It had been a few months since Twilight had become an Alicorn, and we had decided to lay low on Equestria for a while. Twilight had learned how to hide her wings to appear as an ordinary (or extraordinary if you ask me) unicorn. I was on top of the world. Nothing too bad had happened, much to our surprise. Things were relatively normal at Ponyville.

And as there wasn’t a crisis to stew over, I realized that I now had a golden opportunity to do something incredibly important to me…and to Twilight, as well.

So, after asking Rarity and Fluttershy to take her out to the spa for the day, I managed to sneak out of Ponyville, with a small sack of items that were vital to the success of what I was about to do.

Finally, after a few hours of trekking through the Everfree forest, I had come upon the small grove that I had hidden myself away in during my…hopeless stage. Smiling grimly, I remembered the feeling of letting my instincts take over entirely. I’ll admit, even now I felt a sort of dark attraction to the thought of becoming one with my primal self again.

But that could happen later.

What I was about to do was far more important.

Now, I’m not much of a blacksmith, or artist for that matter. But I’ve had a fair amount of training, and practice in my time. After all, working with Bruenor Battlehammer, and some of the finest dwarven blacksmiths tends to give you a bit of experience, doesn’t it? And those elves know what they’re doing as well…

And I was going to create something that soared past them in both beauty, and importance.

Hesitantly, as I waited for the sun to set, I opened the small bag, and carefully dumped the contents into my palm. A small silver cube, and a glowing amethyst crystal tumbled out, with a small tube of glittering blue diamond dust landing gently on top of it all.

“There we go,” I whispered, as I set the items cautiously on the ground. Once I was satisfied that nothing would crush them, I started gathering stones from the surrounding area, and arranged them into a box shape on the ground in front of me. Soon, I had a decent, makeshift furnace set up.

“Now, a quick spark,” I muttered. A snap of my fingers lit the furnace, just as the sun dipped below the horizon, and cast the area into darkness. Perfect. Now, I can only see the furnace…

Then again, I guess the right terminology in this scenario is a forge, hm?

Once the forge was hot enough, I shifted into my Wizard’s Aura, knowing that this process would require all of my magic talent. Slowly, I started to chant an old dwarven forging song to clear my thoughts, and soon enough, the silver block rose into the air. A wave of my hand sent the block to the furnace, where it lazily floated above the fire, absorbing the heat.

Eventually, I felt the silver start to gradually melt in my magic’s grasp. Thankfully, not a single drop was lost. With a great amount of effort, I waved my fingers, never once breaking the chant, causing the silver to shimmer, and bend. In the darkness of the night, I molded the silver into the shape of a circle, while the stars watched from above.

“Now, for the hard part,” I grumbled into my beard. With a free hand, I uncorked the small bottle of diamond dust. Then, as if taken in a grasp of insanity, I tossed the entire contents of the bottle into the air. The dust seemed to become temporarily suspended for a moment, before being swept up in a conjured breeze. The breeze carried it to the glowing ring of silver…and every single bit of it was attached to the ring, where it playfully reflected the firelight into the shadows.

Smiling in amazement, I called the ring to my hands, and used a brief ice-spell to cool it, merging the diamond dust and silver permanently. When it was cool enough to hold in my bare hands, I carefully placed it on an open palm, and stared at it in awe-filled reverence.

Only one thing to do now, and the forging will have been completed…

The amethyst floated into the air, and started rapidly spinning, as I poured my magic into it, giving it power, and shaping it to my will. Soon, the crystal shifted into a tiny, round orb…small enough to fit onto the silver band I had just created.

With one final effort, I merged the silver and crystal into one, whole being…

And with that, my ring had been completed.

The fire died out entirely, no longer fueled by my magic, and the stars twinkled brightly in the night sky, letting me see the final results of the ring.

Flawless, gleaming silver shone in the starlight, reflecting my tired and shocked gaze back at myself. Tiny runes formed from the diamond dust shone brilliantly, and the gem…the gem was perfect, and it burned with its own inner fire.

“You know,” I said to no one in particular, as I started my trek back to Ponyville, “Most people would go out and buy a ring. They’d make sure that it was the most expensive one they could find, or maybe find the one that has the most meaning to their loved one. Not me though. I had to go old school, and make my own.”

I tucked the ring into a small blue box, and pocketed it, chuckling quietly.

“Oh, it is good to be The Traveler.”

Once I made it back to the library, I collapsed on the small couch we had recently bought, and dismissed my Wizard’s Aura. Exhausted, I had to fight to stay awake. Still, despite my weariness, I felt oddly proud of myself. I had created this ring, and soon, I was going to make sure it was given to the right person…or, pony. Meh, grammar. I’m not mad at you this time.

Just before my eyes closed, the door opened again, jolting me out of my stupor. My smile grew larger at the sight of Twilight, radiant as ever, who trotted casually into the library.

“Hey Twilight!” I cheerfully called out from my position on the couch. “How was your day?”

She smiled at me, and said, “Oh, it was great! Turns out I really needed that spa day after all.”

“See? I told you you’d like it,” I laughed, as she came and lay besides me.

“Mhm…” she agreed. “So, what did you do today?”

“Oh, you know,” I slowly said, rolling my eyes. “Just the usual. Decided to make reservations at a fancy restaurant for us, so we can have dinner tomorrow,” I causally answered, examining my fingernails.

Twilight gave me a quick peck on the cheek, and wrinkled her nose in mock disgust. “You need to shave that stubble again,” she playfully teased.

“What?” I replied indignantly. “I thought you liked my manly detective stubble!”

“I do! It’s just that now it’s hairy hobo stubble!”

We both shared a laugh at that, and eventually, the two of us drifted to sleep on the couch, locked in each other’s embrace.

After agreeing to meet at the restaurant at around six, I went home to prepare myself. A few quick favors from my old friends, and everything was set. For once, one of my plans seemed ready to go off without a hitch.

…If I could fit this damned tie on my suit!

Right on time, in Earth Pony form, I was standing in front of Twilight’s library, wearing my best suit, recently repaired by Rarity. My hair had been painstakingly combed, and slicked back, while my beard was trimmed, and my face was free of any stubble. Hell, just to make sure I didn’t reek, I put on bits of fancy cologne. Yes, actual cologne. That wasn’t Old Spice.

I know. I’m shocked too.

I adjusted the small flower in my lapel, and knocked on the door, holding a bouquet of lavender flowers in my free hoof.

“Coming!” Twilight called out, before opening the door. I had to keep my jaw from falling to the floor when I saw her wearing her simple, blue silk gown.

She blushed at my expression, and shyly asked, “Do you like it? I had Rarity make it for me a while ago, but never got the chance to wear it.”

“You look stunning,” I smiled. I gave her the flowers, and she set them in a small glass jar before we left to go to the restaurant.

“You seem nervous,” she commented, noticing my slight tremble.

“Nah, I’m fine. Sans souci, and whatnot,” I instantly replied, averting my gaze. Subtlety was never my strong suit, even though I could probably pull it off when I needed to, but around Twilight? She could read me better than one of her books.

Thankfully, she let the matter drop, and we reached the restaurant soon after. As soon as we had been taken to our table, I winked at the grey earth pony playing the cello, and she winked back at me, much to the confusion of Twilight.

“Isn’t that Ocatavia?” she asked.

“Is it? I hardly noticed,” I answered, picking up my menu. “Think I’m gonna get that clover salad this time. What do you think, Twi?”

She rolled her eyes, and buried her face in her own menu. Yeah, she knows I’m planning something. Luckily, she doesn’t know what it is…

Once we had gotten our meals, and finished them, I felt my heartbeat quicken. It was now or never.

I waved my hoof, and Octavia cleared her throat, and called out to the other ponies at the restaurant, “Ladies and Gentlecolts, if I could have your attention?” The moment they had all been silenced, she continued. “I would like to introduce a very close friend of mine, Omnius. He is going to be singing for all of us tonight.”

They politely applauded me as I stood up, and grabbed the mic that had been set up for the occasion. Twilight raised her eyebrow, and I nodded happily at her.

“This song I’m about to sing, goes out to my lovely marefriend, Twilight Sparkle,” I said, closing my eyes as I brought the words of the song to my mind.

Soft music filled the air, and I quietly began to sing:

“This is the moment…
This is the day…
When I send all my doubts and demons
On their way!

“Every endeavor,
I have made - ever -
Is coming into play,
Is here and now - today!”

I opened my eyes, and looked at Twilight, and felt everything start to fall into place.

“This is the moment,
This is the time,
When the momentum and the moment
Are in rhyme!

“Give me this moment -
This precious chance -
I'll gather up my past
And make some sense at last!”

My voice rose, and I stepped off of the stage, and started walking towards her.

“This is the moment,
When all I've done -
All the dreaming,
Scheming and screaming,
Become one!

“This is the day -
See it sparkle and shine,
When all I've lived for
Becomes mine!”

Carefully, I reached into my pocket, and pulled the small box out, making sure that it was set firm in my shirt pocket.

“For all these years,
I've faced the world alone,
And now the time has come
To prove to them
I've made it on my own!"

Twilight’s eyes glimmered with small tears, as she realized I had planned this all for her.

“This is the moment -
My final test -
Destiny beckoned,
I never reckoned,
Second Best!

“I won't look down,
I must not fall!
This is the moment,
The sweetest moment of them all!”

I grabbed the coat of my suit, and flung it off of me, much to the surprise of everypony watching.

“This is the moment!
Damn all the odds!
This day, or never,
I'll sit forever
With the gods!

When I look back,
I will always recall,
Moment for moment,
This was the moment,
The greatest moment
Of them all!”

As the music slowly faded away, I pulled the box back out again, and knelt before Twilight. I put the mic up to my mouth, and said, “Twilight Sparkle. We have known each other for so long now...you’ve been there for me, more than I have had to be there for you. And now? I want to change that.”

I opened the box, and revealed the ring to her. She gasped in shock, and delight, and I exclaimed, “Twilight, I want to be there for you for every moment of Eternity. So…will you marry me?”

For what felt like hours, the entire room was silent, as Twilight looked at me with huge, shining eyes. Finally, she threw her hooves around me in a tight hug, and shouted, “Yes!”

I didn’t hear the applause. I didn’t hear the congratulations.

All I heard was that single word.

And everything else had fallen into place.

Next Chapter: 16) Open Your Heart Estimated time remaining: 38 Minutes