Double Diamond smiled softly as he matched pace with the lavender mare ,
" I'm happy you could stop by again after the last time we parted . "

Twilights gaze softened in confusion as she gestured to the snowy hillside with her horn where the colt had braved the final fight against Starlight , kicking softly at the packed snow in her most recent hoofprint .
" I don't see why I wouldn't , after all I mean you did save our flanks back there ... "

He drew a low breath struggling to find the words for 'I missed you , I know I don't know you but I love you , I have ached for you for every day you've been gone ... But no that was far to foward , stuck deep in his chest pinned to his aching heart never to make it to his throat without tearing himself apart with it . How do you tell someone you've been aching for them in your core hoping that every door opening had them behind it . It was simply something that couldn't be uttered aloud , so in a moment of bravery he choked out the words , " Well I'm Happy you're back Sparkle ... " His words were drenched in an unspoken tension , his brows furrowed and his breath caught in his lungs , heart racing , it felt like she could see right through his shambled words right into the depths of his ribs and chest .
Her eyes traced him like a skim reader flips through a book she couldn't help but notice the hesitation in those words , What could it mean ??? She was rubbish at deciphering the words between sentences that remained unspoken , so she raked them for any glimpse of meaning she could act upon , but her own hesitation leg her to much the same output as she nervously cleared her throat and sent a blast of fog from her nostrils . The air was so cold it burned her lungs , and at a time like this she wished she had the downy soft hair Double wore with pride , so well groomed yet always ruffled and messy , she wondered what her own hair would be like if she put any time into it at all these days .

" Can't say I'm as fond of the cold as you are . "
She chuckled nervously watching her breath drift away as she spoke .
He gave a low chuckle as his head cocked over leaning closer to The Herald of Friendship , a title that had reached much farther than Equestrias borders . It was strange being in the presence of someone so humbling and having the stature to take a taller stance , she had changed since they last met . Yet not even her horn had outmatched his head after all she was pony through and through and frankly Diamond was half horse , it was the reason he loved the snow so much , his dazzling pale coat was soft as downy and snow seemed to roll off of his fluffy but broad back . Every inch of him was large yet he was so much weaker than her in so many ways , it was shocking , and humbling , but mostly it drew out the differences between them . Differences are so clever are they not ? He had once shunned and feared the differences displayed it was what had drawn him into Starlights hooves in the first place , he was terrified he would always be different and frankly ponies had a history of villainizing differences . It was the reason so few species than ponies were there in the first place , but Twilight had been hard at work changing that , it was something he adored and even found himself jealous of his thoughts of her stretched on like a desert scattered with oases . He wondered if she knew how highly he thought of her , how she made him feel small like a foal , no ... like a pony and he loved that about her most of all , The Princess of Hard work and ponies . Messy hair pulled back into a bun that hadn't been remade in some time , goggles bound to her head like she was ready for anything and a cute blue bandage on her nose from doing who knows what , it was all so meticulously messy but held together so tightly . It felt like the silence had been cut in half the air grew stiff as they locked eyes , they had caught each other staring only to quickly turn away .

" Next time I'll bring an extra scarf , "
He nervously added unwrapping it from his neck and cautiously wrapping it around hers , she looked taken aback at first almost like she didn't understand before her gaze fell again awkwardly .
In all trueness Twilight was tired , her sunken eyes and heavy lids , her wings held so tense and tight she felt so fucking small... Disaster always found her the princess doomed to never rest to never live outside of her duties she had an understanding of how it could drive anypony insane , she was so acutely aware of it she wished she could be as ordinary and simple as Double . The colt who was free to ski all his days never having to bear the burden of the kingdoms weight , she could never say that out loud however . She needed to look , no... to feel strong . She wished she was strong the way he was , large boned yet limber . He was no princess and that was what she liked about him , he was so careless and , free . She felt her wings tensing and flexing as her body caught up with her heads anxiety fidgeting and stimming as they stared at the setting sun and the way it made the snow glitter and the clouds glow .

" You're braver than you think "
She spat teeth gritting in jealousy , He would never understand after all how could he , she was chained to this world by the lives of a thousand , he was chained here by ... huh , she had no idea .

"And you're stronger than you'll ever know . "
He chucked smiling at the rage filled mare , she was the sun and he was a self proclaimed Icarus , ready to ride his chariot into her flames , whether it destroyed him or not , after all she was a dangerous pony to get close to . Yet , he cared so little , every facet of her captured his attention , from her shining hooves to her dulled eyes , she was a masterpiece and he wanted her above his dining room table , not to display but to gaze upon . She deserved to be admired , but not in the way she currently was .

His words cut her deep something she hadn't felt in so long , but most of all she NEEDED to hear that , without even a thought she dove lips first into him as the last inch of sun faded out , she had been living the past few years for everyone else and the praise meant nothing from crowds , everyone worshipped the ground she walked on so praising her for doing her job felt like nothing , but someone so incredibly ordinary saving her , and seeing her as an induvial outside of her position , that praise meant more than anything at that moment , not even she knew how much it meant , and with barely a word spoken they held eachother through the night , he was so ordinary , and she was so special . They were exactly what the other needed and the next morning Doubles Skis and all his other belongings mysteriously found themselves on the morning train to ponyville , and Twilight found her castle that much less empty and quite frankly it would only get fuller from there on out .