Equestria Girls - The visit

by Jay-The-Brony

Chapters

• On duty
• Reunion
• Perchance to dream
• Concerns of a brother
• The talk
• Of mares and stallions
• One step further
• New dawn

On duty

Of all the days he could have chosen to do perimeter patrol duty, it had to be the day when it was raining. High above crystal city soared a pegasus, clad in the golden armour of the Equestrian royal guard. His fur was orange and his mane a dark blue, his cutie mark that of a shield and lightning bolt. Flash Sentry, guard of the Crystal Empire, was doing his rounds, flying high above the capital of the Empire, watching out for any potential dangers to the many ponies below.

But while most days were pleasant enough in the Empire, even a place as magical as this was not immune to the occasional bout of bad weather. And so it was today, as Flash was flying, that he had to deal with a torrential downpour and cold winds. Still, he wouldn't have been chosen to be a guard in the first place if a little rain could stop him, so he put up with it, spending many hours watching out for anything that might be worth reporting. But, as was often the case in the Empire, there was little to nothing to worry about, and soon enough, Flash's time on patrol was up, and he began to make his way back towards the palace.

Flying during a rainstorm like this was not easy, even for accomplished fliers, but Flash made good time getting back to the crystal palace, landing on one of it's many balconies. Waiting there was another guard, who nodded to Flash as he passed. Flash nodded in return at the guard, who was no doubt here to take his place on patrol. The orange pegasus swiftly entered the palace, taking a moment to enjoy the warmth of being inside after the cold weather outdoors. He briefly shook his body, making sure to get as much rainwater off him as possible, before making his way towards the guards' recreational area.

He had a brief period to rest and get something to eat before having to resume his duties, and soon found himself in a modestly sized room with several other pegasi and unicorn guards already there and enjoying their lunches. Flash looked over the available meals and picked out a nice grass sandwich for himself before hearing a voice from behind.

"Hey Flash! Over here!"

Flash turned to see a nearby table, at which sat two other pegasi, both clad in the golden armour of the guard. One was a stallion with a dark coat and a mohawk-style mane. Thunderlane, a recent addition to the guards. Beside him sat perhaps the largest pegasus anypony would ever lay their eyes on. White in his fur and yellow in his short mane, this pegasus was bulky and muscled like nopony's business. Roid Rage, yet another new recruit. Thuderlane was waving him over, and after collecting his sandwich, Flash walked over and sat by them.

Flash knew these two well enough after they were recruited. The two had, to his surprise, once been potential recruits for the Wonderbolts, the so-called "greatest fliers in Equestria". But both had decided to drop out for some unknown reason, though rumour had it that the two were just too intimidated by the drill sergeant there to want to keep doing it. Whatever the reason, they'd soon decided to try their hooves at guard duty, and were sent to the Crystal Empire shortly afterwards, where they had become frequent "lunch buddies" of Flash.

As Flash sat down and began to eat his meal, Thunderlane leant over.

"Hey, me and Roid were planning on checking out that new restaurant that just opened near the train station after we clock out today. You in?" He asked.

Flash opened his mouth to speak, but Roid suddenly shot up from his chair and expressed his enthusiasm for the plan.

"YEAH!!!" He shouted.

One might expect Flash, not to mention every other pony in that room, to be rather shocked by this sudden outburst by the large pegasus. But Roid had gained a rather notorious reputation for doing this sort of thing, so few would really bat an eye at this behaviour anymore, least of all Flash. Still, after waiting for Roid to take his seat again, he decided to answer Thunderlane.

"Thanks for the offer, but I'm taking the night shift this evening. Maybe some other day?"

Flash, after answering the question, got back to his sandwich, while Roid and Thunderlane looked at each other with confusion in their faces.

"Another night shift? How is it that the guy dating the boss' sister ends up getting MORE work to do?"

The orange pegasus couldn't help but frown at that. It was inevitable, but they'd finally got around to bringing up Twilight. Although it brought him joy to once again have his filly-friend, the love of his life, in the forefront of his mind again, he didn't particularly want these two to be talking about her like that.

"I don't think Prince Armour would appreciate you referring to Princess Sparkle like that, and nor would I for that matter." He said in a somewhat aggressive tone.

Thunderlane raised an eyebrow at Flash.

"Princess Sparkle? Come on Flash, you're dating her for Celestia's sake! I think it would be fine for you to use her name."

Flash put his sandwich down and placed his hoof upon his chest-plate.

"Not with the uniform on I won't. When I wear this, I am a guard of Equestria, and she is one of our princesses, and will be referred to as such."

Even though Flash loved Twilight with all his heart, he was, first and foremost, a guard of Equestria. His duties were very important to him, and he'd always been noted for his discipline in this regard. Twilight knew this about him and had, to some degree, admired him for it, hence why she was as accepting as she was that his duties meant that he'd spend so much time away from her. That understanding was just one of the many qualities that Flash appreciated and loved about her, just as he admired Twilight's own sense of responsibility to her own duties now that she was a princess.

Thunderlane though couldn't help but roll his eyes at the comment.

"Why I end up having my lunches with a stick-in-the-mud like you I'll never know." He answered.

Flash did his best to ignore that remark and continued eating his lunch. As the minutes rolled on, more and more of their fellow guards made their way out of the room, no doubt to resume their work elsewhere in the palace. Prince Shining Armour tended to keep them on a tight schedule, a trait he'd picked up back when he was captain of the guard for Celestia back in Canterlot. Still, Flash and the other two still had some time left before they had to get back to their own duties, and elected to enjoy as much of this brief respite as they could.

Unfortunately for Flash, the subject they chose to discuss was, once again, his love life.

"I just don't know how you do it Sentry. I mean, you end up dating a princess, a PRINCESS of all things, and the two of you barely spend any time together."

Ideally, Flash would rather not have discussed such things with these two, but, with his filly-friend being Equestria's latest monarch, her private life, and by extension his own, was always going to be the subject of speculation and rumour, much to his and her annoyance. Whether it was Thunderlane, Roid or some other guard he met somewhere down the line, his involvement with Twilight was what all of them would be most interested to hear. And even though he tried to keep his composure, it wasn't hard to detect the feeling of annoyance in his voice.

"Princess Sparkle has many responsibilities. And even if she didn't, she spends a lot of time trying to improve her magic and research new spells. That kind of work has been her whole life, while I on the other hoof, have only become a part of her life recently. It wouldn't be fair for me to expect her to just drop all of that to be with me."

Thunderlane and Roid said nothing, merely watching as Flash's expression became one of melancholy, as he looked down at his now-finished meal.

"Besides.......she lives in Ponyville and my post is here in the Empire. Things between us were always going to be long-distance. But that just makes the moments we do have together all the more important."

Truthfully, nothing would have given Flash greater joy than to have his beloved princess with him right now, or to just drop everything and fly down to Ponyville as fast as his wings would carry him. But such a thing would be irresponsible of him, and if there was one thing he knew about Twilight, it was that she did not approve of those who shirked their duties in life. Still, he'd always taken comfort in the fact that he had her in his life. There had been a time, not so long ago, when he'd feared that his love life would be nothing but a shambles.

His prior relationship, that of Sunset Shimmer, had ended in disaster, and had been a cause of depression for him for some time. Thanks to Twilight, he'd managed to find some happiness in his life again, for which he was eternally thankful to her. His love for her, which he'd only confessed at their last day together, was, to his relief, reciprocated by her, and the two had shared their first kiss that day because of it. Being with her made him feel like the luckiest stallion in the world, though he knew that most probably felt like that when they were in love as he was.

Still, his companions weren't going to give up that easily.

"Even so, it's been, what, a month since you last saw her?"

Flash sighed and looked even more morose than before.

"A month.........and two weeks." He replied.

Thunderlane shook his head at that.

"Jeez. I'm not sure I could ever being away from my filly-friend that long."

Flash was half-tempted to reply to that by mentioning how Thunderlane did not, in fact, HAVE a filly-friend at this time, but thought better of it. Instead, he decided that it was probably for the best if he got back to his duties. He got up from his table and was about to pick up his empty plate when, all of a sudden, Thunderlane and Roid shot up out of their chairs and sharply saluted in Flash's direction. Needless to say, Flash was rather taken aback by this behaviour, but soon realised that there was a sound of approaching hoof-steps behind him. Turning, his eyes widened with surprise as he saw, standing in the entrance to the room, was none other than Princess Cadence.

His training kicking in immediately, Flash's hoof shot up towards his head in a salute. Cadence approached the three pegasi and raised hr own hoof.

"At ease."

The three stopped saluting and lowered their hooves. Cadence then gave a glance over to Roid and Thunderlane, before turning her attention back to Flash.

"Guard-pony Sentry. I would speak with you, if you have the time."

Flash was unsure of her tone of voice, but nevertheless agreed by nodding towards her. Cadence nodded back before turning around and making her way out of the room. Flash looked over his shoulder to his fellow pegasi, who shrugged their shoulders at him in confusion. He then made his way out and began to follow Cadence down the hall. There was silence between them for a while before the princess finally spoke.

"I have news Flash. We will be receiving a visitor next week and I'd like you to make the arrangements for greeting them."

Flash nodded at that.

"Of course Princess. Anypony I should know about?" He asked.

He was then taken aback by the sound of giggling from Cadence. Turning towards her, he saw a rather mischievous smile on her face.

"Oh, I should think so. A pony you in particular should be rather happy about seeing again."

Flash tilted his head at that, briefly unsure of what Cadence was referring to. Then, it suddenly dawned on him what she was talking about, or rather, "who" she was talking about. His face lit up with a smile, the first time he'd done so in days as his mind grasped just who it was that would be coming here soon. Twilight. There was no other reason Cadence would have asked him to be the one to do this. The princess meanwhile, had caught sight of the smile on his face and giggled a second time.

"Good to know the flame's still burning. Yes, Twilight will be arriving with her friends next week. My husband, Prince Armour, invited her to spend the weekend here. Those two haven't had much time to bond recently, so he thought it was a good idea for them to catch up."

Upon hearing that, Flash's smile diminished somewhat. He was still very happy that he'd get the chance to see his beloved Twilight again, but the new of why she was coming here lessened that happiness, something that Cadence noticed immediately.

"You know, I'm sure she'll be just as happy to see you as she is with her brother." She said as they carried on walking.

Flash lowered his head a little.

"With all due respect your highness, it might not be best for me to intrude on this. Prince Armour is her brother. He's been a part of her life since the day she was born. They need time to re-connect. It wouldn't feel right to intrude on that."

Cadence shook her head at that.

"Sentry. I'm sure my husband would appreciate that attitude, but Twilight needs to see you as well. Lovers shouldn't be parted for so long."

Flash stopped dead in his tracks upon hearing that, his face now a bright crimson at the mention of the word "lovers". He had not told anypony about his confession of love to Twilight. Not his friends, his family, and certainly not the royals who ruled the Crystal Empire. Seeing the embarrassed look on his face, Cadence chuckled.

"My dear Flash, you don't really think the princess of love would be blind to such things, did you? I saw that look on your face when you returned to the Empire over a month ago. That was a look of pure love if ever I saw it. You and Twilight have something very special between you now, and I'm very happy for the both of you. And that's why such a thing needs to be rekindled."

Flash looked away from her, still rather uncomfortable in discussing his private life with others.

"Twi…..I mean……Princess Sparkle and I write to each other all the time. It's not as though we're cut off from one another."

That was not a lie on his part. As promised, both he and Twilight had been corresponding with each other on a regular basis, and to him, those letters were often a highlight of his day. Though admittedly, it was strange to suddenly have letters and scrolls appear out of green fire like that. Still, he had to confess that it had been difficult for him to not see her beautiful face like he'd been able to do during his leave time all those weeks ago. Not to embrace her, or know the feeling of her lips upon his. Her not being with him had been difficult, but he'd learned to endure it.

Looking up at Cadence, he forced a small smile.

"You know what they say. Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

Cadence raised an eyebrow at that.

"Do you seek to lecture the princess of love on matters of the heart guard-pony?" She asked.

Flash's eyes widened at that and he raised his hooves in defence.

"No, no! I didn't....I mean......what I meant was that......"

But before he could get another word out, he was interrupted by another fit of giggles from Cadence.

"Relax Flash. I understand, believe me. But if you keep waiting for the right time to be with her, you'll always be disappointed. Her visit is a perfect time for the two of you to enjoy each other's company. She and her brother will have their time together, don't you worry. But trust me when I say that she'll be just as eager to be back with you as you are to be with her."

Flash considered that. In all the letters Twilight had written to him, not once had he ever been under the impression that she felt any less about him than the day they last saw each other. And that warmed his heart a great deal. His mind conjured up images of their last time together, and brought up new possibilities of how things would be between them once she returned to the Empire next week. To say he was not looking forward to such a reunion would have been a lie, and it brought a smile to his face to know that the mare he loved so much would be with him once more.

And knowing that, he looked up at the princess of the Crystal Empire, his smile bigger than it had been in weeks.

"In that case, your highness, I'll be sure to arrange a proper welcome for her."

Reunion

No matter how many times she came here, Twilight was always taken aback at just how beautiful the Crystal Empire was. From it's crystalline buildings, to the shimmer of the ponies who lived here, it was truly a sight to behold. She was walking along the main street of the crystal city, accompanied by her closest friends. Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Spike had all joined her for this visit. She'd been invited by her brother, Shining Armour, to come to the palace for the weekend, and it was an opportunity she had been looking forward to for some time.

Even though she'd become used to the idea of her brother becoming a prince of his own land and having so many of the responsibilities that came with it, she still lamented that this rise in status, not to mention her own ascension to the role of princess, meant that they wouldn't have as much time to spend with each other as they used to do. Still, she knew that such distance between them would only make the moments they had all the more meaningful to her, as would her time with her sister-in-law, Cadence.

As she and her friends walked down the street, they noted how few ponies were reacting to their presence. The last time they came here, there had been much fanfare for Twilight's arrival, being Equestria's latest princess. But this time there was little announcement of their arrival, at least outside the palace. No doubt it was due to Shining's influence, as he knew full well how uncomfortable Twilight was with such attention. If so, then it was something she'd have to thank him for. Twilight turned to her friends as she walked, and noticed immediately that most of them carried a mischievous smirk on their faces, causing some confusion for her.

"What?" She asked.

They all looked at each other with knowing smiles before Applejack spoke up.

"Oh nothin sugarcube. We're all just noticin how you're lookin forward to this here visit."

Twilight tilted her head at that.

"Of course I'm looking forward to it. Shining and I have spent virtually no time together since my coronation. It'll be good to catch up again."

Twilight looked on as Rainbow Dash chuckled at that answer.

"Oh sure, Shining's the ONLY stallion on your mind right now." She said.

It didn't take long for Twilight to put the pieces together in her mind. It was now clear to her what her friends were talking about, leading to her letting out an exasperated groan. They were, of course, referring to Flash Sentry, her colt-friend. Ever since she and Flash had started seeing each other in earnest, her friends had teased her about it constantly, to the point where she barely talked about him to them anymore. But they clearly weren't about to let this matter go. Of course, it wasn't as though she wasn't keen to see him again. Far from it. He was, after all, the first stallion she'd ever fallen in love with. The only one she'd ever kissed even. Being with him was something that brought her joy, far more than she could express. And thinking of that changed Twilight's expression from an annoyed one to one of comfort, as she looked up at her friends.

"You're right. I AM looking forward to seeing Flash again. It's been so long since we've been together. I just hope things between us haven't.......become less than when we last saw each other."

That was, in truth, something that Twilight had been concerned with during the long weeks when they'd been apart from one another. Although she had little to no experience with romantic relationships, she did understand that having a long-distance romance was always going to make things difficult for those involved. Never being able to see each other whenever they wanted was, to both of them, an unwanted difficulty. It reminded her all too well of the days before her brother got married, when her time in Ponyville meant that the two were not as constant in each other's lives as they used to be. That distance had always worried Twilight, as she'd once feared that it may result in the two of them not being as close as they once were.

But, like how her brother's distance from her, and his marriage to Cadence, didn't meant that he loved her any less, so to did she believe that Flash would love her no less either. She then noticed how Rarity began walking closer to her, placing a hoof on her shoulder.

"Twilight, dear, you have nothing to worry about. You and Flash correspond with each other all the time. If he felt any less towards you, you would have known by now."

Twilight smiled at that. Rarity was right. Flash's letters to her had been something she frequently looked forward to, just as much as her correspondence with Princess Celestia during her studies was once something she treasured. She'd heard all about his day-to-day activities and, more importantly to her, just how much he missed her. It brought a smile to her face to know that he still felt something for her, in spite of how long they'd been apart. The thought of being in his embrace once more made her feel warm inside.

Her friends noticed the increasingly large smile on her face as she dwelt on such thoughts, and although they gave a private smirk to each other, they knew better than to ruin the moment for her by making such gestures too overt. So, the group carried on their way, towards the crystal palace. it was an often-trod route for them, and it didn't take long for them to arrive there, the magnificent crystalline spire glistening in the day's bright sunlight. Making their way through the palace's grand front doors, they walked along it's elegant hallways before eventually finding their way at the entrance to the palace throne room.

Two guards were on either side of it and saw the group approach. Using their horns, they magically opened the doors for them, bowing to Twilight as she and her friends passed. Twilight gave them a nod, but soon looked forward and gazed upon the throne room itself. The long red carpet flowing right down it's middle was flanked on either side by rows of pegasi and unicorn guards. Looking ahead, Twilight smiled a great deal as she saw, standing together and the end of the carpet, was none other than her brother, Shining, and her sister-in-law, Cadence.

The married couple smiled back at Twilight as she and the others made her way along the carpet towards them. She they approached, Twilight's eyes drifted to a certain young stallion who was standing next to Shining. Recognising him immediately, Twilight's smile grew even more. It was Flash. Clad in the usual golden armour of the guard, he stood at attention as she and her group kept walking, his own face breaking out into a smile as his eyes and Twilight's locked onto each other. They'd been apart from each other for so long that this reunion was a joy for both of them.

However, the moment was interrupted when Shining frowned at Flash a little, noticing how his attention was focused entirely on Twilight. Shining then used one of his forelegs to nudge Flash in his side, snapping him back to attention. Flash gave a nervous glance at Shining before clearing his throat and stepping forward.

"Announcing the arrival of Princess Twilight Sparkle, and the bearers of the elements of harmony!" He called out.

With that announcement made, the guards on either side of the carpet immediately saluted as the group passed. Twilight smiled and shook her head at this display. It reminded her all-too well of her first introduction to Flash, back before her journey into the human world. He'd announced her arrival then too, though he was little more than just another guard to her at the time. Now though, he was so much more to her. Still, rather than just break her composure, she kept walking along until she was mere feet away from her brother and his wife.

Shining and Cadence, both Smiling, stepped forward and embraced Twilight in a hug. Twilight relished this moment, to be with her family again, but the three of them broke apart before Shining started speaking.

"It's good to see you again Twily."

Twilight sighed affectionately upon hearing her childhood nickname. Although she knew most ponies her age would grow out of such names, for her it merely brought back fond memories of their time growing up together. Shining had been a good brother to her, and was one of the most important people in the world to her. And now, seeing the affectionate look on his face as he gazed down upon her, she knew that he felt no less about her than she did of him. And so, still smiling, she raised a hoof and placed it upon his side.

"You too, BBBFF."

It was now Shining's turn to smile at hearing his own nickname from his youth, and it was a moment Twilight had to refrain from letting herself giggle at. It was here that Cadence stepped forward and spoke.

"It's good to see all of you again. I hope your journey treated you well?" She asked.

Twilight nodded.

"Yep. The train ride was as good as ever, and the weather was beautiful on the way up, especially given how close to winter it is."

Cadence nodded at that.

"I'm glad to hear it. I'm sure you're all looking forward to enjoying the weekend here, and you especially Twilight."

The crystal princess then turned to her husband, Shining.

"You and your brother really do need to catch up."

Twilight and Shining smiled at each other at that remark. They then turned their attention back to Cadence when she spoke up again.

"For now though, I think you've all had a long trip. It's probably for the best that you get yourself set up in your rooms."

Twilight and her friends nodded upon hearing that, and it was then that Cadence glanced over at Shining. She gently nudged him in his side, catching his attention. He turned to look at her and, without saying a word, she gestured over to Flash. Shining looked over to him and, in a similar silence to Cadence, looked back to his wife with a rather uncomfortable look on his face. Cadence frowned at him and, after a few moment, Shining sighed. Twilight had no idea what was going on, but it all became clear once Shining spoke in a commanding voice.

"Guard-pony Sentry!"

Flash snapped to attention and faced Shining, his hoof raised in a salute.

"Sir!" He replied.

Shining stepped forward before speaking again.

"You will escort my sister and her friends to their quarters. Understood?"

Flash, not to mention everypony else there, was taken aback by that. Given Shining's nature, it was known that he had a degree of discomfort with the idea of Flash being involved with Twilight. To have him deliberately ask him to be with her in any capacity, even if it was just as an escort, was surprising to everypony. But, then again, it was most likely due to Cadence's influence, and knowing that, Twilight turned to her as the crystal princess gave her a knowing wink. Twilight smiled at that before turning to look at Flash, who had now stepped forward.

"Understood Sir!" He replied.

Flash made an about-face and began walking towards a door adjacent to the main room. Twilight's friends walked past her and right behind Flash as he led them in the direction of their rooms. Twilight stayed behind briefly to give her brother and Cadence one final look. Shining had managed to get over his previous hesitancy and was now giving a small smile and a nod to her. She moved forward and gave him another brief hug before breaking away and running off to join her friends, who were now leaving the room altogether.

Twilight walked a little faster than the others so that she was soon ahead of the group, mere feet away from her beloved Flash. He did not turn to greet her, but merely kept walking towards their destination. This did not bother Twilight however as she knew Flash well, how important his duties were to him. He was not going to let himself be distracted by anything, at least not while he still had a task to perform. As they walked though, Twilight was distracted by a sound of whispering, and turned to see her friends chatter quietly amongst themselves, deliberately keeping their voices down so that Twilight could not hear them.

Although she raised an eyebrow at that behaviour, she said nothing, and soon noticed that Flash had soon led them to the right place. It was a lengthy hallway, with many doors along both sides, the same place Twilight and her friends had slept prior to Sunset Shimmer's attempted theft of her crown. Flash stopped walking and turned around to look at them, gesturing to the doors as he did so.

"Here are your quarters. I hope your stay here goes well."

It seemed so strange to Twilight to hear him act in such a military manner, having become so used to his more casual form of speech during his last visit. But then, he was on duty right now, so it was to be expected. Her friends however, giggled as quietly as they could, much to Twilight's annoyance, before Rainbow Dash stepped forward and spoke.

"Gee, thanks for that Flash. I think we'll all head in and rest up."

The tone of her voice was one of faint sarcasm, Twilight could feel it. Rainbow, not to mention her other friends, were planning something. Though what, she could not tell. But judging from the looks on their faces, so similar to the smirks they'd given her not too long ago, she could only guess that it had something to do with her and Flash. It was a suspicion conformed when Rarity spoke next.

"Indeed darling. We've all had a very tiresome journey and all need our beauty rest. But......"

Rarity then turned to look at Twilight, who raised her eyebrow at her.

".......I think our friend Twilight would rather walk around the halls for a bit longer."

Twilight's eyes widened with that, as she soon realised what her friends had been plotting. All five of them, and Spike, started giggling out loud this time and made their way to their respective rooms. Twilight tried to stop them but she couldn't get a word in edgeways, and soon enough, it was just her and Flash in the hall together. They stared at each other, still somewhat taken aback over how quickly things had just turned around. This was, after all, the first time they'd been alone together for some time. Now, the moment they'd wanted for so long was finally here, yet neither knew what to do next.

There was an awkward silence between them, one that grew increasingly uncomfortable for some time before, finally, Flash broke the silence.

"Twilight?"

Twilight looked up at him, listening to his nerves-filled voice. She took a gentle step forward, her face filled with expectancy over what he might say next.

"Yes, Flash?"

Flash opened his mouth, and briefly struggled to get out what he wanted to say next, before sighing with a look of determination on his face. He broke into a smile as he gazed upon the mare he loved, his voice now calmer than it had been before.

"I'm happy to see you again."

Twilight wanted to say something in response to that. Something that would let Flash know just how much he'd been on her mind since they last spoke with each other. But, for all the intelligence she had, she had no idea what to say in this situation. But she knew she had to do something, and it was then that something took hold of her. Being this close to him, just like their last time together, brought something out in her that she'd never have suspected was there prior to the start of their relationship.

Before Flash had a chance to react, Twilight lunged forward and planted her lips on his. The impact of her moving forward, pushed Flash back, right into the door of Twilight's quarters. Although momentarily stunned by his filly-friends actions, Flash's eyes soon closed, as did hers, and the two of them wrapped their forelegs around each other. Although this was only their second kiss together, it was by far more passionate than their last, having been deprived of each other for over a month. They felt the warmth of each others embrace, the softness of their lips upon each other, and thanked their lucky stars that they'd been granted a moment like this.

It was almost like a dream. Both had, to one degree or another, envisioned what their reunion would be like. But this moment felt more real than any of it, and neither of them would have wanted it any other way. After a rather lengthy session together, they broke their lips apart from one another and stared into each others eyes for quite a while before Flash spoke up.

"So........I take it you're happy to see me too?"

In spite of the obviously bad joke, Twilight chuckled, joined soon afterwards by Flash. The feelings of apprehension over how their reunion might go was suddenly washed away by the sheer joy they now felt in each others company, and they felt happier than they had been in weeks. When they eventually stopped laughing, Twilight spoke.

"I missed you." She said.

Flash's smile was small, but nevertheless affectionate.

"And I you."

Twilight leaned her head forward and nuzzled the side of his, Flash appreciating every moment he felt the warmth of her fur against him. When she eventually moved away, allowing Flash to step forward from her door, they took a brief moment to tidy themselves up a bit, with Flash straightening up his armour and Twilight brushing some of her fur back into place. Once that was done, they smiled at each other before Twilight spoke.

"I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to this weekend."

Flash nodded.

"I'm sure. When I have time, I'll be sure to spend every single second of it with you."

Twilight's smile deepened with that remark. She knew he spoke truthfully, as he'd always genuinely wanted to be with her when possible. Twilight then looked on as Flash raised his hoof and gently placed it upon the side of her face. He then spoke in a gentle tone to her.

"I love you."

The young mare had to fight to keep her eyes from welling up with tears of joy over those words. The last time she'd heard him say those words was the happiest moment of her life. This time brought her no less bliss. She simply smiled at him before speaking back.

"I love you too."

Both of them wished that this moment would never end. But soon, Flash took his hoof away from her, and his smile faded a little. He regained his more stern and disciplined look, that of the well-trained guard, before speaking again.

"Princess Sparkle. I will join you again soon.........I promise."

Twilight smiled back at him before taking a small step backwards. She nodded at him and, after giving her one final nod and a smile, Flash began to walk past her and back down the hall where he'd come from. Twilight looked on as he marched. He was the soldier once more, his personal life now put on the shelf for the time being. But she wasn't worried, not now. For she knew that the flame he carried in his heart fro her was burning just as bright as the day they last met, and knowing that could not have made her happier. She did not know how the next few days would go for her, but she no longer doubted that they would go well.

She began to make her way towards the door of her room before raising her hoof to turn it's knob. She soon stopped however and turned around, looking upon the doors of her friends' quarters. She raised an eyebrow before speaking.

"So, did you guys listen in on any of that?" She asked sternly.

A few moments passed before Twilight soon heard the voice of an uncharacteristically restrained pink pony from behind one of the doors.

"Er..........no?"

Perchance to dream

He laid there, staring up and the brilliant blue sky, without a care in the world. Flash Sentry, guard of the Crystal Empire, was greatly admiring the beautiful weather before him. Clear skies as far as the eye could see, and a brilliantly bright sun lighting up the land. He was leaning against an old oak tree, it's many branches shading him from the full force of the sun's rays. Before him was a very special place. Downhill from the tree was a vast lake, it's waters clear and shining in the day's light.

This lake was very special to him. Not only was it a place of great beauty in it's own right, but something had happened to him here that he would never forget. It was the place that he and his beloved Twilight had first spent any real time together. After their initially shaky meeting, she'd agreed to come and visit this place with him. Both had admired the lake and the open grasslands around it, as well as the striking sight of the crystal palace in the distance, but what mattered most was just how much they'd enjoyed being in each other's company back then.

True, at that early point in their relationship, true love had not yet blossomed, but now that it had, this lake was more important to him than ever. And, thinking of his beloved, a smile crept onto his face as he glanced down to his right. There, leaning against his shoulder, was none other than Twilight herself. There was a sweet and gentle smile upon her face, her eyes closed in sleep. For Flash, this moment could not have been any better. The warmth of her fur upon his, the gentle breathing he could hear from her. There was nothing about this moment he would change for all the world.

And he had her to thank for it. Without Twilight, he would never have known this kind of love, something he now treasured above all else. As he looked down at her, he felt so much appreciation for what she had brought into his life. Joy. Love. Contentment. And so many other feelings and sensations he'd never experienced. With the exception of his one-time, and brief, relationship to Sunset Shimmer, he was just as much of a novice in the field of love as Twilight was. But, in each other's company, they'd learned how to truly be in love. And, as that thought sank in for him, he couldn't help but speak what was in his heart as he looked upon her.

"She's perfect."

Although it was something Flash knew that many stallions felt about their loves, in his heart, Twilight was the most beautiful mare in the world. True, many mares, including Twilight's friends, had many qualities that stallions found attractive. Rarity for example had an elegance and glamour about her that created an air of nobility and refinement. Fluttershy, once a noted fashion model, was well known for her grace and gentleness. Even a mare like rainbow Dash had earned the eye of a fair few stallions through her boldness and striking appearance.

But while all of these mares, and many others, could rightly be called beautiful, Flash's eyes were for Twilight alone. She had a beauty that one could easily see she did not put on show for the world. There was a subtlety to it, an unspoken grace. The way she had not one hair of her mane out of place. The shining purple of her eyes. Even the way she moved, so utterly without fault. Perhaps Twilight did not know she had these qualities, but to flash, he'd become aware of each and every one of them during his time with her.

But, as he looked at her sleeping form, leaning against him under the tree, a sadness crossed his face, as he suddenly realised that, despite all the time they'd been together, he'd never told her those things. Looking at her, he raised a hoof and brushed aside a strand of hair from her mane, clearing her face and giving him a better look at her. His smile returned and he leaned forward slightly, planting a gentle kiss upon her forehead. Twilight reacted immediately to that, smiling as she slept and stirring slightly. It was a sight that brought warmth to Flash heart as he spoke.

"I've said I love you. But there's so much more I wish I could say."

Before another words could be said, a voice was heard from nearby.

"Then do so."

Flash's head spun around and saw, just a few metres away from the tree, was a tall an imposing figure. Far-spread wings and a long sharp horn. Her fur was of a dark blue and her mane was flowing even without the aid of wind. Her crown and cutie mark bore the insignia of the moon. Flash could not believe his eyes, but it was indeed her. Princess Luna. Younger sister of Celestia, and co-ruler of Equestria. His soldier's instincts kicking in, he immediately shot up from his sitting position, carefully making sure not to disturb Twilight, before saluting before the moon princess.

"Princess Luna! I.......I can explain! Princess Sparkle and I were merely........"

But rather than look upon their rather intimate moment with any degree of disdain, the moon princess, to Flash's surprise, broke out in a chuckle. Flash, still saluting, looked on at this display with more than a little confusion. Once Luna finished, she raised a hoof.

"At ease Sentry. You need not apologize for affection."

Flash lowered his hoof and let out a sigh of relief.. The last thing he'd want on a day like today was to be criticised for his precious moment with Twilight, especially by other members of the royal family. But that did leave him with the question of why Luna was here in the first place. She was not, after all, known for seeking out individual guards. Nor was she known for being active that much during the daytime, yet here she was at high noon. The look of confusion on his face was evident, and let Luna in on what he was thinking.

"You wonder why I am here?"

Flash nodded at that, answering her question. But before Luna had a chance to respond, another thought came into his head. He turned around and looked upon Twilight, who was still sleeping soundly under the tree. With him and Luna speaking as they were, he found it hard to understand how she could have kept asleep after all this. But he didn't have to wait long for an explanation as, without warning, Luna walked up beside him, catching his attention. Flash looked at the princess as she spoke.

"This Twilight is merely how you envision her. You wanted a moment of peace and tranquility, and thus it was so."

The confusion in Flash's face, if possible, became even greater. What was she talking about, he asked himself. Why would Twilight be as he wanted her to be? But, as Luna looked at him, a notion came into his mind. It suddenly occurred to him that he had know memory of how he or Twilight came to be in this place. In fact, the last time he was with her was when she and her friends had just entered the crystal palace, and he'd escorted them to their rooms. As he dwelt on that notion, understanding crept onto his face. He looked at Luna, who nodded, confirming his suspicion.

"This........this is a dream, isn't it?" He asked.

Luna merely nodded in response. Flash looked on at the Twilight sitting beneath the tree, the one he now knew to be false. The feelings of comfort he'd felt mere moments ago were fading, replaced almost by one of disappointment. As comforting as that moment might have been for him, he now knew that it was nothing compared to being with the real Twilight. There was also a degree of shame attached to all this. Shame that he allowed himself to feel such warmth towards a false image of her. Luna, looking at him, spoke up.

"You need not feel thus, Flash. The fact that you dream of her like so merely proves what love you bear for her in your heart. She would be happy to know that you think of her so."

Flash turned to her with as raised eyebrow. His face might have given away his feelings, but what Luna described was more than that, as though she could read his mind. It then occurred to him, much to his dismay, that the princess was, technically, in his mind right now. So of course she could tell what he was thinking. Knowing that, another, rather awkward, question arose. He felt the need to ask it, even though he felt no joy in having to ask such a thing to a princess of Equestria.

"Um......Princess? Just how many of my private thoughts regarding Twilight have you.......glanced at?"

Luna gained a rather mischievous smile on her face, and the tone of her voice become somewhat playful, but never in a mocking way.

"Nothing I wouldn't expect from a stallion your age Sentry."

Flash's face immediately turned away in a vain attempt to hide the bright shade of crimson he was becoming from the sheer embarrassment over Luna's remark. The moon princess afforded herself a brief chuckle, but did her best to keep it quiet so as to not bother Flash even more than she was already doing so. Once Flash was certain that his blush was gone, he faced her again, his past curiosity rearing it's head once more.

"So why DID you come here?" He asked.

Luna looked away from him before answering.

"I was performing my duties as normal, flying through the dreamscape, watching over the minds of the ponies at rest. During my rounds, I sensed a great deal of emotion from one dream in particular. Normally this would indicate immense fear from a nightmare. Not so in this case it would seem, for the emotion was your love."

Flash looked at her as she spoke, enthralled by the mere notion of what Luna could do. The idea of being able to travel within some sort of dream realm was fascinating. Keeping watch over the sleeping minds of others like a guardian angel. Keeping nightmares at bay and being able to touch others in a way that no other pony in the world could do, not even Celestia. It made him wonder aloud how it was that Luna was not more celebrated than she was. Still, his mind turned to her words, that his love for Twilight was so powerful that it drew her here like a moth to a flame.

"Well........she's very special to me."

Luna glanced at him and offered a smile.

"So I see. And I'm sure she knows you feel that way about her."

Flash sighed at that remark before answering.

"Sometimes I wonder if I tell her enough. There are so many things I wish I could say to her. All the things I admire about her."

He turned to face Luna, his expression more serious than it was before.

"But you've known her longer than I have. You know what she'd be like if I did. She'd just brush aside whatever compliment I gave her. Her modesty would never allow her to appreciate the good things ponies have to say about her."

He looked away from her again, offering himself a dry chuckle as he did so.

"Ironic, as her modesty is yet another thing I like about her."

Luna looked at him carefully. Being within his mind, she knew him well enough to know how difficult it must be for him to bear his soul like this towards her, given that the two of them hadn't really spoken at all before now. Still, she could understand his problem, such as it was. Although she knew that it wasn't really her place to intervene in some other pony's romances like this, she felt that she had to give her thoughts on the matter, for good or ill.

"Flash, believe me when I say that it's best for you to let her know, even if she won't accept it. I know all too well how things can be when appreciation goes unspoken. Let her know, and things will take their natural course."

Flash turned his head to look at her, but to his surprise, she was gone. He spun around, hoping to catch some glance of her, but it was no use. However Luna had got in here, she'd clearly left the same way, leaving him dumbfounded as to what to do next.

"Princess?" He called out.

There was silence for a few moments before he finally heard her voice again.

"I leave you now Flash Sentry. But I leave behind a parting gift. The opportunity you needed."

It would have been a great understatement to say that Flash was left confused by that statement. An opportunity? For what? Before he could respond to the princess' words however, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Looking down at the old tree, he saw that his image of Twilight was now gone. Why, he could not say. But what he did know was that he could now hear a sound coming from behind him. It was the distinct sound of approaching hoofsteps in the grass. Turning, his eyes widened with shock as he saw, there before him, was the mare he loved.

"Twilight?"

The young alicorn smiled as she continued to approach him. The way she looked at him, the way her eyes glistened in the light of Flash's imagined sun made it very clear to him that this was the real Twilight, not the false one his mind had created for him. He watched her approach, not knowing exactly how she got into his dream or why. But still, he at least allowed himself a moment of joy at seeing the real Twilight here with him, causing him to smile back at her.

"Hey." She said to him.

Flash sighed and, still smiling, responded.

"I'm.......surprised to see you here."

Twilight giggled a little before speaking.

"Yeah, I'm a little surprised too. Luna did her best to explain to me, something about when two ponies are thinking of each other when they dream. It's a loophole that lets her connect the two."

Flash tilted his head at that.

"You.......were dreaming about me?"

Twilight turned away a little, showing a clear blush in her cheeks as she did so.

"As you were of me." She replied.

Now it was Flash's turn to blush, and the two laughed at their shared awkwardness. Flash now realised what Luna had meant when she said she was giving him and opportunity. With Twilight here, sharing his dream, he now had the chance to say to her all the things he wanted to. Things to make her know just how much he loved and appreciated every aspect of her, flaws and all. Twilight looked upon him as he stepped forward, showing a degree of nervousness in his face as he cleared his throat.

"Twilight? I have said before how much I love you. But there is so much more I want you to hear. So many things about you that I've come to admire."

Before he could continue with his words, Twilight raised a hoof, stopping him. He looked on as she gave a small smile and a look of understanding.

"You don't need to say anything. I already know."

Flash gained a look of confusion, leading to another small giggle from Twilight. She then stepped closer, with a somewhat mischievous look on her face as she placed a hoof gently on the fur of his chest.

"So........I'm perfect, am I?"

In that moment, Flash's face went as red as a tomato, and he opened his mouth to try and explain himself, but he just kept fumbling his words over and over. Twilight put his mind at ease however by chuckling to herself before stepping even closer to him. Before he could say anything further, Twilight gently placed her lips upon his in a kiss. The stallion's fears melted away, as they often did when he was being intimate with her like this, and he closed his eyes and allowed himself to enjoy this moment, as did she.

When they finally broke away, they smiled lovingly at each other before Flash spoke.

"Well then. Words can wait........until morning anyway."

Concerns of a brother

He looked out upon the streets of the crystal city, the wind gently blowing through his window. Shining Armour, prince of this Empire, was in his office, having just finished much of his daily paperwork, and was thus taking a short break to admire the scenery. One of the perks of this job was getting quite a view from his office, as it gave him a magnificent look over the shining crystal buildings of this city. Despite his role as head of the Empire's military, it had been relatively quiet here, with only the Empire’s restoration having caused any major difficulties.

As he began to turn away from the window however, he glanced at somepony down in the street. He gave the window his full attention once more as he saw that there, walking in the streets, was his younger sister, Twilight. She was out amongst the other ponies, whom had all become used to not bowing as they would do with other princesses, owing largely to Twilight's general discomfort with such behaviour. But what caught Shining's attention more was that she was not alone, and seeing the one she was walking with caused him to narrow his eyes somewhat.

"Sentry". He grumbled

Flash Sentry. The stallion had his back to him and was clad in the usual golden armour of the guard, but there was no mistaking him. There was no other guard that Twilight would ask to accompany her down the street like this. Despite Shining's protests, Flash had been chosen by Twilight to act as her personal escort while she was here. Shining knew fully-well that Twilight didn't really need an escort while she was here, and that her real reasons were for her to be closer to her colt-friend. On the one hoof, it brought a smile to Shining's face to see Twilight become more comfortable with exercising her authority. On the other, having it to be used to do this sort of thing irked his "protective big brother" instincts.

He knew he wasn't being fair to Flash by thinking that way. The guy was, after all, a stallion of decent character, and had been a solid and dependable guard during his relatively brief time here in the Empire. And from what he'd heard, he and Twilight were really happy together, which was something Shining could never be angry about. If he was, in some way, making his sister happy, then that was something that Shining couldn’t begrudge him about. And so, sighing heavily, he turned and began to sit down to resume some of his work.

But, as the minutes rolled by, his mind began to drift towards Twilight and Flash once more. It was not so long ago, only a few months by Shining's count, that he'd first brought Flash here into his office, wanting to question him about his relationship to Twilight. Fortunately for Shining, Twilight had not been too angry about him doing that. However, Shining recalled all too well that Flash had said something to him that day which had piqued his interest. A thought which had buried itself into Shining's mind and never let go.

According to Flash, Twilight had approached him shortly after the attempted theft of her crown by Celestia's former student, Sunset Shimmer. Shining himself had not been here for that incident, but had learned all about it once he'd returned to the palace. Regardless, Flash had told him that Twilight first approached him after that incident and the two had hit it off rather well. But, during Shining's interview of him, Flash had said that there was an important reason why Twilight had gone to him specifically, rather than some other guard, but that it was a personal reason she wouldn't want others to know about.

That information had set off more than a few alarm bells in Shining's mind. The notion that there was some big secret behind his sister's relationship didn't sit well with him. What could she be hiding? What's worse is that it seemed to be only him who was being kept in the dark about this. When ever the issue of Flash had arisen in conversation, Twilight's friends had always given each other knowing looks, as though they were in on some secret that Shining was oblivious to. The white stallion knew that Twilight was close enough to her friends to know that, if there was some big secret, they might well have been in on it.

But why would she want such a secret kept from him? He was her brother, her own flesh and blood. Did she not trust him? No, Shining thought. Twilight DOES trust me. But even so, she was keeping something from him regarding Flash. Was she afraid of what he might do if he found out? If that was the case, then was there something he SHOULD be afraid of? Shining did his best to bury such thoughts. He had, after all, poked too far into his sister's personal life already with Flash. To go any further might make things worse between them. And after what happened between them prior to his wedding to Cadence, he was in no hurry to risk such a split between them anytime soon.

Still, as he looked out of the window, at the sight of Twilight and Flash, happy in each other's company, a thought arose in his mind once more.

"Twilight goes her whole life never showing an interest in stallions. Then she goes through the magic mirror, and after she returned she's suddenly going out of her way for this one guard."

The magic mirror. The doorway through which lay a whole other world. It was there that Twilight had gone to pursue Sunset Shimmer and retrieve her crown. That mirror was the key to this mystery, Shining knew it. He took a deep breath and gained a look of determination on his face. He knew that Twilight would be more than a little angry with him if she found out what he was doing, but the elder stallion had convinced himself by this point that he had little choice in the matter. And so, putting down his papers on his desk, he made his way out of his office.

He'd walked these elaborate halls many times before, having lived here for almost a year now. As he passed the entrances to many other rooms, the guards stationed there, pegasi, unicorn and earth pony alike, all saluted to him as he walked by. Ever the solider, Shining saluted them in return. But he couldn't allow himself to be distracted by such things. Not today. And soon enough, he found what he was looking for. The royal throne room. This massive chamber was quite a sight, forged from the same brilliant crystal as the rest of the palace, the light from it's many windows filled the room and caused them to glisten.

Shining took a brief moment to reflect on just how fortunate that he and his wife were to live in a place like this, affording himself a small smile as he did so. But that smile faded as his eyes darted to something near the throne itself. It was tall and etched with many strange symbols, it's reflective surface glistening like the crystal walls which surrounded it. It was the crystal mirror. Shining's eyes narrowed as he approached the magical object. He walked towards it before stopping just a foot away from it. Staring at the surface, Shining raised a hoof and placed it against the reflection. Not being the proper time, his hoof did not pass through it like a portal, but merely touched it, like an ordinary mirror.

"This is the source of it." He said to himself.

Twilight had passed through this mirror into a whole other place. A place in which he had no knowledge. As far as he knew, only two ponies had ever passed into that world. One was Sunset, and the other was his sister. With the time being wrong, he knew he could not simply walk through and get the answers he wanted, which was more than a little frustrating for him. Instead he hoped, perhaps in vain, that simply staring at the thing long enough might give him the insight he was looking for.

And, in a strange way, doing just that did indeed lead to something, for it was not long before Shining hear the sound of gentle hoof-steps approaching him from behind. Being in front of a mirror, Shining didn't need to look behind him to know who it was, as he merely glanced at the reflection. It was a young alicorn, pink in her mane and fur and bearing a tiara upon her head. Cadence, his beloved wife. Seeing her, her beauty, always brought a smile to Shining's face, but that smile faded a little once his wife began to speak.

"Shining, honey......what are you doing?"

Shining realised just how much trouble he would be in if Cadence knew the full extent of his presence here. She was, after all, the princess of love. So the very idea that he would in some way be interfering in the romance of another couple would be inherently upsetting to her, especially since she'd gone out of her way to support the idea of Twilight and Flash being together. So, thinking fast, Shining turned around and forced a smile.

"Well, dear, I was just thinking about what Twilight went through, going through this mirror. As you know, I wasn't here when Sunset tried stealing her crown, so I'm a little sketchy on the details."

One look at his wife's face, at her raised eyebrow and piercing eyes, made it clear that she wasn't buying a minute of this. The married couple stood there in silence for a while, Shining's eyes darting back and forth, before Cadence finally broke the silence.

"Prince Armour, you wouldn't, by any chance, be trying to learn something about Twilight would you? Perhaps something to do with her new beau?"

Shining tried his best poker face for a few seconds, contemplating outright denying her claims, but he knew that at this point such an action would be useless. Instead, he exhaled deeply, his ears now drooped in defeat as he nodded. Cadence shook her head, clearly a little disappointed in her husband's actions. She'd have probably hoped that he would have moved past this whole issue with Twilight and Flash by now. And in truth he had done to a great degree. He'd been quite accepting of it at this point. But that one nugget of information that was being kept from him was eating away at his mind, and was something that simply would not let him be.

Realising this, he decided that the best course of action was to be upfront about it.

"Alright. You caught me. This IS about Twilight and Flash. But it's not just me being over-protective. I think there might be some other reason why she decided to get together with the guy. A reason she doesn't want me to know."

Cadence's expression softened somewhat as she kept on listening to her husband, who was now turning around to look at the mirror once more.

"It all began with this. Twilight went through, got her crown, then, out of nowhere, wanted to get together with this specific guard pony."

He turned and looked at Cadence with a slight frown.

"Something happened to her in there, and I don't know what."

Cadence stared at him for a while before sighing. Despite her disapproval of his actions, she understood that it was, at the end of the day, out of love. Shining and Twilight had been very close throughout their lives together, closer perhaps than any other siblings she knew about. It was only natural that he'd be protective of her, especially if something had happened to her without his knowledge. After all, it was clearly a family trait, as Cadence had heard that Twilight was similarly dogged in her actions towards the disguised Queen Chrysalis prior to her and Shining's wedding. These two were always out for each other, so it would have been wrong for Cadence to just accept that he'd roll over and forget about something like this.

She approached her husband and gently placed her hoof upon his shoulder.

"I understand. But you have to realise that if Twilight's fine with all of this, so should you."

Shining looked away reluctantly before sighing.

"I know that. And I feel terrible that I'm going behind her back over this. But if I only understood what happened in there better, I might be able to get past this."

He looked upon the mirror once more.

"What do you know about the world beyond that mirror dear?" He asked

Cadence shook her head as she now stood alongside Shining, now looking at the mirror herself.

"No more than any other pony I'm afraid. Twilight said it was a world inhabited with strange creatures on two legs."

She glanced over at Shining before continuing.

"What did interest me though was that, according to Twilight, those in that other world were almost note-for-note duplicates of those here in our world."

Shining raised an eyebrow as he turned to face his wife.

"What do you mean?"

Cadence scratched her chin before answering.

"Well. All the people over there are in many ways the counterparts for the ponies in our world. Twilight met five such beings that were more-or-less exactly like her friends here, like Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and all the rest. Even Celestia and Luna had doppelgangers over there. So for every pony in our world, there was one of these two-legged things over there who were exactly like them."

Shining turned away from Cadence and looked at the reflective surface of the mirror. What Cadence was telling him was, without question, fascinating. An entire world, filled with unknown creatures that perfectly mimicked the ponies of our world. He mused over the notion that he himself and Cadence might have such copies over there, or that there may indeed be another version of his sister out there in that world somewhere. Though he was certain that if such a person existed, Twilight would have surely told him about her.

But, as he dwelt on this notion a new thought occurred to him. It was only after Twilight had returned from this world that she began to show an interest in Flash, a pegasus she'd never met before. But then it hit him. What if she HAD met him before? Cadence had just told him that Twilight said every pony had a counterpart in that world, and whose personalities matched their exactly. If that was true, then that led Shining to the only reasonable conclusion he could reach, and it put this entire situation with Twilight's relationship in a whole new light for him.

"Did Twilight meet..........another Flash?"

The talk

The day was going perfectly, at least so far. Twilight was approaching the brilliant crystal doors of the palace, the sun shining and the weather just good in general. She'd enjoyed her day out in town, and, more importantly, she'd enjoyed the company she'd been in. Smiling, she looked to her right and saw, walking alongside her, her colt-friend, Flash. He glanced back down at her and gave his own smile as they walked together. Officially, he'd been chosen by her as her personal escort as she travelled around town. Unofficially though, this was merely a way for her to be close to him without having to wait until the end of his shift.

She afforded herself a brief chuckle as she contemplated this small abuse of her power for personal gain.

"Sometimes, it's good to be a princess." She muttered.

Flash turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

"Hmmm?" He replied.

Twilight giggled nervously before looking up at him.

"It's nothing."

Flash would normally have inquired further, but he trusted her enough to believe her when she said that. And so, the two of them made their way through the crystal doors of the palace, being saluted by the door's guards as they entered. Once inside, they made their way through the palace's grand entrance hall, and they waited until the doors behind them were closed until they finally stopped and turned to face each other, both bearing rather loving looks as they stared at each other. Twilight spoke first.

"I had a good time today." She said.

Flash smiled before answering.

"Me too."

He then looked over his shoulder and noticed something. Twilight looked over to where he was glancing, only to notice a group of guards moving from one area of the palace to the other. She looked on as Flash turned to face her once more, his expression now one of uncertainty. He looked as though he needed to say something to her but had trouble getting the words out. But Twilight had known him long enough to know what must have been on his mind. She raised her hoof and gently placed it on his shoulder.

"It's okay. I understand. You need to get back to your patrols. You've been more than good to me just by being with me already today. Go."

Flash sighed with relief before smiling again. Without saying anything, it was clear just how much he appreciated what Twilight had done. His work and his dedication to his guard duties had always been important to him, and throughout their relationship Twilight had never asked him to outright violate those duties. Leaning forward, Flash planted a brief kiss on Twilight's cheek, causing her to blush a little. He then gave her a salute, as was expected of a guard when royalty was concerned, before making an about-face and walking off to join his fellow guards.

She watched him leave, still smiling, until she could not longer see him. Now alone, Twilight considered what she should do next. After all, Flash was now back on his duties and her friends were off enjoying themselves in many separate locales in the Empire. She then cast her mind back to the first time she came to this place, and remembered that there was a very impressive library in town that she'd love to have studied more. Realising this, she began to turn and make her way towards the door again, eager to see that brilliant collection of books once more.

But once she turned, she caught a glimpse of a pony approaching her. She focused her attention on the figure and saw that it was her brother, Shining. Under normal circumstances, she would have been happy to see her beloved sibling, given that his responsibilities as prince often kept him occupied. But one look at his face faded whatever smile Twilight had on her own. For his expression was one of uttermost seriousness. It was not a look she'd often seen him wear, and those few times he had were never pleasant. So she stayed put until he was within a few feet of her. Silence fell between them and Twilight looked upon her brother with concern. But eventually, Shining spoke.

"Twilight.......we need to talk."

The tone of his voice was serious enough, but what made it worse was that he referred to her by her full name. For most of their lives together, he'd always resorted to her childhood nickname, "Twily". To have him not use that name now made it clear that something big was on his mind. Her brother turned, gesturing behind him, making it clear that he wanted her to accompany him somewhere. Saying nothing, Twilight simply nodded and allowed Shining to walk off with her trailing along behind.

They walked together through several hallways until they finally reached their destination. Twilight recognised it immediately as Shining's private office. The elder stallion opened it and, with a gesture, invited her in. Twilight, rather apprehensively, entered the room, not turning to see Shining close the door behind her. Although this situation was different, it called to mind the time in the human world where she was sent to the office of Princess Luna's counterpart to be accused of something she had no part in. Those same nervous feelings now reared their ugly head once more.

Shining walked in front of her, his expression one of concern. He opened his mouth to speak, but clearly struggled to get the words out. Twilight waited patiently until he finally managed to get his thoughts in order.

"Twilight. Is there something you need to tell me?"

The young alicorn gained a look of confusion at that remark. Needless to say, it was not something she'd been expecting her brother to day to her. But he just kept staring at her, waiting for her to respond to his question. The longer the silence persisted, the more uncomfortable things became between the two siblings. Twilight tried hard, wracking her brain for something she might not have told Shining. Something that might lead him to be behaving this way. But she couldn't think of anything. Seeing this confusion in his sister, Shining sighed deeply before speaking up again.

"I mean is there anything you need to tell me about your time through the crystal mirror?"

Twilight's ears pricked up at that, though her confusion remained. That what he wanted to know about? Her time in the human world? It made little sense to her that he'd ask for such a thing. She'd already told him everything that happened there, so she couldn't figure out what about the whole thing could have led him to bring her here. Shining was still looking incredibly disturbed by this whole situation and decided to just come out and say what was on his mind.

"Twilight.......I know."

His sister raised an eyebrow at that, prompting him to elaborate.

"I know.......about the other Flash."

With those words, Twilight's face became pale with shock. The sheer impact of realising just what it was Shining wanted to talk to her about was enough to briefly render her speechless. He knew about the other Flash. The HUMAN Flash. But how, she asked herself. She'd never told anypony except her friends. It was a truth that was given to them in trust, and she knew them well enough to know that none of them would have gone behind her back to tell her brother. Nor could it have been Flash himself, for the only time Shining had spoken to him at length about their relationship was months ago, and if he'd spoken of it then, then she and Shining would have had this discussion far earlier than this.

Twilight looked up at her brother and spoke, her voice still somewhat shocked.

"How.......how could you possibly know?" She asked.

Shining sighed before answering her.

"Once I had all the pieces together it was easy enough to figure out."

His expression then became more stern.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Twilight looked away, somewhat ashamed over all this. In truth, she knew she should have trusted her brother with this knowledge. After all, the two of them had been far closer than many siblings, and had shared many secrets with each other over the years. And this was by far a very important thing that had happened to her. But her relationship to the human Flash had only been prevalent in her mind after her return to Equestria because of her budding relationship to his pony counterpart. And she knew her brother well enough to know that if he knew that, it would have been even harder for him to have accepted her being with this world's Flash.

She looked up at him, her expression one of sadness.

"I know. I should have told you. But if you knew.......you would have been afraid that I was with this Flash for the wrong reasons."

Shining looked away from her, thinking over what she'd just said to him. Twilight just watched him, looking at his face as he was clearly trying to work through all of this. Eventually, without turning to look at her again, he spoke.

"The other Flash, the human one. You and he were.......close?"

It was only after asking that question that Shining turned his eyes on her. But Twilight did not reply, merely turning her own face away from her brother. Shining didn't need her to answer him to realise the meaning behind that gesture. Twilight was smart enough to know that her brother had figured it all out, that she and the human Flash had indeed been close during her time in the other world. Shining would not have called her here if he'd suspected anything less. She heard her brother give a long sigh before speaking again.

"I see. And is that why you did it? Why you went to the pony Flash in the first place? Because you wanted to be with the one you knew before?"

Twilight's head shot towards her brother again, her eyes wide with shock over such a question. She could not blame him for coming to such an assumption of course. After all, in his position she might have reached the same conclusion, that she had only tried getting together with this Flash as a means of holding onto the bonds she'd forged with the human one. But that was an issue she'd long solved for herself. Something she was sure to tell Shining.

"No! I mean......things might have started out that way, with me trying to see if this Flash was like the other. But I promise you, I didn't just get together with him because I could be with the human one."

She was not lying to him. Her conflicted feelings between the human and pony Flash had plagued her relationship with the latter for much of their early days together. She'd gone back and forth with herself over why she was doing this, or if it was for the right reasons. But, during her time with this Flash, she'd managed to fall in love with him, and through that her feelings for the other one were no longer present in her mind,. even though she still appreciated the time she'd spent with him. however, looking at her brother, she could tell that he was not so convinced.

"Twilight......are you certain of this? I mean, what if you really are doing this for the wrong reasons?"

Twilight looked rather indignant at that remark. She was doing her best to explain things to her brother, to make him see that she'd chosen to be with Flash for the right reasons. But it really seemed to her now that he was just being over-protective. That he wanted to involve himself in a matter that, in her mind, he had no business being a part of. The way he was talking to her made it very clear to her that he was not going to be dropping this matter anytime soon, and that, needless to say, was not something she was comfortable with.

"Shining, I'm telling you the truth. The other Flash has nothing to do with this anymore. And for that matter, you don't have anything to do with this either!"

Before Twilight could get another word out, Shining stepped forward, his face one of anger, as he spoke up in a very loud tone.

"I CAN'T SEE YOU GET HURT AGAIN!!!"

The silence that followed her brother's bellowing was almost deafening. The two simply stared at each other, neither quite grasping what had just happened. Shining's face, which was filled with anger and hostility during his shout, was now drained of all of it, replaced by a look that Twilight recognised immediately as shame. Her brother turned away from her, moving to the window of his office and began to stare out of it. Twilight, still somewhat dumbfounded over all of this, finally spoke up.

"What.......what are you talking about?"

Shining's head motioned as though he was about to turn, but his focused once again on the view outside his window. Frowning, Twilight moved close to him, looking at him from the side.

"Brother, there's something else going on with you. Something you're not telling me."

Shining's eyes darted to her for a brief moment before returning to their previous position. The silence between the two siblings persisted until, finally, Shining's head lowered and he began to speak.

"I.....I made a terrible mistake once."

Twilight looked confused when she heard that, and it was here that Shining finally turned his head to look at her.

"A mistake I'm sure you remember. Before my wedding, you came to me and tried to tell me something important. But I didn't listen. Instead, I turned against you. I said things I should never have said. And......I failed in my duties as your brother. You needed me and I wasn't there for you."

Shining's expression became a pained one, as did Twilight's. Both of them recalled that terrible day with great clarity. Chrysalis, the Queen of the changelings, had disguised herself as Cadence. Through that act, she'd convinced everypony, Shining included, that Twilight was wrong and, because of that, nearly everypony had shunned her because of it. Her brother's rejection of her had hit her especially hard, as the two had been so close throughout their lives. It was perhaps their darkest moment together, and one that neither was fond of bringing up again.

But Twilight was still confused. What did this have to do with her and Flash? Seeing the lack of understanding in her face, Shining continued.

"When all was said and done, the day saved and Chrysalis vanquished, it only then sunk in just what I had done to you. I'd hurt you in a way that I should never have done. I.......I broke your heart."

Twilight saw that her brother was struggling with having to say all of this, to the point where she could see tears start to form in his eyes. The sight of him like this made her just as wistful as he was, but he kept speaking regardless.

"Realising what I'd done, I made a promise to myself. A promise that I would do anything and everything in my power to make sure you were never hurt like that again. And it is because of that promise that I've been pressing this matter of you and Flash."

Twilight raised her eyebrow at that, and upon seeing it, Shining explained.

"I know that you think you're doing this for the right reasons, that you love him. But......what if it ISN'T the right reasons? What if things between you and him don't go the way you planned? What if you realise one day that things between you aren't what you hoped? I cannot bear to see you saddened by this. To see you brought low, like what I did to you before my wedding."

He looked away from her, his expression still pained like before.

"And I couldn't bear that your pain would have happened because I was careless. Because I didn't ask the right questions, or make sure that what you were doing was right. I would have failed as you older brother......just like I failed before."

Twilight looked upon her brother. The way he looked down at the ground, so broken and defeated, made it all-too clear to her now why he had been doing this. It wasn't because he was jealous of the time she and Flash were spending with each other. It wasn't because he didn't trust him, or her. And it wasn't because he just plain didn't want her being romantically involved with somepony. What he was doing, he was doing to protect her. Protecting her from reliving the pain and rejection she'd felt so long ago. He'd done it out of love for her.

The young alicorn, her eyes continuing to well up, understood now just how strong the bond between them was. For a long time she had feared that the connection between her and her brother had been weakened, both by their recent distance from each other and due to their recent involvement with other ponies, like Cadence and Flash. But now she saw the truth, that Shining loved her, as much, or perhaps even more, than he had always done. And, realising this, she began to smile softly. She stepped forward and gently placed her hoof on his side, catching his attention.

"Brother.......even after all these years......you're still looking out for me."

The pain in Shining's face faded a little as Twilight spoke again.

"And believe me, I appreciate that. More than I can ever say. But you have to realise that I know what I'm doing. I love Flash, truly. I'm, happy with him, and I know he's happy with me."

Twilight's smile widened a little as the discomfort that had hung over this little scene began to disappear between the two siblings.

"I know you're only doing what you felt was best for me. But you have to trust me."

Shining opened his mouth to speak, maybe to say something that would have carried on his reasons for doing this. But one look at his sister, at the earnestness in her eyes, completely wiped away whatever objections he might have had about all of this. Instead, he exhaled deeply, the pain now gone from his face. Like his sister, Shining now allowed himself to smile, a look that comforted his sister to no end. The two didn't need to say a word to each other, and simply moved closer, embracing each other in a warm hug.

They stayed like this for some time, allowing the stress of what they had just been through to vanish. Twilight knew in her heart that Shining only had her best interests at heart, something for which she would always be grateful, but she took solace that he'd now accepted her decision to be with Flash, and that it was for the right reasons. Shining meanwhile was now realising that, despite his best intentions, he had come perilously close to causing the very pain in Twilight that he'd been trying to avoid. Smiling, he silently praised just how much his sister had grown as a person, far wiser than he was, and able to make her own choices.

The two eventually broke apart, their faces still wet from the tears that had been flowing due to this ordeal.

"I'm sorry Twily. I guess......nopony ever grows out of being a big brother."

Twilight chuckled at that before answering.

"Maybe. But......."

She smiled softly, her heart lifted by the sound of Shining using her old nickname once more.

".......but you'll always be a big brother to me.......BBBFF".

Of mares and stallions

It was busy at the cafe, with ponies from all walks of life busying themselves, eating their meals and enjoying each other's company. The day was gloriously sunny and all-in-all everypony there was enjoying this relaxing day. But outside the cafe, on one of the outdoor tables, was seated a group of six mares. Twilight Sparkle, newly crowned princess of Equestria, was sitting down at the table with her five closest friends, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Rarity. They'd all ordered their meals some time ago and were now talking with each other while they waited.

"I must say girls, this weekend at the Crystal Empire has been simply fabulous." Rarity commented.

Twilight smiled at the comment. As strange as it might have sounded to the others, she actually missed being with them during this trip. Oh sure, they may spend much of their time together back in Ponyville, but that was just it. They'd spent so much time together back home that it now felt very strange to Twilight to spend any time away from them at all, which was exactly what she'd been doing since she got here to the Crystal Empire.

Aside from catching up with her brother, her main reason for coming on this visit was to get closer to her colt-friend, Flash Sentry. And even though she was happy that she'd achieved exactly that, there was a part of her that lamented that she and her friends had spent so little time together here, and it was because of that realisation which led to Twilight suggesting that they all come out here for lunch together. To her pleasant surprise, they'd all agreed, even though this vacation allowed for all of them to do things they would never be able to do back home, like experience the unique sights and activities of the Empire.

Still, she was grateful that they'd agreed to come for her. And after yesterday's events, she especially needed the company. Her brother, Shining, had discovered the secret behind her and Flash's relationship, and was less than happy about it. Fortunately, the two siblings had managed to work through the ordeal, but not without their fair share of tears. Even so, Twilight was happy that she and her beloved brother could move past that point. Unfortunately for Twilight though, she'd become so deep in thought over this that Rainbow Dash had long since noticed as was now staring at her. When Twilight finally saw this, her eyes darted about somewhat before she spoke.

"What?" She asked.

Rainbow chuckled before answering.

"Oh nothing. Just seeing how long it would take for you to snap out of it."

The cyan pegasus then gain a somewhat mischievous look.

"Thinking about him again I'm guessing?"

That remark led to the other four mares turning towards Twilight, all waiting for her to give an answer. Looking at each of them, Twilight saw that they all had the same smirk on their face as Rainbow. The young alicorn let out an annoyed groan at this sight. It reminded her all too well of the day when she'd finally come forward about seeing Flash. Her friends were acting no different now than they were back then. Still, it was clear to her that they weren't going to stop staring until she answered, so she relented.

"Actually Rainbow, I'm trying not to. As much as I love him, today is about the six of us."

Rarity raised an eyebrow at that.

"Oh come now Twilight. Even when you're with your friends, we wouldn't blame you for thinking about him. He's your first colt-friend after all. It's only natural."

Twilight gave a small smile at that, appreciative of Rarity's level-headedness in all of this.

"Thank you Rarity." She said.

Rarity nodded back and the other four mares looked at her with slight annoyance that she'd somewhat spoiled their potential teasing fun with Twilight. The latter though, merely occupied herself with using her magic to levitate a nearby glass of water to her mouth, before she started to drink from it. Rarity watched her take a sip before speaking again.

"So........shall we expect the clip-clop of little hooves anytime soon?"

With that, Twilight's eyes shot open with shock and, before she could stop herself, spat out her water. Once she was able to take a breath, she looked on and saw that her friends were now completely soaked with the water she'd been drinking. Twilight gave a nervous laugh before her horn began to glow. There was a brief flash and, to the other mares' surprise, they were now completely dry. Twilight was, needless to say, taken aback by Rarity's words. Surely she could not be suggesting what she thought she was suggesting? Although she and Flash had experience many close moments, they'd never been THAT intimate. But, looking at the amused look on Rarity's face, she soon understood.

"That's not funny." She said.

Rarity shrugged her shoulders.

"I know. But I couldn't help myself."

Seeing the shared looks of amusement on her friends faces, Twilight spoke again.

"You'd never catch me saying things like that to all of you."

After hearing that, Pinkie Pie started to giggle.

"Silly! We'd have needed colt-friends for that!"

Twilight's eyes widened with surprise upon hearing that. She soon saw that all of her friends were looking at Pinkie with looks of either anger or embarrassment. Pinkie meanwhile looked at all of them with confusion on her face. Twilight looked at each of them in-turn and soon understood their reactions, along with Pinkie's words.

"So......you girls have never.....?"

Applejack turned to face her before speaking.

"Been with somepony special? Nope. You'd be the first Twi". She replied.

Twilight was, understandably, surprised to hear this news. Even though she, obviously, did not have the same perspective of a stallion, she couldn't quite understand why or how none of her friends had ever been with somepony before. As far as she was concerned, all of them were good people, and the kinds of mares any stallion would be lucky to have in their lives. Although it did give her a quiet feeling of pride to be the first among her friends to be in this situation, she was, nevertheless curious about this.

"I'm must say I'm....surprised." She said.

Rainbow snorted before shrugging her shoulders.

"Don't worry about it. Most of the guys I knew in Cloudsdale were a bunch of jerks. So I never really went out of my way to get to know them. Guess that just carried over when I moved to Ponyville."

Twilight nodded at that. Having been to Cloudsdale herself a while back, she had no doubt of the truth in Rainbow's words. The stallions from Rainbow's childhood, those who had been in flight school with her, were not the nicest of ponies to know, and that was putting it lightly. If stallions like that had been the rule, rather than the exception, when Rainbow was growing up, Twilight wasn't surprised that she'd be less than enthusiastic about pursuing a relationship. After all, the only time they'd ever been anywhere close to nice towards her was when she'd proved them wrong about her abilities, and if that was all they cared about, Twilight couldn't blame her for not being interested.

However, she soon noticed that Fluttershy was leaning close to Rainbow before speaking.

"Um.....Rainbow? What about that poster of that Wonderbolt stallion you have hanging on your wall?"

Before Fluttershy could get another word in, Rainbow quickly covered up her mouth with her hoof. The latter's face was turning a bright shade of crimson as she laughed nervously at the sight of her other friends, who were looking at her mischievously. Rainbow let go of Fluttershy before speaking again.

"That's....er......just a collectable. Yeah! You know how I am with Wonderbolt merchandise!"

The rest of them all gave each other knowing looks. Rainbow wasn't fooling anypony. But, they weren't cruel, so they decided to play along with her little charade. But, it was then that Twilight's attention was drawn once more to Fluttershy. She had a very similar experience in her childhood as Rainbow, growing up in Cloudsdale and having to put up with the same kinds of stallions. Was that also the reason she too had never been with somepony? Clearing her throat again, Twilight spoke.

"Fluttershy? What about you?"

Fluttershy began blushing furiously, which was expected given that she was naturally going to be shy about talking about this sort of thing, even with her closest friends. But, with the eyes of the other mares now on her, she tried her best to get her words together.

"Oh.....um.....I guess I just never caught anypony's eye."

The rest of the group looked at each other with looks of confusion. Fluttershy? Not catch anypony's eye? They all knew that this was unlikely, as Fluttershy had been well-known for being one of the most gentle and graceful ponies anypony could ever know. Plus, there was one other obvious fact that Rarity decided to bring up.

"Darling, need I remind you that you were, however briefly, quite the rising star in the world of fashion? For a while, every magazine and big-city poster had your face on it. I'm surprised you don't have a whole herd of stallions lining up outside your door every day for that."

Fluttershy's blush increased and she tried desperately to hide her face behind her long, pink hair. Twilight's couldn't blame her for this reaction as, after all, her time as a model had hardly been an enjoyable time for her. She only did it to make Rarity happy, and the massive amounts of attention she got from the whole thing was more likely to terrify than enamour her. With a somewhat hushed tone, Fluttershy responded.

"Well......um......I didn't really like having so many ponies come after me, stallion OR mare. Besides, if it was just my looks they liked, they wouldn't have been for me anyway."

The group nodded at that. No words needed to be said, but they all knew that, even though all six of them had been thought of as attractive at one point or another, if it was just that kind of attraction that would have drawn stallions to them it was unlikely that anything special could blossom from it. Twilight knew that well enough from her own relationship to Flash. True, both he and she had spoken often about they had a physical attraction to one another, but if that had been all there was, their relationship would never have lasted as long as it had done already. Rarity though was shaking her head at the timid pegasi's words.

"Well, I suppose that's for the best. One should have higher standards when it comes to love after all."

The white unicorn's attention was then drawn to Applejack, who was letting out a hearty chuckle upon hearing her response.

"Oh,. I'd be careful about high standards sugarcube. Remember what happened when YOU went to a stallion you thought was perfect for you?"

Rarity looked away with a disgusted look on her face.

"Ugh! Don't remind me! I still feel dirty thinking about it. How an insensitive, rude and self-centred stallion could be related to Celestia, I'll never know."

Twilight didn't need to hear any more to know who she was talking about. Prince Blueblood, the nephew of Princess Celestia. Although Twilight had never met the guy personally, she'd heard enough from Rarity to know that she wanted nothing to do with him. He was, at first, Rarity's ideal partner, and one that she'd admired from afar for some time. But when she finally met him at the grand galloping gala, her image of him shattered, replaced by his true self of a completely selfish person. Twilight couldn't help but feel somewhat sorry for her over that, to have her expectations so completely undermined by the real thing.

"I'm sorry things didn't turn out the way you wanted them to Rarity." She said.

Rarity's disgusted look was replaced by a small smile.

"Oh don't worry dear. It was probably for the best anyway. If I hadn't found out about him the way I did, I'd probably still be pining for him today."

Rarity shuddered at the thought of potentially still having an attraction to such a stallion, which Twilight knew was not something any self-respecting mare would want. Before anypony else could speak, Rainbow then leaned over to Rarity.

"Well, if all else fails, there's always a certain baby dragon who we all know has the hots for you."

Rarity and Twilight both frowned at that comment, prompting Rainbow to move away slightly. Rarity spoke.

"That's not funny Rainbow. Spike may have a crush on me and, as adorable as that is, we all know I'm much too old for him. Spike is a sweet little thing, and I wouldn't dare raise his hopes by approaching him in such a manner."

Rainbow raised her eyebrow at that.

"Well, you haven't exactly discouraged him either. He still tries his best to impress you every chance he gets."

Twilight, as annoyed with Rainbow as she was, couldn't really argue with that, Spike had harboured a major crush on Rarity from the first moment he laid his eyes on her, back during their first day in Ponyville. Rarity too had a certain affection for the young dragon, but never in the same way that Spike cared for her. And it was clear that Rarity knew as well as Twilight that Spike probably wasn't going to feel any differently about her anytime soon.

"Maybe you're right. But whatever happens between us, I don't think it'll ever be what he wants it to be."

Looking at her friends, Twilight tried to think of something to cheer her up. A thought then occurred to Twilight. There was one other "sort of" romance Rarity had experienced, back when Discord was first freed. She'd been under his spell and had become obsessed with a large boulder she thought was a diamond. However, given her reaction to "Tom" once the spell was lifted, it was probably a good idea not to bring it up again. Still, the image caused a giggle for Twilight, which unfortunately caught Rarity's attention. The purple alicorn quickly hid it however and Rarity seemed to drop the matter. However, she did suddenly give some attention to Applejack.

"And what about you, Applejack? Any "little helpers" on the farm we should know about?"

Applejack gave her a rather indignant look, but soon noticed that the rest of the group was giving her the same amount of attention as Rarity. The earth pony seemed to be struggling on how best to respond to that answer. Twilight was, admittedly, interested to hear about her friend's perspective in all this. Apart from Rainbow Dash, Applejack was the one mare among them that seemed the least likely to go out of her way to find any kind of love life. And though they'd never say as much, it was clear that Applejack had more-or-less the same opinion about herself.

"I don't really have time for all that. My work on the orchards is too important. Y'all know how much time all those apples take. And there ain't really any stallions out there who'd be willing to help out, other than family of course."

The orange mare looked down at her table, looking surprisingly thoughtful over the whole thing. It was as though this was the first time she'd ever really given any thought to the matter of romance or companionship. In fact, now that Twilight thought about it, this was probably the first real discussion on the matter that any of them had ever had with each other, which was odd to her considering how much time they spent with each other. Still, she and the others didn't have to wait long before Applejack spoke up again.

"Still, I'm not really lookin out for a stallion right now. I'm happy where I am."

If there was any lie in that statement, Twilight couldn't sense it. But then, Applejack was the element of honesty after all, so it was unlikely she'd deliberately deceive her closest friends about something like this. So, Twilight and the others all looked at their friend's face and then looked at each other, seeming to accept the decision she'd given them. Once that was done though, they all knew what was coming next, as there was only one among their number that hadn't spoken about this yet. So the eyes of Twilight, Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy and Applejack were now squarely on the bouncy pink earth pony, who bore a big smile on her face as she looked at her friends.

"Ooh! Is it my turn now?"

They couldn't really come up with a clever response to that statement, so a few of them just nodded their heads, prompting an even bigger grin from Pinkie as she enthusiastically rubbed her hooves together.

"I've never had a colt-friend before, but I have lots and lots of regular friends, like all of you, and the Cakes, and Cranky and......"

Before Pinkie could get another word out, she was stopped by a raised hoof from Applejack.

"Er.......Pinkie? That's all well and good, but what about....you know......romance and all that?"

Pinkie then gained an uncharacteristically serious face as she scratched her chin with her hoof. After a few moments of thinking about it, she burst into her usual smiling self before answering.

"Oh, I dunno! I guess it'll happen when it'll happen!"

There was silence all around the table as they all looked at Pinkie, who quietly sate there, still smiling. None of the other mares really knew how to respond to that. In fact, much to their surprise, Pinkie had probably come up with the best piece of advice that any of them could receive in this area. They all looked at each other and, without saying anything, gave each other knowing smiles. Pinkie was right. They may not have any real loves lives at the moment, but if they do, it'll just happen. Pining over what might be or wouldn't be wasn't going to change anything for them, and they realised now that, much like the advice they kept giving to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, it was best to leave such things until their time.

Applejack leaned over and patted Pinkie on the shoulder. This earned her and the rest of them a rather puzzled look from Pinkie, who clearly hadn't come to the same realisation as the rest of them, even though she'd caused it. The rest of them though, simply smiled at her and each other and decided that, whatever their love lives might be, they were happy as things were right now, and that was all they needed. And so, they got back to talking about other things, deciding it was best to leave the subject of love for another day. For they knew that, at the present moment, there was an even bigger question on all of their minds.

A question that Rainbow was more than willing to voice.

"Just WHEN is our lunch going to get here?"

One step further

The room was dark, save for only two sources of light, the bright moonlight from outside the window, and the tiny flicker of a candle placed neatly on an old wooden table. Twilight was quietly sitting and reading one of her favourite books, "Obscure unicorn history", and just doing her best to relax. It had been a long and eventful day for her, having spent most of it with her friends. They'd all had a good time here in the Crystal Empire, but now, all she wanted to do was mellow out before going to bed.

As she read through page after page of her book, a smile crept onto her face. So many good things had happened to her lately, and as such she reflected over the course of her life. She'd gained many friends, achieved many things, and she had found love. She had the kind of life that mares and stallions might only dream about, and that made her eternally grateful. Sighing peacefully, she closed her book and got up, before making her way towards the large window-doors of her chambers.

Outside was a glorious night sky, filled with both the bright light of a full moon and the glittering of the thousands of stars surrounding it. Luna had done fine work today, as it was, by far, a perfect night. Lifting her hoof, she opened the door and walked out onto the balcony. She enjoyed coming out here on the few occasions she'd been able to do so. This balcony gave her a great view of the city below, which glistened in the light of the moon. It wasn't that cold out tonight, so she was not uncomfortable out here, and as such simply took a moment to enjoy this beautiful sight.

However, as she gazed out upon the city, she heard the familiar sound of an opening and closing door from beneath her. Looking over the edge, she saw a very familiar stallion pegasus make his way out onto the balcony on the level below her, who then made his way towards the edge to stare out as she was. A smile crept onto her face, for she knew who this was, as the light of the moon illuminated him well enough.

"Flash."

Her beloved colt-friend, Flash Sentry, a stallion who had become far more important to her than she had ever thought any stallion could become, save for her brother, although this love was far different. As she looked down upon him, a thought occurred to her, this moment was eerily like when the two of them had first spoken to each other. It was a night very much like this one, and Twilight had worked up the nerve to speak to him despite her then-lingering feelings for his human counterpart in the other world. If somepony had walked up to her and told her how close the two would become after that meeting, she would not have believed them. And yet, she would not have changed any of it for the world.

Still smiling, Twilight spread out her wings and gracefully flew down to the lower balcony. She gently landed on the floor of it and furled her wings before making her way towards him. He was not clad in his usual armour, as he was on the night she'd first spoken to him, which struck her as odd. But, as she drew closer, she saw his ears pricked up, indicating that he'd heard her. His head turned and, as soon as he saw her, his face broke out into a massive smile.

"Evening, Twilight."

Twilight smiled back.

"And to you."

Twilight walked out next to her colt-friend and leaned against him affectionately as the two shared the brilliant view of the moonlit city below. A year ago, it would never have crossed Twilight's mind to ever be this close to a stallion. Now though, being this way with Flash was as natural to her as breathing. But, as the moments passed, a question grew in her mind, which she then chose to voice.

"Flash? Why are you out here?" She asked.

The stallion looked down at her, still smiling.

"I'm not on duty or anything, but I figured I'd come out here anyway. This place has become important to me. It was here that the most incredible mare in the world decided to speak to a lowly guard and changed his life for the better."

Twilight, in spite of herself, afforded herself a quick chuckle, which Flash joined her in. He'd always been something of a romantic towards her, but the way he described their first meeting brought a warm feeling to her heart. But then, to her surprise, Flash began to move away from her. Twilight kept her eyes on him as he looked at her with a serious expression on his face.

"Twilight, there's something I've been meaning to ask you."

Twilight wasn't quite sure how to take his tone of voice when he said that. It was not like the warm and affectionate manner he'd spoken to her previously, but even so, she nodded and listened.

"There was something you did, back in the world of humans. Something that you enjoyed. And I feel that I have been remiss in my duties as your Colt-friend by not offering you the same experience here."

The young alicorn princess raised an eyebrow, confused over what he was saying to her. But then, the smile from before came back to his face, and he lifted a hoof before offering it to her.

"Princess Twilight.......would you do me the honour......by consenting to dance with me this night?"

Twilight's mouth fell open with shock over that request as it was, needless to say, not something she'd been expecting. She'd told Flash of her dancing in the other world, with his counterpart, and how much it meant to her to do so. It was something that had brought her and the other Flash closer together, even though their relationship had been fairly short-lived. For Flash to offer to do this for her now was completely out of the blue for him. And yet, as she looked upon him and the sincere look in his eyes, her smile returned, and she felt a joyous sensation. She raised her own hoof and gently placed it in his.

"Yes......I will."

The two lovers smile at each other and, without saying a word, they spread out their wings and started flapping them. It was not enough to launch them into the air, as they normally would, but just enough strength to lift their front halves upward. They kept up this pace of wing-flapping and kept their hooves together, giving the illusion that they were standing on their hind legs, much like the humans would have done. There was no music, but they didn't need it, because all they wanted at this moment was to just enjoy each other's company.

They began moving their hind legs in steps, one-two, one-to, in an almost perfect rhythm, despite neither of them having danced with each other before, and certainly never dancing like this before. They moved all along the surface of the balcony, never taking their eyes off each other, but keeping their hold on their partner. It was hardly a professional dance, but they didn't care. To them, it might as well have been the greatest dance of all time, solely because they were doing it with the one they loved.

There were a few stumbles here and there. Even with Twilight being more used to her wings than the day they first met, there was some difficulty on her part when trying to keep them flapping at this rate. But every time her wings felt tired, Flash merely flapped his harder, keeping her held up so they could keep dancing this way, which was something she was immensely grateful for. To all who might have seen them, they were blind to the world around them, their gaze focused only on the eyes of the other, and never needing more than that. It was a feeling they both shared and voiced at once.

"I love you."

And they truly meant it. But they couldn't keep dancing forever, and after a good half-an-hour, they stopped, easing themselves back into their previous stance on all-fours. They didn't need to say a word to each other at this point, because this moment had been perfect for them. They knew they would remember it, their first dance together as a couple, and that it would be a memory they'd cherish. Still bearing their massive smiles, they moved back over to where they were before, the edge of the lower balcony. But, to their dismay, they saw that clouds were gathering, and the once brightly-lit city was beginning to darken.

Twilight knew that she would have to go back to her room at some point, which brought a pang of sadness to her. This was, after all, her final day in the Crystal Empire before she would have to go back to Ponyville the next morning. And because of that, it would be yet another great separation between her and Flash. This did not weigh as heavily on her heart as it once did, for she knew now from her weekend here that Flash would still love her even with that distance between them, just as she would still love him.

"I'll miss you." She said mournfully.

Flash nodded as he placed his hoof upon hers.

"And I you."

He turned to face her, causing her to do the same, before he spoke again.

"But we'll still see each other, eventually. This is not an end Twilight. Just like it was not the end between us last time."

As always, his voice bore no trace of deception, for he truly meant those words, banishing the sadness that had threatened to emerge in Twilight's heart. But even with that connection between them still firmly established, there was yet another thought on the young alicorn's mind. It was a possibility she'd been considering for some time, but had never felt the time was right. Tonight though, she felt different, that it was finally right to go ahead with what was on her mind.

"Flash......could you come with me, please?" She asked.

Flash looked at her, trying to guess her expression, but it was too hard to read. Still, he had no reason to deny her this request, and so he simply nodded. Smiling back at him, Twilight turned away before unfurling her wings and flapping them hard, causing her to fly fully this time. Flash kept his eyes on her as she flew higher and higher, back towards the balcony above where she'd come from. He unfurled his wings and did the same, following her up. Being a more experienced flier, it didn't take him as long as her to reach the balcony, and soon both of them were up on the higher level. Twilight kept on walking, with Flash close behind her, before reaching her door. She paused for a minute before turning to face Flash again.

"Flash. Do you remember what happened the last time we had a day like today?"

Flash raised an eyebrow at that, clearly confused by what he was asking of her. So Twilight decided to elaborate.

"The day before we last parted from each other. Do you remember what happened between us?"

There was still a lingering look of confusion on Flash's face, but that soon gave way to one of comfort. The expression made it as clear as day to Twilight that he now understood what she was talking about, and he nodded to her soon afterwards.

"Yes. I told you I loved you. Then we kissed. Our first."

Twilight smiled back at him. She was glad he remembered it so well, and indeed he should, for it was also one of the happiest days of her own life. Nopony, at least outside of her family, had ever expressed love for her until that day. It completely changed everything for Twilight, and she had been the one to step forward and kiss this stallion, something she never would have considered before hearing those words. But, this was not just about fond memories, and Twilight spoke further.

"That's right. It was a special day, for both of us. And with today being our last together for a while, I think......I think we need something just as special."

Flash raised his eyebrow at that and Twilight decided to make it clear for him, not with words, but with action. She raised a hoof and opened the door to her bed-chamber. She looked inside before turning back to Flash, giving him a warm expression. Flash meanwhile was looking from the door and back to Twilight. A few moments passed before the confusion began to fade from his face. What replaced it was a look of surprise, and his mouth hung open for a minute before he finally managed to get his words together.

"Do.......do you mean......?"

Twilight nodded. She couldn't blame him for being surprised, as she'd never once hinted that this was something she wanted. Flash kept staring at her, still shocked over what his filly-friend was suggesting to him.

"Twilight........don't think I'm not tempted, but.......are you sure?"

Twilight gave him a quizzical look, somewhat surprised that he would react in such a way. Flash spoke again.

"I mean......is this something you want? Truly?"

Twilight smiled again.

"Yes. I've been thinking about it and...... think the time is right."

Flash stood silent after hearing that, as did Twilight. As the seconds passed, Twilight felt a very familiar knot in her stomach, one which had only ever been felt whenever she was nervous about something regarding her relationship to Flash. She began to doubt. Was she truly ready? Was he? Would him not being ready make this suggestion a mistake on her part? Would their relationship change after this, for the worse? Those and many other questions began pouring through her mind, and her doubt began to gnaw away at her earlier choice to go through with this, emphasized by Flash's continual silence.

But, after who know how many moments, Twilight felt she could breathe easy, as a small smile crept into Flash's face. He stepped forward and took Twilight's hoof in his. The two gazed into each other's eyes and Twilight smiled before hearing Flash speak.

"Twilight. I will only do this if your ready. Are you?"

Twilight, hearing those words, thought hard about it. She looked back over the moments they'd shared together so far, from their fist meeting, the dates they'd been on, sharing their doubts and insecurities about their relationship, endured the revelation of their mutual involvement with Sunset Shimmer, sharing their first kiss with each other, and even sharing their dreams courtesy of Princess Luna. She looked back over all of it and realised to herself that they had been through so much, grown so close, and she asked herself, was she truly ready to make this commitment? And, as she conjured fourth all her happy memories with Flash, the answer came to her, as did a big smile on her face.

"Yes......I'm ready."

Flash looked at her, trying to see if there was any doubt in her eyes. But there was nothing but certainty and confidence there, and when he saw it, he returned the smile, nodding as he did so.

"In that case, Princess, on this night.......I am yours."

Twilight tried her best to resist the urge to blush upon hearing those overly-romantic words from her colt-friend. She then took her hoof away from his and began making her way inside, stopping briefly to look back at Flash, her eyes inviting him in. Flash, still smiling, accepted and followed her in, making sure to close the door behind him. With both lovers inside, Twilight's horn began to glow, and she used her magic to move the curtains of her large windows. And the last thing anypony might of seen of the two of them, was them moving closer, and placing their lips gently together in a kiss, before the curtains hid them from all the world.

New dawn

The sun's rays began to filter through the window and the curtain, giving the room a warm glow. Although the windows were shut tight, she could faintly hear the sound of chirping birds, which were what woke her up. Twilight's eyes slowly opened, and she allowed herself a moment to get used to the rising light levels. She'd had a very good sleep, and was not eager to leave it just yet. But, as the moments passed, a realisation dawned on her, and she suddenly noticed an orange foreleg gently draped over her.

She turned her head, and a warm smile crept onto her face. There, sleeping soundly, was her beloved colt-friend, Flash Sentry. He was lying perfectly still, a warm smile upon his face, one which led Twilight to gain her own smile. Last night had been unlike anything she'd experienced before, and it had all been with a stallion she loved. Thinking fondly on the previous night, she slowly moved forward, gently planting a kiss on his lips. There was a low, almost purring sound, coming from Flash when she did this, eventually leading to him gradually opening his eyes. When he saw her, smiling back at him, his own smile widened.

"Good morning". He said affectionately.

Twilight moved her head forward again and gently nuzzled his.

"Good morning." She replied.

Lifting his foreleg, which had still been draped over Twilight's shoulder, Flash placed his hoof on the side of her face, staring into her eyes in a loving manner.

"Well, last night was.......quite an education."

Twilight couldn't help but chuckle at that remark. She then raised an eyebrow at him.

"Learn anything interesting?"

Flash gained a somewhat mischievous look on his face before bringing his face closer to hers, his voice now lowered to a whisper as he replied.

"Certainly. For one thing, I learned just how much you enjoy being kissed on the neck."

The effect of him saying that was immediate, as Twilight's face erupted into the reddest blush anypony could have thought possible. His aim achieved, Flash afforded himself a brief laugh, one which quickly earned him a playful push from Twilight, who was trying her hardest not to burst into laughter over her lover's remarks regarding last night. But even with this, admittedly childish moment between them, neither could be made any less happy over what had occurred between them. Although neither could have foreseen that an act of physical intimacy like this would have ever happened when they first started dating, neither would have changed the fact that it had occurred.

Their laughter ended, the two stared at each other. They wanted to say so many things to each other. "I love you", or "I'm so happy to be with you", and a plethora of other words that were in their hearts. But, as they smiled at each other, they understood that no words need pass between them after this. It was, they had to confess, a rather large threshold they had crossed in their relationship, and one that would undoubtedly be a shock to their friends and family, if they ever decided to tell them. But somehow, they knew that it was right, that the time had come for this level of their love to have happened.

But, as pleasant as this moment was for them, Twilight noticed that Flash had now gained a somewhat worried look. His eyes moved up to see that she had certainly noticed this, so he knew that there was no point in trying to hide it. After clearing his throat, he spoke.

"And......um.....was I.......alright?"

It took Twilight a few moments to understand what he meant by that, but her eyes widened with understanding as she began to grasp his question. The way he looked at her, it was clear that he was worried that he might have let her down in some way last night. Thinking carefully, a smile crept onto her face as she answered him as truthfully as possible.

"Flash......you were worth the wait."

The stallion looked at her, trying to see if she was just saying that to make him happy. But, as was always the case with Twilight, there was no lie in her expression, and his face became one of relief. With that sorted, Flash moved his foreleg and wrapped it around her again, the two enjoying each other's warmth during the early morning sunlight. Neither of them wanted to move from this spot, as neither would have objected to staying like this all day. But, they both knew that they would have to part eventually, as today was the morning in which Twilight and her friends were set to return to Ponyville. After such an enjoyable weekend, they knew it would be hard to get back to their normal lives, without being able to see each other as frequently as this. But, they had endured their last separation, so they knew they could cope with this one.

Flash began to nuzzle the side of her head gently, before speaking to her.

"So what does this mean now? For us?" He asked.

Twilight considered this carefully before answering.

"Well, the two of us are technically mates now, so that's a pretty big step. As for everything else.......do you think this will change how we feel about each other?"

Flash looked thoughtful for a moment before a smile crept onto his face.

"If you mean if I love you any less, then no, it hasn't changed a thing."

Smiling, Twilight reached over a kissed him on the cheek for that, and the two quickly returned to simply enjoying this quiet and intimate moment they shared. After spending as much time embracing each other as they could, Twilight looked over to her bedside table, and her eyes fell upon the clock that sat on it. It was nearing eight o'clock, and she knew that the train was less than an hour from departure. She sighed and looked over at Flash. One look at her expression and she knew what needed to be done. He gave a sigh of his own and nodded before finally letting her go. The two moved over to their respective sides of the bed and threw off the sheets, getting into a sitting position before hopping off onto all fours.

Flash looked over and noticed that Twilight had already packed her things, with a small pile of suitcases neatly piled up in the corner near the door of her room. He realised that he was expected to be suited up and ready to report for his daily duties soon, which today meant that he was to act as Twilight's escort out of the palace. That meant he'd have to return to the barracks and fetch his uniform. He began to move towards the door to do just that when Twilight suddenly stepped in front of him, barring his path. The pegasus looked at her with confusion before his filly-friend giggled briefly.

"Allow me." She said.

Before Flash could open his mouth to ask her what she was doing, he saw that her horn had begun to glow. There was a brief, but near-blinding flash of light, and the stallion shielded his eyes from it's effects. The light began to dim and he lowered his hoof, only to see Twilight smiling at him. He didn't take long to realise what had happened, as he looked down and saw that he was now wearing his regular golden-plated guard uniform, complete with helmet. He looked at Twilight, who smiled proudly at this.

"Just a simple clothes-conjuring spell. I used it to make a tuxedo for Spike once."

Flash did his best not to question the purpose of giving a tuxedo to an infant dragon, and instead simply smiled at the gesture his mare-friend had done for him. He moved close to her, leaning forward before giving her a quick kiss on her cheek as a "thank you". Twilight blushed a little at this before turning her attention back to her own belongings. She approached the small pile of luggage and her horn began to glow once more, the suitcases now starting to float in mid-air, which was undoubtedly how she was planning to carry them. Flash afforded himself a quick chuckle at this, as it never ceased to amaze him how talented with magic Twilight could be.

The young princess then turned to face him, walking forward with her floating luggage in-tow.

"You know, just so we get there early, how about we take a short-cut?"

Seeing the mischievous smile on Twilight's face, Flash wasn't sure if he should be excited or worried about that prospect. However, he didn't have time to really respond to that suggestion, as Twilight's horn began to glow even brighter than before. To Flash's amazement, both she and he were now enveloped in the same purple magical glow as her horn. There was yet another flash of light and, before the stallion knew what was going on, the two of them were now in a completely different location. Specifically, they were at the front gates of the crystal palace.

Twilight could see from the look on his face that this was Flash's first experience with teleportation, and his reaction was about what one would expect of their first journey through such means. His head was darting about, clearly unnerved by what had just happened, a reaction which caused a brief giggle in Twilight. However, he quickly regained his composure, just in time for the two of them to notice that a group of ponies was approaching them. It was Twilight's friends, Spike, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. Alongside them was Twilight's brother, Shining Armour, and Cadence.

Twilight smiled as they approached, she and Flash now walking forward to meet them. Once they were in the same place, Cadence spoke.

"Well, that's one way to be on-time". She said.

Flash and Twilight gave each other a quick glance. Doubtless, Cadence was referring to their sudden teleportation into the area. It suddenly occurred to them both that it would have appeared to others as a rather unusual way to get to the palace gates, rather than simply walking out with the rest of them. It was a sentiment shared by Shining, who now stepped forward.

"Sentry, I assume you were helping my sister get ready for her departure?"

His tone of voice made it clear that he suspected that this was not, in fact, what Flash had been doing with her, and the young guard looked over to Twilight in a rather nervous manner. The purple alicorn was not concerned however, and stepped forward and placed a hoof on her brother's shoulder.

"Yes, Shining. Flash has been helping me. So I thought I'd return the favour by helping him and me to get here early."

The prince's expression softened as he looked upon his young sister. The two siblings smiled at each other before they moved forward, embracing each other in a warm hug. They both knew that this would be the last time they would see each other for some time, so they took as much time as they needed to enjoy this shared family moment. When they eventually broke apart, Twilight turned her attention to Cadence, who stepped forward and gave her sister-in-law a similar hug. When that one ended, Twilight looked at both of them with an affectionate look on her face.

"This has been a great weekend, and I thank both of you for inviting us. I'll miss both of you."

Shining smiled at that.

"We'll miss you too, Twily."

The young princess smiled at the mention of her childhood nickname before stepping back from them, looking over at her suitcases and using her magic to levitate them once more. She gave a look and a nod to her friends, who nodded back before starting to make their way towards the train station. Before Twilight joined them, she turned around and looked at Flash. Although both were saddened that this time between them had to come to an end so soon, neither could possibly say that it wasn't an important moment in their lives. They smiled lovingly at each other and, in spite of being in full view of everypony else, they move forward and joined together in a kiss.

Shining Armour did his best to turn his attention elsewhere, still somewhat uncomfortable in thinking of his sister in this romantic light, while Cadence had to resist the urge to squeal with joy at this lovely sight. The two lovers, Flash and Twilight, broke apart soon afterwards, and the latter whispered to him.

"I'll miss you too......my love."

Flash's smile grew, if possible, even larger, upon hearing his filly-friend refer to him like that, and he moved his head forward and nuzzled the side of her head affectionately, in a similar manner to how Twilight had done to him earlier.

"I'll be sure to keep writing." He replied.

Twilight smiled at that before the two of them moved away from each other. They stared at each other for almost a full minute before Twilight finally managed to pull herself away, giving her brother and sister-in-law one final look and wave. They returned the gesture and Twilight began hastily making her way to join her friends, who were now a fair distance down the street. She could almost feel the eyes of her brother, sister-in-law and colt-friend on her as she walked along, and her mind was awash with all of the wonderful things that had happened to her over the course of the last few days.

And even though she lamented that this time had now ended, one thought gave her solace. A thought that she had no hesitation in voicing.

"Yeah.......this was a good visit."