Twilight's Love

Chapter One: First Date

Twilight was riding the express train home to Ponyville. At the moment, she was so giddy she could barely sit still. She had just been on her very first date with a stallion.

A few hours before...

Twilight and Flash Sentry, after muddling through their confessions of being attracted to each other, had decided to go to lunch together. They had travelled to a small diner, not far from the Crystal castle. Once they had ordered their food and sat down to eat it, Twilight became aware that some of the other patrons were staring at them. Clearly, they considered a princess having lunch with a guard to be a matter of extreme interest. Having so many eyes on her made Twilight feel self-conscious.

"Maybe we should have gone somewhere a little more... private." She cringed.

"Hey, relax." Flash smiled, gently placing his hoof on hers. "Let's not worry about them. Let's just focus on each other. What do you say?"

As she looked into Flash's kind eyes, Twilight found it incredibly easy to focus on him. The rest of the diner seemed to melt away.

"That'll work." Twilight sighed.

"I thought so." Flash chuckled. "By the way, has anypony ever told you how unbelievably beautiful your eyes are?"

"No, I can't say that's ever been brought up before." Twilight replied, blushing.

"I find that very hard to believe." Flash smiled.

"Well, it's true." Twilight shrugged.

"Okay, then." Flash grinned. "I'll be sure to bring it up as often as I can."

"You do that." Twilight said coquettishly.

After finishing their meal, the pair walked back to the castle, where Twilight still had some work to do, translating ancient Mareabic texts. As they trotted into the main hall, they were greeted by Cadance and (sporting a sour look) Shining Armor.

"Hi, Shining." Twilight waved nervously, acknowledging the look on her brother's face.

"Hey, Twily." Shining smiled for a moment, but only for a moment. His sour look returned as he turned to Flash. "Guardspony Sentry. To me, please."

"Yes, sir." Flash obeyed.

"How did it go?" Cadance asked, in an aside to Twilight.

"Great!" Twilight whispered.

"Sentry, my wife has brought it to my attention that you took my little sister out on a date." Shining said sternly.

"A lunch date, sir." Flash clarified.

Shining glared at Flash, who backed down a little.

"What are your intentions regarding Twilight?" He asked.

"Shining!" Twilight said hotly. "That's none of your business!"

"Considering I'm your big brother, I'd say this is my business." Shining retorted. "Sentry, answer the question."

"My intentions are fully pure, sir." Flash said nervously. "I have romantic feelings for Twilight, and, well... the feeling is mutual."

"I see." Shining nodded. "Alright then, you two have my blessing. But know this." He jabbed a hoof at Flash. "If you ever hurt Twilight, in any way whatsoever, I swear I will come down on you like a ton of bricks. I will hunt you down and show you no mercy. I'll make you wish you had never even heard my sister's name. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal." Flash trembled.

"Wait a second, Shining!" Twilight leapt in again, incensed at her big brother's threats. "What makes you think I need your 'blessing' to date somepony?"

"Easy, Twilight." Cadance tried to calm her down. "Shining's probably just been wanting to pull the 'protective big brother' act for years now. Though I must admit, he did overdo it a little."

Cadance glared at Shining as she said that. Shining actually took a step back.

"Maybe a little." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Sorry, Twily."

"Apology accepted." Twilight sighed. "Now, if nopony minds, I have some ancient writings to translate. Coming, Flash?"

"Right behind you." Flash nodded, skittishly edging around Shining as he followed his princess paramour.

It took most of the afternoon, but Twilight managed to finish the translations. Of course, that meant it was time for her to return to Ponyville, something she had almost forgotten about. The thought of separating after coming together so meaningfully was galling to them both.

"I'll write to you." Twilight told him. "And visit as often as I can."

"Me, too." Flash smiled, gently kissing her hoof. "I'll use every day off I can get to be with you."

"Oh, Flash..." Twilight blushed.

Flash escorted Twilight to the train station, where he, Shining and Cadance saw her off. Twilight gave Shining and Cadance a hug each, then walked up to Flash. After a moment of nervous hesitation, she briefly rubbed her muzzle against his, something that Shining did not take kindly to, glaring at Flash as Twilight boarded the train.

"Be nice, Shining." Cadance told him. "After all, maybe someday, he'll end up becoming your brother-in-law!"

Twilight and Cadance both laughed out loud at the mortified look on Shining's face. Flash held back his laughter, not wanting to get on Shining's bad side any more then he already was.

The present...

As the train made it's way to Ponyville station, Twilight was thinking that Cadance's remark about marriage was a bit much. That she had gained herself a coltfriend was a feat in itself, but marriage? That remained to be seen. She was, after all, still new to the whole "romance" thing, as was her beau. In hindsight, a long-distance relationship was probably best, as it would allow them to ease into things, one milestone at a time.

Princess Luna had raised the moon by the time the train had arrived at Ponyville. As she disembarked, Twilight suddenly realised that she would have to endure a flurry of "I knew it!"'s and "Twilight's got a coltfriend!"'s from her friends when she told them of the day's events. They had correctly assumed she had a crush on Flash, and teased her for it. There was no doubt in Twilight's mind that they would poke at least a little fun at her over their being right.

'Oh, well.' Twilight thought, smiling brightly. 'It's a small price to pay.'

To Be Continued...

(My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic and all associated characters are the property of Hasbro.)