Twilight's screaming did not subside, nor did her delusions that I was her older brother. I tried to make her as comfortable as possible, covering her with a nice blanket, fluffing her pillows, and elevating her hooves.

"Shining Armor." she groaned.

"I am not Shining Armor." I said softly. She was starting to scare me. "It's me, Rarity."

"Of course. I'm sorry." said Twilight, her eyes screwed up in pain. "Shining Armor!"

"I am not Shining Armor, darling. Shining Armor is in the Crystal Empire."

"Shining Armor, please answer me." she whispered. Her groans of pain nearly stopped my heart.

"Okay, okay. It's me, darling. Shining Armor." I said. "How can I help you?"

"Shining, my tummy hurts." she said.

"I'm so sorry to hear that. Would you like some tea? Or some soup?" I offered.

"Please, Shiny, help me. I think I'm going to die." whispered Twilight. I froze immediately in terror. I put my hand to stomach and rubbed it slowly.

"Please don't say that, darling." I whimpered. "You'll be okay, I promise."

"Am I dying?" she asked.

"No! I promise, you will be okay. It will pass. If you want, I could make you some soup. Would you like that? Would you like some hot soup?"

"Where are my friends, Shiny? Why aren't they here?" she asked. I could feel her heart pounding in her chest, hard and quick and heavy.

"I'm here, Twilight. Rarity is here for you." I whispered. I felt like I could cry, in fear and worry. Twilight tensed up and flinched slightly upon hearing my name.

"Rarity? Rarity is here?" she asked, energy crackling in her voice. "Where is she? I have to tell her something."

"I'm right here, darling!" I said with a teary smile. "What do you need to tell me?"

"I-I I have to… Whatsgoingon?" muttered Twilight. She dropped limp, her heart beating much slower. I heard a quiet rumbling coming from my darling, her tiny snoring soothing in a way. She was finally done with her screaming, her pain had taken a break. She would be okay. I sighed in absolute relief that she had fallen asleep. She would need all the rest she could get, of course. I left her alone for just a moment to start a kettle of tea. When I had two cups poured and a dish of cookies, I took them to her on a tray. I sat it on her bedside table and stared at her.

"R-rarity?" she whispered finally. I jumped to her side, gripping her hand in my own. Still burning, even hotter somehow.

"I'm right here, darling." I said.

"What happened?"

"You are ill, my dear. Princess Celestia said that it is something called Horn Bane." I explained. "I'll be looking after you until you get better. I hope that your moment of madness has subsided."

"Madness? What do you mean?" asked Twilight, sitting up in her bed meekly.

"You somehow got into your head that I was Shining Armor." I passed her a cup of tea, which she accepted gratefully.

"Sorry. I don't know what got into me." she apologized. Her eyes fluttered slightly as she apologized, as if she knew how cute she was. That was impossible, of course. Beauty like Twilight's could not be put into words or mortal understanding.

"It's perfectly fine, darling. Though I admit I am curious of what you meant to tell me." I said.

"Hm?" asked Twilight, sipping from her mug.

"You said that you had something to tell me. Then, you fell asleep."

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember any of that." said Twilight, retiring her cup to the dresser.

"Did I make it too strong? I can fix you up a new batch, if you'd like." I offered.

"The tea? No, the tea was perfect. I'm roasting in here, is all." she said. No wonder she was hot; a hand to her fevered forehead nearly burned me. I removed her quilt and leaned her back onto her bed. She started to sweat slightly, and her temperature seemed to rise.

"I'm sorry if this makes you feel awkward," I said, pulling off her sweater. "but I can't have you over-heating." I expected her to have a shirt of some sort beneath the sweater, but she was in nothing but a lacey, black bra. Forget butterflies; I felt as if I had a whole wasp's nest in my stomach. There was some growling hunger in my gut, and it was spreading downwards.

My fingers traced the outline of Twilight's body, from her horn to her thighs. My lips pressed against hers, my tongue lashing and exploring the inside of her mouth. Her breathing dropped to a heavy panting; She was loving it as much as I was. I planted soft, wet kisses down her lovely purple stomach. With a bit of aid from my horn, I was able to drag her pants down her leg, showing me her heavenly indigo panties, with lighter blue stripes. One look from me asked permission, and one returned from her granted it. I brought the panties down to her knees and pressed my tongue against her warm, soft, succulent, wet…

I snapped out of my daydream before I lost myself in it completely. Anger filled my being, anger at myself. Disgusting! Absolutely disgusting, irredeemable behavior! Here she was, sick and with threat of death looming over her, and I was fantasizing about her!

"Is everything okay, Rarity?" asked Twilight, with a perplexed look on her face. She seemed to notice my self-hatred, but probably took it as anger towards her. As if I could ever be angry with her: My perfect Princess Twilight. Well, not "My" perfect Princess. I still did not muster up the courage.

"Nothing at all, dear. Just… bad eggplant for lunch." I fibbed. I wasn't totally lying. That eggplant parm was less than stellar.

"I'm the one who's supposed to be sick." chuckled Twilight. "Not you." She squinted her eyes in concentration, and her horn shot off sparks of white light.

"Princess Celestia said that you would be without your magic for a while." I said. "Anything you need done, I will be right here to do it for you."

"Thank you, Rarity. I appreciate the help." she said. Twilight straightened herself up, and stretched out her arms. I tried to think of a way to offer her a massage, but with each attempt, the massage ended in something a little more. In my head, at least.

"Ugh. My back is killing me." said Twilight. She cupped her hands around her breasts and pushed up. "These things are ridiculous." She was not wrong. They were quite large, larger than mine (Her giant "D"s to my humble "B"s). I caught myself staring more than once, sometimes in longing, sometimes in envy.

"At least you have them, dear." I said. "I'm as flat as a board."

"Some ponies would find that attractive. A lot, actually." reported Twilight, matter-of-factly. "Statistically, fifty-nine percent of stallions look for mares with smaller breasts. Apparently, a C-cup is terrifying."

"I can think of a few who would prefer larger breasts. I suppose it's a matter of preference." I said.

"Which do you prefer?" joked Twilight. Without thinking, I answered her question honestly.

"Larger." I said. We looked at each other with mirrored looks of embarrassment. Well, she looked embarrassed. I think "terrified" would be a better way to describe how I felt.

"Rarity? Are you… are you gay?" asked Twilight gently.

"I-I-I'm…" I stammered.

"It's perfectly fine if you are." she said. "I don't discriminate against anypony for anything. Besides, that would make me a hypocrite."

"What? Do you mean to say that you are also a lesbian?" I asked.

"Well, technically, no. I am, however, a pansexual."

"A what?"

"I don't blame you for not knowing. Most ponies see sexual orientation as strictly black and white." said Twilight grumpily. "It's not that simple. There's gay and straight, but there's much more than that. What about ponies who are gender-fluid? Let's say that, biologically, they're a mare, but they identify as a stallion. If they are attracted to men, does that make them gay or straight? Answer: Neither. It makes them pansexual; somepony who is attracted to others based on them, not their gender or lack thereof."

"I'd never even heard of such a thing." I said. "Fascinating."

"Try telling my parents that." grumbled my princess. Silence reigned over us both as we tried to decide where to go from there.

"I'm sorry, darling, I made it awkward." I apologized. "You're sick, you don't want to talk about your sexual orientation."

"No, no, it's okay. Feels good to say it." she huffed. "The only person besides you who knows is Shining Armor, and probably Spike."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I have not come out to anypony myself." I said. "I've thought about telling Sweetie Belle, but I can't bring myself to do it."

"Maybe, one day, we'll get the strength within us, and we can come out together." said Twilight. It was moments like those that made me understand how hopelessly in love I was. She didn't need to say that, nor did she have to mean it, yet I knew she was serious. If I needed the support to come out of the closet, Twilight would be willing to help me. It took all of my willpower to refrain from confessing my love then and there. I told myself that there was a time and place, and that this was not it. Some part of me knew the truth; I was scared. How could I not be?

"Are you feeling okay?" I asked.

"A bit of a stomach ache, but nothing I can't handle." she said with a smile. "Please, stop worrying about me. I'll be fine."

"I know, I know." I whispered. "I can't help but be worried. Twilight, I couldn't bear to lose you. The girls and I, we'd be devastated." My heart was pounding like a piston in my chest. My lips moved on their own, and I added "I love you, Twilight."

"I love you guys, too." said Twilight. "You five are my best friends."

"Happy Hearts and Hooves Day." I said, trying my best not to be hurt. Of course she took my affection as plectonic. Why wouldn't she?

"And to you, as well. To think that this all started because my dad wouldn't leave me be when I said I didn't want to date Flash!" said Twilight. "I couldn't tell him that I'm not looking for stallions right now."

"I thought you said that it didn't matter." I pointed out.

"Well, it doesn't. But, for now, I'm searching for mares. If I come across a guy who I like, that's a different story."

"Why not?" I asked.

"There's likely a more scientific and proper way of saying this," said Twilight with a small grin. "But boobs are fun." Shortly after we were finished laughing, I cleared up Twilight's room. When I returned from washing dishes, Twilight was snoring quietly on her bed. On her stomach was a small cardboard box, with Princess Celestia's Cutie Mark plastered across the side. I curiously grabbed it up and read the note attached. Inside of the box was a syringe filled with bright green liquid, laying on a bed of foam peanuts.

"Twilight." I whispered, shaking her gently. She opened her eyes in a half-comatose state and muttered something I couldn't catch. It sounded oddly as if she were saying "five more minutes", which would explain her baby dragon's behavior.

"Twilight, darling, Princess Celestia sent you some medicine." I said. "It says I have to give it to you every six hours."

"Where's the pill?" muttered Twilight.

"There is no pill. Princess Celestia gave me a needle." I explained. Twilight shot upright at the word "needle", faster than I'd ever seen anypony move before.

"No!" she cried. "No needles!"

"Why ever not?" I asked.

"Promise not to tell anypony?" she said.

"Darling, just earlier today, we came out of the closet to each other." I said, rolling my eyes. "I do not think that your fear of needles is your biggest secret."

"I'm not scared of needles!" insisted Twilight. "I have a healthy caution and a reasonable hatred for them. Everypony in my family to ever take medication via needle has had terrible things happen."

"Like what?"

"Shining Armor, aged 17, took a trip to Saddle Arabia and had to be vaccinated for malaria." listed Twilight. "Now suffers from swollen veins and is at a huge risk of developing fibromyalgia. Twilight Velvet, aged 34, went in for a routine tetanus shot. The nurse missed her vein seventeen times before finally hitting the mark. When he did, they realised they gave her the wrong shot. Night Light, aged 35, was given a shot of novocain when getting a root canal. On his way home, he was struck by a steel I-beam being carried by two construction workers."

"I never took you as superstitious." I said, when I was sure she was done raving and ranting.

"I'm not superstitious! I know how to detect a pattern!" exclaimed Twilight.

"Even still, I need to give this to you. Will you hold still for me?" I asked. She eyed the needle nervously before shoving her wrist beneath my eyes. I re-read the directions on the side of the vial to make sure I was not missing anything important. Sure enough, there was a little sentence I overlooked.

"Twilight, darling? I have to inject you either on your inner thigh or right beneath your horn." I said. "Which would you prefer?"

"Eep! You have to stab me in the face?" she asked in horror.

"Or on the thigh."

"Easiest decision I've ever had to make." said Twilight. She rolled her pants down to her ankles and spread her legs apart slightly. Oh my…

"Twilight? Are you aware that you are not wearing any panties?" I asked. It took all of my power, but I averted my eyes and avoided leaping on her to have her right there. Twilight yanked her pants up quickly, blushing almost as furiously as I was.

"Of all the days to go commando." she said awkwardly.

"You didn't even put on underwear to visit your parents?" I asked in slight disappointment at her lack of class.

"I was rushing! Don't act like you've never been so busy that you forgot panties." she said.

"I do not believe I have."

"What about last year, with the whole Photo Finish debacle?" asked Twilight. "You forgot to wear panties then." I froze for a second, trying to remember. She was correct, but that wasn't important. How did she know?

"How… Nevermind. Under the horn it is, then." I said. I took an alcohol wipe and prepared the area of injection. I grasped Twilight's horn as gently as I could. As a unicorn, I understood how sensitive they were; I once brushed my horn against a doorway, and I was sore for weeks to come.

"On the count of three?" suggested Twilight. I nodded in agreement.

"One." I said. I quickly jabbed the needle just beneath the base of her horn, emptied the syringe, and pulled it out. "Three."

"Ah! Rarity!" yelped Twilight.

"I'm sorry, darling, but you would have found a way to put it off. The sooner I got it over with, the better." I said. "Please don't be too cross with me. I was just trying to be helpful."

"No, I appreciate it. That wasn't too terrible." she admitted. "You actually made that bearable. You could have Red Heart for her job."

"When I was a filly, I wanted to be a nurse." I said. "Then, I discovered I could sew. The rest, as they say, is history."

"I used to tell Shining that I wanted to be an Astronomical Marine Biologist." giggled Twilight.

"A what?" I asked, holding back a chuckle. Twilight had one of those laughs, small, quick, and nervous, a laugh that was impossible to hear without laughing at least a little yourself.

"It was something I made up. I would get into a spaceship, go into space, and study the animals that lived under water. In space." she explained, laughing still. "Shining was behind me the whole time. It was my dad who put an end to that fantasy."

"Why is it that I've never met your father?" I asked. "We've all been friends for ages, and I've never met any of your family." Twilight stopped laughing immediately, and took on a more serious expression.

"I haven't introduced you guys to my parents to ensure that we'd remain friends." she said. "I doubt that my dad would approve of you. Well, not you, but the others."

"Why would he not approve?" I asked.

"My dad is sort of old fashioned. He thinks a woman should sit with her legs crossed, and they should wear long dresses and skirts, and that they should be in the kitchen, or tend to the children. Looking at our friends, we have a workhorse in Applejack, an athlete in Rainbow, Fluttershy who works in the woods, and we don't have a word for what Pinkie Pie is yet. The only reason he let me leave the house and get a job is because my 'job' was learning from Princess Celestia."

"That doesn't seem very fair." I said. Just hearing about it made my feminism rise to the surface. "You don't agree with him, do you? I thought that thinking like that died off sixty years ago. Gender roles are ridiculous."

"Of course I disagree with my father, but what do you want me to do?" asked Twilight defensively. No, defensive doesn't do it justice. She was angry, furious, even. "He's my dad, Rarity. You can't change the way people think. Saying that he's wrong for thinking that way is just as bad as somepony saying you're wrong for liking girls."

As I let that sink in, Twilight turned over to her side and closed her eyes. Within minutes, she was snoring. I dragged myself from her room (watching one's crush sleep classifies as "creepy", right?) and took a seat in her living room.

"Just had to open your mouth." I muttered to myself. "You were having a moment, and you ruined it." I closed my eyes and took a little nap myself. My normally peaceful sleep was interrupted by a terrible dream. Princess Luna must've been trying to tell me something, but I didn't like the message.

In my dream, Twilight and I were standing in the middle of nowhere. I confessed my love, a trope of my dreams involving her, and she stared at me, just as normal. This time, however, she turned away and flew into the air. I followed her, walking through the sky of nothing. I grasped my love to bring her down to me, and she faded into dust.