Cornering Fancy Pants had been easy, as had been getting his co-operation. Now, almost an hour later, Twilight marched onto one of the marble balconies on the mansion’s third floor and was stunned at what she saw. The view was utterly perfect, with the bright moon framed perfectly by a pair of tall trees with lush green leaves. The bannister had been hung with an artful red silk tablecloth, folded neatly into a triangle and upon which a pair of crystal glasses awaited. A chilled bucket with a fine bottle of champagne sat awaiting next to it, along with a silver platter of carefully selected chocolates and other fancies.

Fleur did a little twirl in place and gestured around her. Two candelabras near the door provided a bit of warm light, but not enough to overpower the silvery glow of the moon upon the white marble. Many multi hued flower petals lay scattered about, as though they had been blown there by some unseen wind. It was… “Perfect,” she half whispered, gently tapping her hooves together. Twilight was absolutely enthralled by the scene.

Fleur giggled. “Mais oui! And my amour is luring yours up here with much secrecy.” She slyly winked at Twilight. “We will ensure you are both given privacy enough. It is good to see you have finally decided to show your heart to her, ma petite chou.” Fleur’s smile was now gentle, her foreleg reaching around to hug Twilight warmly.

Twilight shook her head. How long had they known? Did it matter? Probably not. Not right now, anyway. “Thank you, Flurry,” she whispered, her little pet name for Fleur eliciting a throaty laugh from the beautiful mare. “Wish me luck?” Oh why did she have to sound so nervous and frightened! This was to be a triumphant moment, a certainty!

But Fleur just ruffled her mane a touch. “Bonne Chance, little one. You will be fine.” Fleur gently kissed her cheek and winked. “Just be who you are, and all will be well.” And she slipped away, out of the balcony doors and down into the party, leaving Twilight alone for a few moments to contemplate the scene and where she should position herself.

By the time Cadence arrived, she had chosen an artful seat on the red silk, which undoubtedly had been what Fleur intended. She could not mimic grace, so she simply went for relaxed. Cadence trotted out with a look of puzzlement on her face at first, but her eyes went wide when she saw Twilight perched upon the bannister. “You told me to spend some time with somepony I found attractive,” Twilight began, keeping her tone gentle and soft as she lifted the champagne from the ice. “So, here we are.” She put on her best smile, slowly working the cage off the cork.

“Twilight, I…” Cadence began hesitantly, her hooves seeming to move of their own accord as they carried her through the colorful flower petals to where Twilight sat. “Twilight, I’m very flattered, but really, I don’t think this is terribly appropria-” She was cut off suddenly by the pop of the cork and gave off the most adorable squeak Twilight had ever heard out of her. She blushed beautifully and half glared at Twilight. “You did that on purpose.”

Twilight couldn’t restrain her smile as she poured the bubbly. “Of course I did, because you’re being absolutely silly. You’re the one who told me that love does not insist on its own way, Cadence.” It was maybe a bit mean throwing Cadence’s words back at her, but it was a lesson Twilight had taken to heart a long time ago. It was, in fact, why she was here at all. She gently pressed the glass toward Cadence, who took it with her magic almost out of reflex. “And I absolutely do love you, Cadence.” Twilight felt the words rush out of her lips, eagerly escaping into the night air. The words she’d wanted to say all night long, in fact.

Cadence’s eyes went narrow in shock, and only returned to normal when Twilight pressed the rim of her own glass against Cadence’s lips, forcing her to sip the champagne or let it spill. Cadence’s own social reflexes took over, and Twilight took a slow sip of the sweet and yeasty liquid from Cadence’s glass, a romantic gesture she found quite cute. “In every possible way I can say it,” she whispered, wondering if perhaps she’d rushed it. Or if perhaps…

Twilight leaned in and nuzzled her cheek against the mare she had admired and loved for so very long now. Everything about Cadence’s body language screamed a desire to return the affection at first, but she had gone stiff and unresponsive. Then her chest began to heave slowly, then much more quickly as she looked like she was ready to hyperventilate. Twilight began to feel nervous when…

Cadence’s glass nearly dropped to the ground, but Twilight’s own magic reflexively caught it before it could do so. “What...?” Was all she had time to say before Cadence suddenly flared out her wings and leapt off the balcony, flying off in an obvious panic into the night. For only a second, Twilight hesitated. Her resolved hardened a moment later, she carefully set down the glasses, and took off back into the house, hoping that Cadence wouldn’t change her trajectory anytime soon.

Cadence bobbed and wove, pitched and dove under the glittering spires of Canterlot, desperately winging her way toward something familiar, something safe. Somewhere safe, where she could hide and sort out the hurricane of emotions that was boiling in her body. She put every ounce of her flying skills to the test, hoping that Twilight would not guess her intended destination and that she could… apologize later for her behavior. It would be easier to apologize than to explain what had happened.

After all, how could she explain to Twilight that she’d had a panic attack when she’d been utterly unable to deny the waves of love magic the filly had been giving off? How could she explain the knee-jerk desire to return that love and affection, to kiss and perhaps even seduce the young pony? The desire to grab onto that love magic, wrap herself up in it and never let go? She hadn’t truly made love to anypony since before Shining Armor left, even if she had been engaging in plenty of affectionate sex.

But this... this was dangerously close to the real deal. She couldn’t bring herself to examine it intently enough to find out just how close, or if perhaps it was as true as anything she’d felt before. She dared not. She could not. Not after what happened with Shining Armor, not after her magic had utterly failed her when it mattered the most. How could she possibly take the risk of breaking poor Twilight’s heart if she was wrong? How could she have allowed things to get this far? Had she been blind?

That had to be what had happened, as her mind rapidly turned over all of the time she’d recently spent with Twilight. Only now could she pick out the thousand and one little signs of infatuation rapidly turning into deeper affection. Only now could she see how she had unconsciously returned that affection, deepening Twilight’s assurances that her feelings were pure and true and giving her the impetus to make her confession.

And her traitorous mind kept feeding her the images of her secretly longing for such a confession, silently yearning for such a love to appear in her life once again. Cadence tried to banish the thoughts from her mind as she forced herself into faster speeds, beelining for the safety of the castle and letting the wind nearly blind her as it gusted into her eyes. It was a piercing sort of pain, but it was doing its job. She could barely see, but she didn’t really need to. Flying back to her rooms in the dead of night was a skill she’d perfected years ago.

Her hooves hit the hard marble of the balcony, and instantly her mind conjured up the scene again. The young, sleek, slim Twilight Sparkle arranged artfully on a platform of red silk and stone. A bottle of her favorite champagne, a selection of sensual chocolates, a gentle smile on the young filly’s face. Her voice, soft as good Saddle Arabian silk, smoothly saying the words her ears ached to hear somepony to say with total sincerity. She’d been maybe mere moments away from kissing her, slipping her tongue past-

“NO!” Cadence threw herself away from the balcony, crashing through her doors with a tumble of noise and flailing limbs, throwing the doors closed behind her with a slam of magic. The tears threatened to flow freely as the fierce and bright moonlight streamed through her windows. She threw the curtains closed with a thought and sucked in slow, deep breaths. She needed to focus, she needed to get control of herself. “Gotta focus, Cadence. Find something else to focus on.” She darted her gaze about the room and seized upon her diary. Writing. Writing it out had always helped after Shiny had left.

She quickly flipped open the book, unstopping the ink bottle and filling the air with its faintly acrid smell. The sharp scent of musty parchment filled her nose, mingling with the scent of the ink. She set the quill to the paper, even as the scent tickled at her mind. She tried, oh so valiantly, not to think about who that scent reminded her of. She tried to write into her journal, laying out the events so far in the night and find some kind of way to focus her mind away from those thoughts.

Instead, her mind conjured up scenes of Twilight sitting at this very same desk, scritching away at the arcane and esoteric notes that comprised her education. Her imagination ruthlessly took over, imagining coming up behind the young mare and softly trailing kisses down her spine. Twilight’s soft, cute little moan as she arched back into Cadence. Cadence smiling and slowly running her hooves down that body, wrapped in her silk nightgown and….

“Gah!” Cadence nearly bashed her head into the desk. “What is wrong with you!?” she half yelled at… somepony. Probably herself, but she wasn’t looking into her mirror to make the point. So she was just kinda yelling at the air, which made her feel a little stupid. Ugh… It’s not like I haven’t gotten laid lately… She grumbled, snuffing the candle on her desk and letting the semi-darkness settle over her.

Why were all of these thoughts hitting her now? Was it because of Twilight’s uncharacteristic boldness? Had she simply been lying to herself about what she felt for Twilight, or was their long association coloring her perspective? Had she somehow manipulated the poor filly into loving her, without even realizing she had? It was hard to tell in this emotional mess she found herself in. She thought she’d dealt with these feelings ages ago, not just stuffed them under her mattress where they awaited the chance to pop out and yell ‘Bloogy Woogy Woo!’ at her at the first opportunity.

Twilight making a confession of the type she had was… the implications were actually enough to make Cadence’s heart race. Twilight was, without a doubt, the very closest pony to her in her small circle of friends. The last thing she wanted was to hurt her, or worse still; to lead her along so that Cadence might be able to dispel that lingering loneliness she fought with when the nights were cold, and she was alone…

No, that would most certainly not be right, and it would definitely not be fair to poor Twilight. It wasn’t fair of you to leave her there without so much as a word either, her brain reminded her with an acid tone, and she winced away from the thought. The poor girl was probably an emotional wreck right now. Auntie was going to blow her stack over that one, even after Cadence explained the situation. And worse still was… this…

Pain. She was in pain over the thought of Twilight being sad like that. It was like a vice grip around her heart. She could just imagine… imagine flying back to her, to her poor weeping self, and pouring her heart out on that balcony and-

Cadence stopped trying to force her thoughts to behave and just let her mind wander. She would make it up to Twilight, and she knew exactly how to do it. The smell of the ink and parchment overwhelmed her, and she shoved them roughly to the side. Twilight would be sitting at her desk, writing her report on the assignment. Cadence would slip up behind her and apologize in a breathy voice and hold her sleek young body close to her own.

Twilight would blush and say she was being silly, and Cadence… Cadence felt her hoof brush against her thigh, filling her throat with a moan that was sweet in her own ears, as she just let the fantasy play itself out in her mind. She brushed aside the silk dress and leaned over the desk, her magic grasping the hidden little chest she had secreted under the vanity and transporting it over. She would make it up to Twilight, but first she needed to get this out of her system if she was to have any hope of helping her. Fortunately, nopony else was around to get caught up in her magic, so she could really cut loose.

Twilight dashed down the streets of Canterlot toward the castle, silently cursing the whole way. She had gone after her too fast, and Cadence had probably thought she had somehow manipulated Twilight or some other ridiculousness! She probably also thought Twilight might look elsewhere for her, but where would she go? Fleur and Fancy were both at the party, and she certainly hadn’t gone to her parent’s place. Twilight darted to and fro down the streets, wishing she dared take the minute or two to take off the dress, but… No, she had to catch up to her as quickly as she could. Cadence was going to be upset, very upset! Twilight had to help her and fast.

So she ran as fast as her little hoovsies could take her, though as she turned down Mane Street, she realized she was going to need some way to get past the night guardspony. Making up a solution to that problem on the fly wasn’t too tough, but she was going to have to explain it to the Princess in the morning. That might be awkward, but she was certain Princess Celestia would understand.

Ahead of her, Canterlot Castle’s beautiful spires soared above her head, framed beautifully by the moon. The Guardspony arched an eyebrow at her approach, and Twilight skidded to a stop in front of him. She sucked in a deep breath and spoke as quickly as she dared. “Twilight Sparkle, reporting to Princess Celestia!” She hoped, or at least she dared to hope, that the guard would buy her being suddenly and unusually summoned by Princess Celestia. It had happened before, but she’d always had a scroll to back her up before.

For a brief moment, she was certain the Guardspony was going to call her bluff and… “Alright, student. Go through, but don’t make too much noise.” He fixed her with a stern look. “Other ponies are sleeping, even if the Princess is suffering from a bit of insomnia.” That produced a wry chuckle, and Twilight was simply in no mood to chastise him for such a comment. She had bigger things to worry about.

So she quickly and quietly trotted through the gates and felt a little lump settle in her throat at the nearly pitch dark hallways. She easily knew the way up to Cadence’s rooms, but… it was still a little spooky here in the dead of night. There were all sorts of stories she hadn’t been able to confirm or deny about the castle being haunted by some ancient Alicorn demon princess at night. But…No! No time to be a scaredypony! Cadence needs you!

Admittedly she didn’t have much of a plan for how to help her, but she was certain she could think of something once she got there. The problem was…I’d better not take the main staircase. Celestia might actually be awake! She’d have to take the servant’s staircase up, but that would do just fine. It’d take her straight up to Cadence’s room too. She ducked past the sentry guards, none of whom gave her more than a passing glance and quickly began to scamper up the seven flights of stairs to her destination.

The world narrowed to the steps and speed, but as Twilight rounded toward the last flight… “Mmf!” The sound stopped her dead in her tracks, her chest heaving with barely restrained deep breaths as she twitched her ears. What in the world is that? she wondered, licking at her lips nervously and taking a tentative hoof up the steps, slowing down to a bare crawl. Was somepony already in Cadence’s rooms? Had Princess Celestia seen her come in? That wouldn’t be a bad thing, but…

“Ahn!” There it was again! Twilight flattened her ears and slowly tip-hoofed around the staircase, wondering why it sounded like someone was breathing super heavily. Something had to be wrong, but Twilight didn’t know what. There was a creaking sound and a sudden series of slow, rhythmic bumps. A ghost? Ghosts made weird noises, or so all of her books had told her… But why suddenly here, now? Had it somehow been drawn to Cadence?

Twilight kept her ears as keen as she could as she slipped up to the servant’s door for Cadence’s room. She paused for a moment, then licked at her lips again in a nervous twitch before pressing her ear to the door. For a moment, all she could hear was slow, rhythmic, heavy breathing. And then… “Mmf… Twilight…” Her name was a very distinct sound, as was the soft moan that preceded it. That was, unquestionably, Cadence’s voice in there. It sounded… odd, though. But odd in a familiar kind of way. Her voice sounded breathy and warm, and there was a lilt in her voice when she’d said her name. “Yeah… I’ll show you how to use your hoof just right…” Cadence spoke again, clearly to nopony in particular. Then… it hit her.

Twilight had been trained, very early on, to be able to ‘sense’ magic and its type. It was an easy way to tell when a book might be magically dangerous or to understand what kind of magic to use in a particular spell when it had been demonstrated for her. But she’d also been told certain kinds of magic could give off a kind of ‘radiation’ when enough of it was present in an enclosed space. It could affect emotions or thoughts or other things if it was powerful enough, and the sickly-sweet scent of love magic that seeped out from under the door hit her like a load of bricks.

She felt her hoof stumble at first, then slowly push the door open to lay the scene of Cadence’s room before her. Dozens upon dozens of candles were lit and stuck to flat surfaces all around Cadence’s bed. Cadence herself was splayed out, spread wide upon the bed with some unfamiliar implement in her hoof that was vibrating fiercely. Her dress was very rumpled, but still tightly drawn across her body as she worked the implement in between her hindlegs over and over again.

Stepping into the room had been a mistake, Twilight mused, the magic even more potent and mesmerizing than it was outside the door. She slowly progressed across the room, the scents hitting her nose remarkably familiar, but it took her mind a little bit to work through the fuzziness as she struggled to keep control over her senses. It smelled like when she ah… clopped off, and it looked like that was what Cadence was doing on the bed right now. “C-Cadey?” she half-whispered into the wet noises of the room.

Cadence’s head came up suddenly to stare at her. Her gaze was glassy and a little unfocused, and a slow smile spread across her face. “Oh… Oh Twilight you’re okay… you don’t hate me…” Her voice was low and sultry, and it practically oozed something hot and wonderful that Twilight had no words for. “C’mere… I was such an idiot to run away from you… You’re such a pretty mare. I’ll make it all up to you...” She beckoned with her hoof, and Twilight felt a warm glow of love thrill through her body, her hooves picking up as she quickly crossed the room.

It took only a little effort to climb up on the bed and the instant her front half was there, Cadence dove across the bed to wrap a foreleg firmly around her upper back and pulled her in close. It wasn’t exactly the romantic scene she’d expected, but Twilight was not about to complain about it. But… there was something odd about the way Cadence looked. She looked like… “Mmf… I wish you were real when I do this…” And her lips came in without a moment of warning later.

Twilight felt an electric shock jolt through her whole body at the touch of Cadence’s lips. The pure force of her magic so strong it sent a wave of soporific heat and invigorating power through her body all at the same time. Her lips were pillow soft and insistent, and Twilight dove into the kiss with all of the amateur enthusiasm she could muster. There was heat and love and it felt oh, so good that she hardly wanted the moment to end at all. She nearly forgot to breathe as she reveled in the intimate moment.

The seconds ticked past, and then Cadence’s eyes snapped open wide, her pupils reduced to pinpoints as Twilight tried to press her tongue against Cadence’s own lips. Cadence tore away from the kiss, panting heavily and looking more than a little panicked. “Wait… you’re not… you’re real… but that was… I didn’t mean to...”

Cadence didn’t seem like she could put together a coherent sentence, so Twilight decided to help. “My first kiss.” She felt her mouth spread into a goofy grin, and before Cadence could open her mouth again, she pressed herself into that lovely soft chest and spoke gingerly. “Do it again, please?” She injected as much pleading and hope into her tone as she could. The last thing she needed was Cadence freaking out again.

Maybe it was her tone. Maybe it was the love magic, or maybe Cadence just decided to see where the ride would take her. Whatever it was, she returned the kiss with the same fervor Twilight had been giving her just a moment ago. It was glorious and warm and utterly unlike anything Twilight had ever felt before in her life. She might not have known what to do, but she knew how to follow somepony’s lead.

Cadence’s tongue snaked against hers, and Twilight returned the gesture, the warm and writhing slickness giving her a shivery feeling. Cadence’s lips were so insistent, it was impossible to even want to pull away. Twilight felt herself being turned, then tumbled over upon the soft bed, Cadence whirling up atop her and pressing firmly into her body from above. Just as suddenly, their lips parted, and Twilight could finally see Cadence in all of her glory.

Her chest heaved in an almost hypnotic rhythm, and a fire lurked behind her eyes. “Twilight… I don’t know… I don’t know if this is a good idea and…” Cadence bit at her lip, turning her head away from Twilight… but she turned it back almost instantly, uncertainty replaced with a smouldering smile. “Celestia help me, you’re such a beautiful mare. Please… tell me why you’re here.”

Twilight felt her cheeks burn hot and turned her head away. “I… I want…” She licked at suddenly dry lips. What did she want? She’d gotten her kiss, but there was a squirming feeling between her legs that seemed to short circuit her mind. She wanted more than that kiss now, but she wasn’t entirely sure what it was… “You. Just you,” was all she could come up with, hoping that it didn’t come across too silly.

Cadence didn’t seem to think so. She just chuckled richly, her smile smokey and slow. “Well, then. I’m all yours, little Sparkle. Let’s see how you handle your first lesson.” Twilight might have said something, but every rational thought was driven out of her head by Cadence’s lips pressing up against hers. The kiss before had been warm, and wild, but this...

There was simply no analyzing it. Twilight just couldn’t… couldn’t find words for it so she stopped trying. She just pressed back up, feeling her back arch and her breath come in a muffled gasp. It was pure sensation, a pleasure she could not identify. She could feel instinct taking over, her hips pushing up into the body pressed against her, searching for something that she didn’t entirely understand… “Mm… Don’t worry, Twily…” Cadence murmured against her lips, the kiss broken for a moment. “We’ll get to that part.” Twilight didn’t know what she meant, but she knew her body wanted it.

What it got instead was another long, lingering kiss. Her tongue darted out at Twilight’s, and she quickly found herself tongue-tied by it, locked against Cadence’s lips as the heat rose in her body. She’d certainly pleasured herself before, but it had never ever felt like this did. This was… Twilight felt the moan claw its way out of her throat, into Cadence’s mouth pressed against hers. She hadn’t even touched her marehood and she could feel the wetness between her hindlegs, the burning of arousal overtaking her.

It was almost too much, but she craved more of it regardless. Her forelegs moved of their own will, wrapping around the sleek pink body above her. Cadence’s lips moved from hers to her neck, softly pressing against her neck. “Ah-ahn~! C-C-Cadence!” Her mouth free to speak, she could only moan out a name, fighting through the pleasure to try to speak… but Cadence wasn’t letting up. Gentle nibbles sent tiny shockwaves of sensation through her body, and her hips pushed up toward Cadence. “Oh, Celestia!” she cried out again, as Cadence’s lips found the nape of her neck and the soft wetness of her tongue dragged back up her neck.

“So sensitive,” Cadence giggled softly, pressing her body back against Twilight’s and softly stroking a hoof through her mane. Twilight felt her chest starting to heave, her breathing coming quicker with every moment she was close to Cadence like this. “Mm… Let’s see how sensitive,” Cadence purred, and her horn lit up with a sparkling glow.

Twilight felt her muscles tense, wondering and trying desperately to prepare for what would come next. She felt a firm, knobby object press up against her marehood then, causing her to whine faintly in pleasure. It probed at her marehood for a moment before it suddenly stopped. “Oh… Oh!” Cadence exclaimed a moment later, and her cheeks went bright red. “You’re still… Oh, goodness me. I should’ve guessed that.” She turned her head shyly, her smile soft. “Do you… Do you want to stop?” It was a whispered question, an honest one too. Twilight was fairly certain she was talking about…

For a moment, Twilight felt certainty slip away from her. This was supposed to be a big moment for a mare, spent with somepony extremely special and - What in the name of the Moon was her brain doing!? She was with somepony special! The most special somepony she could possibly be with. She shoved the hesitant thoughts aside and drew her eyes level with Cadence’s own pupils. “I want it to be you,” she said, feeling something tugging at her heart… tugging at her magic. She called the magic into her horn, reaching blindly for whatever Cadence was wielding and giving it a little shove. It bumped up against her insides, and she gave off a cute little moan. “I… I know you’ll take care of me. You always have.” She wished she could get the whimper out of her voice, that she could make that sound way more sexy or cute, but the sensations inside her were already far too intense for that. “So p-please… don’t stop…”

Something changed on Cadence’s face, and for a moment the pulsing of her magic abated a bit. “You… really want me to be...” She stopped and a look of awe came over Cadence’s face. Her head dipped low, and she brushed her lips gently across Twilight’s, softly… tenderly. “Okay,” Cadence smiled faintly, her word resonating in the air. There was oh-so-much meaning in that one little ‘okay’. A meaning that soared in her heart and soul and made her tug Cadence in as close as she could just so she could nuzzle her cheek against Cadence’s. “Gah! Twilight!” Cadence laughed, giggling and nuzzling right back. “Settle yourself down, you naughty filly, or I’ll leave you hanging.” There was a smoky, sly threat in her voice that made Twilight give off a little squeak and stop clinging so tightly. The last thing she wanted was for all of this to end.

Cadence was grinning at her as once again Twilight could feel that stiff probing at her folds. She bit back a moan at first… until Cadence’s hoof dug into her tummy and tickled it out of her. “Haha-AHN!” This time she could not restrain the sound when that stiff, knobby toy teased at her. It really was a nice sound, now that she took a moment to think about it. Very sensual.

“Don’t hide the sounds you make, Twilight. They’re a beautiful part of your pleasure…” And then Cadence giggled. “And they’re a great way for me to know when I’m doing something right. Express yourself. It’s a good thing!” Cadence insisted, her hooftips tickling Twilight’s belly again, causing her to giggle madly. It was an odd combination of feelings, but she definitely liked it. She nodded once, feeling chastised. She was so used to being quiet in class, but this one would demand a whole new approach.

Cadence’s eyes sparkled a little, and Twilight could now definitively identify what had been probing at her. The knobbed head of some kind of phallic object pressed up into her folds, and she winced a little as it began to stretch her. “Sh… We’ll take it slow,” Cadence whispered lovingly, and Twilight nuzzled up into her as little by little the toy pressed in farther. It felt warm and slick inside her body, and the way Cadence twisted and rubbed it up inside her, Oh goddess, this is so much better than a hoof…

Then there was a sudden pressure, like the phallus was pressing against… oh. She gulped softly and wrapped her hindlegs around Cadence’s hips. She wasn’t going to let either of them chicken out on this one. Cadence gave off a little moan of her own, and Twilight wondered exactly what was going on… until she felt Cadence’s hips leveraging against hers, and the object pressed in harder against her… her virginity, she and realized that somehow Cadence was driving it in her just like a stallion might.

And when the pain finally came, it wasn’t quite so bad as she had thought it would be. It was brief and piercing, but it ebbed quickly, and Cadence held for just a moment. Cadence’s breath was hot in her ear, and Twilight could feel her heart thumping in her chest. Twilight bit at her lip for a moment, unwilling to cry out at it… and instead, acted on her instinct. She thrust her hips up against Cadence, feeling as though some kind of boundary had been crossed.

The night hadn’t gone precisely as planned, but nothing could have prepared her for this anyway. She nestled her head into Cadence’s shoulder and felt the words whisper from her lips, “I love you, Cadence.” They were as true as anything else she had said before in her life, and it felt so wonderful to say them. So perfect for this moment that she would treasure forever, pain and all.

For only a second, she wondered if Cadence would say something in return, and then she felt the object press in deeper to her. The stimulation drew a long, sweet moan out of her throat, and a similar one from Cadence. Their voices rose in harmony together for an eternity, before Cadence spoke softly into her own ear. “I love you, Twilight.”

They were words sweeter than love itself.

Cadence didn’t know how long it was before they’d finally given in to exhaustion. She knew the moon was still up, so it couldn’t be nearly that long, but it felt like it had been days. Her sweet little Twilight was curled up against her adorably, her mane much matted and tussled and a huge smile plastered on her face. It had taken a few tries to really get it right, but Twilight was nothing if not an extremely enthusiastic student. The fact that she was positively glowing with love was an added bonus.

Cadence tightened her hug around the filly, and Twilight responded by pulling herself in closer with a happy little sigh. Then there was a shift of weight, and Cadence looked down to Twilight giving her an adorably stern look. “You’re not having second thoughts, are you?” she demanded of Cadence, her eyes narrowed and her forelegs wrapped firmly around her chest. “Because it’s a bit late for that now.”

Cadence stifled a laugh at her serious tone and shook her head firmly. “No, I just…” She huffed out a breath. How was she supposed to explain this sort of complex feeling? I mean… I know it’s Twilight, and she’s obviously much more mature than most ponies would give her credit for but… “I… I don’t know what I’m ready for yet, Twilight. After what happened with Shiny, I’m not sure that I wouldn’t make myself into a mental case over that kind of relationship again.” It hurt to be so honest, but after what had happened with Twilight tonight, she had to be honest.

Twilight huffed softly. “Well, then we won’t have that kind of relationship!” she declared, then paused and frowned. Cadence watched in fascination as her face went through approximately thirty different emotional states before settling on stubborn determination. “I mean, at first anyway. Jeeze, Cadence. I’m not a little foal. I’m not going to make you do something you’re not comfy with. You told me yourself that love means being partners.” Twilight fixed her with a glare. “And I can’t be a good partner if I try to rush ahead; I learned that in chemistry!” Her cheeks colored a bit, probably at the memory of how she’d learned that lesson. “If I do, everyone ends up dyed bright green and sticky…”

Cadence couldn’t restrain the burst of laughter after that one, and Twilight perked up with a rueful giggle of her own a few moments later. “Oh, goddess. I need to hear that story sometime,” she murmured softly, stroking her hoof down that lovely mussed up mane. “I don’t want to deny you the love you deserve, Twilight. There’s no telling how long it’s going to take me to… to be the mare you deserve.” Cadence nearly winced at that. It even sounded like an excuse to her, and she just knew…

Twilight huffed, almost in predictable time. “I don’t need a funny title to know you love me, Cadence.” Her voice was hard at first, then softened considerably. “You’ve always been there for me. Even after Shiny left, even after you had no reason to be so nice and stick around me and be my bestest friend, you stayed. You made the loneliness go away…” Twilight’s voice trailed off into a faint sadness, but also something deeper. That love which pulsed in her chest pulsed all the stronger as she spoke, “ Even when everything else went wrong, you were there.” There was only the faintest glimmer of tears in her eyes, her chest puffed out proudly. “An’ I can be patient for you, if you can be for me.”

Cadence didn’t know what to say to that at first. So she just kept stroking Twilight’s mane, nuzzling her cheek against hers slowly. She already knew this was an argument she would lose if she kept waffling about it, so she needed to make a decision. Could she possibly be any kind of marefriend to Twilight given how she felt? Given how much she was still wrestling with what had happened to Shining Armor? Given the differences in her age? (Not that she didn’t know that age-gap nonsense to be the hooey that it was, given what she knew about the things Celestia got up to.) Was this even appropriate? I think you stepped beyond appropriate when she demanded that you rut her, and you gave her exactly what she asked for… Cadence blushed and exhaled softly.

No, there really wasn’t any way to walk this one back now. All she could do was… what? Take it for a spin. Why not give her an honest try? See what happens. See if it stands the test of time and other things. See if she’s comfortable with your… lifestyle and all the stuff that comes with it. “Okay, Twilight, I’m not going to have second thoughts. But!” She lifted a hoof, forestalling Twilight’s sudden happy squirm. “We’re going to take this slowly, for both of us. No big proclamations, nothing official. Just… very close friends, with benefits.”

Twilight tilted her head, taking a moment to parse that statement before nodding slowly. “Okay, I can kinda see how that works. But I want a promise from you in return.” She wiggled until she could look Cadence right into the eye and smiled faintly. “That you be one hundred per-cent honest with me about how you feel about us. That you don’t back away if it feels real to you, just because of bad stuff in the past. We promise that we won’t run away from our love, no matter what.” She held up her hoof cutely and grinned. “Deal?” Cadence tilted her head, considering the hoof, then felt her smile brighten. She liked the sound of that actually.

She gripped Twilight’s hoof and shook it. “Deal.”

Author's Notes:

And to anyone who has a problem with respective ages here, get the buck over it. Twilight's old enough to consent, end of line.