THE TEACHER, THE SORCERESS, AND THE WONDERBOLT

Chapter 18: Date Night, Take Three

As she walked, Spitfire noticed that she had worn a small rut in the path leading up to the house. She turned around and continued to pace the path. I'll make it up to them if only they get here in time. The rising sun peeked over the horizon, warming her chilled body. As the long shadows shrunk, she noticed her breath could no longer be seen. At least it's warming up a bit so I won't have to wait in the cold for much longer. As she finished this thought, she heard the crunch of hooves walking through the frost-covered grass.

It wasn't long until she saw Lyra and Bonbon walk around the corner, and into sight. Bonbon was leaning against her marefriend, eyes closed, and they both looked exhausted, but strangely satisfied. The pegasus galloped up to them. “Thank Celestia you're here. How did it go?”

Lyra gave her a flat look. “You better appreciate this. With what we had to go through, I wouldn't have done this, not even for family.” She reached into her saddlebag and pulled out a package about a hoof long, three-fourths of a hoof wide and a quarter of a hoof thick, wrapped in plain brown paper. The paper was stained with ominous, dark splotches, and bound in twine.

Spitfire gratefully took the package and hugged it to her chest. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! This will mean so much to Twilight!” She reached into her left wing with her mouth, and pulled out a thin envelope. She gestured to Lyra, who took it in her golden magic aura. “Please take this as a token of my appreciation. And if there's anytime you need a favor, anytime at all, don't hesitate to ask!”

Lyra smiled and shook her head as the golden mare flew off. She looked at the love of her life that dozed, leaning on her shoulder and whispered, “Come on, Candy Ass. Let's get to bed.” She led her inside and set the envelope on the nightstand next to their bed while she put the earth pony in. Settling in next to her, she wrapped her forelegs around her and snuggled in for a good long sleep, when she remembered the envelope.

Sighing, Lyra knew that she could never get to sleep as long as she didn't know what was in there, so she floated it over and opened it. Inside it, she found three slips of paper. The first two turned out to be season tickets to the Canterlot Philharmonic Orchestra. Aw, that was sweet of her, if a bit over-the-top. These must have cost a small fortune. The third bit of paper proved to be a receipt. Lyra was confused until she saw it was from De Cadance Chocolate company for a gift basket called “The Lover's Special”. Three hundred sixty-five bits! Has she lost her mind? Lyra then thought about it, and considering what she had spent to impress Bonbon, it seemed rather reasonable. Setting it all aside to deal with later, she settled in for nice, relaxing sleep with the mare of her dreams. Besides, she thought, If I woke up to Bonbon suckling my horn again, well it would make for just about a perfect day.

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Spitfire raced back to the library with a huge grin on her face. She didn't have to open the package to know it was exactly what she had asked for. She could practically feel the magic radiating from it. This should show Twilight that I do want a romantic relationship with her! Soon, Twilight! Soon! She was so excited, she performed three barrel rolls and a loop-the-loop, topped off in a Immelmare Turn before lightly landing on the library's balcony. She quietly let herself in, and put the package in her saddlebag before laying down in her spot next to Twilight. Snuggling up to her, she closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of contentment.

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“So what's on the agenda for today, Spitfire?” Twilight asked around a mouthful of oatmeal.

Across the table from her, the pegasus swallowed her mouthful while Trixie and Cheerilee looked on with interest. “Cloudsdale!” she proclaimed happily.

Twilight nodded thoughtfully with a hoof to her chin. “That explains why you had Spike send out for a pegasus chariot, I suppose. Sounds like fun,” she said with a smile. Looking over to the other mares, she asked, “What about you two? Any plans for the day?”

Waving her hoof nonchalantly, Trixie replied, “Trixie supposes she will find some way to occupy herself today. Worry not over her, she is well capable of keeping herself entertained.”

“Perhaps Cheerilee could show you some of the sights in town. She's been here most of her life after all,” Twilight suggested.

“Sounds like a wonderful idea, doesn't it, Trixie?” Cheerilee looked to the unicorn in question anxiously.

Sighing, the azure mare said, “Oh, very well. It sounds better than rotting away inside all day with nothing to do but read.”

Twilight looked at her like she had said something foreign to her. Shaking her head, she said, “Well, as long as you two have fun.

There was a knock at the door and Spike called out, “Twilight, the taxi's here!”

Gulping down the rest of their breakfast, Spitfire and Twilight ran out of the library, stopping only to pick up their saddlebags. “Bye, Spike! Don't wait up for us!” Twilight called out on her way through the door.

Trixie dropped her spoon into her bowl with a loud clatter and crossed her forelegs in disgust. “Well, now what do we do? Trixie nor you can fly, so how are we supposed to keep an eye on them?”

The small dragon walked into the room to clear away the breakfast dishes, his head barely reaching eye level to the table to see. “Why don't you use the book Spitfire left out on the lectern for you?”

Slowly turning her head to face the diminutive drake, Cheerilee asked, “What book?”

He turned to the mares with what passes for an eyebrow arched, and replied, “The spellbook opened up to the cloudwalking spell? You mean she didn't tell you?”

Cheerilee facehoofed while Trixie said, “She never had a chance to talk to us alone. Twilight had bathed last night, so she didn't feel the need to do so this morning as well.”

Spike would have facepalmed himself, were his claws not full of dirty dishes. “Then I guess she didn't tell you that there's a taxi waiting at the city hall to take you two to Cloudsdale as well?” he groaned.

A moment of silence passed before the two mares dashed out of the library so fast, they left their bowls spinning in place. Spike shook his head in grim amusement as he climbed the step stool in front of the sink to begin washing. “Yeesh. If that's what love does to you, I'm glad I got over my crush on Rarity.” He conveniently ignored the things he used to do just to be in the same room as the older mare. Even now, he felt a stab of regret over losing her to Applejack, her happiness notwithstanding.

The front door was bucked open, causing the dragon to almost drop a glass, and Trixie galloped back in long enough to telekinetically grab the book and run off again. Spike returned to his washing and muttered to himself, “Mares.”

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Spitfire turned to the mare in the seat next to her and nervously asked, “You still remember that cloudwalking spell, right?”

Twilight smiled as she rolled her eyes. “Of course, I do. How could I forget a spell as useful as that?”

Putting a hoof to her chest, the pegasus breathed a sigh of relief. “That's good. How long will it last for you? Four hours? Five?”

The lavender mare pulled out a small notebook and opened it up. “Let's see, according to my calculations, it should last at a bare minimum, two hundred forty-eight hours, if my math holds.”

Spitfire could feel her jaw hang open so far it hurt. “T-t-t-two h-h-h-hundred?”

Nodding, Twilight replied, “Approximately. I haven't had time to fully test the capabilities of the adjustments I made to the spell itself.”

“You adjusted the spell?” she asked incredulously.

Rolling her eyes heavenward, Twilight gestured grandly. “Oh my, yes. The original spell was so inefficient. Can you believe that Flashbang, the original creator of the spell, actually had run the calculations for the power needed using the Starswirl Principle?” She started talking more animatedly now. “You're only supposed to do that for spells that work on a massive scale. I could see doing that if you were casting the spell on many ponies or needed it to work for a month or two continuously, but for a short-term, personal use?” Twilight actually blew a raspberry as she flipped her hoof in a “oh, please” sort of gesture.

“Not that I have anything against Starswirl, don't get me wrong,” she quickly added. “But it was like when he came up with the spell, he was far too much in love with his own brilliance, and tried to show off by using as complicated a manner as possible to cast it.” She pointed to some arcane scribbles in her notebook. “See, what I did was to recalculate using the Clover the Clever method, and got a much simpler, yet elegant method of focusing the mana into the body. I also ran the magic through the medulla rather than the cerebral frontal lobe, resulting in a more intuitive spell, so long as you forget that that it's a cloud that you're walking on and manipulating.”

Spitfire looked down at the scribbles, but not knowing Twilight's shorthoof, could not comment on the veracity of her work. “But what about overflow? I thought it was a bad idea to run a spell through the the baser parts of the brain since it could result in atavism.”

Twilight smiled as she really started getting into the swing of the conversation. “Oh, sure. In the amounts of mana as required by the original spell, atavism might occur, but in the amounts with my recalculations, the odds of that happening are virtually nil.”

As the two conversed, Spitfire found that she had to use all of her attention and almost everything she had learned through her independent studies. Great Celestia, a technical conversation with her is like catching a dragon by the tail. All you can do is hold on and hope that by the end your brain isn't scrambled!

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“Would you please hurry? We'll be in Cloudsdale soon!” The urgency in Cheerilee's voice was clearly not helping Trixie to learn any faster.

“Pipe down in the peanut gallery!” she shouted at the mare next to her in the taxi cab. “Trixie is doing the best she can, but these notes Twilight made are difficult enough to decipher without plebes like you breaking her concentration.” The azure mare returned to the book in her lap with a muttered, “Trixie may be Great and Powerful, but she is clearly no Twilight Sparkle.”

It galled her to admit that, even to herself. Trixie had always prided herself on her magical prowess, but that night in Ponyville when the Ursa Minor showed up, she realized just how little she knew about magic, and how lacking her education truly was. With a grin, she decoded the final calculation in Twilight's notes scribbled in the margins of the spellbook. Breathing a deep sigh of relief, she said, “Trixie believes she has figured this out. Hold on to your cutie mark.”

With that, her horn began to glow, and a similar glow surrounded both of them. After it dissipated, Cheerilee asked, “Did it work?”

Trixie humphed, and reached a hoof out the window and pulled in a puff of cloud about the size of a filly. She put the cloud about a hoof off of the floor and stood upon it, triumphant smirk firmly in place.

Cheerilee smiled up at her. “Trixie, you are a genius, and let nopony tell you different.”

Trixie just let the smugness fall away from her smile as she blushed from the heartfelt praise.

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Twilight sat on the bench and contented herself with watching the ponies go by. Spitfire had said that she'd return in a moment, so she just sat and basked in the warmth of the sun. Her pleasure was interrupted however when a shadow moved in front of her and stayed there. Opening her eyes, she saw a massive white pegasus stallion floating in front of her. His tiny wings were a stark contrast to his incredibly powerful musculature, complete with veins standing out. He appeared to be posing in front of her, showing off his rippling muscles. He assumed a new pose which showcased his biceps and with a smile, wriggled his eyebrows at her. “Like what you see?” he asked, voice dripping with testosterone.

Twilight smiled as she looked around, taking in the scenery. “Oh yes. This is a lovely city. I never get to see architecture like this in Canterlot, let alone, Ponyville.”

The stallion's smile drooped a little. He decided to take a bit of a different tack. “I didn't mean that. I mean, enjoying the gun show?” He turned side on to her letting a foreleg form an “L” shape and grabbed that hoof with his other, displaying his bicep again.

Twilight perked up and began looking everywhere but the at the stallion, even consciously moving to see around him. “Gun show? Where? I've always wanted to go to one of those, but guns are so rare! I didn't know that they had a whole show dedicated to them!”

The stallion facehoofed. How can a mare so cute be this dense? I'm putting all my best moves on her, but it's like she doesn't even realize it! Dropping the posing, he said, “No, no. I mean-”

An attention-getting cough behind him interrupted their conversation. Turning around he saw Spitfire hovering there. Twilight brightened up again upon seeing her. “Spitfire, there you are! Did you know that there's a gun show in town? This fellow here was just telling me about it.”

Spitfire squeed internally at the mare's naivete, but turned a sour expression to the stallion. “Oh, really?” she replied, her voice dripping with unvoiced menace. “Is this true, Bulk? Is there a gun show in town?”

Bulk Biceps had the good sense to be nervous. “Ummm...” He looked from side to side, then pointed to the left. “Look! A big, distracting thing!” then flew off to the right as fast as he could, which wasn't very fast at all.

Naturally, neither mare was fooled by his obvious ploy and watched him fly away. “What a strange pony,” Twilight remarked. She looked to her date and asked, “Do you know him, Spitfire?”

The golden mare nodded. “Yeah. He tried out for the Wonderbolts a few years ago. He's got a surprising amount of power in those wings of his, but it adds up to little speed and horrendous maneuverability.” She shrugged and settled down onto the cloud in front of the librarian. “You'd be shocked at how many ponies come to the tryouts after only working on one aspect and expect to make it to the team. As if by being the fastest or most agile, they think we won't turn them away.”

Twilight nodded in agreement. “That's what I keep telling Dash. There's a reason it's called the Wonderbolt team. Not that she's not a team player or anything,” she hastily added, “but...”

“It's alright Twilight. I know what you mean.” She didn't explain that Rainbow Dash had already tried out several times now, and had been turned down after the second heat every time. It was always the cooperation part that did her in. That, and follow the leader. Rainbow Dash always ended up outperforming her partner. “So, ready?”

“Ready for what? I still don't know where you went or what you were doing,” Twilight responded.

“I was getting the movie tickets.”

Twilight's eyes went wide. “Movie? Which movie?” she asked with trepidation.

Spitfire grinned at her. “Why, Daring Do and the Order of the Feline.”

Pumping her hoof, Twilight practically shouted. “Yes! I've been wanting to see this for weeks! What are we waiting for? Let's go!” With that, they galloped off to the theater down the lane.

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Trixie ducked back around the corner. She had disguised both of them to appear as pegasi, but could not do anything about actually making them able to fly. “Okay, they're going to-” She stopped as she saw a pony melting into the shadows and Cheerilee turning back to her with two tickets in her hoof. “Who the hay was that?”

Cheerilee tried to look innocent, but her smile was way too forced to be disarming. “Who was who, Trixie?”

The azure mare walked over to the shadows where she had seen the pony disappear and began poking around in them. “Don't treat Trixie like a foal. She knows what she saw.”

Sighing, the teacher said, “Look, she works for somepony who is looking out for Twilight's best interests. See? She even gave us tickets so we can follow Twilight into the theater.” She held up the tickets in question as proof.

“That's very nice, but how do you know she wants what's best for Twilight?” Trixie asked. “What has she done to earn that kind of trust?”

Cheerilee rolled her eyes and sighed. “Well aside from today, she helped us out on my date yesterday. She took a roll of film from a paparazzi and destroyed it in front of my eyes. Trust me, she's on our side. Or at least, she's on Twilight's side. Isn't that good enough?” She started walking out of the alley and looked back at the unicorn. “Now are we going in, or are we going to sit here and argue until the movie's over?”

Trixie walked past her and sniffed. “Fine, but if Trixie ever catches this mare, she is going to have a few choice questions for her!”

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The pegasus flew through the twisty, winding corridor, dodging cats as they threw themselves at her from cleverly concealed doorways all along the walls. Barrel rolling as she ducked under another catwalk near the ceiling, she just barely avoided the fish heads they threw at her. Not even bothering to look back, she clutched the jeweled necklace tighter to her chest when she heard the strange creature raging behind her. “Curse you, Daring Do! I, Ahuizotl will not let you get away with this!”

Twilight took another hoofful of popcorn from the bucket she shared with Spitfire, colliding once again with her companion's own hoof. She blushed again and mumbled yet another “S- sorry.”

Spitfire leaned in close and whispered, “It's okay, hon.” She then munched on her hoofful, watching the purple mare watch her. Let's see what she thinks of this. The pegasus gave her hoof a long, slow lick, cleaning it of the extra butter they had requested be put on their snack.

Her nervous date blushed so hard, her entire head turned an alarming shade darker, and she quickly turned her attention back to the movie screen.

Chuckling, Spitfire returned to her newest favorite pastime, watching the love of her life. She watched Twilight try to keep her focus on the movie while her lips searched everywhere for her drink's straw. Discovering it at last, she drank deeply. Spitfire watched each swallow of Twilight's throat with deep fascination. She then looked up, meeting her gaze once more, and though they both blushed, Twilight was the only one to turn away again.

In the dark, Spitfire's hoof found Twilight's and laid on top of it. The golden mare's heart was thudding against her chest from the contact, but she didn't even consider removing it. Twilight turned to Spitfire, her face a jumble of emotions that flitted across it. Elation, fear, guilt, those, and many more warred for domination. Surprise ended up winning however when the house lights came back on and the credits rolled on the screen. Both mares snatched their hooves away as if burned.

“Well, I guess-” “That was a-” the said at the same time.

Twilight ducked her head a little and looked up at Spitfire from under her bangs. “Y- you go first.”

Swallowing hard, the Wonderbolt said, “Well, I guess we should go now.”

“Yeah.”

“Not much left once the credits start rolling.”

“Yeah.”

“Our reservation's in half an hour too.”

“Yeah.”

They continued to sit there, staring into each other's eyes, the theater mostly empty now.

“...”

Somepony behind them loudly shook a box of candies, trying to get to the last ones stuck to the bottom as she stood next to the garbage can near the doors. The spell broken, the stood and quietly gathered their things.

As they left, a familiar azure pegasus jabbed her maroon companion in the ribs. She leaned in close and quietly hissed, “Remember our mutual promise! No interfering! We let the chips fall where they may.”

Rolling her eyes, the maroon pegasus threw her now empty box away. “I remember, but if they're caught in here necking by the ushers, it wouldn't exactly be good for them or their reputation, now would it?”

“Trixie supposes not,” she replied.

As they left the theater, a gray, piebald mare followed them to the exit wearing a huge grin. Her wings were oddly quiescent almost appearing to be artificial on close examination. It was just as well that nopony was paying her any attention. As she passed the trash can, she dumped several ruined rolls of film. “Oh, sweet Celestia, sometimes I love my job.”

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Twilight looked around the empty stadium with more than a bit of awe. She had been here before, of course, as the Princess' guest, but that was for actual shows. Being here without the crowds, the vendors, and most importantly, the noise made her feel like a trespasser. "Are you sure this is okay? The team won't mind, will they?"

Spitfire looked at her companion with a smirk. "Hon, this is a pegasus city. If we wanted real privacy when we practiced, we would do it out of town, probably over an unoccupied forest, or something." Indeed, they could see several pegasi lazing about on clouds, watching the Wonderbolt team perform their warm up exercises on the field below, where they were headed. "Besides," she added, "we're performers, not just soldiers. Showing off is like second nature to us." She waved back to her teammates as they neared the field.

"Hey, Boss! Back from your vacation early, or just showing off your bit of stuff?" an arctic blue pegasus mare asked as the pair approached.

In a flash, Spitfire was standing next to the mare, and bopping her on the head hard enough to raise a bump. "Show some respect, if not for your superior officer who holds the threat of punishment over your head, then at least for the Princess' protégé and minor noble, who possibly holds the threat of much worse for you, Fleetfoot."

The mare gently rubbed her new sore spot, and glared at the pale blue stallion openly snickering at her. "No need to get violent, Boss. Message received, five by five."

Spitfire's posture went full military as she barked out, "Lieutenant Commander Soarin'! Status of that supply requisition, I made a few days ago?"

Soarin' snapped off a smart salute, but his smirk just wouldn't leave his face. "Ready and waiting at the designated drop off point, Ma'am!"

With a nod, Spitfire relaxed a little, and threw him a wink. "Well done, soldier. If you'll excuse us, Lady Sparkle and I will go watch the show, while you seven get on with your practice." She nodded at the team, and walked back to her companion. "As you were."

She noted the slight blush as well as the wide-eyed look Twilight was giving her. "I hope you don't mind me checking in on them during our date. They're like lost puppies without me around to ride herd on them."

Twilight followed her up the stairs to the Princess' box, where it appeared a picnic was laid out for them, complete with lit candles, a bottle of wine chilling in a silver bucket of ice, and a phonograph playing a lovely old song. "No, it's fine. I know that a soldier has some serious responsibilities. It can't all be glamor and glitz." She listened to the song for a moment, her hoof tapping in time with the music. "Hobby Daring?"

Smiling, Spitfire asked, "You a fan?"

Twilight nodded with a grin. "The Princess is a fan, so of course I am. Care to cut a rug?"

Spitfire stood on her rear hooves and pulled Twilight into an upright embrace. "Just try and stop me."

The two swayed upright in time to the music, laughing gaily all the while. As they danced, the Wonderbolts took to the sky, going from a formation barrel roll to a climb before splitting up into individual bell tailslides, only to regain formation once more when they leveled out mere trots from the field. They then split into two teams of three, going in opposite directions, while the seventh disappeared into a cloud. After a moment, the two teams performed mirrored Immelmare Turns, and came at each other. As they got close enough to see the eyes of their opposites, the missing seventh dived out of the sky from above on a collision course with both teams. Just before they collided, each formation flipped ninety degrees to their right, exposing their bellies to one another, while the seventh flew between them, with barely enough room to breathe.

Twilight and Spitfire continued to dance as the Wonderbolts regained their standard Vic formation and began climbing again, this time, trailing smoke from magical anklets on their rear legs. At ten thousand hooves, the V broke up with each pegasus going off in their own vector. The song finally wound down, and the two ponies collapsed on the blanket next to the basket of food.

"Whew! That was fun!" Twilight exclaimed. "The Princess used to dance with me to that song in her office sometimes, when the mood struck her, and believe me, it struck often."

Spitfire leaned on one hoof and stared at her through half-lidded eyes. "I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I did. I've always admired the aesthetic of the forties. Not just the fashion, but the music, the attention to manners; it almost makes me wish I could have been alive back then. The only problem is, I wouldn't have met you if I hadn't." As the two stared into each others' eyes, the Wonderbolts continued their formation practice.

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“So then, for the final contest, Rainbow actually held a race for the poor creatures, just to see who was most deserving to be her pet!” Both mares let out loud peals of laughter. The booth they were seated at was secluded and dark enough to afford them some privacy, and the hubbub of the restaurant covered their noise. Twilight laid a hoof on Spitfire's in an effort to get her attention. “And then- and then, after all that bother, she went with the tortoise anyway!”

They broke into fresh gales of laughter, actually having to hold on to their sides in an effort to ease their pain. When this round died down, Twilight said, “Please don't tell Rainbow I told you this. She'd kill me if she knew.”

Spitfire got a sly look and replied, “Well, I dunno. I'll consider it if you accept my gift for you.”

“You didn't have to get me a gift, Spitfire,” Twilight answered as the pegasus dug into her saddlebag. “If I knew we were going to exchange gifts, I would have gotten you something.”

Spitfire laid the package on the table with a mighty THUD. “Ah, but you've already given me a gift, hon. A very special one too. Forgiveness is very hard to come by.”

Twilight waved her off. “Oh, I already told you that-”

“I know what you told me,” she interrupted. “But maybe this will help you to reconsider your final decision from that day? Go on, open it.” She slid the package over with a hoof.

Shaking her head with a smile, Twilight untied the twine, and unwrapped the present. “Oh, my.” She took a deep breath and whispered, “Oh, my.” She held the book close to her chest as if trying to hide it from prying eyes, a deep crimson overtaking her entire face. “Where did you even find this? The Princess has all but banned this book from the Royal Canterlot Library. The only copy of Tantric Magic and You I've ever seen is in the archives, and I was never allowed near it.” She actually whispered the book's title and looked around to make sure nopony overheard her.

Spitfire leaned back in her seat, pleased at her reaction to her gift. “Let's just say that I know a pony who knows a pony.” A blush overtook her as well as her mouth ran away with the conversation. “I was hoping we might be able to practice page 82 ourselves sometime.” She slapped her hoof against her mouth, but it was too late.

Twilight never noticed however, since her gaze was down on the table, her whole body doing it's best to camouflage itself in a tomato cart. It took her several long, long, long moments to find her voice again. She looked up at Spitfire, with tears in her eyes. “I... I... I'm not sure how to say this...”

The Wonderbolt held up her hooves. “You don't have to say anything yet. I know...” She licked her lips and tried again. “I know that Trixie and Cheerilee have made their feelings plain as well. I know that you haven't given them an answer yet, so I'm willing to wait for you, no matter how long it takes.” She chuckled to herself sardonically. “I've waited all these years, a few days won't hurt any,” she said, her normally gravelly voice hitting new lows before she coughed uncomfortably to clear her throat.

She reached over the table and patted her on the shoulder. “I promise you, I'm not going anywhere.”

Author's Notes:

Phew! That's all three date/confessions out of the way. Now comes the hard part, the deliberation. Twilight's got a lot to decide on, doesn't she? Naturally, she'll be consulting everypony she trusts, and some will be more helpful than others. I'll try not to drag this out for too long, but it takes as long as my muse says it will take. The usual disclaimers go here. Hasbro and Lauren Faust own everything but the arrangement of the words and that mysterious mare. Those are mine.