Fresnel had hoped to catch most of the sundown with Twilight; they were just able to catch the end of the sun coming down over the horizon. The air was just as warm as it had been during the day, though a calm breeze moved the warm air across their snouts. At one point the pollen and air moving across Twilight's nose forced her to sneeze, letting out a loud 'AAH-CHOO!,' which she realized was quite unladylike, but Fresnel didn't seem to notice, he merely said 'Bless you.' He was calm about it; Twilight couldn't tell what Fresnel was thinking, if he was thinking at all. Perhaps, she decided, she was thinking too much about the sneeze.

Fresnel brought her to the Horte Cuisine. She raised her eyebrow.

"Now, I know you come here all the time, but I convinced Horte to arrange something special for us," he insisted, bringing her inside. The restaurant was closing up, with waiter ponies mopping and putting chairs on the tables. The waiters paused to look at them, but not for very long, and returned to their duties. Frensel led them upstairs, to the roof, where a table for two with candles had been set for them.

"Oh, you didn't," Twilight laughed.

"Well, it was all a little rushed. But the Maître'd here is better than the townsponies gives him credit for," he replied.

"A little rushed? Fresnel, this is…perfect!" she declared, standing at the table. From the top of the café, they had a perfect view of the sunset. Fresnel took a spot at the table, as well. Horte came up the stairs.

"Tonight we are serving an onion grass and dandelion soup, then a kelp wrap over Sakura flowers for the entrée, and ending with Ponyville's own Equestria-famous apple Streuselkuchen. The soup should be up within just a few minutes. Would you like some cider?" Horte asked. Twilight knew the waiter fairly well, knew him to take his job seriously, and he loved it when his café looked nice, but this…This was a side of him she'd never seen before. There was a spark in his eye, one that she had never seen in him.

"Yes, I would love some," Twilight told him. Fresnel merely nodded. Horte clopped his hooves on the floor, and another waiter came up with a bottle of cider. Horte produced a pair of glasses (from where, Twilight couldn't tell) and poured for the two of them. Twilight tasted it; it was the best she'd ever had. She didn't even notice that Horte had disappeared.

"Fresnel, you and Horte went all out for this. It's an awful lot for someone you just met," she told him. He smiled.

"It's been a while since I've had the chance to share something special with someone. I didn't even plan to ask you to dinner, I just…Did. It seemed like the right thing to do. I didn't come up with this idea until just a few hours before sunset," he explained. The sky had been a blood red; now it was turning sort of a mixture of blood red, yellow, orange, and purple. With the green of the leaves of the trees, it seemed like all the colors were being shown in Ponyville tonight.

"Really? And what made you choose me to ask to dinner?"

"You seemed like the one who would say yes. I mean, I knew who you were before I came; I had to because of my job. Bookish, private, very smart and very curious. The Mayor told me about your little investigation earlier, you'd got the private eye yourself."

"So you asked because you thought I was compatible?"

"Er, in a way. I was pretty…Private myself just a few years ago. No parents, dedicated to my work. I knew you'd understand. Really, I was just hoping to get to know you better. Make a new friend."

He bit his lip, and glanced at the table.

"I guess I did go a little overboard," he admitted.

"No, no, this is…This is nice. I've never been on a date quite like this before," she assured him. A shooting star passed in the sky as the sun was just starting to disappear over the horizon, the brilliant colors struggling to continue to make their mark in the sky while the stars shined brightly in the clear summer sky.

"Hehehe, it looks like Celestia doesn't want to go to bed," Twilight giggled.

"I wish I could take credit for asking the Princesses for such a magnificent sunset and night, but while I do know a lot of people, I don't know that many," he remarked.

"Celestia is my teacher. I know her very well; she puts a lot of passion into her work. Her sister, too. I take the time to watch the night sky whenever I can."

"I'm a night person, so I always get the chance to see what the stars has to bring us."

"Yes, you mentioned that. Do you stay awake at night because of your job?"

"Partly. I've also just been so fascinated by the night, as well. So much superstition and fear about the night, the darkness. I find it enthralling. So much happens at night, and nobody seems to notice. The day is for everyone else, the night is where the answer to the questions are. And I do so love the stars."

Fresnel seemed captivated for a moment by the sky. By now the sun was almost completely gone, the faintest glow still visible while the half-moon shined its smiling face upon Equestria. Twilight decided to send Princess Luna a letter thanking her for such a fantastic night sky. The soup arrived without the waiter saying a word; the only reason they even noticed was the fantastic smell.

"I never thought onion grass and dandelions would go together," Twilight commented, sipping the soup.

"It's one of those weird combinations, like grapes and cheese. Unless you grow up around it, you don't think about it, but once you do, you're hooked. This is the gourmet soup, of course, with actual broth. I've had it with nothing but water, ingredients, and a campfire," Fresnel added.

"Oh, yeah? Where was that? The Everfree forest? Sounds like a brag to me," Twilight challenged.

"Filly Bones Planes. We ran out of supplies, so I had to improvise. Monk liked it. At least he claimed to. He's always wearing a mask," Fresnel didn't seem to react to her tone. Twilight had hoped to catch Fresnel boasting, but she had no way of telling whether or not her was lying, so she assumed that he was telling the truth.

"The Mayor mentioned that you had met her before?"

"Uh huh. Back when she was a campaign manager for the mayor of Fillydelphia, I asked her a few questions about one of her colleagues. It was a pretty ugly case. Not one of my favorites to talk about," he said. Twilight guessed that this was what led the Mayor to describe him as being mercenary in his work. She decided not to press.

"So, tell me, what was it like, going from Canterlot, the castle city upon the mountains, to apple-orchard Ponyville?" Fresnel asked. He didn't think that this would set Twilight onto a long explanation about her adventures since moving to Ponyville-Nightmare Moon, the Parasprites, the Galloping Gala, and so on. They didn't even really notice that they'd gone through the soup, eaten their dinner, and had halfway eaten the dessert by the time she finished telling him stories. Fresnel, himself, didn't really even notice the passage of time; he was busy listening.

"Your friends are really important to you, it sounds like. More than your work, your studies," he observed.

"They're everything to me. What about you? Your friends?" she asked. Fresnel shrugged.

"Monk is my closest friend. Mentor and confidant. I've made some friends along the way. I had a few that I was very close to, but we've grown…Apart."

"Have you tried reconnecting?"

"That's…Probably not going to happen. It's fairly complicated."

"What friendship isn't, Fresnel?"

"That's true. Most of my friends were also students of Monk's, or ponies I went to school with. I was close to the detective who taught me the business. I inherited his dog when he died. Rosa's been my closest friend ever since, but she's an old hound. Blind as a bat, and her hearing isn't great anymore, either, but that sniffer of hers could pick out a raven among crows. As for my other friends…I chose my career over my social life. I hurt a lot of them, and drifted away from the others in doing so."

He shrugged.

"I'd like to fix those bridges. In the meantime, I can make new friends. I've learned a lot since then," he seemed to wander off into his own pensive thoughts.

"So tell me about being a detective," Twilight changed the subject, a twinkle of curiosity in her eye.

Fresnel realized he had finished his cake.

"Maybe some other time perhaps. There's something I want to show you," he told her. Horte came up the stairs, and started taking dishes after accepting Fresnel's coins (which included a very generous tip, Twilight noticed.) Twilight thanked the waiter for going out of his way for them.

"Oh, it was my pleasure. Let me know if you need it arranged again," Horte insisted. Fresnel gave his thanks, and led Twilight on one of the roads headed out of the town.

"So first a fantastic sunset, the best dinner for two I've ever had, now what do you have hidden in that trenchcoat of your, Fresnel Gumhoof? Hm?" Twilight demanded. Fresnel looked over his shoulder and smiled.

"It's about a five minute walk this way," was all he told her. They were headed a little ways out of town; although the moon and stars were clear and bright, it was still dark out. Twilight made sure to stay at Fresnel's side.

"Fresnel, where are we going?" she asked, noticing that they were headed for the mountains near Ponyville.

"We're almost there," he insisted. She was starting to get creeped out by this point. This was unusual, possibly dangerous. Eventually, he stopped.

"Mountains always give the best view of the stars," was all he said, and she looked around. They were standing on a hill, overlooking the rolling plains. There were no buildings, not trees or hills for miles, they could see onto forever. It seemed like they were staring at the entire universe, all at once. Twilight ran all the constellations that she saw in her head.

"If we'd had more time, we might have climbed up one of the mountains for an even better view. But this…This is my day. The sky above me while I'm awake, and the rest of the world is asleep, I need only look up to see art," he said.

Twilight leaned on him, and rubbed her head against his neck.

"Oh, this is perfect, Fresnel," Twilight assured him. The night was still warm, though cooler than it had been. Her eyes were starting to feel heavy, but she didn't even want to blink; she didn't want to miss a moment of this gift he had given her. She didn't know how long they just sat, starting at the stars. However long it was, it certainly wasn't long enough. She didn't quite remember the walk home, only that it was a quiet one. He walked her back to her home, she gave him a kiss goodnight, and before she knew it, she was fast asleep. When she awoke, it was nearing noon, and Spike had returned from his trip.

"Twilight? Are you okay? You look like you pulled another all-nighter," the baby dragon observed as she descended down the stairs. She giggled.

"No, Spike, I was out with a new friend last night. I had the most wonderful time!" Twilight declared, using her magic to brush her hair. There was a knock on the door, and Twilight pranced over to answer; it was Rainbow Dash.

"Hey, Twilight, some weird guy in a trenchcoat asked me to give these to you," Rainbow said, handing her a bag with books in them. Twilight inspected them, and realized they were the books Fresnel had borrowed, plus a note.

"Huh? I don't remember that getting in there…" Rainbow muttered. Twilight read it to herself.

Dear Twilight Sparkle,

I'm sorry to say that I have to leave now; Tommy Peeks is being transferred to Fillydelphia, and I'm not giving him the chance to escape. I wish I could have stayed in Ponyville longer, but while I don't want to sacrifice my friends for my work, this is something I have to do. I hope you understand, and know that I will be back soon. And if not, I'll write.

I had a most wonderful evening with you. I haven't met anyone that gets me to open up like the way I did with you. If there's one mystery I never thought to try and solve, it's myself, and in two nights, you've cracked my case. There's so much more I want to share, and I want to get to know you better. I dearly hope you feel the same.

Next time you look at the stars, and feel the darkness surround you, feel at peace, and think of me; I know I will be thinking of you.

Yours,

Fresnel Gumhoof

Twilight smiled and sighed upon reading the letter. Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow.

"Jeez, Twilight, what's gotten into you?" the Pegasus asked.

"Rainbow Dash, have you ever met someone that you've just…Clicked with?"

"Well, yeah, sure I have. Back at the academy, Gilda and I were such a team! You should have seen us together! She never made fun of me when I crashed. I mean, yeah, she cracked a few jokes, but we were always there for each other at the academy. When we were flying together, it's like we-"

"Knew what the other was thinking," they said at the same time. Twilight sighed; Rainbow Dash was a little weirded out.

"Okay, well, uh, I've got, a, uh, thing. So I'll go and do that. Thing. Catch you later, Twilight!" Dash excused herself. Twilight didn't even notice. She was reading the letter again.

"Twilight, have you been experimenting with the potions again?" Spike asked.

((Reworked and reuploaded for your reading pleasure. Series is not he Magnificient Bronies because I had a better idea than what I had. Be sure to tune in for the new Part 2!))