[Fortitude] You make a saving throw of 3 (required 10). Failure.

Seeing as you are unlikely to get another opportunity like this for a while, you decide to agree with Moonflower's suggestion, and invite Honourshine to stay the night with you.

Honourshine: "If you're sure..."

Moonflower: "Yay! I'll go to Windcaller's place now so we got more time to play before bed."

You nod, and tell Moonflower to meet you back here in the morning. After sharing a goodnight kiss with you, the bat pony then turns to Honourshine with outstretched legs, and the earth pony allows her a brief hug — much to her delight.

Moonflower: "Heehee... oh! And Blazer, I'll come get'cha in your dream to check out the weird door thingy again."

You nod, and a quick flutter of wings later, you find yourself alone with Honourshine once more. Nudged onward by a cooling breeze and a darkening sky, you begin to walk back home together.

Honourshine: "I wonder what goes on behind those glowing eyes of hers."

You grin, and remark that she and Moonflower seem to be getting along well enough.

Honourshine: "Perhaps we are, but I find her difficult to read. Hopefully she doesn't feel that I am stealing you away from her."

You shake your head, and reassure her that the young bat pony always speaks the honest truth. Shamelessly so, at times.

Honourshine: "Hm... I suppose you're right."

Before long, you arrive at your house, and take shelter from the coming night. Once inside, you welcome Honourshine to her home for the night, and ask her if there's anything she needs.

Honourshine: "Thanks, Blaze. Before we do anything else, I could go for a nice, warm bath."

You nod, and enter the wet room to prepare the bath. As water begins to fill the tub, you turn to Honourshine, and playfully ask if you can join her.

Honourshine: "I don't see why not. And we can help each other, just like old times."

You smile at the thought, and as Honourshine begins to undress, you do the same.

You unequip Star Hairpin.

You place your accessories in a nearby basket, then watch your foalhood friend carefully put away her glasses, and untie her hair. You look at her long, flowing locks; her soft, golden coat; her shimmering jade eyes... Suddenly, you realize that you've been caught staring. Then, her gaze drifts downward, and your eyes widen with her smirk. Uh oh.

Honourshine: "Cute, but not the kind of help I had in mind."

For the first time in years, you feel the sting of embarrassment strike through your heart. You stammer out that you didn't mean to — that you don't have full control over it —, but Honourshine simply responds with a chuckle before testing the steaming waters with a hoof.

Honourshine: "Hot, but not too hot. You coming?"

You nod, and stiffly join your foalhood friend in the bath. A few long awkward seconds of staring ahead later, you hear that amused sigh of hers. Then, her soapy hooves begin to rub against your coat... just like old times.

Honourshine: "You know, I don't mind if it's you, Blaze."

You nod again. You do know, but hearing it makes you feel better nonetheless. Then, as you let her wash your body, a feeling you had almost forgotten resurfaces: a strangely platonic intimacy.

Though she handles your every part with gentle thoroughness, and with a loving smile on her muzzle, there is a distinct lack of sensuality about it... yet you can't figure out why, or how she does it. But somehow, it feels just right.

Honourshine: "Here. All clean, Prince Charming. And thanks for the anatomy lesson, I suppose."

You grin sheepishly, and with soap and brush in hoof, you start washing her in turn. You teasingly ask if she secretly skipped her biology homework back then.

Honourshine: "No, but I only ever studied the theoretical part of it."

Touché. You continue to wash her coat and hair in comfortable silence until you are both clean from head to hoof. Then, you sit back against the edge of the tub, and enjoy the rest of your bath together. Thankfully, your body eventually begins to relax as well.

Honourshine: "Mmh... fine, I'll say it. I've missed you, Blaze."

You tell Honourshine that you've missed her, too, and that you'll have to come up with a nickname for her as well. Thinking back to this afternoon, you playfully suggest "little sister." At that, she turns to give you a radiant smile, pure and sincere.

Honourshine: "You're such a dunce."

You come out of the wet room feeling soft as a cloud, and slowly drift up to the bedroom. After cuddling up warmly on the cozy bed sheets, you consider what to do next, and ask Honourshine if she would like to help you with your magic studies.

Honourshine: "I can certainly try."

You thank her for the company, then pull the Spellcasting 101 book out of your sidereal bag. After opening it on the bed in front of you, you huddle together, and begin to read...

The book opens by introducing the concept of unicorn level, a measure of a unicorn's spellcasting ability based on magic aptitude, the number of spells memorized, and the complexity (or level) of those spells.

It explains that while some unicorns are magically gifted — that is, capable of learning spells from one magic school or another based on innate ability alone (often related to cutie marks) —, most are required to learn magic theory in order to advance to any given school.

As such, this book offers to teach the basics of spellcasting along with three different yet equally simple spells: Light, a spell which creates a light source; Spark, a spell which ignites a small flame, and Twinkle, a spell which creates magical floating glitters.

Honourshine: "Interesting. So you can choose to learn one of these three, whichever you find the most useful, and possibly learn the rest later when you've reached a higher level, so to speak."

You nod, and begin to consider which spell to learn.