoof on her shoulders. She looked like she was about to cry.
"Oh." Rainbow muttered, slowly fluttering to the floor. "That might be a problem."
"Yeah, uh," Applejack muttered, "Kinda thought that they're just be holding hooves or somethin' there. Didn't mean ta see that."
"Well, uh," Rarity said, "Perhaps we should go and get her?"
"Who wants to do it?" Applejack asked
"Well, you were the one who asked her to leave..." Rainbow replied.
"She offered!"
"You accepted!"
"Girls!" Pinkie shouted. "Let's just all go."
Both Rainbow and Applejack remained silent for a moment, then nodded. Together, the five walked outside.

* * *

"Twi?"
Twilight slowly looked up.
"Look, uh," Applejack stuttered, "We- We're sorry. We just, uh, needed a minute."
Twilight remained silent, just staring at her. She would have replied but she was pretty sure she couldn't make any noise right now. Well, any noise besides that of a sob.
"I mean, you are kind of dating royalty. That's sorta weird." Pinkie commented, "But not bad weird! It's cool."
"Awesome!"
"Romantic!"
"Uh... it's very nice."
Twilight's eyes welled up with tears. Before she could start crying, her friends all swarmed her for a hug.
"Th- Thanks, girls," Twilight muttered.
"Did you think we'd be upset?" Applejack asked, her voice low.
"I- I was just scared."
"Scared of us?" Pinkie asked. "We're your friends!"
"Y- Yeah, but..."
Twilight shook her head.
"You're right."
About a minute later, the hug broke. Twilight stood, facing her friends.
"Darling... Now that that's out of the way," Rarity began, "You simply must tell us the story!"
"S- Sure. Can we do it inside, though?" Twilight asked, looking back at Celestia. "This isn't exactly... public knowledge yet."
Celestia nodded. Rainbow muttered something in protest as they all re-entered the library. There, Twilight gave them a brief summary of the relationship -- Leaving out all the intimacy, of course. Twilight's friends left an hour later, leaving her alone with the Princess. As they walked, Rainbow turned to Applejack.
"Hey. Do ya think they..." she began, her voice increasing slightly in pitch as the sentence went on.
"Do I think they what?" Applejack asked, her voice gaining a slight edge.
"Y'know... Did it?"
"Rainbow!"
"What! It's an honest question!"
"Get your mind out of the gutter. That's their business."
Applejack continued to walk to her farm, Rainbow following behind her. A few minutes later, she spoke again.
"I bet they did."
Applejack sighed and turned around.
"Dash..."
"I know, I know," Rainbow said, waving a hoof, "That's inappropriate. You just... Ya have to wonder, ya know?"
Applejack shook her head.
> Runnin'
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Twilight flopped down on the couch, making a noise of exasperation.
That was horrible. Absolutely horrible.
Her parents had been supportive. Surprisingly so, in fact. They had apparently already went through this with her brother, who had dated some other stallion in the royal guard for a small period of time while she was away in Ponyville -- Something that he had forgot to mention to her, just like his eventual engagement to Cadence. Apparently, he was still a little embarrassed about it.
"You okay, Twi?" Celestia asked.
"Uhhhh...." Twilight groaned, still not really ready to talk.
They'd been supportive, yeah, but they were still kind of uncomfortable with the whole thing. After all, they had given her over to Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns when she was a very small filly. She'd pretty much grown up at the palace. The fact that she was now dating somebody who was an adult that took care of her when she was being raised had, understandably, brought up all kinds of weird implications.
Implications that they weren't really afraid to question.
Twilight assured them that she had first realized that she liked Celestia after she left Canterlot for Ponyville. She had always looked up to her as a mentor and teacher, of course, but it became something deeper only after she had been separated from the Princess. The Princess, similarly, said that she had first began to like her sometime after the whole Changeling thing in Canterlot. She had also said something about "two dancers in a field," something Twilight didn't really understand.
Her parents found the explanations adequate, and assured them that any worries they had about the relationship were dispelled. Even so, it had still been the most stressful half-hour of Twilight's life.
"Twilight..." Celestia said, her voice full of concern.
"Celestia," Twilight began, rolling over to face her, "I need a minute here."
Celestia nodded, and time slowly passed.
"Well," Twilight muttered, "It went better than expected."
"I knew they would understand, Twi."
Celestia briefly considered snuggling up next to her on the couch, but there wasn't nearly enough room.
"I know your parents. They're wonderful ponies, and they love you very much. Of course they're understand."
Twilight nodded. "Doesn't make it any less nerve-wracking."
"True..."
Celestia sat on the floor next to Twilight. "Well, all that's left now is..."
Celestia's voice trailed off. Now it was her turn to be nervous to the point of panic."
"The public." Twilight stated, finishing Celestia's point for her.
"Yes. The public."
Silence dominated the room for a few minutes.
"That'll go just as smoothly, right?" Twilight said, trying to reassure the Princess.
"Yes." Celestia said, her diction terse. "Yes, I'm sure it will."
Twilight could tell she was lying.


* * * 


Two weeks later, Celestia stood nervously in the foyer of her castle.
"You got this, Sis," Luna said, trying to be encouraging. "It's easy. They'll love it. No need to worry."
Celestia rolled her eyes. Luna had very obviously picked up some kind of entry-level book on motivational speech-giving. She appreciated her sister's effort, but she was kind of doing the exact opposite of helping.
"No sweat, Sis, no sweat!"
In the courtyard outside, reports from almost every news outfit in Equestria were gathered. The Princesses gave these conferences fairly often, but this was a special case. For one, it was on a Tuesday, not a Sunday. That alone was enough to get the rumor mill started. When the actual announcement letter came out, with "A very special announcement" as the only thing on the agenda, the media went absolutely insane. Theories ranged from new laws, to major new scientific discoveries, to an outbreak of war, to some kind of political scandal.
They were all wrong, of course. Or, at the very least, mostly wrong. Out of the very few predictions that the conference had to do with the Princesses' personal life, only a handful guessed that it had to do with romance. Of that handful, theories ranged from "Celestia is considering accepting suitors" to "Celestia has found a Stallion", with a couple of left-field predictions (including The Equestrian Inquierer's lovely headline "Princess Luna Pregnant After Night out on Town," which was a new low, even for them,) in the mix. Not a single one correctly guessed that Celestia was dating a mare.
Which meant that this would probably come as a shock.
Celestia took a deep breath.
"You go, girl!"
Well, at least facing the crowd would be easier than facing her sister's cheering.
Celestia took a step out the palace doors. A chorus of trumpets blew a single note, signaling the crowd to be quiet.
Celestia walked to the podium, placing her notes down upon it. There wasn't much jotted down, but Celestia felt better with an outline in front of her.
"A-hem."
Celestia took a deep breath. If Twilight could face her family, she could do this, right?
"People of Equestria. I am sure you are all wondering why I have gathered you here today."
The crowd leaned in slightly, pencils and cameras at the ready.
"I know that many of you are wondering why I called you here today. The circumstances are, uh, slightly different from the norm. But, then again, so is my announcement."
The sound of pencils furiously jotting down notes filled the air as Celestia took another breath.
"In the interest of royal transparency, I must reveal something to you, before rumors are started. Recently, I have..."
Celestia stared out at the crowd. God. This truly was the point of no return, wasn't it?
"...I have began a romantic relationship."
Cameras flashed, and a murmur ran through the crowd. Celestia gave them a bit of time to settle down.
"This relationship has been ongoing for a number of months, and has brought great joy to myself and the one I am dating. Rest assured, this has not effected my ability to rule. If anything, it has enhanced it. However, as this relationship -- and, indeed, all I do -- will, to some extant, have a reflection on Equestria's position in international politics, I felt that it would be best for me to fully reveal the details, as opposed to an investigative report from a journalist."
Celestia briefly closed her eyes, then continued.
"I am currently dating Twilight Sparkle, who has been a student of mine for several years. I realized that I was romantically interested in her after she left Canterlot to be the Ponyville librarian. While this is my private business, I felt the need to be open and honest with my citizens."
Celestia took another deep breath.
"I-- I love her very much, and I have never been happier. Thank you for you understanding. There will be no questions answered at this time. "
With that, Celestia turned around, and walked back in the palace.
It was almost possible to see the realization move through the crowd. The murmur quickly grew into open conversation.
She.. She had said she. The Princess-
The Princess was dating a mare!
The crowd of reporters stormed off, each desperate to be the first one who put the story in print. 
> Sport (Finale)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Celestia woke up to the extremely loud sound of her sister's hooves on her door.

"Sister! The morning edition of Canterlot Daily is out!"

Celestia' heart sunk in her chest. Well, this was it, wasn't it? They had more than enough time to thoroughly analyze the previous day's revelations. Most of the papers published a purely informative evening edition in their rush to get the story to print. No indication of public opinion at all.

Just the thought of what they might think made Celestia sick. She went to bed early, leaving the sun-lowering duties to her sister. Not that she got even a wink of sleep. Her mind was plagued by nightmares of riots, public denunciation, a demand for a new ruler.

Celestia rolled out of bed and lumbered to her bedroom door, where her sister was still banging. She opened it just a crack with magic, looking out of it with one eye.

"What's it say?"

Her sister grinned wildly and shoved the door the rest of the way open, pushing Celestia out of the way. The elder Alicorn glared at her sister, but only for a moment, as her attention was drawn by the newspaper Luna was holding in her hand.

"Read it, sister."

Celestia bit her lip, mentally bracing herself.

No matter what happens, you did the right thing, she thought, trying to reassure herself. And, no matter what they think, you'll always have Twilight.

Celestia read the headline.

"CELESTIA IN LOVE: PRINCESS DATING FEMALE FORMER STUDENT!"

So far, just accurate. Her eyes drifted down the page...

"Speculation running wild! Possible wedding bells in near future? Magical foals on the way?"

Both inaccurate, but... Not overly accusatory. Celestia's brow descended upon her eyes as she continued to read, squinting.

"Eye-witness accounts of the intrigue-filled relationship!"

"Famous Romance Writer Paige Turner seeks to chronicle the epic love story! Plans meeting with Celestia's royal palace!"

"Expert analysis: Just who is the Princess's lover? Interviews with friends and family!"

Celestia rapidly scanned the page, looking for some indication of negative reaction. But the only thing on the page were wild rumors and speculation. Not the rumors and speculation she was used to -- the accusatory, panicking reactions ponies always had to a new trade agreement or treaty. No, these headlines had a much different tone. One of excitement.

Celestia slowly looked up at her sister, still not believing her eyes. "Luna. What do the other papers say?"

"Almost the same content!" Luna beamed, producing a different newspaper out of a saddlebag. "They talk about your future, your past... Everything to do with you and Twilight!"

"And... What do they say about me and Twilight?" Celestia asked, her voice very quiet.

"That it's, and I quote-" Luna began, unfurling another newspaper with magic, "'The Greatest Love Story of Our Time!' Sister, they love it!"

Celestia blinked. "All of them?"

"Oh, no, of course not. One article used the word 'degenerate' over sixty times. I counted." Luna stated, matter-of-factly. "But the overwhelming majority is positive!"

Celestia felt the corners of her mouth involuntarily turning upwards into a grin. There would be complications, of course. Nothing in life was perfect. People would have concerns about the relationship. Her and Twilight would no doubt have some turbulence in the future. But, for this one moment, everything was okay.





Celestia continued to read newspaper articles over her morning coffee. Most were just wild speculation, but one stood out to her.

The article was titled "A Royal Surprise: How Me and my Partner are Reacting to the News." It was one of those op-ed pieces, way at the back of the newspaper. In it, a mare described her own relationship with another mare, and how both of them reacted to Celestia's admission of her own homosexual relationship. To be honest, Celestia found the article rather uninteresting. The author wasn't saying anything that wasn't being said in many other, similar columns.

No, it wasn't the author's words that stood out to Celestia. It was the author herself. The mare had white fur, with electric blue hair. It took Celestia about a minute to figure out where she'd seen her before.

It was the dancer. The dancer, in the field. The one who started the whole mess.

Celestia stared at the image for a few moments, then put the paper aside, away from the others. She had somebody to thank--

Celestia's thoughts were interrupted by a guard. "Ma'am, there's a package for you."

The guard set the parcel in his mouth down on the table, quickly retreating out of the kitchen. Celestia looked at it with curiosity. No formal seal, no return address. It was plain, simple.

She opened it with magic. There was a letter at the very top, which she levitated in front of her face. She quickly set to reading.




Your Highness Princess Celestia,

On the behalf of the entire Griffon nation, I would like to congratulate both you and Twilight. We all hope that your relationship stands the test of time.

Personally, too, I send my regards. It's always very exciting to be in a new relationship. I should know, considering that I recently stumbled into one myself. Perhaps the fact that you went public with yours shall let me do the same with mine.

If I may be so bold as to list out my own personal desires for your future, I have but one: I wish that you and Twilight shall both 'open up your throat.' It's an old Griffon saying, traditionally states towards an opera singer before they take the stage. It signifies that the singer should allow their own emotions to flow out of them, to sing the song with such energy and emotion that it cease to be just a song, and becomes a work of art. In this context, however, I wish for you to sing metaphorically. I wish that you can shout your love from the high heavens, not caring for what those around you may think. You seemed a very kind mare when I talked to you. You deserve happiness.

Best regards,
Avery




Celestia closed the paper. It was a cheesy note, but touching nonetheless. At least he wasn't condemning the relationship and declaring war. She set the note aside, looking at the package.

Inside it was a single adobe slat, identical to the ones that covered the roofs of hundreds of buildings. Celestia remembered the griffon king mentioning something about that. How he preferred simple things to the complex, four walls and a roof to a giant castle. She smiled softly. She wasn't entirely sure what the griffon was trying to say, but she appreciated the gesture.

She looked out her window, the papers next to her abandoned. Perhaps the Griffon was trying to get her to ask herself what she really wanted. What her "four walls and adobe slats" was. Her simple joy.

She stood up, her horn already channeling a teleport spell. Her simple joy wasn't the papers, or the politics, or even the coffee.

It was a lavender librarian in Ponyville.

The most beautiful, wonderful librarian in all of Equestria.

Her librarian.

With a burst of magic, Celestia disappeared from the room, to tend to what was really important.