Please enjoy! Note that this story branches early on, so you might want to go through it multiple times to explore it- Can you find all 17 endings!?

Mentally, you run through the checklist you had made for yourself. You have your writing supplies, two textbooks, and your bare essentials in your saddlebags, thanks to meticulous packing and not a small amount of nagging from your highly-invested mother. You also ran through your greeting once more in your mind; you had practiced it almost continuously on the train to Ponyville, but it never hurt to be thorough.

Exhaling, you look up at the foreboding crystalline tree in front of you. Ponies called it a castle, but from your position bathed in its shadow, it looks more like a fortress. A threatening, nigh insurmountable object on your life’s path, to be even more precise.

Or, it would be insurmountable, were a nice little staircase not out front.

Steeling yourself, you trot up the stairs and halt just in front of the solid, cold, gold-plated double doors which led inside.

No time like the present.

Abruptly, even suddenly, you knock on the door.

You furrow your brow as some crashing noises echo from inside. “Ahh, nuts,” a defeated voice follows. “Hold on, hold on, I’m coming!”

Twenty or so seconds later, one of the doors flings itself open, revealing a tiny purple and green dragon. “Listen Dash, if you think you can just-”

The dragon pauses as he regards you curiously. “Oh, uh, sorry. I thought you were somepony else.”

“Ah, that’s alright,” you reply earnestly. “No harm done.”

An awkward little silence transpires for ten seconds or so, before the dragon clears his throat. “So, uh…”

Your ears perk up to attention. “Oh! I’m the winner of the Scholars’ award drawing! I’m here to perform research with Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

The dragon’s eyes glimmer for just a moment with understanding. “Oh yeah, I think Twilight mentioned something about that.” A cocky grin slowly works its way onto his face. “Bet you were surprised to see me, huh?”

“Yeah, I was,” you chuckle. “Who might you be?”

The dragon seems to practically deflate under your question. “I’m Spike...The Dragon?”

You had seen pictures of dragon delegations, including one ‘Dragon Lord Ember’, in the newspaper before. To be honest, though, you’d never imagined they’d be so small and generally unintimidating in person. “Well, it’s nice to meet you Spike.” You extend a hoof in a friendly greeting.

Spike seems to ignore it. “You...You really don’t know me?”

Frowning, you let your hoof fall back down to the ground. “Uh...no. Should I?”

“Spike the Dragon? Official friendship ambassador to the Dragon Lands? TWICE hero of the Crystal Empire!? Forger of Twilight’s signature on official decrees!? You know, I’m the reason there’s trash pickup on Sundays now!” He huffs a small cloud of smoke through his nostrils.

“Spike!” a voice calls from deeper inside the foreboding fortress. “Where’s my tea?”

Spike cranes his neck around and shouts back angrily. “It’ll be up your butt if you don’t lay off, Starlight! I said I’d get it to you, I’ll get it to you!”

“SPIKE!” A chastising voice scolds from much closer. “Language! And what is all the racket?”

“Your research pony is here,” Spike informs her with a distinct lack of interest.

The clopping of hooves signals the newcomer’s approach. “Well, stop being rude and let him in,” the voice chides.

A violet glow surrounds the other half-door in front of you, and it swings open to reveal Twilight Sparkle disapprovingly glowering over her assistant. She continues speaking, her gaze not even flickering over to you. “And why on earth is there a bunch of broken tea china in the foyer!?”

Closing his eyes, Spike inhales sharply in frustration, before letting out a slow exhalation. He lifts a single claw in the air and shakes it threateningly as he opens his eyes again. “One of these days, Twilight,” he mutters, dropping his claw back to his side. “I swear…”

Twilight cranes her neck as she watches Spike angrily waddle deeper into the castle, before he disappears around a corner. When he does, she shakes her head as if to clear her thoughts and turns toward you.

For the first time, you get a clear view of her stunning violet eyes and friendly features. She smiles at you.

“I’m so sorry for Spike’s behavior. I told him you were coming a few days ago, but he has a lot on his plate.” She takes a few steps toward you, closing to a more comfortable speaking distance. “I would have come to meet you at the train station, but I wasn’t sure which train you would arrive on!”

You let out an inadvertent, strange noise. The Princess of Friendship was standing right in front of you, talking to you like an equal.

“Sorry, I’m a terrible host,” Twilight apologizes with mild chagrin. “I forgot my manners, too! It’s nice to finally meet you! My name is Twilight Sparkle.”

All of your practice has been flushed right down the mental toilet. You freeze, not knowing how to greet the Princess back.

To shake her hoof, proceed to Chapter 1.

To bow to her, proceed to Chapter 2.

To kiss her hoof, proceed to Chapter 3.

Tentatively, you extend a hoof toward Twilight and give her your name. You wince slightly as you do so, as if expecting some terrible tragedy to befall you for your social faux pas.

Thankfully, not even a second later you feel Twilight’s hoof against yours. “It’s nice to meet you,” she delivers earnestly. “I can’t wait to perform some society-changing research with a world-class mind like yours!”

You exhale a breath you didn’t know you were holding. Nailed it.

Proceed to Chapter 4.

Immediately, you drop your barrel and face to the floor of the concrete staircase. “Your Highness,” you plead. “It is I who must apologize! Please forgive me for my failure to communicate timetables, Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

“Oh,” Twilight responds in shock. You can’t see her face, but she sounds flustered. “P-please, there’s no need for that. I may be a Princess, but I’m not better than anypony else because of it.”

You peek open a single eye and see that she is holding a hoof out, presumably to help you up. Cautiously, you take it and rise back to all four hooves.

“Now then,” she says brightly. “No more of that! For the next eight weeks, you and I are colleagues; and after that, friends!”

Now, it’s your turn to get flustered.

Proceed to Chapter 4.

Dropping your entire body to the ground, you plant half a dozen kisses on the Princess’ front hooves. “It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness!” you call up at her, before returning to your reverent smooching.

She giggles briefly and uses her magic to yank you back up to eye level. “Goodness! There’s no need for any of that. Just because I’m a Princess doesn’t mean that I’m any better than you.”

You cock an eyebrow. “Are...are you sure that’s how that works?”

“Of course. I’m certain,” she reassures you. “Besides, you’re already a respected young scholar; maybe even better than me at my peak!”

Proceed to Chapter 4.

“Why don’t you come in?” Twilight asks, stepping aside to give you a more complete view of the castle’s entryway. “I’ll show you around the castle!”

You step over the threshold tentatively, as if stepping into alien territory. The crystal is surprisingly warm on your hooves. You look to Twilight for guidance.

She smiles back at you. “I’ll give you the tour, and we can talk about your research plans as we go. Then, I’ll show you your room.”

You begin walking beside her, and force yourself to steady your breathing before speaking. “It really is such an honor to have this opportunity, Princess Twilight.”

“Oh, just Twilight is fine,” she reassures. “The honor is all mine. You made the top ten of the national scholars’ contest; and this was your prize from the drawing. You earned it!” She begins marching up a tall central staircase, and you follow. “You already met my assistant Spike; it seems like he was a little grouchy today, but he’s a real sweetheart and a great friend. And then there’s Starlight…” Suddenly, Twilight halts her ascension and whips her head around to gaze at you analytically.

You freeze in response, just inches from running right into Twilight’s flank. You stare back at her with dilated pupils, frightened at her response.

A few seconds later, her penetrating gaze softens and she smiles. “Well...we can always meet Starlight later. She’s a bit of a character, and meeting her might be a little too much for your first day.”

“O-oh, if you say so,” you reply submissively, following Twilight as she turns the corner of the staircase and begins climbing its second leg.

“Honestly, I’m excited to have another pony of letters around,” Twilight titters absentmindedly. “Spike and Starlight work with me at the school of friendship, but there’s such a big difference between simple education and true research, wouldn’t you agree? Anyway, with all of the breaks in the fall, this season is a perfect time to dedicate myself to the pursuit of knowledge again!”

When Twilight reaches the landing, she stops. You do the same.

“S-sorry, I just get a little excited at the prospect of doing research again,” she admits, biting her lips as she looks at the floor in embarrassment. “Very excited, actually. Before I finish showing you around the castle, have you thought about what project you wanted to work on while you were here?”

Your ears perk up at the prospect of continuing your work. “Yeah, I have a few ideas,” you mention, knowing full well your mind was made up. “In fact… I’m particularly interested in-”

To ask Twilight to work with you on researching romantic literature and fiction, proceed to Chapter 5.

To ask Twilight to work with you on botany research, proceed to Chapter 6.

To ask Twilight to work with you on researching the epidemiology of disease, proceed to Chapter 7.

“Romantic literature?” Twilight asks. “What an interesting topic! It’s been so long since I’ve really analyzed any fiction of cultural value, and the potential for the work to overlap with the study of emotion, sociology, the economics of bookselling and entertainment…” She rubs the underside of her jaw briefly in thought. “Where were you planning to begin?”

To suggest that you begin by reading steamy romance novels which are trashy and have little artistic value, proceed to Chapter 8.

To suggest that you begin by reading dramatic, artistic romance novels full of symbolism and thematic inquiry, proceed to Chapter 9.

“Botany? What a unique field of study! It’s certainly lost its academic charm over the past few years, but maybe you can revive it!” Twilight encourages. “The castle has an extra porch area that we can convert into a greenhouse, and I know plenty of ponies in Ponyville that would be willing to provide advice along the way.”

“That sounds like we have a great environment for it, then,” you note.

Twilight nods enthusiastically. “I can’t wait to get started! Come on, let me finish showing you around the castle!”

By the middle of the next week, you and Twilight have performed your preliminary background research and have begun to construct an elaborate irrigation system on the castle’s back porch.

Twilight’s magic surrounds two pieces of PVC pipe and brings them together. Carefully, you fill in the gaps on the pipe with a specialized resin, joining them together. “That should do it,” you proclaim grandly. “The main hydroponics bay is set up!”

“Let’s test it out!” Twilight replies, trotting around the large central bay and past the more traditional soil-based beds on the sides of the room, newly filled with seeds. She slows as she approaches a spigot installed into the crystalline wall of the castle, which is attached to an endless, tortuous network of rubber hosing. Lighting up her horn, she opens the valve.

Immediately, you look down at the newly-constructed metal grow beds, filled with clay pellets to provide substrate for the plants. Soon, the pellets should be covered with flowing, fresh water.

Any second now!

...Any second.

You cock an eyebrow and scrunch up your muzzle as you look down at the still bone-dry clay pellets. Looking up, you cast a worried glance at Twilight. “It’s not working.”

“What? How could that be?” Twilight gasped. “I double checked the tubing circuit design! There’s no way that-”

Suddenly, a jet of water hits Twilight in the back of the head, causing her to let out a stunned shriek.

Immediately, a chorus of raspy guffaws fills the room.

Twilight shivers as the water dripping from her mane and withers continues to saturate her coat. “Rainbow Dash!” she growls.

Quickly looking around, you spy a blue pegasus on the far side of the room, completely consumed with laughter as she hovers in the air, a snipped segment of hose in her hoof. “HA!” she manages to vocalize in the midst of her uncontrollable cackling. “GOT HER!”

“How did you even get in here? And did you cut that hose!?” Twilight lets out a disdainful scoff. “Do you know how long it took us to set up the irrigation system!?”

Rainbow Dash wipes a tear from her eye and tries to calm herself down, although she still lets out a chuckle every several seconds. “Ah, cool it, Twilight! Get it, cool it? Because the water is cold!?”

Consumed by the desire to do something, you surreptitiously lean down and unscrew some hosing from a nearby junction, holding it closed with your hoof.

Twilight scowls as she continues to shiver. “Get out! We’re doing serious work!”

“Yeah, by the way, who is that?” replies Rainbow Dash. “Your new coltfriend, or something?” she mocks.

“Hey, I’m her research fellow,” you greet, releasing your hoof from the hose and dosing Rainbow Dash with a relentless stream of water.

Rainbow Dash cries out as the first water hits her, saturating her wings. Flapping harder to keep herself afloat, she spatters water all over the room as she sputters and spits at the water assaulting her from a variety of all angles. “Cut it out!” she manages to eventually vocalize. “STOP!”

“No,” you calmly reply, continuing to spray her.

Still letting out uncomfortable squeals, Rainbow Dash quickly retreats out of the porch and flies out into the open sky above Ponyville.

Twilight turns off the water supply and regards you with wide eyes and a stunned expression. “Wow. That was very impressive.”

“Thank you,” you respond, smiling at her. “Friend of yours?”

“Unfortunately,” Twilight huffs, shaking herself briefly in a vain attempt to dry her coat and feathers.

“You alright?’

“I guess I am. She’ll be back, though. You should keep an eye out.” Twilight shakes her head,

“I’m not afraid of her,” you scoff, waving a hoof dismissively. “After all, if she comes back to get me I’ll just hit her with a little water.”

A little sparkle glints in Twilight’s eye, and her horn lights up for just half a second. “Like this?”

A stream of water smacks you right in the center of your barrel, causing you to take an aggressive step backward and almost knock over a hydroponic tray.

“There we go,” she says proudly. “Now, everypony got wet.”

Blinking a few times, you smile and pick up your end of the hose, which is spewing water again. “This means war, Your Highness.”

Twilight crouches down and flares her wings as she uses her magic to bring her end of the hose to bear at you. “Bring it!” she challenges, squealing in glee soon after as the first jet of water from your attack hits her on her cutie mark.

Proceed to Chapter 12.

“Epidemiology? That’s an important field, since it’s so closely related to ponies’ health!” Twilight responds. “What are you interested in doing in particular?”

To work on analyzing public health in Ponyville, proceed to Chapter 10.

To research an emerging and potentially dangerous strain of the flu in the frozen north, proceed to Chapter 11.

“Really?” Twilight asks with a cocked eyebrow, seemingly taken aback.

“We have to start somewhere,” you explain. “Where better than at the base, primal form of the field?”

Twilight’s eyes brighten. “You’re not just smart, you’re wise, too! Alright, let me finish showing you around the castle, and then we can work on creating a preliminary reading list!”

That evening, you bustle about in the castle library, picking out several books from various locations in the fiction section. The selections themselves vary from school-age gossip works targeted at tween fillies, to the standard trashy romance fics about mysterious stallions and lonely mares, and even some works with content that just barely meets the criteria to be read aloud in public.

Struggling under the weight of the stack of books you acquired, you plop them down on a broad crystal table where Twilight is already sitting.

“Wow,” she comments, her eyes wide as she takes in the majesty of the stack in front of her. “I only picked out a few recommendations...are these all of yours?”

“Most of the ones off the top of my head,” you answer. “I’ve been thinking about this research for a while now.”

Twilight uses her magic to nab several books off the top of the tower and examines their titles in turn. “The Gossip Club and the Second Kiss, The Midnight Captain, Flower Bed’s Betrayal, The No Good Dance...The Griffonian Maid…?” Twilight blinks a few times before covering her mouth with a hoof and giggling softly to herself. “What an interesting reading list! Are you ready to get started?”

Nodding, you sit down and pick up one of the lighter novellas, and flip to the first page.

By the time you have finished your second book, you let out a deep yawn and scratch your eyes.

A sharp whining noise startles you, and immediately you turn to face Twilight, who has her face buried in the crease of a book.

“Twilight?”

“Hm?”

“Are you okay?”

There is no answer.

“Twilight!?”

Twilight jolts slightly and her ears perk up. “Um, yes?”

“You just made a strange noise. Are you alright?”

“Yes, yes, I’m fine!” she protests quickly, a thick and dark blush plastered across her face.

“Well alright,” you answer, still a bit concerned. “I’m tired so I think I’m going to head to bed for the night.”

“Okay, goodnight,” Twilight responds with a brief smile. “I’m going to continue researching,” she breathes, the last word coming out with yearning as she buries her face back into the pages and bites her lower lip.

Proceed to Chapter 12.

That evening, after the tour of the castle, you sit down on a couch in the castle’s library and wait for Twilight to finish prowling around the library’s labyrinth of bookshelves.

Several minutes pass. As Twilight makes her fifth pass through the central reading alcove, muttering incoherently to herself, you decide to clear your throat and speak up. “Excuse me, Twilight?

The Princess of Friendship halts in her tracks, her ears perking up. “Wuh...What?” she groans, turning to face you in confusion.

“Are you alright?”

Twilight exhales sharply, as if relieving some crushing internal pressure. “No, not really,” she sputters, lowering her head in defeat. “I’m just trying to find the book I had in mind. It’s not under the author’s name, I can’t find it in the relevant topical section...I even checked the returns basket!”

You glance over to the large, dull green tome lying on the end table next to you. It’s your choice for the first book to read, and you and Twilight planned to exchange your choices after you had both finished. “Well,” you say to her, letting out a quiet grunt as you rise to your hooves, “Let me help you look for it! What’s the name of the book?”

“It’s actually written as a play, but with all of the footnotes it really does feel like a substantial piece of literature!” she explains proudly, her previous exasperation forgotten while extolling the virtues of the work. “It’s called Three Sisters, and it’s written by Checkered Hoof.”

Rolling your eyes, you saunter back to the couch and sit down. “Found it.” You grin and tap your hoof lightly against the ‘missing’ book.

Twilight’s eyes grow as she approaches you. “You took it as your pick? No wonder I couldn’t find it! The library only has one copy indexed.” Biting her lip, Twilight looks at the ceiling of the library. “Great, now I have to think of another compelling piece to read for the project…”

You tilt your head curiously. “Why don’t we just read it together?”

Twilight blinks several times. “Are you sure? I don’t want us to interfere with each others’ progress!”

“Of course I’m sure,” you offer with a wide smile. “We shouldn’t have to take turns with the best example of modernist foreign romantic social commentary theater in existence!”

Twilight practically hops over to the couch and sits on the cushion immediately adjacent to you. With her magic, she pulls the book over to rest between her and you, and opens it to the first page. “I couldn’t agree more!”

You chuckle as your eyes begin to scan the first page. “Great minds think alike…”

Proceed to Chapter 12.

“Public health! What an interesting idea,” Twilight muses. “Since Ponyville sits on a suburban to rural transition gradient, it’s a definitely a compelling microcosm of non-urban Equestria as a whole. I hadn’t even considered how impactful a project from here could be!”

You bite your lip and nod. “I...Yes, that’s exactly right,” you deliver through a fake smile. Twilight, after all, did not really need to know that your decision had to do with Ponyville’s crippling foalhood obesity rate and obscene incidence of natural and magical disasters.

“Spike and I volunteer at Ponyville General from time to time, and I know several doctors who I am sure can point us in the right direction as far as getting our hooves on a useful data set. We’ll head right over after we finish our castle tour!”

Proceed to Chapter 12.

“I’ve heard about the new flu from the newspapers, but I had no idea it was so under-researched,” Twilight muses. “We’ll probably have to travel to the frozen north ourselves if we want to look into things...Are you interested in that little adventure?”

“Of course!” You declare loudly. “I live for adventures like this; especially the dangerous ones!”

Twilight giggles in response, and you would definitely be lying if you said you didn’t find it exceptionally endearing. “Alright...but just to let you know, the trip there is very safe. The train routes have really expanded since the return of the Crystal Empire!”

“It’s not the trip that will get us, Twilight,” you grin, beginning to pace slowly around her. “A few days there, and we might start to feel a bit like something is wrong. Then we’ll notice a sore throat, and a fever in the morning.” You cock an eyebrow in excitement as Twilight eyes you curiously. “If we’re lucky, that will be all...But if we’re unlucky, no amount of magic or pills in Equestria will relieve the crippling body aches that follow. Then, the enlargement of the liver, gross hemoptysis…” You walk forward, halting with the tip of your muzzle just an inch from Twilight’s. “And at that point, the only place where in all of Equestria where we’d stand a fighting chance would be the ICU at Canterlot Clinic.”

Twilight’s pinprick-sized pupils quiver ever so slightly as she processes this new information. Swallowing loudly, she grins awkwardly. “O-oh, that’s what you meant. I, uh, hadn’t considered that.”

“It’s exactly why it’s so important that somepony does the work to characterize the disease!” You smile. “The adrenaline rush doesn’t hurt either.”

“I suppose you’re right,” Twilight accedes, although her voice betrays a hint of trepidation. “We have the chance to make a big impact. We’ll get started tonight on setting up our trip and getting in contact with the local physicians. For now though, let me finish showing you around the castle!”

“Sounds great, thank you!” You follow Twilight down a long hallway adorned with a lush carpet and crystalline arches.

Suddenly, she stops mid-step and glances back at you. Slowly, a smile takes over her muzzle. “The prospect of a vitally important, dangerous journey is a little bit exciting, isn’t it?”

Proceed to Chapter 12.

Almost two weeks have passed; you and Twilight have been busy during that time and have made good progress on your research project.

You sit hunched over a book in the castle library, plowing along on your work, when you hear the door to the library creak open and a set of hoofsteps approach. Looking up from the book in front of you, you smile at Twilight. “Hey! Ready to finish up pre-work for phase two?”

Twilight frowns softly and shakes her head. “I’m really sorry, but I forgot that I made plans to go out with my friends today. I feel terrible as a mentor, but I haven’t seen Pinkie and the others in so long and I don’t want to cancel on them again,” she sighs. Looking at you with a mournful gaze, she continues. “I promise we can work more tonight. Is that ok?”

To ask to come with Twilight to meet her friends, proceed to Chapter 13.

To guilt-trip Twilight into staying with you to do research, proceed to Chapter 14.

To tell Twilight to have fun and work on your own in the castle, proceed to Chapter 15.

“That’s fine,” you respond, scratching the back of your head with a hoof. “But, uh, if it’s not too much to ask...could I come with you? It can get a little lonely in the library at night…”

“Oh!” Twilight gasps, seemingly taken aback by your request. “I-I hadn’t even thought of that...I’m sure they’d be okay with you coming with. Friendship is magic, after all…”

She seems to be acting just a smidgeon differently than is usual, but you brush it off. “Alright, great! Let me just get my saddlebags, and we’ll be off!”

If you and Twilight are working on romance literature, proceed to Chapter 19 (for trashy, steamy novel projects) or Chapter 20 (for those researching reputable, symbolic pieces of love literature).

If you and Twilight are working on botany, proceed to Chapter 21.

If you and Twilight are working on epidemiology, proceed to Chapter 22 (Ponyville Public Health) or Chapter 23 (Flu in the Frozen North).

“That’s really disappointing, Twilight,” you chastise. “This is a really critical point in the project to be running off on frivolous activities.”

“I know, I know,” Twilight groans, lowering her head in shame and squinting in pain. “I promise, I’ll work extra hard tonight to pick up the slack.”

“As if it will be possible.” You crumple up your muzzle in faux derision. “This is a huge step back for us.”

“I promise I’ll make up the time!” she insists.

“Whatever,” you scoff, waving her off with a hoof. “Go and waste your time while I work.”

Twilight raises her head again. “My friends are not a waste of time!”

“They are compared to this,” you bite back, returning your attention to the book in front of you.

Twilight lets out a single, incredulous chuckle. “My friends are why I’m where I am now! Why I can take you on as a partner. I can’t believe how you’re acting!”

You ignore her and continue to read.

“You know what? Fine,” Twilight huffs, trotting towards the far doors of the library. “Keep working on your precious little project. I’m sure it will be there to comfort you when you need it most.”

The slamming of a door signifies her exit.

Continue to Chapter 18.

“Oh, that sounds like a lot of fun!” you respond with a smile. “Don’t worry about stuff here. I’ll take care of things.”

“A-are you sure?” Twilight asks. “If you want, you can leave a list of to-dos for tonight when I get home, and-”

“Goodness no!” you interject, waving off the very idea with a hoof. “Your entire life doesn’t revolve around me just because I’m your temporary research fellow. You haven’t gotten to spend any time with them since I’ve been here-go have fun with your friends!”

Twilight makes a funny sound and shuffles in place. “I...I don’t know, I still feel bad…”

After a moment of contemplation, Twilight gasps loudly. Her ears perked up, she practically hops from hoof to hoof as she rapidly approaches you. She stops just a few inches from your chair; when you look up at her, you find that she’s wearing a beaming smile.

“Okay, hear me out,” she begins excitedly, gesturing in front of herself with a hoof. “What if you were to come with!?”

“Come with?” you repeat, a little surprised.

“Yes!” she confirms, nodding emphatically. “You should meet my friends at some point, so why not now? Rarity and Fluttershy have been asking about you! We’re all headed to Sugarcube Corner to meet up with Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash mentioned she had something to show us afterward, too, but, uh…” Twilight bites her lip as she searches for the right words. “That’s probably going to be a little touch-and-go. What do you think?” she tilts her head and smiles broadly. “I’d love to have you!”

To finish up your research work tonight and insist Twilight has fun with her friends without you bringing things down, proceed to Chapter 16.

To relent and come along, proceed to Chapter 17.

“No, no,” you reply, shaking your head. “You deserve a girls’ night out, and I have a lot to get through here.” You can’t help but smile softly at the offer, regardless.

“Aw...Are you sure?” she asks.

“Yup. Go have fun! I’ll see you tomorrow,” you conclude.

“Okay, will do!” Lingering for a moment, Twilight throws a single hoof around you in an awkward hug before dashing out of the library.

It’s difficult to focus on your work as you ruminate on some new questions over the next several minutes. Why did Twilight ask me along? Heck, why did she feel bad about leaving me here in the first place? And that hug...was it a hug? Is that something mentors do, or does that qualify as workplace harassment? Or maybe-

“Hey, Chump!” a voice calls, tearing you away from your thoughts.

You glance over to find Spike leaning casually against the door leading from the library into the foyer.

He lifts his head once in a casual greeting before continuing. “I heard Twilight snubbed you tonight and left you here to rot in the library.”

“I don’t know if that’s really an accurate characterization,” you object weakly, furrowing your brow. “In fact, I think I was the one to snub her.”

“You keep telling yourself that, pal.” Spike sniffles once and scratches his muzzle with a claw before continuing. “Believe me, I know snubbing when I see it. In fact, I’ve got a little bit of a proposition for you.”

You look back to your book briefly before returning your attention to Twilight’s wizened little assistant. “...I’m listening.”

“Me and a couple buddies, we got a little...tradition we like to take part in whenever the girls are out of the castle. You could call it a guy’s night, even.”

You glance behind Spike and catch glimpses of a red stallion and a creature you don’t quite recognize. “...I’m still listening…”

If you and Twilight are working on romance literature, proceed to Chapter 19 (for trashy, steamy novel projects) or Chapter 20 (for those researching reputable, symbolic pieces of love literature).

If you and Twilight are working on botany, proceed to Chapter 21.

If you and Twilight are working on epidemiology, proceed to Chapter 22 (Ponyville Public Health) or Chapter 23 (Flu in the Frozen North).

“Alrighty,” you relent. “I’d love to come along, if you’re really offering!”

“Yay!” Twilight cries, hopping once in excitement. “You’ll love them all, I’m sure. Just don’t feel like you have to answer all of Rarity’s questions. She gets a bit nosy sometimes.”

Leaving your work behind, you follow Twilight out of the library and towards the front door of the castle.

“Also, don’t feel sad if Fluttershy doesn’t greet you back. She probably has, she’s just a little quiet. Oh, and a few words of caution about Pinkie Pie…”

If you and Twilight are working on romance literature, proceed to Chapter 19 (for trashy, steamy novel projects) or Chapter 20 (for those researching reputable, symbolic pieces of love literature).

If you and Twilight are working on botany, proceed to Chapter 21.

If you and Twilight are working on epidemiology, proceed to Chapter 22 (Ponyville Public Health) or Chapter 23 (Flu in the Frozen North).

You don’t speak to Twilight for the entire weekend. When you finally begin to work together again that Monday, she feels more withdrawn and business-like. Her demeanor doesn’t change as the weeks pass.

At the end of your fellowship with her, she bids you a curt and polite goodbye, and you board the train leaving Ponyville with nothing but a single publication in a minor journal to remind you of your time with Princess Twilight Sparkle.

As you ride off into an uncertain future, you can’t help but feel you might have missed a life-changing opportunity.

BAD ENDING

“Why do you think these characters so often fall into the same tropes?” Twilight asks suddenly.

You look up from your book to meet her gaze. The preceding weeks had passed quickly, and your progress on the project had been swift. You had already charted out many of the common plotlines and thematic elements of popular romance books, but really hadn’t touched much on characters yet. “Isn’t to be expected? It’s not like they have to have much thematic depth or anything.”

“I guess,” Twilight responds in a huff, resituating herself in her chair as if suddenly uncomfortable. “But, why can’t the characters just be normal? Why can’t some be shy, or courageous, or withdrawn? The mares are always vapid pushovers, and the stallions are always mysterious and...and…”

“Aggressive?” you offer awkwardly, knowing the exact sentiment she was struggling to put into words.

Twilight nods emphatically and smiles at you. “Very tactfully put.”

“Thank you.”

“It just bothers me! They seem so formulaic, it’s like the authors aren’t even putting any work into them.”

You groan deeply in thought and chew on your cheek. “I don’t think that’s the right way to look at it. Like in any story, the author is trying to do something.”

“Well, they’re not telling any new stories,” Twilight replies, tapping her hoof on the table. “And they’re not necessary full of deep ideas about the world, either.”

“You’re right.”

“They’re just trying to sell books!” she concludes incredulously, crossing her hooves over her chest.

“Right again. So, why do ponies buy these books if they’re so formulaic?”

Twilight narrows her eyes at you. “Are you trying to get me to engage in Hoofcratic dialogue?”

You chuckle. “Maaaybe.”

“Ugh, I had enough of that at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Can’t you just tell me and save time?” she pleads.

“Well, ponies buy these books for the same reason they buy anything; it fulfills some need. As you so clearly delineated, they don’t really fulfill any need for thought, and they certainly aren’t entertaining in the traditional sense.”

Twilight’s eyes widen, and you feel as if you can visualize the cogs turning in her head. “Ponies would never buy these books if they were about anything else...It’s fulfilling a need for romantic contact!”

“Ding ding ding,” you chime, winking briefly at her. “It’s nothing but a sad shadow of the real thing. But, it’s better to them than nothing.”

Twilight loses herself in thought again for a moment. “Maybe…” She lets out a titter of giggles. “I’m embarrassed to admit it, but just reading it gets me excited. N-not in a sexual way,” she tacks on quickly, blushing excessively. “I guess that’s just my need for romantic contact being fulfilled for a time?”

“That’s what I’ve always thought. But, maybe I’m just trying to cover up the fact I find it arousing,” you quip.

Twilight lets out a few brief laughs. Her horn lights up, and the book you’re reading rises into the air and smacks you lightly a few times. “Stop it, you weirdo!”

You snicker and nab the book out of the air, placing it back on the table. “This sort of stuff may be deeper than we give it credit for, is all I’m saying.”

“You’re right. It may be just a false reality, but… It feels good,” Twilight sighs. “I’d like to feel the real thing, someday.”

"You've never been in love with a stallion before?"

"No," Twilight answers, although she bites her cheek immediately afterward. "Well, sort of. He wasn't really a stallion, though. Although, I guess he also was..."

You scrunch up your muzzle. "What?"

"Nevermind," Twilight quickly tacks on.

You shrug. “Well, I'd like to feel the real thing someday, too.” You gaze into Twilight’s eyes and smile.

She smiles back. After a few seconds, she looks down bashfully. “Come on, let’s get back to work.”

Proceed to Chapter 24.

You sit next to Twilight on the couch in the library. It had been a long day of work, and you found your eyes merely going over the words without your mind actually comprehending what was being said. Knowing you weren’t going to be able to get anything more of consequence done that day, you lean your head back and rest the open book on your face.

“Hey, Twilight,” you begin, your voice reverberating through the book.

“Yes?”

“Do you ever get lonely?”

“Lonely?” Twilight parrots. “...Well, honestly, no. Not really. I used to be lonely all the time, before I met my friends, but I don’t think that I even knew it at the time.”

“Hmmmm,” you groan into your book. The old paper is slightly rough and gently scratches your muzzle as it moves.

“...Do you get lonely?” she asks.

“I don’t know,” you sigh. “Reading all about the mares in these books, juggling their own need for affection with society’s expectations and a deep, invasive sense of ennui...Maybe I’ve always been bored and didn’t even notice it.”

“Maaaaybe you’re overthinking things?” she insinuates. A purple glow surrounds your book, and it floats away, leaving you looking into Twilight’s smiling face. “That’s enough reading for today!”

“My entire life feels like it’s been a hazy dream,” you muse, moving your head and squinting up at the crystal dome above you. “Just now, the fog is clearing…”

Twilight’s smile melts off of her face, and she tilts her head curiously at you. “Oh? And what are you seeing?”

“I don’t know yet…” Lifting your head, you look into her eyes again. “To be honest, I’m a little scared of what I’ll find as everything gets clearer.”

Giggling, Twilight hops onto the couch. “I don’t know what you’re feeling, but I awoke from a dream-like life too, and found reality to be better than I ever imagined.” She twice prods you comfortingly with her muzzle. “And, just in case what you find is scary, I’ll be here to go through it with you.”

You glance back up at the ceiling for a few moments, then look back to Twilight. “Like Countess Poinsettia in Midnight Requiem?” you ask, waiting a few moments before letting a grin take over your face.

“Exactly like Countess Poinsettia,” Twilight replies with a smile.

“You still need a strong stallion to come and sweep you off your hooves to be like the Countess,” you add, lifting your eyebrows twice in insinuation. “What do you say to a midnight requiem in the serfs’ prairie, Princess?”

Twilight simply rolls her eyes at you, but you notice that her smile has grown wider and more genuine.

Proceed to Chapter 24.

You stare into the slowly swaying leaves of a potato plant.

A pair of approaching hoofsteps stops abruptly, and you can feel Twilight’s presence next to you. “Hey, those are looking pretty good!”

“Soaring to the sky,” you breathe. “Little by little, improving themselves each day. Only to be eaten by us.”

Twilight Sparkle giggles. “You’ve spent too much time around plants.”

“Undeniably,” you reply, lifting up your gaze to look at her. “Not all alone, though. Your friend Applejack was a big help in the project!”

“She knows her apples better than her tubers, but it was still interesting to get some perspective from her.” A devilish smile slowly crawls across her face. “It was great to put a scientific basis to a few of her pieces of ‘advice’, but I loved destroying most of her old wives’ tales more.”

“We have enough for several papers, I’d guess,” you tell her. “How does it feel to be the Princess of Friendship and an emerging authority on plants?”

“It feels great,” Twilight replies quickly, full of gusto. “And, I owe it all to you!” She winks once at you before turning to leave.

You watch her well-proportioned frame saunter out of the makeshift castle greenhouse and are cast into thought. Your project is drawing to an end and you’d have to leave soon after you composed and submitted your papers to botany journals; certainly, you should do something to thank Princess Twilight for her help and hospitality!

To cook Twilight an elaborate dinner with the plants you’ve grown together, proceed to Chapter 27.

To quickly grow Twilight a bouquet of beautiful flowers using the scientific techniques you have learned, proceed to Chapter 28.

You knock softly on the door to Twilight’s bedroom.

“Come in!”

Pressing forward hoof-first, the door to Twilight’s room swings open and you enter. “Morning, Your most eminent Highness!”

“Good morning to you too, wise guy,” Twilight responds quickly. You sense that she has taken the joke in stride, but she appears preoccupied with other matters. Her horn is constantly lit as small articles fly around the room and into different bags.

You furrow your brow in curiosity, but decide to press forward in your quest. “So, are you ready to head to that county clinic to enroll more patients in the survey?”

Twilight immediately gasps, slapping a hoof to her forehead in exasperation. The supplies she was moving in her magic abruptly fall to the floor, sending quills and other knick-knacks scattering across the floor. “Oh, no! I can’t believe I forgot to tell you! Last night, Princess Celestia sent me a letter; Princess Luna is sick and I need to take her place in greeting the Saddle Arabian delegation in Canterlot!”

“Princess Luna must be really sick,” you comment. “From what I’ve read about her in the paper, she seems like she’d never miss out on her duties for anything.”

“Yeah, well, apparently she is self-describing herself as having contracted ‘the consumption’, whatever that is.” Twilight rolls her eyes disdainfully, the stress lines on her face quite apparent. “Knowing how archaic she is, that could be anything from a mild hangover to full-blown miliary tuberculosis.”

“When will you be back?”

Twilight lights up her horn again, quickly cramming a few more choice items into her saddlebags before quickly snapping them shut. “Hopefully in three days, although it could be more if things go south at the summit. I hate to leave you here, but-”

“Say no more,” you reassure her, holding up a hoof. “Princess duties come first. I can handle the research for a few days.”

Twilight lets out a deep exhalation. “Thank you,” she breathes, trotting up to nuzzle you in gratitude before heading out with her bags. “Make sure Spike doesn’t eat all of our ice cream!” she calls after disappearing from sight.

“Okay!”

Twilight will be gone for a while. There’s plenty of research to be done, but there’s all sorts of things you could do. How do you want to use your time?

To get in touch with Pinkie Pie and plan to throw Twilight a big party celebrating her return from a (hopefully) successful summit, proceed to Chapter 29.

To put your muzzle to the grindstone and really work hard on your research project, proceed to Chapter 30.

To totally hook up with Applejack while Twilight is away, proceed to Chapter 31.

A few weeks of preparation had finally come to fruition: you sit next to Twilight Sparkle in a cramped sleeping car on a train barreling toward the frozen north of Equestria. She appears quite comfortable next to you on the cushioned bench next to the windows. The bags full of your provisions and notes don’t seem to faze her as she casually flips through a compendium of influenza research.

You, on the other hoof, are not reviewing notes. Instead, you’re watching Twilight as her entrancing violet eyes scan the pages in front of her. Her horn lights up, and her styrofoam cup of cheap Celestrack-brand hot chocolate floats over to her muzzle. Slowly, as if more concerned with what was in front of her eyes than her mouth, her lips press around the cup’s edge. She takes a dainty sip, which is only just loud enough for you to hear.

The cup floats back to the table, and Twilight lets out a deep sigh after flipping the page. Looking over at you, she smiles and tilts her head. “Whatcha looking at?”

You shake your head quickly. “N-nothing. Just daydreaming. Did you learn anything vital?”

“Nothing we didn’t already know, but it’s good to brush up.” Twilight places her book on the crowded little table, and removes her back hooves from their resting position on top of your saddlebags. She shivers once. “I guess it’s not called the frozen north for nothing. How close are we?”

Sticking your tongue out, you dig through your belongings and find a system map. “Well, we just passed through the Crystal Empire…”

“The train cleared out almost completely,” remarks Twilight.

“Because not many ponies live this far north, and there’s even less industry out here.” You squint down at the map as you try to pinpoint the exact train line amongst the spokes radiating from the Crystal Empire.

“And yet, only one of those ponies needs to travel while sick to start an entire pandemic,” Twilight breathes heavily. “You were so right about starting the project. I’ve never been so full of anticipation.”

“Aha! Looks like there’s only one more major station for switching, and our first stop is three after that...so maybe four hours?”

Twilight shivers again. “It is absolutely freezing in here!” She pulls out a blanket with her magic and balls up as she tries futilely to cover herself entirely with it. If her chattering teeth are any indication, the next four hours won’t be easy for her.

To lean over and cuddle Twilight to keep her warm, proceed to Chapter 32.

To let Twilight deal with the cold on her own terms, proceed to Chapter 33.

The next day, you sit with Twilight in the library, planning your next move.

“Maybe…” she pines, rubbing her muzzle with a hoof. “Just maybe we can submit to the Journal of Equestrian Literary Sociology?”

You crinkle up your muzzle in distaste. “Isn’t that a junk journal?”

“It’s not a junk journal! It’s...specialized.”

You groan, and place your head face-down on the table. “Ohhhhh, we’re never going to get this paper published in its current state!”

You feel Twilight’s hoof as she gently strokes the back of your head. “Don’t worry! We’ll think of something, I’m sure. We’ve done too much work, and reading, to just give up.”

Your head shoots off the table as the most perfect idea comes to you. Of course! How could you have been so blind!? The answer to breaking the creative block on the project is simple:

To suggest to Twilight that you act out a practice scene to put what you’ve learned about romance literature into a real-life context, proceed to Chapter 25.

To suggest to Twilight that you write your own romance novel together, proceed to Chapter 26.

“A...practice scene?” Twilight asks, her expression deeply curious at first. A moment later, her face morphs, with a crunched-up muzzle and a deep blush defining her features. “W-wait, why would we do that?”

“It’s just an idea,” you reassure her. “But it’s the only way to really understand all the literary tropes we’ve studied, as well as the tone of the works. Doing this will be the perfect way to revitalize our academic manuscript!”

Twilight’s lips curl strangely into a wavy, unusual smile. She looks down at the floor. “I-it does sound like it would work well…”

“Let’s get started on planning, then!”

If you were working on steamy romance novels, proceed to Chapter 34.

If you were working on actual artistic love literature, proceed to Chapter 35.

“Why don’t we nix the academic angle entirely and just write a book together!?”

Twilight’s ears perk up. “Write a whole book? I-I’ve never done that...well, ever!” She grins widely. “Ohmygosh, this is going to be so much fun!” She clops her hooves together immediately after speaking, her eyes shut in pure joy.

“With all the research we’ve done, we know everything there is to know about writing love stories. We can start now if you want.”

Twilight gasps. “Yes, please!” She cranes her neck toward the library’s door. “SPIKE! SPIIIIIIKKKEEEEE!”

After the echo of her voice off of the crystal walls of the library fades, only silence remains.

“SPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-”

“HORSEFEATHERS!” a faint but enraged call echoes back from somewhere else in the castle. “WHAT IN EQUESTRIA DO YOU WANT, TWILIGHT!?”

“PUT ON A POT OF COFFEE!”

“WHY?”

As Twilight inhales to begin her next salvo of yells, you stop your efforts to politely avoid cringing and instead cover your ears as best as you can.

“BECAUSE IT’S GOING TO BE A LATE NIGHT IN THE LIBRARY!” She looks back at you quickly. “Maybe that’s a good title to use?”

You force yourself to smile and nod ingratiatingly at the excited Princess of Friendship.

She turns her head back to the door. “SO, GET YOUR SCALY LITTLE BUTT DOWN HERE ALREADY!”

“ONE OF THESE DAYS, TWILIGHT, SO HELP ME…”

“WILL YOU TWO BE QUIET!? I’M TRYING TO WAX MY KITES!” a third voice screams from yet another undetermined locale within the castle.

“CAN IT, STARLIGHT!” Spike calls.

“SPIKE, DON’T YOU DARE TALK TO STARLIGHT LIKE THAT! AND STARLIGHT, DO NOT MAKE ME MOVE YOUR COUNSELING OFFICE TO THE BROOM CLOSET!”

Maybe you should take a bathroom break while they get things sorted out.

If you were working on steamy romance novels, proceed to Chapter 41.

If you were working on actual artistic love literature, proceed to Chapter 42.

It’s the afternoon the day before your departure from Ponyville. Your time working under Princess Twilight Sparkle may have ended, but that certainly doesn’t mean that you aren’t going to give her one heck of a thank-you before your send-off.

You huff and try to catch your breath as you descend the main stairwell and into the kitchen. Twilight’s dinner tonight was going to be a complete surprise, and you wanted to make sure everything would be perfect. The thing is, you just weren’t sure if you could pull off the perfect evening.

Pressing forward through the double crystalline doors, you slide to a halt in front of the island in the castle’s kitchen, and look into a pair of reptilian eyes.

“Sup, bro?”

You let out a groan of pure anxiety and lower your head in frustration.

Spike, who is seated on the kitchen's island, merely takes a small sip from a dainty-looking teacup. He places it back on the small piece of china he’s holding and lets out a single gasp of refreshment. “Looks like you’re a little stressed. Got something important to be doing?”

Every pretense of civility has been booted from your mind under the immense strain of planning Twilight a perfect evening. “I need the kitchen,” you half-mumble, half-command, motioning back to the still-swinging double doors with a hoof.

“Oh, what for?” he asks, ignoring your implied orders and taking another sip so quickly that you don’t have time to formulate a response. “Cooking a special dinner for your princess crush?”

Your breath catches in your chest and you feel your face heat up. “H-how do you know that I’m cooking dinner for Twilight? Did you spy on me?”

“Of course not. Starlight told me.” Spike gently places his teacup down on the island next to him.

Your left eye twitches once. “And how does she know that I’m planning to cook dinner for Twilight?”

“I don’t know. She probably spied on you.”

“ARRGGGH!” you cry, disheveling your mane by running a hoof through it. “I can’t handle this!”

“Just relax,” Spike cooes, holding up his claws in a non-threatening gesture. “I’m here to help you.”

You frown and squint skeptically at the dragon. “Help me?”

“You bet. Just because you and I don’t spend a lot of time together doesn’t mean we’re not brothers-in-arms,” he reassures you, smacking a fisted claw against his chest in a gesture of solidarity.

You merely scowl at him.

Spike exhales. “Okay, look, I didn’t want to pull out the feelings, but I guess you’re making me do it. I know what it’s like to be completely and hopelessly in love with a pony who is way out of my league, alright? I’m just trying to put a point up on the scoreboard for our team so I’m reassured that it can be done.”

“Okay, first of all,” you object, raising a hoof, “I am not hopelessly in love with Twilight.”

Spike cocks an eyebrow. “You’re about to cook a full meal for this mare to thank her for doing something she wanted to do in the first place.”

You lower your hoof.

“That’s what I thought.” Spike hops down and pats your withers reassuringly. “The good news is, Twilight has got it bad for you too.”

Your ears perk up and you grin widely for a few seconds before the happy expression melts off of your face. “Wait a sec. This feels like some sort of elaborate trick. There’s no way that the Princess of Friendship like-likes me.”

“Are you kidding me?” Spike steps back and regards you with an expression of complete incredulity. “She’s so into you! You haven’t noticed her play with her mane around you? Or how happy she is coming down the stairs each morning to work with you in the greenhouse? Or how after you give her a hug or pat her on the back she always trots away singing?”

“Uhm…” you tap a hoof on your muzzle. “...No?”

Spike crosses his arms and rolls his eyes. “Alright look, I guess it doesn’t matter. The point is, she likes you, you like her, and I’m here to make sure you don’t screw it all up, okay?”

“And how exactly do you plan to do that? What do you know about her that I don’t?”

“I know every one of Twilight’s preferences because I’ve lived with her literally my entire life.”

Your scrunch your muzzle up. “Okay, fair point. But what about all those fights you have with her?”

Spike bites his lip. “Yeah, okay, you got me. She can really get on my nerves sometimes, and I can get on hers. But, I still love her and want to see her happy. And she’s happy with you. Plus...I don’t know, maybe if she’s got a stallion to smooch on she’ll forget to give me chores every once in a while and I can spend my afternoons in a hammock reading comics.”

You’ve already drifted off into a deep daydream about a heavy petting session with Twilight, and only Spike snapping in front of your face a few seconds later brings you back to reality.

“So?” he asks impatiently, tapping a clawed foot. “Are you gonna let me help you or not? We have to start cooking, it’s almost three-thirty.”

To allow Spike to help you prepare the perfect dinner for Twilight, proceed to Chapter 36.

To decline Spike’s help and cook yourself, proceed to Chapter 37.

With great care, you place a single drop of your meticulously-made growth solution onto the seedling in the flower pot. Magically, the frail little plant grew straight upward, its stem thickening and a beautiful purple rose appearing at the top end.

Quickly rooting around in your saddlebags, you whip out a small pair of clippers and nick the flower before carefully inserting it into the very center of a meticulously-shaped violet and magenta bouquet of pansies, tulips, and amaranth.

You’re still fidgeting with the bouquet when you hear hoofsteps echo from the main hall and into the makeshift greenhouse. Quickly, but taking great care to keep your gift to Twilight hidden behind your back, you slip back into the foyer. Turning and glancing up the main staircase, you see Twilight descending slowly. She’s holding her head high in a very regal fashion, but the small creases around her eyes and her sad smile don’t seem to fit into the rest of the picture well.

Time advances very slowly as she makes eye contact with you and finishes her descent to the ground level of the castle. Neither of you say anything, the only sounds being the echoes of occasional hoof clicking against the crystal stairs.

When Twilight steps off of the last stair, she pauses for a moment before stepping toward you. She halts her approach just slightly closer than normal speaking distance from you.

You can’t help but reflect her solemn smile back at her.

Proceed to Chapter 38.

“SURPRISE!” Pinkie screams violently the very second that Twilight opens the front doors to her castle.

Twilight appears to seize violently for a fraction of a second, dropping the books in her grasp and causing her saddlebags to slide off of her back.

Twilight’s other friends cheer; a few other citizens of Ponyville blow party horns that had been oh-so-graciously given out by the town’s resident party planner. You are content to just smile and stomp your hooves in applause.
Twilight grips the front of her barrel with a hoof and lets out a deep exhalation. “Pinkie! You scared me half to death! What’s this party for?”

“It’s your WELCOMEBACKANDGREATJOBONYOURDIPLOMATICMISSION party!” Pinkie Pie chirps. She flings a hoof to point in your direction. “And it was all HIS idea!”

Twilight turns to you and smiles broadly. “Is that so? Thank you so much!” she chirps, tilting her head in fondness.

You bashfully rub the back of your head with a hoof. “Of course, Twilight, you deserve it.”

The party begins to heat up soon after, with the dozen or so attendees mingling amongst themselves, drinking Pinkie Pie’s punch and occasionally erupting in a riotous fit of laughter.

For your part, you are slowly scanning along the exceptionally decked-out buffet table full of snacks. As you approach a plate of particularly savory-looking loaded potato skins, you slow your strafing and eventually come to a complete stop. Looking to your left and right, you quickly swipe about half of the remaining bantam snacks onto your paper plate.

Feeling a tap on your right shoulder, you turn and look into Twilight’s eyes. Somehow she has snuck up on you. A cheeky expression on her face, she mumbles something inaudibly, pointing to your plate.

“What?” you ask, trying your best to make your question louder than the background noise.

Twilight says something again. You can catch a few syllables this time, but still have no idea what she is trying to communicate to you.

“WHAT!?” you call again over the uproarious reveling on the other end of the castle foyer, placing a hoof to your ear in emphasis.

Twilight shakes her head in frustration and leans in toward you. “It’s too loud here!” she exclaims, her warm breath washing over your ear and the side of your face. “Let’s go out to the balcony!”

You nod back at her, your ear inadvertently flickering several times from the still-present ghost of her warmth. Deliberately, you follow her out onto a raised patio area in the back of the castle just around the corner from the entryway. The mid-evening air is pleasantly cool against your coat, and only the faint roar of activity can be heard from the party only a room away.

“Oh, wow, this is nice,” you comment, rubbing the edge of your hoof into your ear. “I had no idea it was that loud in there.”

“Pinkie Pie throws wild parties. I thought you knew that?” Twilight asks you.

“I guess I did. The significance of it might have been lost on me at the time.”

Twilight giggles softly. After a fraction of a second of looking into your eyes, she leans over to rest her head against your neck. Together, you look over the grassy field behind her castle. The stars and the brightness from a crescent moon reflect strangely on the grasses of Equestria’s central valley, and you perceive the movement of the stalks as waves of soft light.

“Thank you for the party,” she says earnestly. Slowly, she removes her cheek from your coat, but doesn’t move her body any further away from you.

“You are very welcome! You work a little too hard, you deserve a break.” Turning your head to face her, you cock an eyebrow at her. “So?”

Twilight suddenly appears unsure of herself. “S-so? What do you mean? So what?”

“So, you wanted to talk to me out here?”

Twilight’s eyes widen and she seems to visibly relax. “Oh, I was just going to say that I had seen you take half of those potato skins in one go.”

You make a strange sound as a laugh catches in your throat. Throwing your head back soon after, you let out loud, happy guffaws.

Twilight begins to laugh with you. “Y-you can’t hide your sins from me!” she chokes between fits.

That only makes you laugh harder. When you finally get control of yourself, you notice Twilight looking up at you endearingly.

Staring into her eyes, you let your expression soften. “...I’m really going to miss you, Twilight.”

Twilight’s lips slowly fall into a frown. “O-oh, I had forgotten. When are you leaving?”

“As soon as we submit our article to the Journal of the Equestrian Medical Association. Next week?”

Twilight’s eyes crinkle in worry. “I wasted so much time away from you on that silly mission. You’re leaving soon…”

“You had to do it!” you protest. “Being a Princess comes first.”

Twilight shakes her head emphatically. “No. It doesn’t. Being a good friend and a nice pony does. A-and if I could do it again, I would have stayed. Maybe if I sabotage your efforts you’ll have to stay longer?”

Grinning down at Twilight, you shake your head in fond dismissal.

Twilight looks down at the floor, and takes a single step toward you before looking back up into your eyes. “I’m really going to miss you. More than you think.” She bites her lip, and you notice her eyes start to shimmer with what might be tears.

To kiss Twilight, proceed to Chapter 49.

To pet Twilight reassuringly, proceed to Chapter 50.

You have been extremely diligent in working on your public health project in Twilight’s absence, and when she walks into the library, you have great news for her.

“Ugh, that trip was terrible,” Twilight groans as she takes a seat next to you in the library. She’s disheveled, with her mane sticking every which way.

“Wanna talk about it?”

“Not really,” she scoffs flatly. “Anyway, I’m sorry for being gone. I’m a little tired, but I’m ready to keep working tonight with you.”

You keep your attention on the book in front of you, and scratch your muzzle with a hoof to hide your smile. “Nah, that’s alright.”

“Please,” Twilight pleads tiredly. “I feel terrible about having to leave you here.”

“Twilight, all that’s important is that you get a good night’s rest. We have to leave to go to the Equestrian Epidemiological Society conference tomorrow.”

Twilight stares at you emptily with an open mouth as she processes your words in an exceedingly slow fashion. “Wait…” Her eyes widen gradually. “...What?”

“I submitted our abstract, and it wasn’t just accepted; we’ll be giving an hour-long joint talk on Friday.”

“...You’re serious?”

You nod, unable to keep yourself from displaying a cocky grin. “Buffed up CV, here we come.”

Twilight slowly and deliberately shakes her head in disbelief. “You are so incredibly hot when you take academic initiative.”

“What?”

“What?” Twilight replies quickly. “Anyway,” she quickly moves on, “when do we leave tomorrow?”

“Tickets already bought; we set off on the 6:15 train...Do you have fatigue-related aphasia or something?”

“Probably, and I should get to bed promptly.”

Twilight prances through the double doors of the Windstream hotel, practically bowling over the doorpony on the way. You follow dutifully along behind her, indulging her as she spews her excitement all over everypony nearby.

“I can’t believe it! My first academic conference! Not in a million years did I think you would get me to one of these! No offense- and, ohmygosh, I forgot that I’m giving a talk! I can’t believe it!” Twilight halts her happy hopping right in the center of the lobby and spins gracefully around several times before facing toward you. “Can you!?”

“Barely,” you reply. “It should be a lot of fun to speak tomorrow afternoon.” Unlike Twilight, who appeared to have recovered quickly from her fatigue the day before, your early morning and the half day’s train trip to Chicacolt had taken it out of you.

Twilight lets out a gasp and points to a lounge area off to the side of the lobby. “I can’t believe it! It’s a hotel bar!”

You look over at the bar. “It...is. Yes.”

“I’ve always wanted to drink with my fellow intelligentsia at a prestigious conference!” she gushes, bounding over that way.

“Twilight,” you protest weakly, “it’s only 1 o’clock and we haven’t even checked in yet!”

She makes a loud noise of vague dismissal as she disappears into the fashionably modern-looking annex.

Sighing, you follow her into the bar.

You sip contentedly on your scotch as Twilight cranes her neck around on the lookout for other educated conference attendees to converse with. “Are you sure I can’t go talk to the stallion at the bar? I’m pretty sure he’s in pharma R&D.”

You let out an exasperated sigh. “Twilight, he’s been screaming at his ex-wife on the cellphone for the last twenty minutes.”

“What about that griffon in the corner? He could be a grad student!”

“Or a disgruntled postdoc that keeps spitting on the floor of the hotel.”

Twilight crunches up her muzzle angrily. She downs the rest of her fruity cocktail quickly and crosses her hooves over her barrel. “To quote Rainbow Dash, this ‘sucks’,” she complains, using her hooves to make air quotation marks. “I want another cocktail!”

As if taking direct orders from the Princess, the bartender immediately begins working on another drink for Twilight.

“Please, please promise me this is your last one for the day?”

“Hhhmph. Fine.”

You relax your body and take another brief sip of your drink, savoring its astringent, smoky quality. “We just need to pass the time until some ponies start filtering into the bar, Twilight.”

“I’ll pass the time by drinking and waiting for my true fellow intelligentsia to arrive,” she pouts, sneering down at the table.

“That can’t be good for your outlook on this weekend,” you offer. “Come on, then! What happened to the happy Twilight of half an hour ago?”

“She is dead,” Twilight deadpans. “Murdered by a combination of high expectations and a low reality.”

You really can’t reply to that. Disgruntled as she is, her analysis is spot-on.

The bartender places two of the same sweet cocktail Twilight had been drinking in front of her. “One is free for the Princess of Friendship,” he offers, quickly scurrying away from the table.

You bite your lip.

Twilight’s ears perk up as she surveys her cocktails. “Well, at least I’m a Princess,” she says, sucking down half of her first cocktail with gusto.

“Oh boy,” you breathe quietly to yourself.

Twilight is taking her second sip when she gasps, almost choking on it. “I KNOW!” she declares slightly too loudly, causing your ears to flop against the sides of your head. “We can play truth-or-dare!”

“Truth-or-dare?” you parrot incredulously. “I’ve only played a single game of that since my school days.”

“Come on, it will be fun!” she gushes, finishing her first cocktail and pulling the next one in front of her. “I’ve only ever played it with my friends before! All the books on teen psychology that I have say it’s much better when it’s a mixed-gender group!”

“Oh, Twilight,” you whisper, shaking your head in pity at her lack of formative experiences.

“Maybe we’ll even attract fellow scholars into the game!” she continues, completely ignoring your comment. “Okay, you ask first!”

You sense that protesting won’t be very useful. Relenting, you sigh and resolve to play the game without grumbling. “Alright, Twilight. Truth, or dare?”

“Dare!” she declares proudly.

You get the sense that the alcohol is giving her courage, as well as general volume of speech, that she does not normally possess. You jump on the opportunity to avoid a catastrophe. “Give me your drink.”

Twilight’s ears flop to the sides of her head. “Aw,” she mutters, pushing her drink over to you with her trademark firm compliance to listed rules.

“Thank you.” You feel relieved that the crisis has thus been averted.

“Truth or dare?” Twilight asks you.

You pause. You had almost forgotten that you had to go next!

To respond ‘Truth’, proceed to Chapter 51.

To respond ‘Dare’, proceed to Chapter 52.

“Applejack, how could you!?” Twilight half-sobbed, half-screamed in the town square. “You KNEW that I liked him!”

Applejack merely shrugged, entirely unconcerned by her friend’s distraught behavior. “Ah dunno, he was attractive. Ah wanted to make out.”

“More importantly, why in Equestria did you blow the whistle on your little rendezvous?” Rarity pressed Applejack. “I’m all for secret romances, but come on darling.”

“She’s the element of honesty, that’s why,” Fluttershy huffs.

“Yeah, honesty!” Rainbow Dash tacks on indignantly. “Not the element of hur-dur, I can’t keep no secrets since ahm an apple farmin’ pony!”

You watch as the most powerful friend group in Equestria disintegrates before your very eyes. Turns out, this particular rift was bad enough that it would turn out to be permanent, with the next existential threat to Equestria going unchallenged and plunging the nation into a century of literal and figurative darkness.

You could have had it all: the Princess of Equestria, a happy life, a successful career. But you traded all of that for a very average afternoon makeout session with the farmer’s daughter.

Go ahead. Pat yourself on the back. Go ahead. I’ll wait.

You better be patting yourself. The author worked very hard on this story and someone’s back better be getting patted after all this garbage.

By the way, this isn’t some fantasy game where you can just plug your controller into the other port or reload the game. You’ve gotta live with the knowledge you did this. For what? The memes?

...Or, because you actually like Applejack?

...Crap, I guess I have to write her next…

SECRET/WORST ENDING

Against your better judgment, you turn and wrap a hoof around Twilight’s midsection. To your surprise, she immediately curls up her body and leans in to you, moving her head slightly to nuzzle against your barrel.

“Mmmmm,” she softly hums, shivering under her blanket. “You’re so warm…”

Cautiously, you reach your other forehoof out and wrap it around her. In response, her horn lights up, and the edge of her blanket floats up into the air and slowly wraps around you.

The pace of your breaths increases as you gently squeeze Twilight against you. “D-does this help?” you ask weakly.

“Mmmhmm,” Twilight purrs, letting out a deep sigh. Readjusting herself, she positions her head under your muzzle and presses the coat of her barrel against yours. “This feels so good…”

Gently, your crane your muzzle down and press it gently into Twilight’s mane. You are immediately hit with the full power of her scent, which you had only caught the faintest tastes of during your time together. The comforting aroma mesmerizes you, and you can’t help but to rub your muzzle back and forth several times.

With a single, fluid movement, Twilight kicks up her back hooves to lay over yours. Leaning forward, she wraps both of her forehooves around your neck and pulls herself up, such that her flank is resting on the upper sides of your hind legs.

She allows herself to settle back into a position where her muzzle rests tightly against your neck. “That’s better,” she whispers, lighting up her horn to tighten the blanket around you both.

You position your left hoof such that it wraps around Twilight’s lower back and rests on her cutie mark. You rub back and forth lightly and affectionately, being careful not to push your luck. You let your other hoof glide up and down the lower halves of her hind legs, relishing the feeling of her soft coat and the captivating form of her hooves.

Sighing again, Twilight presses her muzzle into your neck. With each breath she takes, you feel the coat on your neck and upper chest move and change temperature. The slight tickle, dampness, and warmth of her exhalations is blissful to experience, as is the occasional stroke of her tail against your flank as she swishes it in comfort.

After a few minutes, the slowing of Twilight’s breaths and the ceasing of her playful neck-rubbing signal that she has dozed off. Staring across the cabin at the reflections of the snowfall behind you dancing across the shiny wooden veneer, you find yourself unable to join her in sleep, instead savoring her intoxicating scent, the soft touch of her coat, and the calming pressure of her body against yours.

Some hours later, you and Twilight step off of the train and into an intimidating sea of white, your saddlebags heavily laden with your supplies. As Twilight reads a large map, you note the extensive patchwork of dull-colored buildings nearby, every third one spouting a thick, gray smoke that disappeared into a similarly-colored sky.

“Alright, I know where we have to go to find our hotel,” Twilight declares, folding her map and placing it back into her saddlebags. “Then we can head to the clinic and meet with the doctors.”

“One clinic for the whole town,” you whisper to yourself, silently in awe over the few ponies you could see trudging through the snow between the almost endless sea of arctic hovels.

“Are you ready to go?” Twilight asks.

You turn your head to meet her gaze, and smile softly. “You know it.”

Blushing slightly, Twilight focuses on your destination in the distance and begins a slow trot toward it. You follow alongside her, walking so close that your bodies occasionally touch.

She doesn’t seem to mind.

Proceed to Chapter 39.

“You do look cold,” you remark to Twilight.

She continues to shiver and nods.

“Do you need me to get you some more hot chocolate?”

“N-no, I’m fine, I promise,” she reassures you, shooting you a slightly-pained smile.

“It’s no trouble, really.”

“I’m sure,” Twilight nods, pulling her blanket closer to her.

You begin looking around the room, daydreaming about the project that you’re about to attack with Twilight at your side. After a few minutes, Twilight’s shivering subsides.

When you arrive at your destination, you and Twilight gather your things with palpable excitement and prepare to meet your next challenge.

Twilight heads out of your cabin door first, and you follow. Pausing in the train cars’ hallway, you look back and scan the room to make sure that you haven’t forgotten anything that might be important to your project.

Aside from Twilight’s emptied cup, the room is empty. As your eyes scan upward, however, you notice that the window is cracked open slightly.

“Hmm,” you comment to yourself, turning to exit the train and regroup with Twilight. “Odd.”

Proceed to Chapter 40.

After a few hours of prep work, you are convinced you are ready.

You turn the corner and head down a long, shadowy corridor formed between two crystal bookshelves. You walk confidently but slowly, with purpose.

Twilight Sparkle picks her head up after carefully reshelving a book. She carefully readjusts her pair of cute glasses, her tail swishing back and forth under her mid-length skirt in tender excitement at your approach.

“Miss Circulation, how are you this fine evening?” you ask before she can greet you.

Twilight curtsies carefully. “Lord Literacy, thank you for gracing me with your presence.” You notice Twilight biting her lip, unable to control her smile at the silly situation. “I am very well; how is your lordship?”

“Oh, fine,” you muse, absentmindedly drawing a hoof over the bindings of a row of books as you continue to draw closer to her. “You have done such an excellent job managing the personal library here at my estate. You must tell me how you do it.”

“Oh, i-it’s nothing, really. I have developed my own organizational system, but I wouldn’t wish to bother you with it, sir.”

“As you wish,” you say, drawing to a stop inches away from Twilight. You place a hoof under her chin and apply light upward pressure, causing her to look upward into your eyes. “My my, you aren’t just competent, but so pretty as well. Remind me again how I was able to hire someone so...qualified to be my personal librarian?”

Twilight bites her lip again in suppression of what appears to be a snort, but her face begins to blush a light red. “When I heard that the most handsome and mysterious landowner in late modern Equestria wanted to interview me for a position, I came straight away!”

“Indeed, and I am quite happy you did. Now, be honest with me Miss Circulation...do you ever get lonely working in this library by yourself?”

Twilight sighs and paws at the ground. “I can be lonely...But, only sometimes sir! I chose to work alongside these books, and they can be great company.”

You take two steps forward toward Twilight, and she takes a shaky one backward. “That is too bad to hear.” Swinging your body around toward the center of the pathway, you step forward again, casing Twilight to butt against the bookshelf on the left of the aisle. “Would you like some company?”

You can feel your own heart rate increase as Twilight’s breath washes over your muzzle. “C-company? What do you mean, sir?”

You lean forward, placing a reassuring hoof on Twilight’s withers. “I feel I have been such a poor boss, leaving you alone, here.” Placing your other hoof on her barrel, you push Twilight upwards such that she is standing on her back hooves alone with her back pressed gently but tightly against the bookshelf.

Twilight lets out a little gasp of surprise. “S-sir...I am nothing but a peasant!”

“Oh, you are so much more to me…” you purr into her ear, using your forehooves to pin hers against the rows of reference books. “I know how perfect you are. I want to spend my time with you.” Pulling your head back, you stare intensely into Twilight’s overwhelmed gaze.

“K-kiss me,” she chokes, her breathing heavy and rapid.

“Miss Circulation, I do not appreciate such audacity,” you scold, pulling your muzzle away as she leans forward. “Remember your place.”

“Please kiss me,” she begs. The blush across her face lies as thick as paint.

“A mere pleasantry won’t make things any better,” you tsk down at her.

Twilight lets out another little gasp stomps one of her back hooves in frustration. “Kiss me now! The practice scene is over!”

You are hit with a wave of sudden understanding, and your heart leaps upward in your chest. “Oh.”

Twilight manages to worm a forehoof out from under one of yours and wrap it around your neck just as you press forward to kiss her. Your lips make contact with each other’s; Twilight’s are warm and inviting, and almost immediately you both part lips in order to lock the kiss more tightly.

Twilight’s breathes slow and she presses her barrel against yours as you both part and re-lock your lips multiple times. Carefully, you wrap a hoof around her back, just above her tail, and hug her close to you.

As you continue to smooch, you notice too late that you are leaning over slightly. Attempting to steady yourself with a free hoof, you end up falling over while still holding onto Twilight, causing an entire row of heavy, long books to fall on you both. After another few moments of kissing, Twilight breaks the kiss with a wet smack and looks up at you with a broad smile. You can only smile back as her warm, pleasant exhalations pass over your muzzle.

“That was a good practice scene,” you note matter of factly.

“I, for one, think we need more practice. For research, of course,” she whispers with a grin, blushing and humming softly as she pulls you into a slower, sweeter kiss.

GREAT ENDING 1

Stopping outside of the door, you go over your character’s backstory in your head once more. Taking a deep breath, you then open the door and stroll into the front parlor.

Twilight lays on a thick plush rug by the fireplace. Her mane is done up intricately in an ornate, feathered chignon, and she looks up as you enter, sending her long, bejeweled earrings swaying to and fro.

“I am so sorry to intrude, Lady Libro,” you begin. “I was hoping you would be able to direct me to wherever Lord Bücher is at this time?”

Twilight quickly straightens out a crease in her complicated, lacy dress, but doesn’t rise to her hooves. “My uncle isn’t here, unfortunately. He was on his way back from a meeting with the Tzarina, but I received a telegram that the train tracks outside of Celestrograd have left him snowed in. He shan’t be here until at least tomorrow; you’ll have to conduct your business with him then, I am afraid.”

You bow slightly. “Thank you for your time, Lady Libro. I shall take my leave until then.”

“Wait!” Twilight calls before you can turn to leave. “Lord Literacy, i-it has been so long since I have seen you, and the cold outside is quite biting. Would you like to sit and speak for just a while?” Gesturing with a spreading motion, she indicates an ottoman on the rug nearby. “I should hate to send you out into a blizzard without at least greeting you properly.”

“If you insist, dear.” You march dutifully over to Twilight, opting to sit on the carpet like Twilight and merely lean back against the Ottoman.

There you sit for a few minutes, basking in the warm glow of the nearby fire. The scent of pine wafts over you in waves every time the wood crackles. Surreptitiously, you cast a few gazes over at Twilight, and it appears she is occasionally doing the same.

You clear your throat. “Forgive me for being blunt, but I feel as if you might not be at your happiest here,” you express, your voice tinged with concern. “Is that so?”

Twilight lets out a little puff of air, as if surprised. “Wh-what do you mean, milord?”

“You are always so happy to see me, and despite being surrounded with all the luxury nobility has to offer, I always see you enjoying the simpler pleasures available to you.”

Twilight dips her head. “I must admit, I grow quite weary of the bickering around the capital, the murmurs of revolution, the far-off war...It all seems false at the best, and destructive at the worst. I try to take refuge in the things I care about.”

“Like your friendship with your cousin?”

Twilight nods emphatically. “Yes, Diary’s studies are proceeding well! Or at least she tells me in her letters. It...It is hard to know that the Gymnasium she attends is so far away.”

Sighing, you lower yourself from a sitting position to one lying on your stomach, mirroring Twilight’s posture. “I know how important friendship is to you. Are you lonely?”

Twilight lets out a mournful groan, fidgeting uncomfortably. “I...I can be. Despite all the contact I have with ponies, and even my close friends, being restrained by noble etiquette, and my responsibilities…”

“I don’t know exactly what that feels like,” you tell her, speaking earnestly. “...Why did you insist that I stay?”

Twilight bites her lip and looks down at the ground, the tips of her ears and her cheeks blushing very faintly. “I asked you to because when you’re with me, I don’t feel lonely, and I don’t worry.” Looking into your eyes, Twilight smiles softly, the curve of her lips filled with vulnerability.

You lean in slightly, leaving the tip of your muzzle a few scant inches from hers. “D-does it make you happy to be around me, T-Twilight?”

“Mmmhmmm,” she hums in affirmation, leaning forward slightly herself.

The charade having fallen off your little play, you and Twilight allow your eyes to slowly flutter shut. The kiss, when it comes, is a quiet thing; one moment you are apart, and then you are together. Letting your mind slowly come to grips with what is happening, you savor the soft, ghost-like feeling of Twilight’s lips upon yours, along with the soft warmth still radiating around you both from the fire.

Breaking the kiss just slightly, you press the top of your muzzle against Twilight’s, looking into her eyes and reflecting her soft, contented smile.

“Hey, Twilight,” Starlight Glimmer calls, walking into the room. “I’ve got some-”

You and Twilight both whip your heads around to face Starlight. Your expression is a mix of shock and embarrassment, but whatever is on Twilight’s face appears to frighten the interloper.

“Neeeevermind, I’ll leave you to it,” Starlight quickly tacks onto her entry, backing out and closing the door without even bothering to turn around.

Twilight lets out an angsty sigh, the same one that she lets loose when she feels overworked. “Great, now I have to explain everything to Starlight.”

You chuckle. “Is that so bad?” you ask, pressing your lips to Twilight’s fuzzy cheek.

“I guess not,” she relents. “Things will be a little less lonely with you around.”

“Won’t you move with me to my country dacha, Lady Libro?” you ask, punctuating the sentence with a series of kisses up her hoof and foreleg. “It will get you away from the dreaded capital for a season.”

“I have a better idea, Lord Literacy.” Leaning in slowly and rotating her neck, Twilight lays a wet kiss on your neck. “I own a castle,” she whispers into your ear.

You can’t see her face, but you can sure feel her smile.

GREAT ENDING 2

As you hear Twilight fumble with the front door, you begin to panic. “She’s here! She’s here!”

“Calm down!” Spike shushes you calmly but firmly. “Everything is set up, you’ll do fine. Now, go!” He pushes you through the double doors leading out to the main hall.

“Oh, hello!” you hear Twilight call.

Your entire body tenses up in response, with even the hairs on your tail standing on end. Forcing a smile, you turn to greet Twilight. “Oh...h-hey, Twilight. Welcome home!”

“Thank you. What are you doing on the ground floor? Are you still working?”

“Actually,” you demure, scratching the back of your head with a hoof. “I, uh, have a bit of a surprise for you.” Stepping aside, you motion down the hall to the half-visible table in the next room. “I, uh, made you dinner with the plants we grew together.”

Twilight blinks a few times before putting a hoof to her chest. “You did?”

You nod silently.

Another moment passes before Twilight smiles at you. “That’s so sweet. Why did you do that?”

“I-I’m leaving soon, and I just wanted to do something special for you before I left. After all, you’ve done so much for me.”

Twilight remains silent and begins walking into the dining room.

You follow close behind, your heart beating quickly in anticipation of her reaction.

She stops and surveys the table for a few moments. It appears that Spike has added a few lit candles and a bottle of wine to the center of the table when you weren’t looking, and the nervous lump in your throat grows even larger.

“How did you know that I liked merlot?” she asks. “I don’t drink very often, but I think this is a special occasion!”

You let out a cathartic breath and flash a toothy grin at Twilight.

Proceed to Chapter 53.

“No. No, no, no, absolutely not, get out please,” you say, pushing Spike out of the kitchen rather haphazardly with a hoof.

“Alright,” he calls back, “but don’t say I didn’t warn ya, and don’t come crawling back!”

You press your back against the doors to the kitchen to prevent any attempt by Spike to reenter. None comes.

Sighing, you steel yourself for the task ahead.

You’re nervously sitting at the dining room table, silently judging the respectable-yet-mediocre meal you had prepared without Spike’s help, when Twilight walks into the castle.

Scurrying up, you accidentally knock over your chair on the way to greet Twilight. “Twilight! Twilight Twilight Twilight!”

Twilight appears slightly rattled by your sudden appearance but appears to shrug it off quickly. “Yes, what is it?”

“I...I know I’m leaving soon and I wanted to do something to thank you, so I cooked you some dinner with the plants you’ve helped me grow.”

“Aw,” Twilight sighs happily. “How thoughtful! Let’s sit and eat now, I’m starving.”

“Sure!” you exclaim, hurrying down the hallway to the dining room. You turn the corner and leave the entryway open for her, excited to hear her first thoughts on the food.

“Oh, wow, look at all of this!” she exclaims in subdued awe. “Fruit salad, some cabbage rolls, a…” Twilight’s breath seems to catch in her throat briefly, and she clears her throat before she continues. “...Is that a quesadilla?”

“With lettuce,” you state proudly. “I had to buy the cheese, obviously, but the flour is home-ground!”

Twilight shivers slightly.

Your heart drops in your chest. “Is everything alright?”

Forcing a smile, Twilight nods vigorously. “Oh yes! E-everything is fine.”

“Okay,” you remark mostly to yourself, shrugging off the strange interlude. “Please, have a seat and let’s get started!”

Proceed to Chapter 54.

“I grew you these,” you say, suddenly breaking the silence. You take the flowers out from behind your back and present them fastidiously to Twilight.

She blinks a few times, seemingly surprised by the presence of the bouquet in front of her.

“I needed to do something to show you how grateful I am to...have known you,” you explain to her. “Go on, take it.”

Smiling broadly, she does just that, rotating the color-coordinated flowers around in her magic. “Thank you, they’re beautiful.”

You meet her gaze and smile a deep smile at her, wondering whether or not you should call her beautiful in turn.

Before you can make your decision, Twilight leans in and plants a deep kiss on your cheek. She hums softly into your cheek before pulling away and placing her forehead against yours. Closing her eyes, she grins broadly and wraps a hoof around your neck in a hug. “Please come back and visit sometime soon.”

The faint wet sensation on your cheek means that your smile and answer are shaky with happy embarrassment. “Of course, Twilight. I’ll make sure to.”

Nuzzling you, Twilight then pulls away and shoots you a cheeky grin. “I promise, this time there will be nothing to work on- just time to spend together.” Looking down at her flowers, she sniffs them and bites off one of the flower heads. “These are going right next to my bed!” she exclaims between chews.

Chuckling warmly, you motion to the door. “I should be going.”

“Goodbye, friend,” Twilight wishes, blowing you a kiss. “Please come visit me soon.”

As you ride the train home that night, you think about Princess Twilight. With any luck, maybe she is looking at her bouquet of flowers and thinking of you too.

You can’t wait to see her again.

GOOD ENDING 1

You knock on the door to Twilight’s room in the castle, pausing to wait for a response.

A number of paroxysmal coughs echo from within. Wincing, you put your ear to the door and wait for the hacks to die down. “Twilight? Are you alright?”

“Come in,” she croaks.

Scrunching up your muzzle in empathy, you nudge open her chamber doors and walk inside. Peering slowly into the darkness, you make out the form of Twilight. She’s sitting up but hunched over in her bed, and covers her mouth with a hoof as she lets out another round of barking coughs.

She groans as you approach, clearing her throat. “This is all your fault, you know.”

You shrug. “Yeah, I guess it is. I didn’t mean for you to get sick.” You cast a soft look in her direction as she sneezes. “...We did get some good data for our project though.”

Twilight appears to be miserable as she sniffles heavily and groans. “True. But it’s not fair that I’m the only one that got sick.”’

You scrape a hoof against the floor slowly in survivor’s guilt. “Yeah...Bad luck, sorry.”

Twilight begins shivering, and with her wavering magic she pulls her comforter snugly around her body. Her teeth begin to chatter as she continues to quake in place.

You shake your head empathetically at her. This new strain of flu was very often accompanied with crippling fever and chills, as you knew from your recent field work. “Can I get you anything? Painkillers? Some willow bark tea?”

Twilight weakly shakes her head, her teeth still chattering as she quivers. “N-no, I-I-I already t-took all the pills I’m allowed t-t-to based on the l-label recommendation.”

You shook your head and smiled at Twilight’s behavior. Of course she would follow the medicine recommendations to the label. Still, looking at her pitiful condition, you can’t shake the feeling that you should do something for her.

To climb into bed with Twilight and snuggle her, proceed to Chapter 43.

To get Twilight another blanket at let her be, proceed to Chapter 44.

You knock on the door to ICU room 3 in Ponyville Hospital. Sliding the glass door sideways, you squeeze yourself into the room just as a nurse is leaving. She shoots you a half-hearted smile as she takes off her face mask, carrying some plastic pieces of medical waste with her out of the room.

“Hey there, Twilight,” you speak through your paper mask, your breath washing back over your muzzle as you cringe at your friend’s sorry state. “...How are you holding up?”

Twilight’s eyes flutter open. She looks a mess; her mane is matted and sticking up in all directions, and her normally pristine face is marred by the presence of a nasal cannula for oxygen. “Hey,” she croaks out softly.

Tentatively, you approach the bedside and place a gentle hoof on hers. “I’m sorry that the flu got you. The doctors say you’re doing better though!”

Twilight nods weakly, her eyes fluttering shut briefly as she tries her best to scoot up the bed. She is only able to move a few inches before her eyes flutter open. “The doctors say that I’ll be transferred to a regular room tomorrow.”

“Hey, that’s great,” you say, making note of the EKG leads on her upper barrel and the large bore IV on her opposite foreleg. You gently squeeze her hoof.

“How does the data look?” she asks, managing to put on a weak grin.

You shake your head and chuckle at Twilight. “That’s one set of priorities you’ve got there, Twilight.”

She continues to grin at you, but merely raises an eyebrow in response.

You roll your eyes. “The data looks great. It’s top-tier publishable stuff.”

“Good,” she replies. “Good.” Inhaling deeply, she lets out a set of hacking coughs. “...Now I can die happy.”

You’re pretty sure Twilight can see you smile through your mask. “Oh, hush. I can’t help but feel responsible for you getting sick, Twilight.” In your mind, scenes of Twilight shivering alone in the train car flash threateningly.

“I don’t think you are,” she says, shaking her head reassuringly.

You certainly hope that’s the case.

“Besides,” she continues, winking at you, “Just like I told you, it was all very exciting!”

Proceed to Chapter 45.

You push the doors to the library open with a hoof, careful to balance the pot of fresh coffee on your back as you do so.

“Coffee is served, Twilight,” you call.

“Good!” she declares, not removing her attention from the sheets of paper in front of her. The magic aura around her horn undulates violently as she scribbles incessantly with a quill.

Being careful to keep the pot balanced, you glide across the library to the table where Twilight is seated. Carefully, you slide the new pot onto the table and move the old coffee pot to the far side of the table.

“Come sit,” Twilight says, grabbing the base of your tail and pulling you back into a chair right next to her.

Surprised, you let out a small puff of air on impact but quickly regain your focus. “Alright. How much progress have you made?”

“A lot!” she declares. “That’s why I had you make the new coffee from scratch!”

You furrow your brow as you think through her statement: you had only been gone about 10 minutes. “Wait...what?”

“And we’re already at the beginning of our first love scene!” Twilight declares proudly. “I wanted you here to work on it with me, so it’s perfect timing!”

“Alrighty, so where are we now?” you ask.

“Miss Literacy is up late in the library, working alone, when Lord Literacy enters in a very mysterious fashion.”

You hum softly and wiggle your eyebrows. “Interesting set up you have there.”

“Thank you!”

You scoot your chair over several inches so that you can glower over Twilight’s manuscript with her. “Well, let’s start in a dark corridor between bookshelves.”

Twilight’s ears perk up and her eyes begin to shine with thought. “Compelling subsetting! As we learned, restricted movement is a catalyst for romantic tension.”

“Indeed. Then, he should press forward and kiss her suddenly.”

Twilight’s tail swishes back in forth in excitement, brushing your flank lightly. “Oh, that’s gold!” She writes intensely for a few moments before looking to you. “What next?”

“So, right now we have two ponies working late in the library, drawn to each other by romantic tension, that start kissing.” The pace of your speech slows as you finish your statement. “So, next…”

Twilight is looking at you intently and breathing heavily, her lips slightly parted.

Suddenly, you both lean forward and press your lips together in a warm kiss. Almost instantly, Twilight’s hooves wrap around your neck and she shimmies over into your chair to sit on your lap as you continue your impassioned smooching.

You let your hooves slide up and down the soft coat of Twilight’s back as she presses into the kiss more firmly, humming happily. Your lips soon part in a wet smack.

Twilight’s warm breaths wash over your muscle and overwhelm your senses as she stares intently into your eyes. You look back at her violet irises, thoroughly entranced.

“We’re gonna make a lot of money on this book, aren’t we?” you ask between soft gasps.

“Uh-huh,” Twilight agrees, closing her eyes and closing the distance to kiss you again.

GREAT ENDING 3

For the next several hours, you sit in the cozy castle library under the calming blanket of night working on your novel with Twilight. She composes most of the prose, being quite skilled in the literary arts, but you make sure to give her significant input and reword some key passages.

As things get later and later, the pace of writing slows to a crawl and you spend more time in silence sitting next to Twilight.

“I like this,” Twilight sighs contentedly.

“Hm?” you ask, your brain shocked out of its dazed state.

“I like this,” she repeats softly.

“Like what? Staying up late writing?”

“No. Well, I mean, yes, but I wasn’t talking about that.”

You blink. “What were you talking about, then?”

“Working with you,” she hums. Slowly, she turns her head and casts a shy glance at you.

Smiling demurely, you cast an equally bashful smile back at her, your gaze just as fleeting as hers.

“I-it feels like I’m Lady Libro yearning for the comfort of Lord Literacy; for his affection to take her away from her worries. Except...real.”

Your heartbeat speeds up, and you can feel it radiate up your neck and into your ears. Glancing over again furtively, you notice a thick blush painting her cheeks. Without thinking, you reach over to Twilight with a shaking hoof and place it over hers.

Trembling, Twilight’s own hoof wraps around yours, and she leans over sideways to rest her head on you.

“Y-you’re really special, Twilight, do you know that?” you ask, squeezing her hoof.

She squeezes back.

“It’s been so nice to share the pursuit of knowledge with you, and...become your friend,” you continue. Feeling Twilight’s tears stain your coat, you remove your hoof from hers and wrap it around her body. In response, she buries her face deeper into your coat and wraps one of her wings around your back.

“I-I don’t want to work on the book anymore,” she groans weakly.

“Why not?”

“Because when we’re done with it, you’re going to have to leave.”

Smiling, you lean down and plant a soft kiss on Twilight’s horn. “I don’t have to go anywhere. Especially if this thing makes any money,” you emphasize, tapping your hoof on the book.

Leaning her head up, Twilight plants a quick peck on your lips. “Then we should work really hard tomorrow, b-but not tonight.”

Craning your neck around, you spy the library’s couch only a few feet away. Getting down off of your chair, you shuffle Twilight onto your back as best as you can. Her hooves wrap tightly around your neck as you carry her over to the couch and lay her down gently. Clambering onto the couch, you wrap a hoof around her.

Twilight kisses you again, a little longer this time. “Thank you. I know I’m being silly.”

“Well, I promise that when we’re finished with this book, you’ll have plenty more time to be silly around me.”

You and Twilight cuddle for a few more minutes until you fall asleep; a well-deserved rest before the beginning of a bright future.

GREAT ENDING 4

Your heart moved by Twilight’s state, you commit yourself to a valiant act of self-sacrifice for her sake. “Alright, Twilight. I have something that will help, but first, you should really lay down. Sitting up for too long is only going to make things worse.”

“If you say so,” she replies, ending her sentence with a deep sniffle. Carefully, she lowers her body back down to her bed, taking her time. As her head hits her pillow, she releases a sigh of relief. “Ahhh…My sinuses do feel better…”

Approaching the side of Twilight’s bed closest to the door, you lift the covers. For just a moment, you pause out of trepidation, before you remember how happy Twilight was to snuggle on your train ride to the north. Your fears assuaged, you lower your hindquarters to the bed and cautiously wiggle under the covers.

Twilight cranes her neck around to look at you, her eyes open in mild astonishment. “What a-are you doing?” she asks softly, still shivering even as she is surrounded by her bedding.

You scoot over across her silky sheets and wrap a hoof around her midsection. “S-sometimes it helps to have a friend help out when you’re sick. And it’ll be warmer, too, I think.”

Twilight’s lips begin to tremble weakly. “Wh-what about you? You’re going to get sick because of me!”

“I don’t care,” you declare immediately with a force that surprises even you. “It’s my fault that you’re sick in the first place; I could have picked any other project in the world, and I picked this one. So, I’m not going to sit idly by while my friend suffers.”

Twilight gasps softly and her mouth quivers even more forcefully. Shimmying over, she presses her back into you and rolls her neck back to rest her head under your chin. “H-hold me,” she sniffles. This time, it doesn’t sound like congestion is the cause.

Adapting casually to the new change, you press your barrel gently into the soft coat of Twilight’s back and the fluffy feathers of her wings. Squeezing her soft midsection against you with a hoof, you bury your muzzle into her disheveled, oily mane. Unimpacted by the vanity of scented shampoo and permeated through with the natural oil and dampness that comes with being bedridden, you find you enjoy her smell. In fact, you are enraptured with it. Twilight’s smell- her scent- is intoxicating, filling you up and putting your heart at ease all at once.

Relaxing into the cuddle, Twilight adjusts her flanks and lets her tail swish happily over your back hooves. As the minutes pass, she gradually stops shaking and rests comfortably pressed right up against your body.

An overwhelming feeling of affection stirs in your chest, and you can’t help but lean over to plant a kiss on Twilight’s cheek.

As you do, her ears perk up.

“I’m sorry for putting you through a week of the flu,” you apologize earnestly. “Y-you’re very special to me, and it hurts me to see you suffering and know it’s my fault.”

Rotating her body around in your grip, Twilight rubs her barrel against yours and throws her hooves round your neck. “Well, I’m not sorry that I went to gather data with you up north,” she states in a tone she normally reserves for school lectures and summarizing friendship lessons. “I’m not sorry that you chose such an interesting project, and I’m certainly not sorry that I got to spend so much time with you doing something we both love: learning.” Glancing down bashfully, she whispers one more thought. “And, I-I’m not even sorry I got sick…because it means that I get to snuggle in bed with you.” Having said what she wanted to, Twilight gently buries her muzzle in the fur of your neck.

Your heart flutters as you subconsciously grow a goofy smile and blush timidly. “I-I’m really glad.”

Twilight seems to freeze for just a moment. From where you are situated, you can see what appears to be her eyebrow raise in thought. Then, gently, she snakes her head up to your ear and exhales softly, sending a shiver down your spine. “I have a question…do you mean what you said about not caring if you get sick?” she whispers gently.

You nod solemnly, even though she can’t see it. “You bet I meant it.”

“Good.” Removing one hoof from your neck and placing it on your cheek, Twilight quickly draws back her muzzle and plants a firm, wet kiss on your lips.

Startled at first, you quickly recover and return Twilight’s kiss, savoring the feel of her soft lips. Every few seconds, you elicit just a hint of her taste when her tongue meets yours.

Rolling you over onto your back without breaking the kiss, Twilight hums happily into your mouth and runs a hoof in tight circles over your chest floof. In return, you wrap your hooves around her back and hug her close to your body, the warmth between you seemingly haven driven off any and all of Twilight’s need to shiver.

Finally, Twilight pulls away and courteously releases a quintuplet of deep, racking coughs into the crook of her foreleg. Exhausted, she collapses against your chest and sucks in a deep lungful of air.

With Twilight’s weight resting against you, you stare upwards at the shimmery crystal ceiling of Twilight’s room. “I’m going to get really sick, aren’t I?”

“Yeah,” Twilight concurs. “You are.” You feel her press her nuzzle into your neck and plant a light kiss there. “But it’s okay, because I’ll be there to cuddle you until you’re better.”

You smile.

“After all,” Twilight tacks on, “We still have to write up and submit our paper!”

A month has passed, and Twilight stands silently next to you on the platform of the Ponyville train station. A brief gust of wind pushes past the station, rustling both of your manes, although neither of you otherwise move the slightest.

After another few moments of stillness, you exhale deeply. Looking away from the beautiful natural scenery of Canterlot mountain in the distance, you turn your attention to Twilight. “Thank you so much for everything, Twilight. Really.”

Twilight looks back at you and smiles forlornly. “I mean it when I say the pleasure was all mine. These last few months with you have been the best of my life.”

“You’re just saying that,” you protest.

Twilight shakes her head furiously. “No, I’m not! I’m being serious. I’m going to miss you so much, but this new faculty position at the University of Chicacolt is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! You can do so much to impact the world, save so many lives…when the next flu virus shows up, you could be the hero of Equestria!”

Grinning, you cock an eyebrow at her. “You’re jealous.”

“I am,” she admits, scuffing a hoof on the hard boards of the train station’s loading deck. “But only a little. I know my place is here, with my friends and the School of Friendship.”

The horn of a train sounds in the distance, and immediately you crane your neck around to look down the tracks. The train’s front light is visible, glaring toward you from the distance. You shuffle your saddlebags once, as if doing so would help you get ready to leave.

“I-I guess this is it,” Twilight breathes shakily. “I-it’s not going to be the same around here without you. Y-you’ll let me come visit, won’t you? I can sit in on your office hours, o-or give a seminar for your department!”

The train’s horn sounds again, louder this time.

Your eyes crinkle as you smile widely at Twilight’s precious words. “I’d love nothing more than to see you again soon, and hear that pretty lecturing voice of yours.”

Giggling, Twilight wipes a single tear away. With teary eyes, she gazes at you again, her lips quivering.

The first cars of the train rush past the edge of the platform as it begins to slow down.

“I-I guess this is i-i-it,” Twilight moans, biting her lip and wincing as if in pain.

Is it?

To abandon your new job and stay in Ponyville with Princess Twilight, proceed to Chapter 47.

To leave Twilight in Ponyville and head to your new position, proceed to Chapter 48.

“Stay here, Twilight,” you command. “I’ll get you something.” Scurrying out to the hallway before Twilight has a chance to protest, you rifle through the closet and grab the thickest, warmest blanket you can find. Carrying it back into the room, you halt a few feet from her bed. “I noticed you’re shivering, s-so I brought you this.

Twilight sneezes several times before she wipes her nose with the side of one of her hooves and smiles weakly at you. “Thank you, that’s so sweet.”

Carefully, and with a keen eye to avoiding unnecessary contact with a patient that, legally speaking, should be under quarantine, you gently prod toward the bed and drape the blanket over the mound of comforters already surrounding Twilight.

“Thank you,” she groans, still shivering, albeit somewhat less debilitatingly than before.

“Of course, Twilight,” you coo. “I’m going to go sort through the rest of our data, but just call out if you need anything from me.”

Twilight simply nods, wincing slightly in pain as she does so.

As you exit the room and close the door gently, another round of hacking coughs comes from inside.

Shaking your head, you compulsively wipe your hooves against your coat and trot down the hallway. “I should probably take some Zinc, or something,” you mutter to yourself. “I wonder if Starlight has any in her medicine cabinet…”

Proceed to Chapter 46.

“Well, I suppose this is it, Twilight,” you say, pulling your muzzle out of your saddlebags after one last check. “Thank you again for the opportunity to work under you! I’m glad that our data on the frozen flu was published.”

“I am too,” Twilight nods in concurrence. “I’m sorry we had to leave the north suddenly when I got sick. I can’t shake the feeling that we were really getting close to the source of the outbreak; that would have been a groundbreaking scientific paper!”

“If if’s and but’s were candies and nuts…” you sing-song back to Twilight.

She covers her mouth with a hoof and giggles. “Alright, smartflank, you know what I mean!”

“Even if we missed a big break, it was an honor to work with you regardless, Princess Twilight.”

Twilight nods to you as she opens the front doors of the castle for your exit. “And it was a pleasure to work with you and get to be your friend!”

Marching up to her, you smile and offer your hoof in hope of a hoofshake.

Twilight scoffs and rolls her eyes. “Come on, don’t be like that!” she chides, throwing a hoof around your neck and pulling you into a tight hug.

Closing your eyes, you hug her back.

“Don’t be a stranger, okay?” she whispers. “Come and visit. It’s going to be lonely around here without another genius to talk to.”

In response, you let out a deep chuckle and squeeze Twilight briefly before ending the hug. “Will do. Until we meet again, Twilight.”

As you trot along to the train station, you can’t help but get lost in your thoughts about Twilight. You felt something tug at your heart when she hugged you; do you like her, perhaps? More importantly, does she like you, or does the Princess of Friendship just hug anypony that stays at the castle?

You stare out at the countryside from the train station platform as you ruminate these questions, until her parting words echo through your skull a second time.

Don’t be a stranger, okay? Come and visit. It’s going to be lonely around here without another genius to talk to.

You smile as your train approaches. You’ll be lonely too until you meet Twilight again, but that doesn’t mean you’ll be lonely forever.

OK ENDING 1

“There she is,” you cheer as Twilight clambers slowly down the stairs, a blanket dragging behind her. “Are you feeling better?”

“Not particularly,” she sniffs. “But I had to get up and do something or I was going to go crazy upstairs.”

“Oh, I’ve seen that enough,” Spike calls from the other side of the library as he shelves books. “Glad you came down before you blew up the castle, Twilight.”

Twilight narrows her eyes and glares across the library at her assistant. “Spike, why don’t you take the rest of the day off?”

Your ear flicks at the amount of edge in her tone, and flicks again as you hear a pile of books slam into the floor and Spike’s feet clomping quickly across the crystal floor on his way to freedom.

Twilight approaches the couch. You scoot over to give her some room, and she plops herself down unceremoniously, letting out a groan as she pulls her blanket tightly against her.

“How’s the paper?” she asks weakly.

“The writing has been coming along smoothly,” you respond optimistically. “I’ve also given some thought about where to submit it. I need just a couple more hours and I think it’ll be ready for you to review!”

Twilight glares stoically forward, snorting once as if to combat her congestion. “Can we date?”

You blink a few times and scrunch up your muzzle. “Wh-what was that, Princess?”

“I think I like you,” she explains raspily, craning her neck so she can face you. “Can we date?”

For a few seconds, all is silent; you can only hear your own heartbeat. Then, out of a sudden compulsion, you speak.

“YES, ABSOLUTELY!” you crow, immediately slapping a hoof over your mouth in embarrassment.

“Heeey, great,” Twilight slurs, settling into a more comfortable position. “That’s good news. You’re smart and cuddling on the train felt...right.”

“...I’d cuddle you now, it’s just-”

Twilight flaps a hoof dismissively at you. “Yeah, yeah, I get it, I’m sick.”

You cock a brow as you watch Twilight stare at the ceiling. “And this is for real? This isn’t some sort of febrile delirium?”

Twilight’s eyes widen suddenly and she blinks a few times before her eyelids droop again. “Uhhh, maybe it’s a little bit of delirium. But, I still mean it. When we get this paper published, I want you to stay in Ponyville. You can teach at the School of Friendship while I help you look for a better job. You’ll be an adjunct professor.” Letting her head flop to the side so she can look at you again, she smiles warmly.

You blink a few more times and smile back. “That sounds like a deal, Your Highness. I-I mean, Twilight.”

“No, ‘Your Highness’ works just fine now that we’re together,” she muses, turning her head to look back up at the ceiling. “Juuuuuuust fine.”

You smile a toothy grin at her silly ponderings before turning your attention back to your manuscript. After completing another paragraph, the magnitude of what had just occurred suddenly dawns on you. Dropping your quill, you whip around to look at Twilight.

She is fast asleep, her ailment causing her to wheeze slightly when she exhales.

You furrow your brow and look back to your paper. “Did I just...win?” you whisper to yourself. “Is this what finding true love feels like?”

You gaze back at Twilight, then toward your paper once more. Then you complete the cycle again. Then again.

“Maybe I need true love’s kiss to find out,” you consider, scratching the underside of your muzzle with a hoof.

That, however, could wait until Twilight was feeling better...and hopefully, no longer contagious.

GOOD ENDING 2

“I’m not going, Twilight.”

A metallic screeching echoes around you as the train finally comes to a halt. The doors open and a few ponies begin to exit.

Twilight wipes her eyes with a hoof. “W-what?”

“I’m not going.”

Twilight blinks a few times and bites her lip. “D-don’t be silly, of course you are.”

“No, I’m not,” you repeat, stomping your hoof slightly on the wooden boards to accentuate your point. “Spending all this time with you...It’s the first time I’ve felt really alive.”

“Y-you have to go,” she protests, tears starting to fall from her eyes again. “You can help all of Equestria!”

Ponies begin to board the train.

“I can do that here, with you,” you tell her, placing a hoof on her cheek.

“Y-you already bought your ticket!” she offers as a last bit of resistance.

Reaching into your saddlebag, you pull out your cheap ticket and rip it in half with your teeth, spitting out the halves onto the platform. “Oops.”

“Last call for Chicacolt by way of Canterlot!” the conductor calls, two sharp whistles of the train’s horn following soon after.

Twilight’s eyes shimmer with tears, her lips quivering violently as she looks up at you.

“If you don’t want me here, I’ll leave on the next train. But, I don’t want to leave if you’ll let me stay. I never want to leave.”

Twilight practically sprints forward into you, throwing her forelegs around your neck. “I love you!” she sobs loudly into your coat.

Leaning forward into her, you wrap a hoof around her neck and pat her gently as she continues to cry into your neck. Slowly, the train begins to pull away. You close your eyes and listen to the clicks and horns of the train get quieter and quieter, and Twilight’s sobbing get louder and louder.

Opening your eyes again, you look down at Twilight and nuzzle the top of her head.

In response, lifts her head to stare into your eyes. “Why? W-why did you throw your whole future away to stay in a little town with a princess half of Equestria doesn’t even care about? Why are you acting so stupid?”

She doesn’t look mad, although through all the tears it’s difficult to tell for sure. Her ears, however, are plastered back against her head, a telltale sign that Twilight is ravenous for answers to a research question.

You lean forward and draw Twilight into a slow, warm kiss. Breaking it after a few seconds, you wipe the tears from her eyes with a hoof and offer her a fond smile, which she returns quickly. “Because, Twilight,” you offer quietly, “I love you too.”

PERFECT ENDING

You purse your lips as you try to contain your own emotions. “I-I guess it is.”

Twilight leans forward so that she can hug you. “You won’t forget about me, will you?”

The train lets out a screech as it halts and the doors open.

“Of course not, Twilight. Thank you, for everything.” You lay a soft kiss on her cheek.

“I deserve more than that,” she protests, standing on the tips of her hooves to give you a kiss on the lips, which you happily return.

Breaking the kiss, Twilight falls back to her hooves. “Goodbye.”

“I’ve never liked that parting wish,” you muse. “What about ‘Until we meet again’?”

Several tears wash down Twilight’s face, and she nods emphatically at your suggestion.

Smiling once more at her, you turn and enter the train with your saddlebags. The train is largely empty, and you are able to sit in the same car. Letting your saddlebags fall to the ground between the seats, you take a seat and gaze out the window at the platform as the doors close.

Twilight is still standing on the platform, obviously crying but stoically standing straight and suppressing her sobs regardless. She blows you a kiss.

Placing a hoof on the window to catch it, you then place your hoof against your heart. Using the other hoof, you blow a kiss to Twilight, who returns the gesture as the train begins to move.

Twilight trots after the train until the platform ends, where she stops and waves to you. You wave back at her for as long as you can, stopping only several seconds after you can no longer see her.

Sighing roughly, you collapse into a rather unceremonious posture on the bench. Your heart feels like it’s having palpitations as you think about the mare you love walking home from the station, alone. Life, it seems, has a habit of getting in the way of happiness from time to time.

Scratching your muzzle with a hoof, your thoughts drift to seeing Twilight again. A smile plays at your lips as you imagine her arguing with a roomful of academics after giving a lecture. Maybe she’d let you take her out to dinner, afterward?

You conclude that she would. Life, it seems, has a habit of offering up happiness from time to time.

“Excuse me, sir?”

You look toward the aisle of the train, where a Celestrack employee stands with a metal cart full of various concessions.

“Would you like to purchase a drink?”

Your reply is emphatic. “Yes, I would.”

BITTERSWEET ENDING

Gently, you place a hoof under Twilight Sparkle’s muzzle, lifting her head so that you can stare into her eyes. After another moment, you close your eyes and lean forward, pulling Twilight into a gentle kiss.

She kisses back, and after a few cycles of locking lips you pull away and press your forehead against Twilight.

You both stand on the porch, eyes closed and resting against each other, as the cool night air flows past you both. The rustling of grass and the distant sounds of the party are all that can be heard.

A minute or so later, Twilight lets out a little whine, and your eyes flutter open to look into hers.

“I don’t want you to leave,” she coos forlornly, wrapping a hoof around your neck.
Pinkie Pie lets out a scream from inside the castle, which is followed by uproarious laughter from the party’s other attendees. Both you and Twilight whip your heads in that direction, surprised by the sound.

After a second of mentally analyzing the noise, you chuckle and wrap a hoof around Twilight’s neck. “I don’t want to leave, either. Maybe, I don’t have to. But I don’t think we should worry about that now.”

Twilight bites her lip. “B-but I’m going to keep worrying! I don’t want to lose you, and if you want to stay in Ponyville I’m going to have to find something for you to do! What do I tell my friends? And Princess Celestia!? I-”

You silence Twilight with a kiss to her soft lips. “Twilight,” you soothe, “It can all wait until later. I promise.”

Twilight’s eyes flash with fear for a moment, but then she closes her eyes and inhales deeply, bringing a hoof to her chest as she does so. Exhaling, she slowly extends the hoof outward before opening her eyes and smiling at you. “Okay.”

“Good,” you reassure her warmly. “Now, should we get back to the party?”

Twilight nods, and you walk back into the castle with her side-by-side, ready to rejoin the merrimaking.

GOOD ENDING 3

Reaching out with a shaking hoof. You pat Twilight on her head in a reassuring fashion. “I’m going to miss you too, Twilight. I’m sorry we couldn’t spend more time together.”

Twilight rushes forward and throws her hooves around your neck in a big hug. “I’m sorry too,” she sniffles, squeezing you tightly against her.

Humming softly to soothe Twilight’s nerves, you stroke her mane gently. You stay like that for several minutes, savoring each others’ warmth.

You notice a tingling in your chest, but choose to ignore it. Slowly, you draw away from Twilight so you can look into her eyes. “Let’s just enjoy the time we have left together, okay?”

Twilight frowns, but nods solemnly. “Okay,” she relents, a smile full of melancholy spreading over her muzzle. “Let’s do that.”

Offering her your hoof, you walk her back into the party.

SAD ENDING

“Truth, I guess.”

“Do you like me?” Twilight asks.

“Sure,” you reply.

“No, I mean do you like me?” Twilight presses.

“Oh.” You feel your face heat up as you bite the inside of your cheek and contemplate how you want to answer her question. “I think that...you have some qualities that, really…”

Twilight’s smirk grows more confident as you continue to fumble along in your response.

“...Yeah.” You look down at the booth between your hind legs in shame as you relent and simply tell the truth without embellishment. “I do.”

Your ears perk up as Twilight’s flank comes into contact with yours; she has slid herself around the table to sit right next to you, leaning into you slightly.

You look up and over at her, to see her smiling up warmly at you. “Well, since I already asked my question, the rules state I can’t ask another before your turn comes again. But, rest assured that I’ll be asking you what you like about me.”

Some stress is lifted off of you as she speaks. Obviously, Twilight isn’t mad. It almost looks like she’s...happy?

“I’ll take truth,” she says confidently.

You know what you have to ask.

Steeling your nerves, you exhale strongly, shivering as you do so. “Do you like me?” you ask the Princess of Friendship.

Immediately, you feel her wing unravel and slide behind your back and the booth. The individual feathers are soft and silky, and leave teasing, tingly trails across your coat. Then, Twilight contracts her wing, pressing your side against hers with a surprisingly firm force and leaving her fluffy wingtips pressed against your belly.

“Well…” she begins, grabbing one of your hooves to hold it against her barrel. A teasing grin and a cocked eyebrow take over her face before she continues. “I think you have some qualities that really…”

A quivering smile spreads across your face.

“...Yeah, I do,” she finishes, reaching out to boop your muzzle with a free hoof. “Truth or dare?”

“Dare,” you respond, knowing that if she asked you why you liked her, you’d embarrass yourself with how long and vulnerable your list would be.

She leans up to place her muzzle against you ear, and whispers her dare into it. “Ask me out to dinner tonight.”

GREAT ENDING 5

“Dare,” you respond confidently. If Twilight asks for her drink back, you have an objection prepared based on the commonly accepted rules of the game.

When dealing with Twilight, you have learned, one must always have a well-prepared legal case at hoof.

“Okay, kiss me,” Twilight challenges.

Your heart feels like it has stopped in your chest. “I...I’m sorry?”

“Kiss me,” Twilight repeats. She isn’t betraying an ounce of nervousness in her appearance or behavior, which means either that the alcohol has steeled her normally frayed nerves and chronic anxiety, or she has successfully contained her meltdown inside of her own mind.

Thankfully, you can feel your heartbeat again after a few seconds. “L-like on the cheek?”

“No, not on the cheek, on the lips,” Twilight explains, crossing her hooves on the table.

“B-but you didn’t specify where I-”

“In Equestrian Entertainment Writer’s Society v. Princess Celestia, the royal court dictated that where terms are not explicitly defined in a legal document or oral agreement before contractual use, the definition of such terms shall be based on the ‘reasonable pony’ standard. Any reasonable pony would have concluded I meant the lips by my tone and the general common use of the term kiss.” After finishing her eloquently delivered argument, Twilight purses her lips and cocks an eyebrow at you, seemingly awaiting your objections.

You blink several times. Twilight’s knowledge of legal precedent was not surprising, but it seems that she has prepared explicitly for this exact scenario. Does that mean she...planned this? “Oh...Okay,” you sputter out, not able to come up with anything else.

“Great!” Twilight declares, scooting over next to you and looking up at you with just a hint of a nervous smile. A faint blush appears on her cheeks and stains the very tips of her ears.

You part your lips and let out a shaky breath. You lean forward slightly, and Twilight does as well.

Your lips touch softly, and you let out a quiet, reflexive hum.

Twilight does as well. The kiss lasts for about ten more seconds, without much movement or change. However, when you pull away from it, you find that you and Twilight were entangled in a tight hug.

“Wow,” you choke out. Your heart feels as if it’s soaring within the confines of its chest, and a warm tingle spreads throughout your body.

“Wow,” Twilight parrots, blinking a few times before looking away bashfully.

You remain tangled up with Twilight in an embrace. “...Truth or dare?” you ask her.

“Truth.”

“Do you want to kiss like that again?”

Twilight nods softly. “I want to kiss like that every day. F-for a long while, if you’re okay with it.”

“I-I’ll take truth,” you whisper, now running your hoof through the feathers of Twilight’s fluffy wings.

“Are you okay with that?”

You nod. “I’m more than okay with that.”

You and Twilight kiss again, this time compelled not by the rules of any game or the laws of Equestria, but by affection alone.

GREAT ENDING 6

You wipe your mouth with a napkin, removing the last traces of what had probably been the most pleasant dinner of your life. You had spoken with Twilight for almost three hours over your meal, talking about research, laughing at each others’ stories, and even casting the occasional flirtatious comment back and forth.

Underlying the whole evening, however, was the uneasy ghost of your upcoming departure from Ponyville. That was probably why you had both taken almost an hour to work your way through the rich but small chocolate-lavender torte Spike had masterfully crafted.

Clearing your throat, you cast a hopeful gaze toward Twilight. “Did you like the dinner?”

Twilight tilts her head and smiles back at you fondly. “I loved it.”

You open your mouth to say something- anything- to keep the evening from drawing to a close, but Twilight beats you to the punch.

“Oh, would you look at that, we’re all out of wine!” she declares in mock horror. “I’ll fix that!”

Twilight’s horn lights up, and in one quick brush of her magic, she pulls another bottle of wine out of a nearby cabinet and opens it with a corkscrew that had been left on the table. “I think you’ll like this one, it’s a little darker. I was saving it for a special occasion, and I can’t think of a better time!”

Your muzzle scrunches up as you watch the skillful display. You’ve spent so much time working around her in a research setting that you’ve forgotten that Twilight is one of the most powerful magical scholars in Equestria.

Twilight stands up from her chair and grips it in her magical aura as well. She waltzes effortlessly across the room toward you, placing her seat down next to yours as she refills your empty wine glass. “There, now we can talk a little easier.”

You blink a few times before smiling at her. “Great! Thank you for the wine, and, well, just everything else, Twilight.”

Twilight finishes refilling her glass before clinking it against yours. “Thank you!”

You both take a sip of the wine. It’s much more astringent than the last bottle, but also smooth and incredibly pleasing. The hints of dark fruit that waft into your nostrils are a fitting accompaniment to the chocolate cake that still lingers on your tastebuds.

“That is really good,” you muse as you put it down.

Twilight puts her glass down several seconds later, after having downed about half of it in one go. “I know, isn’t it?”

You gaze rather surprised at Twilight’s feat of consumption. “Wow.”

“So,” Twilight begins, biting her lip. “When is our next date going to be?”

Your heart literally skips a beat and you lurch forward about an inch in your seat, floored by her statement. “Uh, what?”

“Well, this is a date, right? Wine and dinner?” Twilight fidgets in her chair uncomfortably. “Do you want to go out on another one?”

Your breath catches in your throat as you spend a second searching for a response.

“U-unless this is a one-off, ‘thanks for everything and goodbye forever’ friend-date,” Twilight begins to worry, all her confidence lost in half a second.

“I want to date you!” you reassure quickly, mentally lambasting yourself for speaking so charmlessly. “I-I just...I…” You look up to gauge Twilight’s reaction.

Her ears are standing at attention and she looks hopeful, all of the sudden.

Relieved, you take a breath and continue. “I didn’t know for sure that you would want to date me...I wanted to thank you with this dinner and spend time with you, and that maybe you would...I dunno.”

“Ask you out?” Twilight asks.

“I guess,” you shrug, biting your lip in embarassment.

Twilight quickly downs the rest of her wine. “Good…” she groans, nodding as she uses her magic to refill her glass. “Good.” Releasing a forceful exhale, she looks into your eyes. “I don’t know if this was a date or not, but I want to take you out on a date. Will you go out with me?”

“Yes!” you cry loudly, again resolving mentally to flagellate yourself in private for your cringe-worthy behavior. “A-and tonight is absolutely a date if you want it to be.”

Smiling widely, Twilight’s wings flare out, almost knocking over the wine bottle. “Yes! Yesyesyesyes!” she cheers to herself before clearing her throat and smiling at you warmly.

You wonder if she’s also mentally assaulting herself. Not that she needs to for being adorable, of course.

She takes another big swig of her wine, which you now recognize she is doing to bolster her courage. “You know,” she breathes, her tail swishing back and forth in her chair, “it’s polite to kiss a mare on the first date if it goes well. Otherwise she’ll worry!”

“Is that so?” you say, leaning forward toward her. “Are you worried, Twilight?”

“I’m so worried,” she whispers back, biting her lip. She leans in toward you too.

You continue to lean foward but stop just before your lips touch. “The next question, however: Do you think I’m a polite pony?”

“I-I dunno, are you?” she asks, continuing to press forward.

“I’m not sure,” you tease, pulling back slightly.

Twilight whines loudly. “Just kiss me already,” she begs.

You and Twilight both lean forward into a kiss, contorted uncomfortably over the wooden armrests of the dining chairs. You each wrap a single hoof around each other’s necks, and Twilight unfurls her soft wings to envelop your midsection as you continue locking lips.

Soon, Twilight flicks her tongue forward to brush against your lips, and then pulls away from the kiss. “You taste like wine and chocolate-lavender cake,” she giggles.

“You do too,” you reply. “It’s really good.”

Smiling at each other, you and Twilight pull each other in for another kissing session, this one involving a deal more tasting than the last one.

This time, Twilight clambers onto your chair to sit on your lap during it, her wings now being free to entirely surround you and press you against her as the mini-makeout continues.

When Twilight pulls away from the kiss, breaking a little strand of saliva shared between you, she smacks her lips. “It was nice for Spike to help you cook the dinner,” she comments in an egregious non sequitur. “That cake still tastes great even after you’ve eaten it.”

Furrowing your brow, you scrunch up your muzzle in slight confusion. “How’d you know he helped?”

Twilight grins proudly. “The dinner was suspiciously catered to my favorite tastes, but the real giveaway was that Spike checked out a book from the library yesterday on pastry-making. That cake was one of the featured recipes; I recognized it as soon as you brought it out.”

None of this alleviates your consternation. “You make Spike actually check out books? He lives here!”

Twilight adopts a stern expression. “If I can’t be trusted to maintain an iron hoof with regards to my circulation records, what sort of librarian would I be?

You shake your head and chuckle. “The best one there is, regardless.”

“Thank you,” Twilight self-congratulates. “So, tomorrow I’ll see about getting your research term extended so that you can stay here in Ponyville. I’ll also make us some reservations at a restaurant in town. In the meantime, though, let’s finish the rest of this wine.”

Twilight is still sitting on your lap, and you look up at her with a calculating expression as you evaluate her offer. “...Can we kiss again afterward?”

“Only if you promise to tell Spike thank you for all his hard work first.”

“You’re welcome,” Spike calls from outside one of the dining room doors.

“SPIKE!” Twilight gasps immediately. “What on earth did I tell you about spying on ponies?”

“I am really disappointed in you, Spike,” Starlight Glimmer’s voice echoes from behind the same door. “Spying on Twilight like that- have you no shame?”

Twilight’s face goes completely red with a hot blush as an angry scowl spreads across her face. “STARLIGHT!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?”

As Twilight clambers off of your lap to go scold her friends, you come to the sobering realization there probably aren’t going to be any more kisses in the works until tomorrow.

EXCELLENT ENDING

The dinner had passed quickly, with only minimal bouts of conversation. Twilight crunches loudly on the burned cookies you made for her as you look on eagerly. Her jaw moves in gigantic circles as she crunches the rock-hard confectionaries.

“How is it?”

“Greeeaat,” she smiles through watery eyes before briefly choking on what appears to be a crumb. “I’m actually going to go and turn in for the evening, though, if you don’t mind...I, uh, I’m not feeling the best.”

Thankfully, by the next day, Twilight had recovered from whatever mysterious ailment had suddenly struck her. When she walks into the dining room the next morning, she greets you merrily. “Good morning!”

“Good morning, Twilight!” you greet in return before taking a big sip of your coffee. “Are you feeling alright?”

“Oh, yes, much better now,” she reassures you before taking a seat in the chair next to you. “Actually, I wanted to thank you so much for making dinner for me last night. I’m sorry I ran off..it really was a nice gesture!”

“I’m glad you thought so,” you exhale, readjusting your position in your chair. “I was a little worried I had offended you.”

Twilight scrunches up her muzzle but shakes her head quickly. “N-no, nothing like that. Anyway, it reminded me how lucky I am to have made a friend like you, and I’m going to really miss you when you leave.”

You smile a sad smile back at Twilight and nod in agreement. “I’ll miss you too, Twilight.”

Twilight reaches over and squeezes your hoof reassuringly. “Let’s enjoy the time you have left here. And, you can always come and visit! But, before that, I have a surprise to thank you for dinner; I had Spike make us breakfast! SPIKE!”

Spike waddles into the room with two thick stacks of buttermilk pancakes, topped with all sorts of fruit, whipped cream, and other goodies. He graciously slides a plate each in front of you and Twilight before sliding out of the room as elegantly as he entered.

Twilight wastes no time in digging into her stack. You, however, are a stallion of culture. Using a knife to take a glob of butter from the plate, you lift the top pancake up in order to butter the second flapjack.

What is staring back at you from the second-highest pancake, however, is a message written in syrup.

I TOLD

YOU SO

CHUMP

“Ah,” you grumble to yourself as you begin to spread the butter across the piping-hot pancake. “What does he know, anyway?”

OK ENDING 3