After dinner, they took a stroll around the garden. Twilight pointed out the different kinds of flowers, and Maddock eagerly listened. Although, he wasn't as interested in the flowers as he was in hearing the angelic song pouring from the lips of his beloved princess. Her voice flowed like a gentle stream, and he thought he would be completely satisfied if he could stand there and listen to her speak for the rest of his life.
The moon shone down upon them, and Twilight's coat reflected it. He thought he had never seen a more beautiful sight. This moment...he thought…this is right. So he stopped and turned to Twilight. She smiled at him. "Yes, Maddock? Something wrong?"
He took a deep breath and steadied his nerves. "No, Twilight, nothing's wrong. I just…I asked you out here because I have a confession to make." She raised a curious eyebrow, but gave no response. Her silence spoke volumes and Maddock went on. "Twilight, I…I…I love you," he finally stammered out.
She was a bit stunned at the revelation. For a few seconds she said nothing. She knew that Maddock had feelings for her, but she didn't realize that it was love. She also didn't know how Maddock could possibly attempt to love her, being that they had known each other for a relatively short period of time.
She tried to form words, but they wouldn't come to her. She didn't know whether to be angry with him for being so blunt, or to be impressed that he had built up the courage to share these feelings with her. She didn't want to hurt him, but she also knew her own heart and there was no room in it for him, romantically speaking. They were already good friends. Wasn't that enough?
"Um…see…er…" she stammered and then sighed, "look, Maddock, it's really nice of you to do all of this for me. You really have learned what true friendship is and you exude that. I'm honored and privileged to be able to call you my friend, and my fellow teacher. Unfortunately, I…I just don't feel the same way about you."
Maddock's heart sank. He felt as if the entire world had been placed upon his shoulders, and the burden was crushing him. With Twilight's words, his spirit took a beating that had been worse than any of the number of physical fights he had gotten into back in Canterlot. How? How could a voice so angelic speak words that cut him to the quick like that?
"I don't want to hurt you," the princess went on, "but I'm just not the romantic type of mare. I've never been interested in that kind of thing. Besides, I have an entire school to run, and a kingdom to help rule. I just don't have time for romance. I'm sorry."
She finished and looked at him. He looked as if he were about to cry. He tried to put on a brave face, but it appeared that his facial faculties were beyond his control. He stood there stiff as a statue, and she wondered whether her words had cut him too deeply. Maybe she could give him a chance. No! She scolded herself, be strong. Maddock is your friend, and he's just gonna have to accept your decision.
Meanwhile, Maddock tried to form some kind of a coherent response. But every time he tried moving his lips, he found the relatively simple task quite impossible. Her words had rendered him speechless. The last time he had been rendered to this state had been the day that Luna and Celestia had sent him to Ponyville, many months before. He remembered how he had stood outside their palace, stiff as a board, trying to command his hooves to move. His hooves had rebelliously stayed planted on the marble steps and it took all of his strength just to move one.
But this was much worse. With her words, Twilight had unknowingly distanced herself from Maddock all the more. He already felt semi-alienated from her, due to her princess rank and head mare status. He felt like she was on some kind of a higher plane of existence and he was squandering below her. But at the same time, she was his best friend and she was one of the only ponies to have taken the time to show him that level of care and compassion.
So he gave her a serious look and said, "Twilight, you're my best friend. I cannot imagine my life without you, or any of our other friends, in it. You taught me that it is so much better to live a life with friends than without them, and that life doesn't have to be a hateful experience. You showed me what it truly means to be a friend, and for that, I will be forever grateful. I know it must be…shocking to hear me confess my true feelings for you, but it's true, and they aren't going to change. I accept and respect your decision, but just know that you'll always hold a special place in my heart. Yes, hearing you say that you don't feel the same way about me hurts. It hurts a lot. There's nothing either of us can do about that. So once again, I accept that hurt. But I don't want our friendship to be affected by this."
She put a hoof up to his face and smiled. "Maddock, don't you worry. Nothing could ever affect our friendship." With that, she wrapped him in a warm embrace, which he gladly returned. When they broke apart, he gave her a bit of a sad look. "I'm sorry if I wasted your time with all this," he said.
"No," she quickly replied, "you didn't waste my time at all. As a matter of fact, I rather enjoyed myself this evening. You're a wonderful friend, Maddock. But I feel like where we stand is where we need to be."
He nodded sadly. "Like I said, I respect your decision. But I want you to know that I'm not gonna stop loving you, even if I have to do it from a distance." He finished and smiled at her, confident in the knowledge that, no matter what she or anypony else said, he would stay true to his word. He would continue to love her until the end of his days. Little did they know it, but his word would be put to the test in unimaginable ways in their future. As they parted ways and headed back to their rooms for the night, neither of them could have possibly thought that an evil presence lurked right outside their doorstep. A pony with an agenda and an ice cold heart…
