Chapter twenty five

The light of the sun shines bright as Celestia does her royal duties to raise the sun at dawn, stretching its wonderful rays over Equestria in its wake. Though at the same time to some other ponies, the wonderful gleaming sun is nothing but pain for their sore eyes. The mares in Twilights house still lounge about in the living room as the room gets brighter and brighter when the sun peaks over the horizon.

Trying to stay asleep as long as possible just to avoid the pain of waking up to a hangover from a night of heavy drinking. Twilight herself rolls over in her bed trying to evade the sun in her closed eyes from waking her up. Though the mare misjudges her little move and ends up rolling herself right out of bed, not even getting a yelp in as she hits the ground, already kissing the floor.

“Alrighty am up, I’m up!” she yells out, thinking it was somepony else who woke her, looking around the room in a haze though she finds no one there.

Only thing to accompany her this morning as she wakes up is the hard pounding of blood rushing to her head as it feels like a sledgehammer is bring dropped every few seconds on her skull. “Ugh…” she groans while stumbling to her feet, “…I’m never going to drink like that again,” she tries to promise herself, already knowing full well that there will be another time and place.

Stepping in the bathroom and bringing the shower to almost a boil, Twi levitates a tooth brush and tooth paste in the tub with her as she sets them both down, trying to multi task this morning. The inhibited princess props herself up on the wall above the tub to give a little more stability as the drowsiness from a halfhearted night’s sleep takes hold of her. The young Princess doesn’t even see through her half closed eyes that she brings up the shampoo bottle to the tooth brush as she squirts some of the suds on and proceeds to brush away.

Now fully awake at the fowl taste in her mouth as she spits out the bubbly concoction across the walls.

“Alck!” she gags, rinsing her mouth out with some water, “this is a great start to the-” she gets cut off by a scroll appearing in the middle of a magical puff of smoke. ‘It must be from Celestia…’ she reasons while placing the parchment on the sink out of the shower so it doesn’t get soaked.

Finishing up with her teeth by picking up the right tube and brushing away, while using her magic to wash her hair at the same time. Twilight gets done quickly to get back to the message, and is already out on the tile drying off with a towel all while reading the note.

Dear Princess Twilight,

After a very long night of tossing it about with Discord, and some talk with Princess Cadance earlier. It seems that we will have the chance to get together with one another…

“Yay!” Twilight beams as she jumps up and down on the floor, stopping only when she feels herself about to slip so she can continue to read.

…the best time will probably be for tomorrow, from when you get it this morning. You may want to practice a few of those spells so I can see your progress after all. That way I can at least play off with the others at the castle that this is a sort of business speaking ‘visit’. Cadance said that she will also be down early in the morning, with your brother in tow I might add.

On top of that the kids are looking forward to seeing you and your ‘guard’ again, Rosebud even said… and I quote so please don’t get flustered at me for this, ‘Twily and Flash look so cute together!’ you really should have seen the look on her face.

More than likely the pair will be at your neck trying to question you about him, so adorable... All this said, I look forward to spending time with my favorite student, my niece and nephew in law, and all the others that will join us… until then.

Yours truly,

Princess Celestia

P.S. Do try and not have a changeling randomly pop up during our time there… you two seem to draw so much attention to yourselves after all… in more ways than one.

Twilight reads, only picturing the snicker on her teacher’s sarcastic face as she wrote out that last line. Always happy when Celestia gets to come down and visit, though now she has some homework… practice a few of the spells that she’s learned. Going back and forth between the Crystal Empire, and Canterlot doesn’t give much time to actually study and practice… even if that’s mostly what she does while there anyway.

Though there are many nights where she has stayed up in her study or even in her bedroom and gone over the material. Thankfully though she has been able to get a cup of coffee when she needs it the most in the middle of the night as Flash always finds the time to bring one in for her. ‘Seriously when does he even sleep?’ the mare wonders while she considers that she has the better part to the day to practice, after she works through this hangover first, it should give her reasonable time to rehears spells for the eldest Princess.

Stepping out in to the rest of the room and soon out the door, she finds all of her friends still fast asleep in her living room as they hope to sleep off the drugged effect of the alcohol. Now as she is only left shaking her head with a slight grin when she sees them all, no matter how the night turned out. Twilight loves to see that they all had a good time.

Though then comes another question, ‘Where’s Flash?’ she asks herself while going in to the kitchen.

Finding the bright orange colt sitting there sipping a cup of hot coffee by the table as the morning rays start to come through the window sill. Looking over his shoulder, Sentry gets up slowly trying to read the look on Twilight’s face.

“Good morning, Princess Twilight,” he greets her with the utmost of straight faces, “I hope you slept well?”

“Ah… maybe ‘well’ isn’t the best word for it,” she rubs her head from some of the light entering her eyes. Soon enough the smell of the brew in his hoof wafts its way to her nose, “I don’t suppose there’s a second…” she looks over to the counter with a cup already prepared and ready and waiting for her, “…cup” she finishes her sentence. Now paying attention to the rather smug look on Flash’s face now, “Well you got up early.”

“Let us just say that I’ve had many mornings where I had to wake up early… no matter how much I wanted to crawl under a rock and sleep,” he chuckles out loud, recalling the nights and experiences of heavy drinking with friends, “Besides, my tolerance for the drink is still rather high… even if I don’t exactly partake as often as I used to.”

“So ahh…” Twilight tries to figure out how to ask this, without making a complete fool of herself as she sits down across from him, “…What exactly happened last night?”

“Hmm…” the sentry plays it off, hoping that he knows more than she remembers, “…what was the last thing that comes to mind?”

Twilight tries to think hard on the night before, though as expected the drinks from the night seems to be blurring her memory to no end. Even then, a few fleeting memories do come to the surface. There was the wonderful meal that was cooked, there was the games that were played with one another, and of course the many bottles that were used… plus Flash walking her up to her room…‘Wait… the bottles!’ Twilight screams in her head.

Thinking on it even harder, some of the secrets that were spilled, and the dares that were done. Though one starts to put itself together, all the while her eyes start getting wider and wider as she realizes exactly where her night went… well some of it.

“Well spin the bottle comes to mind…” a nervous slipping grin cracks on only one side of her face.

“Oh yeah… that one,” Flash scratches the back of his head while he too recalls that dare, not to mention where it did take him, “they did dare you to do that though.”

“Plus I kind of got Rainbow and AJ back for that,” they both start to giggle to themselves while sipping on their coffee, “…probably shouldn’t drink with my friends again.”

“I don’t know what you mean?” he plays it off casually, “I had a rather good time.”

“Oh believe me… so did I,” she snickers.

Though she has a hankering that there is something else that she can’t quite remember doing last night. Whatever it was, when she tries to think of it Twilight can feel a warm, tingling sensation in her body slowly building back up. Though at the same time her mind draws a blank. Deciding to ponder that later though, she in instead brings up the note that she just got from Celestia as the two share a cup of coffee in the morning chatting across the table.

Filling him in about what Celestia said about coming down, and also to practice the spells, “…So it looks like that there are a few things on my plate today.”

“I can tell… although where will you practice?” Flash points out to her after hearing some of those that are brought up, “Seeing as I doubt you would practice some of that dark magic in your own home.”

“Oh I’m sure if you talk to Spike he would beg to differ,” she giggles, only getting a blank confused stare from the guard, “Oh that’s another story… though as for where, the local park is always willing to house a few spells here and there… many unicorns do it anyway. So long as no pony gets hurt that is.”

“If we run in to yet another changeling in our path, then it will certainly come in handy,” Flash jokes, much the same way that Celestia did. It does seem to be a pattern with them going out and running in to some mischief, and that she can’t disagree with. “Though there is another thing to do today…”

“And what might that be?” The Princess asks him.

Flash gestures with a hoof to the living room, “…Waking up all your friends.”

Twilight rolls her eyes at the fact that her friends are all still knocked out in her living room from the night before. Getting up from the table and moving over to the fridge, she motions Flash over to her side as she digs through it, “I can think of one way to wake them up.”

A few strips of hay bacon sizzle in the pan as Twilight takes out another set from the fridge, breaking them apart in to strips and laying them to fill the pan. All the while, Flash puts out a few plates on the counter so the guests can grab what they want. After finishing up with that though the Princess asks him to make up some pancakes, as Flash now takes out a pan and sets it on the burner next to Twilight’s. Mixing up the batter from the cabinet in a bowl with some expert wing work to hold the whisk, once it’s nice and sticky he sets it aside to drop some butter in to the pan.

Though as the bowl is now unattended, Twilight looks behind her and eyes the concoction sitting there just begging to be played with. And with a single glance at the guard with his back to her, she levitates a small amount out with her magic and holds it in just the right place, having a foalish smirk plastered on her own face all over the whole time. And as once Flash turns around, he gets a streak of the sticky mix on his face.

Leaving the guard to stand there for a second or two as he slowly cranes his neck around to look at the princess, who remains there trying to act normal. Though his face may show a raised brow to her antics, on the inside he is beaming just as bright as the sun outside.

‘She doesn’t remember a thing from last night…’ he talks to himself in his head, ‘…and yet she still acts this playful, I like it’.

Twi however, has kept her act up even through the piercing gaze of his sky eyes… but that is short lived. And in time the princess finds herself unable to hold back a slew of laughter now erupting from her throat as she squints her eyes to hold back the tears ready to fall.

“Really… how old are you, Ms. Twilight?” he grins.

“In reality or figuratively?” she starts to laugh again, keeping her eyes closed, and never seeing the powder drenched wing come lightly smacking in to her side as the cloud of white poofs up around her. “I could ask you the same thing,” Twilight says flatly while she shakes her head at his antics.

“I think in terms of maturity at least…depending on the occasion,” he raises another powdered wing up to his side at the ready for the attack, “…I lose…” Flash watches her eyes widen as she playfully steps back from him towards the kitchen table.

Not even saying another word, Twilight darts around the table with him in chase. Remembering that she has done this on more than one occasion with her older brother when they were young. The laughter and giggles grow ever more between both of them as Twi yet again sees the playful side of Flash, just like she did back in the pond. ‘Well this probably isn’t going to play out the same way,’ she tells herself as the young Princess now resorts to a little cheating on her part.

Powering up her horn and taking aim at the guard that pursues her around and around. Flash halts immediately. Now only mere inches away from her after having caught up. Then in bright ball of light she vanishes, appearing on the opposite side of the table instantly, and well out of his reach.

“Oh now that’s not fair…” Sentry says as he wipes the rest of the mix off his wing, seeing that the Princess clearly has the upper hoof here.

“That’s called being resourceful…” Twilight snickers, “…but come on, if we keep this up the only thing the girls will have to wake up to is going to be cereal.”

Flash silently agrees by nodding at her, and with a smirk still plastered on his face, they both walk back to their respective spots in the kitchen to get things done with. Though as they enter he leans down to the mare’s ear, “though you did start it…Princess,” he whispers. Getting a small chuckle out of her as she covers her mouth so it doesn’t grow out of proportion yet again.

Rainbow Dash’s nose starts to twitch at the smell entering her nostrils from her slumber. A slight smile crossing her face as she almost zombie like rises from her rest. Looking around her, she finds that she is the only one left in the living room as the sounds of laughter from the dining room fills her ears. Slowly lumbering in, the sky blue Pegasus looks in and finds the others all at the table carrying on with one another, each munching on their share of pancakes with bacon.

Rubbing her sore eyes that still are adjusting to the light, “you all are eating without me?” she pouts while making her own plate.

“Well in our defense sugar cube,” Applejack starts out, taking another bite out of the breakfast cakes. “Out of all of us, you are the one who has the worst personality when you wake up with a hangover…”

“Hey now, I only threw a punch out that one time,” Dash holds up a hoof as she sits down to eat with them, “besides, in the end no pony got hurt.”

“That’s because I clocked you in the back of your head Rainbow, to make you go back to sleep,” AJ points out to her.

“Eh…ah… alright I’ll give you that one,” she hushes herself while they all continue to chat with one another.

Waking up and having a nice breakfast to eat is one way to help with the after effects of a night of drinking massive amounts of alcohol. Though as Twilight fills them in on what is going on tomorrow, they are all silently grateful that at least they won’t have the time to have the nights actions repeat itself, as they want to get some sleep for the day to come. “…So it seems that tomorrow will be a full house then…” Twilight continues to explain, “…good news, at least I will have the chance to show Celestia what I have learned with a new distraction around here to keep me company,” she teases, gesturing with her head to Flash as he sits innocently next to her at the table.

“I can tell what you mean by, distraction…” Rarity takes note as she looks closer and closer at the two, picking up those little things that a fashionista would, “after all…I can see the batter behind Flash's ear.”

“And the powder outline of a wing on Twilight’s side,” Pinkie adds on after seeing the small detail.

The only thing that results, is the two ponies in question here looking away from one another in embarrassment. Both with their faces flushed bright red and a hidden smile on them. Silently just listening to the chuckles of the others at the table with them as they can only imagine what happened here in the kitchen between the two before they all woke up.

In a short while though the friends decide to call it a day, until tomorrow, and head back to their own respective homes to further recuperate. Leaving the pair to take on the day and get ready for the Princesses visit, after saying their goodbyes. Packing up a small bag for lunch out in the park like they did the day earlier at the pond, the two winged ponies decide to take a stroll to the park instead of just fly there.

Enjoying the scenery of living in a small town, Twilight and Flash both say their friendly hellos to the other ponies that may pipe up and wish them a good day or a how do you do. All the while chatting with one another on exactly what the plan in while out here. “…And you’re sure you want me to do that?” the guard who is supposed to protect the Princess asks just to make sure that he heard her right.

“I’m positive,” Twilight boasts him, “after all there are several spells that I need to know for protection. The barrier spell that Shining has, the Sphere of rejuvenation, and also Spike shield…”

“Spike shield?” Flash asks confused out of his mind.

Though for a pony who doesn’t have a horn on top of his head, Twi didn’t expect him to understand, “yes… one of the protection spells that I have learned. Along with the other spells that I may have to try, including one called Spike bomb… but that one probably shouldn’t be done at a park any time soon, maybe,” Twi scratches the back of her head, remembering the incident with Spike when she showed him first hand that spell in her house.

“By the sounds of its name alone I can tell that much. Though how exactly are you going to practice some of these without hurting another pony?” he asks her the obvious question, though he hasn’t been here long enough to know the whole lay out of Pony Ville.

“Not to worry, Flash,” she assures him as they walk, “there’s a part out where we’re going that has no pony there usually. Considering what we’re doing anyway, I’m sure another will understand that I have to practice what I know so as not to disappoint Celestia when she comes along.”

“Any other spell to practice that she may be expecting?”

“Hmm… Possession spell, Internal Fire, Bend will… that’s about it,” the Princess keeps the fact that she has been looking over the Love drain spell that mimics the changelings power off the record to him for now, not intending on telling Celestia right away either.

After all, how would she test that one without hurting another to some extent? Seeing as when Shining Armor was under its effects he didn’t even have the strength to cast his own protection spell. That’s one she will have to use when the moment is right, if she can muster the power to do something so horrid to somepony else… depending who they may be.

After their walk, the two reach the park just off from Ponyville. Nice and quaint, it keeps the simple things to heart for the little town. Park benches here and there for weary ponies to rest on, tables here and there to have a picnic, a gazebo where every so often a few ponies will get together and share a musical note from time to time. Though as one would expect, there are also plenty of fields and trees to run and play in, or to rest under and keep cool from a hot summer’s day, along with a creek that cuts down through it and has a few bridges for ponies to cross.

In this case though, the two continue walking to the far end of one of the fields to keep out of the way of other ponies there to enjoy the day. Finding no others close by the spot that Twilight brought up. The Princess sets their lunch bag down under a tree to keep it cool after getting to work straight away. Twi sets herself up a little aways from their bag as she prepares for her little training. Flash stands across from her in the field about a hundred paces away from the Princess. Eying her from his location, although she may not be able to see it herself, the colt is rather terrified on what he is about to do.

“Are you sure about this one?” he shouts out over to her one more time.

“Positive Flash, trust me I’ll be just fine,” she reassures the nervous colt.

With that little boost, Flash does as he was ordered. Drawing his sword, he gallops towards the mare at full speed with the edge angled right at her. Twilight does nothing but stand there and wait as he gets ever so closer to her. Twi’s eyes close while concentrating, she trusts that Flash won’t cleave her in half with his own blade. After all…if he really is just shy, he would be just as devastated.

Plus Shining would have his head by the end of the day.

Listening to the hoof steps getting louder and louder as the armored guard approaches, now is when she charges up her horn. A white glow shrouds it as it starts to pulsate brighter and dimmer, back and forth as the magic flows. The guard approaching knows that whatever Twi is doing, it will be sure to work, as he puts his trust in the mare’s hooves while charging at her blade up. Though once it seems to reach its full power, Twilight looks at him with a grin now on her own face.

Letting loose the blast in to Flashes direction as it covers him head to toe in the beam of light. Sentry stops so as not to trip up and hurt himself as he runs. Taking a second and looking all over his body to see what exactly the Princess did to him.

“Umm…” he ponders, “Did it work?” he asks after finding nothing.

“Oh I don’t know, try to charge me and attack…” she starts to snicker, almost bating him to do so.

Though the only way that he’ll find out exactly what she did is to follow her instructions. Lifting his leg back up to start out the run once again, he finds one problem. He can’t… in fact, Flash can’t move any part of him, besides his neck to look around. There doesn’t seem to be any thing holding him in place. Though when he hears the chuckling of a mare across from him, it becomes clear that this is her doing.

“Okay… I think it worked…” he grins back at her, “…now what is it?”

“That would be the Bend will spell…” she explains, walking around him in circles as he remains stuck. “…able to control inanimate objects. Just like the very armor you wear,” that last line tells him why he can’t move at all.

If she controls his armor, and it covers basically all of him, minus the slight freedom she allowed with his head. Then by definition she controls him. Which the Princess is more than happy to display as she lights up the horn, influencing her power over him. Bringing his legs out from under him step by step, as she literally walks him around with her in the park like a dog on a leash, and not a thing he can do about it. A wide grin plastered all over her as she enjoys every second of it.

“I can see that some pony is rather enjoying this…” Flash mocks her while she uses him.

“What?” she holds a regal hoof to her chest, “I’m just a young adult playing with a giant doll at the moment?”

“Hmm… well we already know you’re young from the kitchen play earlier…” a passive glare shoots at her from the guards eyes as she can see he himself is having a tad bit of fun being a rag doll, her rag doll. Though that is something that one can only do for so long, “But if you wouldn’t mind, I’d like to have my legs back.”

“Oh fine…” Twilight dims her horn down to the point that it goes out, canceling the spell in the process. Flash feels the weight go back on him as the armor comes out from under her control and he is left free to move about.

“Much appreciated…” he rolls his eyes at her, while they both chuckle at the little test. “What’s next?”

“Hmm… Spike shield…” she answers him, watching the blue eyes of her guard grow more and more confused as he tries to figure out how in all of Equestria they are going to practice with that one.

It just so happens that she does find a way to practice that spell, mostly by having Flash fly up in the sky using his wings and dropping random assortments of debris down on her. Though the Princess does have enough sense to stop when the rock about the size of a chair that she picked breaks the barrier apart over top of her.

Opting for something a little less dangerous, Twilight breaks out the Possession spell that she tried with Cadance around. After targeting the spell at a small tree that’s only but a sprout, the result is yet another little terror like the eagle in the library. Flash and Twilight look down at the little shrub as it starts to whip and snap at them both. Lashing its branches around as it tries to hit them.

“Annoying shrub isn’t he…” Flash points out while the branch hits his hoof bracer, harmlessly bouncing off, “…at least you didn’t try that on a Maple.”

Twilight just grins off to the side of her away from the guard as she looks at the tree line around them. ‘Now that’s an idea…’ she ponders for a second before eying a different target. “Flash…” she grabs his attention, “have you ever tried pruning a tree?”

At first the guard takes the statement literally, but as he trails her eyes following them to a single Weeping Willow off in the distance some. Flash suddenly knows exactly what she means by that statement, “I’m not going to like this am I?”

“Well at least it’s not a Maple?” Twilight scratches the back of her head as she tries to explain, “… besides I already learned that the things this spell brings to life, don’t exactly play nice with others.”

Flash pauses for a moment, “…not even going to touch that one.”

“Good let’s keep it that way,” she takes another breath with a slight grin on her face, “However, the more I’ve been reading the more I understand the spell. Ergo, I should be able to direct it to a target… instead of having them attack everything. So if you’re ready…”

Flash stands there for a second and just shakes his head, ‘She’s probably going to get me killed,’ he wonders. Before bringing his blade up to his shoulder and resting it. “Alrighty,” he heaves a heavy breath, “let’s do this.”

It doesn’t take a second thought for Twilight to target the rather large piece of foliage off in the distance with her horn. With the same glowing spark in her horn that she had with the eagle, it just takes a few seconds to leech off from the tip and jump through the air to the target. Searing in to the wood fibers, the heat from the spell causes the water in the tree to heat up rapidly. Like a lightning strike it splits the wood along the middle slightly as both halves seem to almost separate. Leaving steam to rise up off the seam. Flash looks back at the princess, wondering if this is how the spell is supposed to work. Though the smirk on her face tells him that all is going according to plan.

And that it does.

The long vine like ends of the Willow sway around as it nearly comes alive. Thrashing about as it brings its long branches down, crashing them in to the ground while clumps of dirt are thrown up. Shortly afterwards, the long roots that held it to the ground, up root and run across the surface of the earth like tentacles as the entire trunk lifts up in to freedom. All of it leaving the guard standing there just tapping the sword against his neck platting, “So…” he looks over to Twi, “pruning huh?” he asks as some of the long vines of the princess’s pet lash out against only him. Stabbing in to the ground as Flash quick rolls out of the way, he glares up at the tree, while the halves from which it split run across each other. Giving off an eerie screech.

“Well it’s working at least,” she responds to him, standing right next to the tree as it ignores her entirely, “It is only attacking you after all.”

“That helps!” he responds after cutting away some of the long vines that try to grab at him.

With every slash that the guard dishes out, the weapons that the tree uses get shorter and shorter. Now using what little it has left to lasso the flying Pegasus out of midair. Flash gets out a yelp as he is thrown back in to the ground. Though as it tries to follow up with another attack, the guard swings left, and removes the remains of the tendrils.

With size on its side, the Willow only has only strength left as its vines are too far gone to use. Now relying on only its branches as it whips them around the same way like giant clubs. Dents and hole are left in the ground with each swing, resulting in Flash having to roll left and right as it does. His sword is sharp, through it’s not the axe that he would need to handle something like this as all he can do for now is play dodge. “How are you holding up out there?” Twi asks from the side lines.

“Do I have to answer that!” he takes another swing, hacking out just a small chunk of the tree from the branch.

Though with another roll, Flash may see his opening… glaring up in to the sky, the Pegasus takes off with a single beat of his wings. Shooting past the tree, and leaving it and the princess to look up at the bright orange dot in the air. ‘What’s your game?’ Twilight wonders, before seeing the guard whip around and dive bomb the Willow. Taking his sword out in front of him, the guard screams his way towards his target before finally making contact with the stout wood.

Right along the split from the spell.

The already weakened area plays in to his spit second plan, as the narrow blade cuts straight though the grains in the wood all the way down to the base. Flash slams in to the ground with a crunch of his armor as he stumbles to stay on his hooves, the vibrations from the impact resonating through his joints and bones, but still nothing remains broken as he stands tall. Putting the blade across his back with a smug smile his face at the princess, just as the enchanted tree behind him falls apart to both sides, still twitching ever in its broken state.

“Well, that worked out better than I thought,” Flash starts to rub his shoulder with his wing as he walks away from the victory.

“Seems so,” Twi responds, “however, now I can practice one thing.”

Lighting up her magical appendage with a small flame on its end, she hits the tree once more. Though, it stops for a second as it starts to fizzle left and right. Random sporadic motions from the once Willow, before smoke can be seen coming off from it. Soon afterwards there appears a flame on its side that starts to consume the product of her previous spell as it soon withers away to ash and off in to the wind, “…that takes care of that issue. Didn’t want another pony to come out and run in to that now do we?”

“Not something that you want to see on your stroll through the park…” Flash points out, taking a hoof and putting it to his chin as he ponders something, “…now let’s see here… Spike shield, Possession, Bend will, and if I’m not wrong that one that you just did was Internal Flame…”

“Which means…” Twilight looks up at the sky to gauge, it’s about midafternoon as the sun passes by its peak in the sky. The two start to head over to their bag that they bought out with them for a snack, “…now we can eat,” she says breaking out the assortment of edibles.

Flash ops for a few apples that no doubt came from Sweet Apple Acers itself, while Twi picks at her summer salad with oranges tossed in for good measure. The two are quiet for the most part while they eat, considering after being a test subject for some of her spells and having to preform said spells herself, which can give one the munchies. Both Flash and Twilight are needless to say a little tired after the day… though that doesn’t stop the occasional chatter as they eat.

“I seriously don’t have nights like that often…” Twilight tries to defend herself about the night before.

“Trust me, I can tell…” Flash backs her up, trying not to laugh a bit at some of the comments or antics, “…never the less though I have to say I did have a lot of fun”.

“Thank you, for letting lose a bit,” the Princess thanks him, “It was a nice touch to see you act like a foal.”

Both of them chuckle with one another. Considering they both acted as such at one point during the day or another. Though the princess sits there and remembers how he acted the night earlier, a loving, playful young colt. Something that she really has never seen any of the other guards go and do. Then again she never has known them like she has gotten to know this one right in front of her.

Hearing about some of the things that he did when he was still new in the guard as a recruit that involved a little recklessness even brings a smile to her face again as Twilight thinks about what a younger, almost teenage Flash would be like. ‘If only I knew him back then…’ she wonders how that would have turned out, though this unexpectedly brings up another memory.

“Oh… and before I forget…” Twi somewhat lowers her head down to the ground in a brief moment of embarrassment, “…thank you for, ahh, carrying me up to my room.”

“For letting lose, believe me when I say this. But thank you for telling me to, otherwise I doubt I would have,” Flash answer her sincerely, seeing some of the joy return to the mares face. “As for carrying you up to your room. Was I really going to leave you down in the dining room passed out at a table?”

“Well no…” Twi starts to chuckle to herself, “though I doubt I will be having a night like that for a while now. All that said though, I think I should ask you something.”

“Ask anything you’d like, Twilight,” he backs her up, giving that little boost of confidence to Twi that she needed to ask such a question.

“Well considering what I was dared to do with you last night… and I was obliterated beyond measure. I have to know…” Twilight takes a long breathe in as she asks a simple but daring question, “When we got back in my room, I didn’t try to do anything… I don’t know… more? did I?”

“…Like continue and finish what started back in the dining room?” Flash asks to confirm what she’s saying. Once he gets a nod he puts on his best poker face that he can muster, “Oh no, of course not… I laid you in bed, covered you up, wished you goodnight… and called it at that,” Sentry tells her. Keeping the little act that he did when they really got in the room under wraps, kicking himself that he doesn’t have the courage to come out and say it all. ‘Come on now you have the chance to do so… so just do it!’ he yells in his mind, but at his heart Flash doubts that he should bring it up to her right now, “Why? Did you think that you did more?”

“Oh…no, just covering my bases,” Twilight plays off, as they both finish their snack and pack up.

Though in the back of her mind, the alicorn knows that if there was a stupid decision to be made last night, more than likely it would involve her throwing herself at Flash in the middle of her own home, no matter who else was around. ‘Hehe…’ she laughs on the inside, ‘…that would have gotten the point across to him faster than I ever could have at least…’ she jests, getting back to her talk with Flash, “Although now we have the rest of the day to get ready for tomorrow.”

“Considering the previous night burned through some essentials, is there anything that has to be picked up?” he asks out of curiosity.

“Eh just the usual… some fresh food for lunch would be great. However,” she points to either side of her, “Shall we take the quick way or the scenic route?” one path goes across the field where they came in from. While the other stretches up and around the park they are in and brings them through the woods along a single path. On a day like this though, why not? He looks down at her with the most ‘Duh’ like expression he can muster respectfully to the Princess as she takes the hint. “Works for me…” she says as they start to walk down towards the woods.

The scenic route brings the pair through the woods, letting the light filter in and around the leaves as a nice breeze soon follows. Feeling the warmth around her, it’s not just the air around that give the feeling of comfort. Twilight walks idly with Flash next to her in a lovely little setting, both of them taking in the wonderful scenery… in more ways than one. Even though they aren’t saying anything to one another and are just taking in the sights and the lovely day around them.

Seeing the colt just by her side, once used to be enough to get the young mare to quiver in place, heck if he turned and said a single word to her not to long ago she would have lost all forms of speech and blabbed on while her cheeks would take away all the blood from her heart.

Though the more she has spent around him, the more she seems to be getting used to the idea of having the colt around. He has helped her around the house, cooked with her, helped her practice to meet Celestia, met some of her crazy friends, protected her when she may have been jumped by a changeling, and on a sadder note…helped her to bed when she wasn’t quite feeling up to even walking. Her friends seem to like him just fine, and even Celestia herself is in approval over the young guard. He has to feel something for her, he just as to.

But as Cadance said, he may just be shy about the whole subject.

Twilight is talking about Flash after all, he is respectful to all royalty, so to come out and say you have a crush on the Princess is something totally out of character. Though at the same time, when she asks him to push professionalism off to the side, he does it and seems to rather enjoy the moments when he does. Their first night out with one another he had fun, back at her house when he two started to casually drink with her and her friends, Flash even said he enjoyed it. And the same thing when they were at the pond. Although she is almost glad that he didn’t get completely hammered the previous night.

After all Twi did need somepony to help her up the stairs… ‘Why does that detail come to mind so often…’ the young alicorn scorns herself, the fuzzy memories of going up the stairs eliminated out of her mind. The strapping guard there to hold her up on her way to bed, though what happened after? She asks herself often, but still draws a blank.

Shaking it out of her mind for now, she then remembers the burnt in image of when Flash picked her up out of the water as she tried to leap at him. The genuine smile on his at the time beamed at her like a colt who was truly happy to have her in his fore hooves. While at the same time she can only imagine the look on her face when he did that, not even counting that Twi really did have the prime opportunity to make a move with him. Even though all her friends where there, would they have really minded? After all, the bunch probably would have been cheering on the young Princess as they did.

Alas though neither one of them made the move that would have answered all of her questions, and probably his too… the simple fact that they are living under the same roof doesn’t help matters. He can give her the butterflies in her stomach like no other colt has done, making her wince and flinch like never before and even lighting a spark in her body and mind that was never lit by another, almost giving her a drive to tackle him out her in the forest and spill it all.

Thinking about it now though.

‘What’s preventing me from doing that?’ she asks in her head. Maybe not the whole tackling part, but the part of telling him first maybe? Then it clicks to Twilight, she is just as shy as he is, probably even more so on that matter. It’s probably the only reason that she hasn’t yet at this point. Though with a final thought, she mentally digs her feet in, ‘I’m going to do it… tomorrow, if we ever get the chance to be alone… I’ll tell him everything,’ the young Princess demands herself to do. Almost forcing a will inside her to make this statement come true by the following night, even if it does nearly kill her to do so.

“I have to tell him everything…” she doesn’t realize that she is now talking to herself in a whisper with him right next to her, “it’s the only way I’ll get any sort of closure with this wonderful-”

“What was that Twilight?” Flash asks as he somewhat over hears her muttering.

“What?!” she jumps after hearing his voice as it surprises her, almost tripping over a rock on their path, “Ahh… umm sorry about that little hiccup,” Twi tries to lie her way out of this one to cover all her tracks, “just muttering to myself about what is needed back at the house for now. Though we really should be getting to that.”

“Understood, Princess Twilight,” he salutes to her respectfully as they continue on their way down to town so as to get ready for the next day with the arrival of much beloved friends, relatives… and in Twilights case… a truth that may just set her free.