The Canterlot streets and walls shine with the orange of the rising sun. Ponies in the usually busy market are calm-for now-as most focus on setting up their shops. Meanwhile, two figures sit on a bench in the Canterlot Garden, and they converse like best friends, despite only knowing each other for a mere month.

"No, Celestia, that's retarded."

"Oh? How would you do it then?"

"I wouldn't do it at all, Celestia."

"But whyy?" She whines, the last word having a high pitch. The smile that she's been holding the entire time she's been with him turns into a pout, and he has to look away.

"Becaauuusee," he says mockingly.

Celestia huffs, looking at him with a small frown. But in reality, the frown is playful, and it's not too long until it turns into a mischievous smile. Underneath, she is content. Quite happy, actually, just sitting with him here in the Canterlot Garden. Unfortunately-for him, perhaps-she has a plan. "Isaaac," she says impishly.

Isaac sighs, and shakes his head. It's over. She has a plan. I mean, of course she has a plan. She most assuredly had one before we even started our walk. She always has one. Why didn't I expect it? And now, I'm going to be an accessory to… not a crime, at the very least. But it might as well be. Pranking Luna. Is she insane? It's not even the prankee, actually, it's the time of the prank. It's like it's not even a prank, it's just something to piss Luna off. But… maybe Luna deserves it. Celestia did seem pretty upset with her sister's last prank. But then again, you've always had an affinity for blondes. The last thought makes Isaac smile, and for a moment he stares forward, before he is pulled back to reality. How long have I been sitting here, staring, since she last said something? He looks to his right, coming almost face-to-face with an amused looking Celestia.

"What are you looking at?" He asks, staring back at her with an equally amused face.

"Oh, you know… you," Celestia replies, her smile growing wider as she notices her reply's effect on Isaac.

Isaac starts to stammer, whilst fighting his small blush before settling for a totally smooth, "Cool."

Celestia giggles, and says, "Oh, Isaac, it's okay. You don't have to blush and act flustered. It's flattering, but I know I'll never be as good as your… 'women' back home."

Isaac's face contorts, and quickly settles on a worried expression. Before thinking about the implications of his words, he quickly argued, "What?! No, no. You're more than good, actually. You're perfect, in fact..." he stops, realizing what he has just divulged.

Now it's Celestia's turn to act flustered. She hastily searches Isaac's face, searching for even the smallest shred of sarcasm. When she doesn't find any, she goes through a wide range of emotions. Inside, she is relieved, excited, and hopeful. But at the same time, she feels doubtful, scared, and apprehensive.

It takes her a moment to take back her composure, but she is now filled with dread. She looks at Isaac carefully, but alternates between him and the ground to her right.

"Isaac… I… I'm flattered, truly, and perhaps under different circumstances I would let you…" Celestia sighs, then starts once more, "I can't let myself feel the same way for you, Isaac. Or for any other being, in fact. I believe that-"

"Wait. I get it. You're immortal and a princess and everything, and… yeah. Okay. It's… okay. Uh… I should go. See you tom… later."

Celestia watches as Isaac stands up and walks away. Her heart feels heavy, as though somepony were pulling on it, and a few tears fall from her eyes, but she blinks them away, and takes a few deep breaths, taking away the hooves that were pulling on her heart.

For the moment, she maintains her composure, but it quickly falls as she thinks back on what she said to her friend. 'Oh, you know. You,'?! Really, Celestia?! You should have known what would happen after that… and what you said after! You should have been perceptive of his feelings. You… Celestia sighs, and takes a deep breath. Alright. Calm down, Celestia. Your friend will come back. He just has to get over it, I'm sure. Celestia starts to stand, her duties now filling most of her thoughts. She departs, saying a mantra in her head that has kept her sane for years. A mantra she has said at least ten thousand times. It'll be fine…

Canterlot now shines yellow. Most ponies are up and about. Isaac trudges down Canterlot streets, with his hands in his pockets and a downtrodden expression on his face. He ignores the various ponies' pleasantries as he walks deciding to keep his gaze focused on the ground in front of him.

Sooner or later, he reaches the castle's gates, and he enters, and eventually reaches his luxurious room in the castle.

"Isaac," the feminine pegasus guard stationed outside his room spouts cheerfully.

"Hey, Sunny," Isaac mumbles, before briskly walking into his room and promptly lie on the bed. As soon as he enters, he was filled with regret for his behavior towards the mare. She is one of his friends, after all. I shouldn't take it out on her… Hell, I shouldn't have taken it out on Celestia. It's not her fault, anyway.

Isaac's thoughts are interrupted by three knocks on the door, followed by a slightly muffled, feminine voice, "Isaac? Are you okay?"

Isaac sighs. He hates it when ponies were sad. "You can come in," he states.

A second later, the door opens, a turquoise mare peeking inside and in another second, the pony scurries in, and takes her helmet off and sets it down by the door, revealing her vibrant yellow mane.

"Hey, Isaac. Are you okay?" She inquires once more, all the while inching her way towards him. She had only seen him as melancholy as this once before. That was when he had just arrived in Equestria. She felt sympathetic and concerned for him during that time, and was-and still is-glad that she had been assigned to guard him. She had made a good friend in him since then, and now… seeing him so gloomy hurt her, too. But she was determined to cheer him up. The mare believes that it is her duty as a guard-and as a friend, more importantly, to do so.

"Not really," Isaac confessed, keeping his stare upon the ceiling.

Sunny Skies sighed, but made sure that Isaac couldn't hear it. She wishes that he was more expressive, more talkative around her, but at least he's letting her help. She climbs up onto Isaac's bed, faces Isaac, and sits on her haunches on the opposite side of the bed. "What's wrong?"

"Uhm… you're totally going to laugh at me…"

"Come on, now. I won't judge you, Isaac. You should know that by now," Sunny says caringly.

A moment passes before Isaac decides to tell her, "Yeah… you're right. I'm sorry, Sunny. Okay, uhm… it's Celestia."

One of Sunny's eyebrows raises at the mention of the Princess' name.

"She… we were-this morning, we were walking through the Gardens, like we always do, as you know… and we were talking… "

"So, yeah, we were talking, and then, somehow, I kind of… well, not kind of-I did… basically told her-indirectly, that I… liked her, I guess."

"Like…" Sunny mumbles, before gasping, and looking at Isaac with wide eyes and perked up ears. "Y-you mean like, as in 'like, like'?!"

Isaac nods and murmurs a "Uh-huh."

"Oh my gosh, what… oh," Sunny gawks, muttering the last word as she quickly figured out the reason for his sorrowful demeanor. "W-well, uhm... I don't really have enough-or any, really-experience to tell you what to do… but, I'm sure it's going to work out in the end, Isaac. Really, I do," she encourages, a hoof resting on Isaac's shoulder while he lies there, gaze still fixated on the ceiling.

Isaac sighs, "Maybe. But what am I going to do tomorrow, Sunny? I think I just ruined my friendship with Celestia… damn it," he laments, both of his hands resting on his face. He growls, somewhat quietly, before sighing again.

"Well, you told me that you have work for the next five days, right?" Sunny queries, smiling when Isaac nods, "Great! Then you have a few days to think about what you want to say to her, right?" She suggests enthusiastically.

"Are you sure about this? What if she takes me not talking to her much for that long incorrectly? What if-"

"Shh. Have I ever steered you the wrong way, Isaac?" Sunny challenged, smiling sweetly.

"Well, yes, many times, actually-and I'm sure your advice is a lot more sound than usual considering the gravity of this particular situation, but you seriously just said that, and I quote, 'I don't really have enough-or any, really-experience to tell you what to do,' which doesn't really invoke a lot of confidence in your advising abilities…

Sunny's smile turns into a frown, then into a pout, her eyes on the verge of shedding tears, and her ears becoming upside down, hugging the side of her head, "I-is my help really that bad? I'm sorry, I don't mean to… I'll just go outside now. I'm sorry,"

Before Sunny could get the chance to move, Isaac grabs her hoof which was previously on his shoulder, eliciting Sunny to promptly look into his eyes. He sits up and faces her, then sighs in frustration, causing him to hastily apologize, "Sorry! Damn it… sorry. I'm not mad at you, or upset with you…" He lets his words take effect before cautiously apologizing once again, "I just… I'm really bad with peop-ponies. Actually, I was bad with people, too, but… anyway. I didn't really mean what I said, and… I'm sorry. I really am. In truth, I'm very thankful for your help, even though they may land me in some trouble sometimes. But that's okay! You're still one of my best friends, really! A-at least, I hope I'm still your friend, after what my big mouth just said…"

Sunny's eyes slowly went towards the hand that was gripping her hoof, and in a moment, the hand retracts itself, followed by a, "Sorry…" She looks away for a minute, but returns her gaze onto Isaac. Then, Sunny opens her forelegs to him, her gaze turning into a hopeful, somewhat cheery look. Isaac's expression turns into one of relief, and soon enough, the two are caught in an embrace. "Thank you, Isaac. It's okay. I forgive you. You're still my best friend," Sunny coos, gently nuzzling the side of Isaac's neck.

"Thank you for forgiving me," Isaac voices softly. "What a day, huh?" He utters, receiving a nod from his friend.

"I better go outside now," Sunny chuckles. "Good luck with the Princess, Isaac…" She says, before getting off the bed putting her helmet back on, and walking out of the room.

Jesus Christ, what a day. I think I'll take Sunny's advice. I'm sure it'll all work out fine…

Five days have passed. For the ponies of Canterlot, it has been business as usual. For Isaac, it's been hell.

Oh, God, why… why must you have forsaken me?

Isaac groans, attempting to focus on his comfortable bed, but despite his best efforts, his aching muscles prove to be too much for him. He ponders upon the prospect of Sunny giving him a back massage, but quickly banishes the-in his opinion, why the fuck did you just think that, you weirdo? That's fucking weird-thought.

Three knocks come from his door, and Isaac acknowledges it with a, "Yeah?"

"Masseuse service, sir," a feminine voice answers from behind the door. One of Isaac's eyebrows raise at the voice, and his curiosity prompts him to announce, "Alright, you can come in."

A second later, the door opens, a brown earth pony mare with a blonde mane walking inside of his room the following second.

The mare walks next to his side of the bed with a steadfast gait and introduces herself, "My name is Quake, sir, and Princess Celestia has requested of me to massage you today. She also instructed me to send you a message; she wishes for you to join her today for lunch outside of the castle. The Princess says that if you would like to join her for lunch this noon, meet her in the Canterlot Garden at that time. Now, please, just lie on your stomach and relax, sir."

Isaac's eyes blink twice. He rolls over onto his stomach, and soon enough, the earth pony gets to work on his back. He moans, finally getting some relief from his aching body, but his mind can't help but wonder, Oh God, now I have to talk to her… she must think I'm a horrible friend, after not talking to her for so long. Well, I shouldn't not worry about that until we talk... Hmm, I wonder if she chose a pony with a blonde mane intentionally…

Well, it's time, Isaac thinks as he walks through the castle, his destination being Canterlot Garden. He scratches the back of his head and takes a deep breath as he exits the castle, looking down at his attire. Should I be wearing these? It's so… casual. No. It's fine, just a normal, lunch… where we'll talk about what happened… oh God, no, no, no, no, no… Isaac stops, surveying his surroundings. His heart beats faster, and he suddenly looks towards the castle's gates, almost longingly. He starts to whimper, but quickly shakes his head, suddenly filled with determination. He starts to walk towards the Gardens again, his head filled with thoughts of what he needs to say to Celestia the whole time.

In a few minutes, Isaac reaches the Gardens, and spots Celestia, sitting ever so elegantly on a bench. He slows his pace, and before he is halfway there, Celestia turns her head his way, meeting his eyes with hers. Within a moment, Isaac looks away. No. It's fine. It's just a… casual lunch with a friend, where we'll probably talk about… what happened. Isaac stops in his tracks, his heart starting to beat faster, and sweat starting to drip down his forehead. Come on, Isaac. You've had time to think about this. It'll be fine! With a deep breath, Isaac continues down his path with somewhat renewed vigor and confidence.

After a few minutes of walking, Isaac reaches the Garden. He scans the area, searching for Celestia. His heart skips a beat when he sees that Celestia is looking right at him from a bench. He gulps, then slowly walks over to Celestia. As he walks, he can't help but notice how she is wearing the small, gentle smile he's always adored, and how, despite the sun's rays coming down onto the whole of Canterlot, she always seems to radiates her own subtle light. "Pr-Celestia," he begins, already regretting coming here as he sees Celestia's smile fade for a second after his show of indecisiveness.

"Isaac," Celestia says softly and quietly after a brief moment. "Please sit down," She offers, Isaac accepting a second later. "Did you enjoy your massage? Quake is one of our best," she questioned, still keeping her gaze locked onto Isaac's eyes.

"Yeah, uh… she does her job well, that's for sure. I enjoyed it very much, thank you," He responds, hoping that Celestia would skip over what happened with them in the back of his mind.

"I'm glad to hear that," Celestia replies, quietly sighing after. "I was hoping to talk about… what happened five days ago," she confesses.

Celestia can see Isaac's eyes dart all over the ground in front of him, as if he was trying to decide what to do. After two moments, he mutters, "What's there to talk about?"

"Isaac, I… I just want to know if you're okay," Celestia sighs.

Isaac turns his head away from Celestia. "I'm fine," He almost croaks, tears about to gather in his eyes. He flinches when he feels a hoof on his shoulder, but it stays, to his relief. Celestia lowers her head slightly, her smile turning into a slight frown. "Isaac, I'm sorry. Truly, I am; seeing you like this is something I truly cannot stand. But, you must understand that I've had… suitors in the past. Some of them, I fell in love with. But that was a long time ago. Each one of their deaths hurt, the next one wounding me more than the last, until I couldn't take it anymore. After my last suitor's death, I decided to decree that I would not accept any more."

Celestia sobbed, memories of her past lovers fading into her mind. "Isaac," She sobbed, "You… deserve someone better," to which Isaac furrowed his eyebrows. What do you mean, someone better?! Someone who'll age with me? That's bullshit! I want to be with you, damn it. I don't care if you're going to stay young, Isaac thought, tears already falling from his eyes. "Someone who will grow old with you," Celestia continues, her words making Isaac release an angry huff, and turns his body away from Celestia. Her hoof is left hanging in the air as he turns away, and she slowly lowers it down. "Just being friends will save us both from being hurt, Isaac. Please, trust me on this," Celestia pleads.

Isaac growls angrily, and quickly spins his body around, looks into Celestia's eyes, and grabs the hoof that was on his shoulder. "That's ridiculous, Celestia," Isaac yells, although it is a somewhat restrained yell. "Don't you think that every last one of your suitors knew what was going to happen?! But they didn't care-I'm sure the ones that you loved, and stayed with until their death only cared about their love for you! Can't you see?! They thought you were worth it, damn it! I bet that even on their deathbeds, they were thinking about how much they love y-your gentle smile that makes their heart flutter, and your captivating eyes that just grab your attention in the best way, or how you act so brave for your ponies, so formal-but on the inside, you have a great sense of humor that they love."

At the end of Isaac's emotional outburst, silence takes over for a long time. The only sound both individuals could hear was their own breathing, and Celestia's occasional sobbing. For a while, they just stare at each other. But finally, Celestia is the first to make any differing noise. She looks down, and off to the side, and for a brief moment, Isaac is unable to see her facial expression. When Celestia looks back up at him, Isaac's eyes are widened a little bit, and one of his eyebrows raises from the fact that she's smiling, albeit somewhat sheepishly. "D… don't you mean 'loved,' Isaac?"

"What do you mean?" Isaac replies softly, only starting to comprehend what his short speech implied.

"You said that my suitors, while on their deathbeds… were thinking of all these nice things about me. But you said 'love,' instead of 'loved.' Are you, perhaps… speaking for yourself?" Celestia coos, giggling softly, and raising her head to reach Isaac's head level.

Isaac's face turns red, but he doesn't look away. "Celestia… what are you doing?"

"I'm trying to say, dear Isaac, that… yes. I will give you a chance," Celestia whispers, and promptly leans in to give him a peck on the cheek.

After Celestia's small peck, both of their faces are red, and both are staring at anything other than each other. While looking at some particularly interesting piece of dirt in front of him, Isaac clears his throat, and murmurs, with a hint of enthusiasm, "Okay. Yeah. Cool." The only thing that betrays his apparent impassiveness is his slowly growing, tooth-filled smile.

Celestia chuckles, and shakes her head. Oh, Isaac. Never change.

Isaac stirs from his deep slumber, one that could he would describe as one of the best night of sleep I've had in a long time. He sighs, remembering the fact that it's his last day off for this week. He unhurriedly opens his eyes, only to be greeted by the dark. Must be early in the morning-otherwise, I would feel tired, wouldn't I? After waiting for a few seconds, he gets up from his bed, eager to start his day. He goes to the bathroom to freshen up, changes his clothes, and then slowly opens his door, only to be greeted by a masculine voice.

"Sir," the voice says, his tone sounding like a greeting. Isaac looks towards the voice, and, seeing a night guard, replies, "Um… hi, sir. Just gonna… go… out," to which the guard responds to with a weary nod.

Isaac began his trek through the halls, the thought of his destination making him smile. Soon enough, he reaches his destination: Canterlot Garden, and before long, he sees… Luna? Isaac looks around, looking to see if Celestia is there, but looks back to Luna, who has been looking at him since he arrived, when he doesn't see Celestia. Might as well talk to her, I guess. Isaac walks over to Luna, who greets him with a warm, "Isaac." Before he can say anything else other than a "Hey," Luna's horn glows, and suddenly, the wall of shrubs behind her is taken into her magic's grasp, and is gently pulled apart to make a space in between, one that's just a little bit more than enough for a certain human.

Isaac raises an eyebrow at Luna, whose smile widens a little bit. She nods towards the newly created path, and Isaac looks upon the sight with wide eyes, and an open mouth.

There, beyond the opening, sits Celestia, on a chair, next to a table for two. Her eyes are somehow more alluring than normal, and her hair looks much more vibrant than usual. What's more is that her gentle smile is somehow even more beautiful. But what captures Isaac's attention the most is how Celestia has a very subtle, rare air of vulnerability about her. His eyes widen at the realization, and he finds himself in awe, looking dumbstruck for a second.

"Wow," he mouths, eliciting a small chuckle from Luna.

"Well, are you going to just stand there, Isaac?" Luna questions in amusement.

Isaac quickly shakes his head. "No, no. 'Course not! Um… I-I'm going to go now, I guess," he stammers, then starts to walk towards the entrance.

Luna looks toward Celestia and nods, then whispers to Isaac, "If you hurt her…"

Isaac, refusing to look back at Luna, decides to nod rapidly. Once he passes through the opening, the hedge wall silently comes together, closing the gap made for the nervous human. Isaac looks around, surprised to see a distinct lack of a roof, revealing the still dark sky emblazoned with numerous stars, and a few shimmering lanterns-more like stylized light bulbs, really, placed across the neat wall of shrubbery, lighting up the enclosed area quite nicely, but also closing off any chance for escape, indistinctly reminding Isaac of a hedge maze. He gulps as he nears the table, but his gaze is solely locked onto Celestia.

As he finally arrives at the table, he notices the food already set onto two plates-one on his side, one on Celestia's. He also takes note of the two wine glasses own the table, one glass next to each of their plates, and finally, the bottle of wine off to the side of the table.

He clears his throat. "Wow," he compliments, then smirks. "Kind of too early to drink, isn't it?"

Celestia's cheeks redden slightly. She starts to speak, her voice trembling slightly at first. "Y-yes, well… it is a special occasion, so, I believe that it's fine. Also, I apologize for the timing of this date. I would have prepared it for the evening, but… I thought that I would be drained from my duties, and thus, would make for bad company."

Isaac shakes his head. "Please, don't apologize for something like that. I will never mind any time that I spend with you. I mean it," He voiced with an air of urgency.

Celestia nods, her smile growing wider, a blush adorning her face from Isaac's words. "Thank you," She says softly.

Isaac nods in reply, but the air is silent after the small exchange. Both individuals shuffle slightly in their seats, with Isaac rubbing his left arm with his right hand, trying to distract himself from the awkwardness.

"S-sorry," Isaac blurts silently, just enough for Celestia to hear.

"What for?" Celestia asks, an eyebrow raised.

"I'm… not good at small talk. I've never been good at it," He admits, coughing awkwardly.

"No, Isaac… I'm the one who should be apologizing. What kind of pony sets up a date only to sit there in front of her date in awkward silence? One would think that I'd know how to stir up a conversation at this point," Celestia counters.

Isaac hums thoughtfully, and then speaks, "Maybe… the kind of pony who hasn't had a date in a really, really long time?" Celestia chuckles at the words, then shakes her head. "We're being a little silly, aren't we?" Celestia voices softly, Isaac nodding in return. "Then," Celestia continues, "Maybe we should just try to act just like how we normally do?" Isaac nods again and replies, "Yeah, I think that's a good idea."

Celestia grins, and in one second, her horn glows, and she and her chair are enveloped in her magical aura. In the next, a white flash of light appears next to Isaac, Celestia and her chair following not even a second later. "Sooo, I was thinking," smoothly putting a foreleg over Isaac's shoulders, and holding him closer to her.

"If it's about pranking Luna again, I swear…" Isaac warns.

"Nope, even better actually," Celestia said in a mischievous tone, then giggling cryptically…

Two hours have passed. What used to be a dream-filled Canterlot has only just started to gradually turn into the usual busy Canterlot. Inside the castle's gardens, two individuals sit within a hidden, enclosed space.

And within that space, if anypony were listening close enough from the outside, they would be thoroughly confused. "Woww, holy shit…did you really just… uh… wow, that was…. Wow. Did you do that? Can you bring it back down so you can do it again so I can see if you really did that? Because I don't think you did that, ha… ahahaha..." A drunk Isaac articulated-well, tried to-with the gracefulness of a drunken cat with only two legs attempting to jump from one surface to another, before momentarily drifting off to sleep, landing in Celestia's lap.

Celestia sits there with wide eyes, staring at the now snoring Isaac. Who knew that watching her raise the sun would have such a stupefying effect on him? She opens her mouth, closes it, and then repeats the process a few more times. Afterwards, she quickly looks around, as if to say, Did anypony else see that? Did that really just happen?

After a short pause, and just the smallest sip of wine (after all, she does have duties, limiting her allowed alcohol intake for the day), Celestia looks back down to Isaac, and immediately giggles, which turns into a gut-busting laugh, although, she takes great care for her own posture, so as to not let Isaac fall from her lap. "That's adorable," she coos silently, greatly relieved that her laugh didn't stir him from his sleep.

For a while, the Princess sits there with Isaac with her trademark smile, running a hoof across his hair. But, to her disappointment, her mind reminds her of her duties, causing her to carry Isaac in her magical grasp as still and as gentle as possible. She then carries Isaac out of the hidden area and then to his room.

"Sunny Skies," Celestia greeted warmly, upon seeing the turquoise mare outside of his door.

Sunny instantly jolted upwards, her stare, previously directed towards the wall in front of her, now directed towards Princess Celestia. "Princess!" She exclaims, before bowing slightly.

Celestia gives a chuckle, "There's no need for that, my little pony. All I would like to do is to return Isaac to his chambers, that's all."

"Ah-of course, Princess. Sorry! Uhm… here, let me help!" Sunny stammers, opening the room's doors for Celestia.

"Thank you," Celestia says softly, before stepping into the room, and setting Isaac onto his bed. Seeing that his guard closed the door, she steps over to his side of the bed, leans down to his head's level, and gives him a kiss on the forehead. "Sweet dreams, Isaac," she whispers. She exits the room, thanking his guard for her service, receiving a stammer of a reply. Eventually, Celestia was able to calm the guard, and with that, she embarked on a short walk towards the throne room.

Celestia sighed, then chuckled at her thoughts. After over a thousand years of dealing with nobles, you should already be used to them, Celestia. She takes a deep breath, breathing in the scent of food around her, and is thankful to have a small break from her responsibilities in the castle, but wonders if it is much of a break at all. Celestia takes a glance at the surroundings around her, sighing wistfully, as ponies start to make a small crowd near her table at the restaurant. I wish Isaac were here with me, Celestia thought.

Finally, her food arrives: a simple strawberry and spinach salad. Celestia thanks the waiter, who seems to be disgusted, or extremely bothered by something. She shrugs it off, and starts to eat, stopping herself from slouching back in her chair, and from eating too quickly, despite her rumbling stomach, instantly utilizing her "princess training" that has become a natural instinct at this point. She stops herself from slouching back in her chair, and from eating too quickly, despite her rumbling stomach.

Suddenly, while chewing on a strawberry, she hears a yell, "Alright, if no one else wants to say it, then I will!" Her eyebrows raise at the commotion, and she looks up from her food to look towards the noise, only to see a unicorn stallion she doesn't recognize stomping towards her.

As the unicorn gets closer, Celestia starts to speak. "May I hel-" Before she can finish, she is rudely interrupted by the unicorn's barking, "How dare you, Princess?!"

Before speaking, Celestia notices that the ponies in the surrounding area are dead quiet. She tilts her head to the right slightly, quite confused by the question. "I'm afraid I don't know what-"

Once again, before Celestia can finish speaking, the unicorn interrupts her. "You know what I'm talking about! The whole of Canterlot is in outrage! And soon, the whole of Equestria will be, too!"

Now Celestia is flabbergasted. What on Equus is this stallion talking about? "I…" She starts, but once more, is interrupted, this time, by a frustrated growl coming from the stallion.

"You have to be joking!" The stallion barks in frustration, before looking around. Spotting what he wants, he levitates it over with his magic, showing Celestia the front. A newspaper. On the front, it says, 'PRINCESS CELESTIA DATING FREAK!'

Princess Celestia has a temptation to sigh upon reading the headline, but maintains her practiced neutral face. However, upon seeing the picture below it, her eyebrows furrow slightly, which return to normal almost instantly. The picture is one of Celestia giving Isaac a kiss on the cheek.

Celestia slowly gets up from her seat, and walks in front of the crowd, their attention-as well as many others around the scene-latching on to her, if they weren't already.

Celestia gives herself a brief pause before she starts to speak. "My little ponies. I'm sure you have all read this newspaper. More specifically, the front page." She receives a collective murmur of agreement and continues. "Well… please allow me to tell you the truth. The creature with me in the picture is called Isaac. He is a 'human,' and he is the only one of his kind on Equus. As most of you know, a creature appeared in Canterlot a little over a month ago. He is that creature, and ever since he appeared, we've become good friends. Best friends, in fact. And… only just a few days ago, I became aware of his romantic feelings for me. I was apprehensive about the idea of returning the same feelings at first, but I decided that he would be worth the chance. I understand that he is not from this world, but please," she pauses, switching to a slightly stern voice, "Refrain from judging an individual you barely know."

The crowd says nothing after the speech, requiring some time to process the information. After a long minute, crowd seems to gain their voice and collectively says, in one way or another, "We're sorry, Princess."

"Think nothing of it, my loyal subjects," Celestia says.

Soon enough, the crowd begins to dissipate, and minutes after, the crowd is gone, the ponies that were in it already on their way to their own businesses.

Celestia sighs in relief, thankful that small ordeal is over, but inside, she knows that the issue isn't over yet. She ensures that her meal is paid for, and then makes her way to the castle. More specifically, Isaac's room.

Just a short A/N: I've gotten to work on chapter 6, but I haven't fully figured out what happens next, so probably be a while until the next chapter... whatever that means.

Now, please enjoy the drama, and thanks for reading.

A human could be heard groaning in one of the castle's rooms. "Ungh… why do I have a headache?"

Talking could be heard directly outside of the room, too. At first, a surprised squeak is heard, and then an apology. More talking is heard until the door is opened from the inside of the room.

A disgruntled Isaac with a deadpan expression on his face is seen opening the door, a hand holding the side of his head, by the two ponies outside their room, and as soon as the door opens fully to completely reveal him, the ponies' conversation stops dead in its tracks.

Isaac sighs. He says in a quiet voice, with barely restrained anger, "Gu-girls… I'm fairly sure that I'm hungover. And I have a headache. So. I would deeply appreciate it if you were to, I dunno, stay quiet up here? Thanks. Going back to sleep now." With that, Isaac turns around, and trudges back towards his bed, and lies back down, barely hearing the quiet "How is he hungover?! He only had two glasses of wine!" from Celestia.

Isaac, while getting comfortable on his bed with closed eyes, faintly hears the two mares speak to one another, before he hears two sets of hooves moving. One set of hoofsteps grows louder as the seconds go on, but the other grows quieter, and after the passing of a few seconds, the door is closed, and now, there is only one set of hoofsteps.

I just want to sleep, Isaac thinks, sighing at the impending conversation. His eyebrows suddenly raise, a plan of action to immediately stop the looming exchange of words in an amusing way hastily created within his mind.

He immediately sets up his plan. First, he gets under the covers of his bed's blankets.

"Oh Isaac, I know you're under there," An amused Celestia rings out, just now reaching his side of the bed. She puts her head closer to his, and takes the blanket in her magic. With one gentle pull, the second part of Isaac's plan is revealed.

"Boop," Isaac says, subsequently booping Celestia right on the top of her nose with his pointer finger. Celestia stands there, cross-eyed, a bemused expression on her face. After half a moment, a smile tugs at the corner of her mouth for less than half a second, unbeknownst to Isaac. She then widens her eyes fully, and puts on a mask of surprise, confusion, fear, and pain, stumbling backwards, but not too far-before stumbling to the side, and then, finally, dropping to the floor in a dramatic fashion. She keeps her eyes closed, hoping that Isaac would fall for the trick.

But to her dismay, she hears Isaac guffaw. She opens her eyes to see him sat on his bed, doubled over while laughing. She huffs, staring at him with a very unamused expression on her face, moving to sit on her haunches.

Fortunately for Celestia, Isaac's laughter ends after what seemed like a very long fifteen seconds. "Oh… oh God, that was… ha… that was rich," Isaac panted, trying to catch his breath. "Thank you, I needed that… Heh. I guess it's true that laughter is the best medicine," He says, before wincing, and grabbing the side of his head. "... Temporary medicine, anyway,"

Isaac now notices Celestia's unamused face, and immediately, his great smile slackens, and his eyes dart around the room, trying his best to escape her stare. "Uhh… i-it was cute?" Upon seeing that his… apology-if you could even call it that-didn't work, he tries again once more, "And… you… looked really pretty while acting dead?"

Celestia's expression falters, and a small smile appears on her face. He's so cute when he's like this… She mouths, before standing up slowly.

"You're smiling. That means we're good, right? All is forgiven? Right?" Isaac babbled, the same worried expression on his face.

Celestia starts to walk towards him at a torturously slow pace, refusing to say anything, maintaining a predatory grin instead. Isaac maintains his worried expression, but after a few seconds, his eyebrows furrow, and he stares at Celestia with a resistant look on his face. "You know what? I'm not scared. Go ahead. Do whatever," He challenged.

Celestia's grin turns part smirk, and she maintains her pace. Finally, she is almost three feet away from him. She stops, and goes into a pouncing position.

"No, don't even thi-WOAH!" Isaac immediately brings his arms outward as he is pounced onto, but to no avail. Before he can even think, his arms and legs are pinned down onto the bed by the alicorn directly on top of him, and there is no way for him to escape. But unfortunately for Isaac, the worst part hasn't arrived yet. Celestia unfurls her wings, and swiftly attacks his midsection, evoking forced, pained laughs from Isaac.

"H-ahaha-stop-help! W-we're a-hahaha, oh God-adults, stop!" Isaac calls out, but to no avail, a lack of breath disallowing him from making any loud noise. The attack continues on for five more seconds, before Celestia takes her wings off of Isaac.

"Ow-ha...oww…" Isaac moans, some laughs still escaping his mouth post-attack. His limbs are now free from Celestia's, and with this newfound freedom, he hastily shields himself-his midriff, in particular-from anymore assault from Celestia. After a minute of catching his breath, he looks at Celestia and says, almost whimper-like, "So unfair…"

Celestia looks at him with a grin. "Well, you did start it," She reminded, giggling after. She exits her sitting position almost on top of Isaac and lays down next to him instead, draping a foreleg across his chest, and keeping his head neatly under her chin.

Unbeknownst to Celestia, Isaac's face is beet-red. "I-isn't this a little too soon, o-or something?"

"Well… let's see: we already spend much of our free time together, and we already live in the same house, so to speak," Celestia replies with a giggle.

Isaac removes himself from Celestia's neck, and turns his entire body towards her. He chuckles, "I think we skipped a few steps, but… I don't mind."

Celestia leans in-just slightly, but Isaac immediately tenses up, his head pulling back. Before Celestia gets the chance to speak, Isaac exclaimed suddenly, "I'm sorry!" Taking a few seconds to catch his breath, he continues, "I'm just being silly. I didn't mean to-it-I didn't mean anything by it! For some godforsaken reason, I'm just… thinking about how… urgh, how things'll get harder for you, I guess. I mean, you're already dealing with a lot, and if people know about us, then they'll probably bother you about it, and that'll be in a pain in the ass for you-which is something I don't want to happen, you know? And-mmpphhmmphmm…" Isaac stops, just now noticing the soft hoof blocking any sound from coming out of his mouth. He sighs, taking note of how nervously he spoke, and how his gaze ended up on anywhere but Celestia. I'm such a nervous wreck, he berates himself, now consciously avoiding Celestia's eyes.

Isaac now feels a hoof gently push on his jaw, effectively making him look into Celestia's-wait, peaceful? A-and… hopeful?-eyes. "Isaac, didn't you tell me how the ones that I had loved previously all thought that I was worth it?" She waits, waiting for a reply from Isaac. Seeing a slight nod from Isaac, "Well, don't you think that I knew what was going to happen, too?" She waits once more, and then continues, "I can safely say that… all of the things you're worried about-things you think might happen-to me, and to you, even… I've gone through all of it before. Several times, remember? So don't you dare worry about that, because each time was worth it. And it's no different with you, Isaac. You're worth it. Any pain, any worries-you make it all disappear. Even as a friend, you've brought me so much joy, so much happiness, that I can't even begin to repay you. Not in a million years. So I won't. Instead, I'll love you. Through the thick and thin. No matter what, Isaac, I'll always love you. And… I hope you feel that I'm worth it, too."

Celestia looks at him expectantly with the same hopeful eyes. Isaac keeps a fixated gaze on her, and she can see passion and love burning in his eyes, waiting to be let out-just unable to find the right words. After a while-too long, Isaac would think upon reminiscing about this very moment in the future-Isaac speaks, but what he says is something unexpected-and worrying. Although, at the same time, the passion and love that were in his eyes are conveyed in his voice, unconsciously pleading to Celestia to convince him of the opposite of what he says. "I'm-urgh-sorry, again. T-that was… bullshit. W-well, not actually-I mean, you possibly getting stressed out more because we're dating bothers me, but what I'm really worried about is that I honestly… don't know what I did to deserve you. That's what actually scares-no, terrifies me about this. I love you, Celestia. More than I can ever express. But… I don't know… I'm just some… normal human. And you're practically a goddess who has lived for more than a thousand years."

"Everypony-and I'm sure everyone-deserves love, Isaac. Take it from-" Celestia smirks very slightly, "-a pony who's 'practically a goddess.' I have had to make decisions that have made me question myself in the past, but still, I've found love, and others have found love with me. Isaac, love isn't something you find by doing good-it's simply something that finds you, if you let it."

After a long few seconds, Celestia notices the simplest of movements from Isaac, but the particular movement makes her the most joyous mare in the world. As their eyes are locked, Celestia begins to lean in slowly, following Isaac's identical motion. As their lips near, their eyes close-painstakingly slow, as if to savor and remember each other's face, but at the same time, eagerly, conveying a desperate need to fully commence their first real kiss. In less than a second, their lips touch, and both of them find themselves in pure and utter bliss, their lips finding themselves locked, and their bodies become entangled in each other's embrace.

Finally, their lips slowly pull away but only slightly, leaving the two to exchange much needed breaths. The two refuse to speak verbally, instead, opting for a silent conversation carried by their eyes.

Isaac is first to break the powerful silence with a simple and obvious "Wow…"

Celestia giggles softly, but immediately after, her eyes-still locked with Isaac's, droops, looking wistful, her mouth tugs downwards, and her hooves move to hold Isaac tighter.

"D-did I do something wrong?" Isaac sputtered upon seeing her suddenly polar demeanor, his voice spelling an unnecessary apology.

Celestia's eyes widen slightly just briefly, and her mouth gapes open, forming a small 'o.' Her eyes avert from Isaac's, and her face lets go of its current expression, now smiling sheepishly at Isaac. She starts to speak, her voice quivering slightly, "I… I suppose it's my time to be silly now. I was just thinking about how… I'm going to miss you when I return to my duties-which should be right about now."

Isaac nods, a small frown appearing on his face for the briefest of seconds, before an understanding smile replaces it. "There's no need to be embarrassed; I'm going to miss you too. But it's okay, because at the end of the day, and at the start of each morning, and maybe somewhere in between sometimes, I'm still going to see you. Also… uh, you should probably get back to work, huh?"

Celestia chuckles, and nods. She moves to give Isaac a peck on the lips before saying, "Yes, I probably should."

The two start to untangle their lovers' embrace. Celestia is off the bed soon enough, and moves towards the door.

Once she has almost exited the room, she looks back at Isaac, finding that he's still looking at her. She smirks, and says, "See something you like?" before giving her backside a little shake. Isaac looks away, clearing his throat as he does. "Love you too," Isaac responds, attempting to be nonchalant. A short giggle follows his response to her teasing. "I love you, Isaac. I'll see you later," She says, her voice angelic and sweet, her heart fluttering as she says the sweet nothing.

Too soon, as Isaac would describe it minutes later, Celestia leaves, and the human is left alone to ponder upon his thoughts.