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.