Night of Admission

>"I'm a pretty pony..."
>"I-I'm a pretty pony..."
>"I am..."
>You had walked past her initially, but stopped when the sound of sniffling caught your attention.
>Twilight was sitting on a park bench, sniffling and crying quietly to herself.
>"A-Am I a pretty pony, Anon?"
"Twilight, what are you doing out here alone for?"
>She sniffled again.
>"Y-you didn't answer me..."
>Her head drooped down, and your heart almost broke.
>You sat on the bench next to her and pulled the mare into a hug, one she obviously desperately needed.
>That did it for her.
>The dam broke, and she began sobbing.
>"I-I-I am a p-p-pretty ponyyyy..."
"You are, Twilight. You are."
>You sat there with her for the next fifteen minutes.
>The mare cried for a while, before settling into distraught hiccups.
>Several other ponies walked past and stared, and you waved them off.
>"Pl-please tell m-me again..." Twilight says, voice still cracking.
"You're a very, very pretty pony, Twilight."
>She latched onto you, using your shirt to dry her tears.
>You continued to sit, letting her do what she needed.
>Not like you couldn't just throw this in the wash anyway.
>Her stomach growled soon after, and you got an idea to cheer the violet unicorn up.
"Hey, would you like to go out with me for dinner?" You asked as nonchalant as you could.
>You heard Twilight's breath catch in her throat.
>"I-I would..."
"Good." You replied simply, with a smile.
>In truth, you were about to go home, but...
>A friend needed you, and you were happy to oblige.
--
>You took her to a modest restaurant roughly half an hour later.
>Not too fancy, but not fast food either.
>As you pulled her chair out for her, she blushed heavily, the red tinge mixing well with her purple coat.
>The two of you ordered salads for appetizers, but different main meals.
>You ordered a meatless lasagna, she ordered a veggie wrap.
>Whatever floated her boat, this was for her.
"So, Twi."
>"Hmm?" She responded, looking up from her food.
>She hadn't taken a bite yet, despite claiming she was hungry on the way over.
"Working on anything new lately?"
>The mare thought for a moment, before shrugging.
>"Not particularly. Just...being boring around my library." Twilight replied with a very, very slight touch of anger.
"Nothing to do with your friends?"
>"They're all out doing things without me." She replied bitterly.
"Like?"
>"Dash and Fluttershy are out catching a bear that's been trampling Applejack's crops."
>"Applejack herself is too busy fixing the damage to spend time with anypony."
>"Rarity is working herself into the ground with orders from some Canterlot hotshot."
"And Pinkie?"
>"Busy with the Cake twins."
>You shook your head in sympathy for the bubblegum pink mare.
"Spike?"
>"Helping Pinkie."
>Twilight still looked depressed, and was only picking at her food.
"Penny for your thoughts?"
>She looked at you, eyebrow quirked in confusion.
"It's an Earth expression. What's on your mind?"
>"I-it's nothing..."
>Time for the direct approach, you guessed.
"Alright. Wanna tell me why you think you're not pretty?"
>She shook her head violently, and the waterworks almost started again.
>"Please...not in public..."
>You reached out and stroked her mane, which calmed her considerably.
>She relaxed into it, even going as far as gently nuzzling your hand...
>Before catching herself and stopping with an embarrassed "Ehehehe..."
>The two of you finished dinner without much more conversation.
>You paid the bill and left a hefty tip.
>You were feeling festive, even if the rest of Ponyville wasn't.
>Tonight was New Years Eve/Day on Earth (you couldn't quite remember), and you had some fireworks set up in your back yard.
>Nothing huge, just some bottle rockets.
>Pinkie had helped you put them together a week ago, practically begging you to tell her why.
>Right now though, Twilight needed attention.
>Low-grade explosives could wait.
>She was leaning against your waist for comfort, sighing occasionally.
>The sun was setting, casting a deep orange glow on the two of you.
>Twilight would occasionally press into your waist, guiding you...somewhere.
>Not your place, and not hers either.
>In fact, you were heading for Ponyville's borders.
"Twi, where are we going?"
>"Somewhere I can relax...if you wanna leave, that's fine..."
"No no, it's fine. Merely curious."
>Damn, hooked on that bait like a trout.
>She more or less guided you to a hilltop just outside town, overlooking both Ponyville and the Everfree.
>"Sweet solitude..." The mare muttered, taking a seat on the grassy knoll.
>You sat down next to her, and she pulled her head into your lap.
>"Tell me again...?"
>You chuckled.
"You're a pretty, pretty pony, Twilight."
>She closed her eyes and, for the first time all night, smiled.
>You spent the next hour with her watching the stars and stroking her mane.
>She really seemed to like that.
"Wanna tell me now?" You asked, keeping up the gentle strokes.
>Twilight's eyebrow furrowed, she was clearly deliberating saying something.
>"W-well..."
>You turned the mane strokes into soft scalp scratches, and her breath hitched in her throat for a brief moment...
>Before relaxation visibly spread across her entire body.
"If you don't want to, you don't have to." You continued, giving the nervous mare an out.
>"I do..."
>She heaved a heavy sigh, putting a hoof to your hand and gently pushing you away.
>"I...overheard some stallions earlier today."
>You looked down and tilted your head.
>"They were going over mares they would...take. Standard male chatting."
>You nodded, knowing full well what she was talking about.
>"When one asked 'Well, what about Sparkle?', the other snorted."
>"'I wouldn't fuck her if she were the last mare on the planet.'" She quoted venomously.
>A bolt of heartache coursed through you.
>You pulled the pony tighter, and she merely sighed.
>"Th-that's why I needed to hear somepony say that...that I was pretty..."
>She then looked at you.
>"May I...ask you something?"
>You arched an eyebrow, grinning lightly.
"You already did, but I'll give you a second one for free."
>She gave an amused snort before looking you dead in the eyes.
>"I...I know this is going to sound...strange, but...would you...?"
>Whatever you were thinking she would ask, it wasn't that.
>You hesitated.
>Twilight began looking around nervously, and without thinking about it any more than you had, you replied.
"Absolutely."
>The bright, ecstatic smile that spread across her face was magical.
>You immediately mentally slapped yourself for that pun.
>She relaxed into your grasp again.
>"Good."
>Twilight was content, but an awkward air had settled around you.
>You just said that you'd 'do the do' with this pony.
>If she had asked you this question ten months ago, your answer would have been a resounded 'Ewww, nooooo."
>Just what had this place done to you over the past year?
>...if you were honest with yourself, nothing bad.
>If anything, you were happier here than anywhere else.
>Mentally sighing, you merely continued your calm ministrations on her scalp.
>The unicorn closed her eyes, breathing slowly right up until she fell asleep, completely content.
>You picked the pony up and carried her home, rolling your eyes at all the staring from passing ponies.
>Not like you were gonna rape her or something.
>...was rape even a thing here?
>Shrugging mentally at the question you couldn't answer, you pushed open her library door and put her to bed.
>You tucked her in and left soon after.
>Spike still wasn't back yet, so you left the door unlocked so the dragon could get in.
>You, meanwhile, went home.
>The bottle rockets could wait for tomorrow night, you were exhausted.
>Your last thought was one for Twilight, hoping that tomorrow would be a better day.