Azure Edge

by Leaf Blade

First published 31st of December, 2018

Rarity is a Slayer. Her life is devoted to hunting the bloodthirsty beasts and magical monsters that would threaten the sleepy winter homes of Equestria, but that doesn't mean she can't flirt with the cute librarian during her days off. [Omniship]

When a rampaging roc, deadly dragon, or horrifying hellhound threatens the idyllic snowy vistas of Equestria, it's the mission of the Celestial Slayers to protect the ponies, and hunt the bloodthirsty beasts that would harm them.

Rarity is one such Slayer.
A woman who has devoted everything to saving the lives of ponies, and ending the lives of monsters. For Rarity, there is no life outside the Hunt.

Except for her time spent at the Golden Oaks Library, flirting with the cute librarian.

---

A slow-burn, Raritwi-flavored Omniship adventure.
Inspired by Earthsong9405's Slayer!AU where Rarity hunts monsters and Twilight's a peaceful librarian.

01. The Timberwolf Mission

“Timberwolves?”

“That’s right,” Rarity chirped, snatching the scroll out of Rainbow’s hands. “Apparently a nasty pack of them has been terrorizing the nearby town of Ponyville, crawling out of the Everfree Forest to snatch livestock and even attacking farmers, or anyone who gets too close to the forest, so I’m going down there to take care of them.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Rainbow grumbled, resting her elbow on the marble bar of the vacant tavern the two were sharing drinks at. “Winter’s here again which means all kinds of monsters are gonna be crawlin’ outta the woodwork to make life harder for ponies-” Rainbow cackled “-which is great news for us Celestial Slayers!”

“Perhaps,” Rarity sighed, shooting her friend a bemused look that went unnoticed as Rainbow Dash buried herself in her mug of cider.

While the prospect of getting more work was a promising one, Rarity couldn’t take that much joy from the knowledge that the lives of Equestria’s citizens were going to become much more dangerous over the next three months, just like every winter season.

“I just wish I could go with,” Rainbow pouted and rubbed a hand across her shoulder.

“Well perhaps if you hadn’t been so reckless,” Rarity gently chided, absentmindedly swishing her glass of cider to and fro, “you wouldn’t have gotten injured and then you would be able to go with me!”

“Please,” Rainbow rolled her eyes and grinned at Rarity, “you call dragging a bugbear through a raging thunder cloud ‘reckless’? That’s barely even a workout! Just my bad luck the thing wouldn’t let go of my shoulder is all.”

“We could have taken it down from a distance-” Rarity chuckled, and she took a sip of her cider, letting a satisfied ‘ah’ escape her lips “-is all I’m saying.”

“Yeah?” Rainbow laughed and playfully punched Rarity in the arm. “And we could’ve taken out that Quarray Eel from the outside, you didn’t have to jump into its mouth! And you’re calling me reckless!”

“I’m not reckless!” Rarity gasped and dramatically placed a hand over her heart. “I’m confident!” Rarity smirked proudly and ran a hand through her elegant curls.

“Right,” Rainbow gave that obnoxiously smug smirk of hers and rolled her eyes as she moved to drink from her cider mug, though instead of putting the drink to her lips, she held it in front of her and stared into the cup, and Rarity was stricken by the sudden dourness marring Rainbow’s face.

“Something the matter, darling?”

“It’s funny,” Rainbow’s cold tone was anything but ‘funny’ as she slowly swished around her mug, “you’re usually so cautious and methodical, but that thing with the Quarray Eel-“ Rainbow shook her head and frowned deeply, and the hairs on Rarity’s neck stood on edge “-you’ve been pulling weird stunts like that a lot lately. It’s not like you.”

“Like I said,” Rarity limply batted a hand, “I’m just confident. I’ve been hunting monsters for a long time, Rainbow, I know it will take more than just some silly Quarray Eel to kill me.”

“I guess.”

An ugly pause.

Rainbow was clearly unconvinced, and her doubt was starting to affect Rarity as well.

Rarity reached her hand across the bar to place it over Rainbow’s. “I assure you, my dear,” Rainbow looked up to skeptically meet Rarity’s gaze, and Rarity offered an enchanting smile, “everything is fine with me. There’s no need to fret.”

Rainbow’s warm smile was almost enough to convince Rarity that she had said those words to convince Rainbow instead of to convince herself.

“Alright,” Rainbow placed her other hand atop Rarity’s,” if you say so.”

“I do!” Rarity giggled and stood to her hooves, taking one last sip of her cider before placing her hands gently on Rainbow’s shoulders, making sure to be cautious of her friend’s injury.

“Now,” Rarity said, “I have to go. I need to stop by the blacksmith to make sure all my equipment is in order, plus I need to pick up my travelling companion.”

“Yeah, alright,” Rainbow sighed and stretched her arms up, resting them atop her head. “I’ll buy you a drink if you come back uninjured, then on the next job we can go together, ya got it?”

“I’ll hold you to it!” Rarity clapped her hands. “We’ll drink to our health and to a safe winter.”

Rarity gave Rainbow a friendly kiss on the head and headed for the door, stopping just short to leave some parting advice. “Though you had better let that injury of yours recover! No sense in getting hurt again before you even get better!”

“Be careful,” Rainbow said flatly, looking at Rarity with a dreadful amount of concern, “okay, Rarity?”

“Darling,” Rarity offered a sympathetic smile, “it’s only timberwolves. Hardly anything to fret over.”

Rainbow frowned and bit her lip, but said nothing.

Rarity relented, rolling her head back and giving a theatric sigh. “I promise I’ll be careful. I want you to treat me to that drink, after all.”

That seemed to cheer Rainbow up, as she smiled and opened her mouth to speak, though she soon thought better of it. Rarity shrugged it off and turned to leave, but as she put her hand on the doorknob, Rainbow called out to her.

“Wait, hold on a sec!”

Rarity turned with a bemused look and arched an eyebrow.

“Uh, if you’re going to see the blacksmith,” Rainbow stuttered, her cheeks turning bright red like an apple and her eyes darting around at everything but Rarity, “could you tell her I said, uh… ummmm…”

“I’ll tell her you said ‘ummmm’,” Rarity said with a wink, spinning on her hooves and exiting the bar before the flustered Rainbow Dash could compose herself enough to offer a retort, though Rarity could hear Rainbow’s indignant protests even from outside, which made her giggle.

Rarity walked across the snowy stone streets of Canterlot on her way to the blacksmith, looking around at the small village around her— though calling the lonely and somber Moon District a ‘village’ was a tad generous.

The Moon District was more a ramshackle collection of stone huts practically buried at the foot of the mountains; basically an afterthought compared to Canterlot’s glorious Sun District that was nestled snugly into the mountainside.

Rarity was content to call the Moon District her home, however. She felt it suited her.

As she walked, Rarity went over the mental checklist of preparations for her trip.

I need to head to Applejack’s and grab my equipment, plus Pinkie Pie, then it’s a straight shot to the train station and we’ll be on our way. I have light rations in my bag already and enough money for decent food and lodging once we arrive.

Nothing I can’t handle. It’s just another mission. Just another winter.

Rarity hadn’t even realized that she had stopped in her tracks as her mind was suddenly seized by the sheer number of times that she had done this already. How many winters had she spent hunting monsters, how many times had that phrase, ‘just another winter’, crossed her mind?

She had been hunting monsters, or training to hunt, since she was big enough to hold a sword, just like her parents before her and their parents before them. As far back as her family’s history had been recorded, they had fought and slain monsters, with no beginning in sight.

And no end in sight either.

Rarity would likely continue to hunt monsters until she was too frail to hold a weapon anymore, just like her parents before her, and their parents before them, and—

A sharp inhale.

A shake of the head.

No time for those thoughts, no time for anything but to focus on the task at hand.

It’s just another mission, that was all.

Just another winter.

Author's Notes:

What if Raritwi but Rarity hunts monsters and Twilight's a peaceful librarian

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

02. The Blacksmith

Rarity gazed at herself in the blacksmith’s body mirror, admiring how fetching she looked even weighed down by all her gear.

She was practically better armed than some armies, with a sword, shield, axe, bow, knives—the works. Everything she needed to handle a pack of timberwolves, and then some. She almost mused that she was equipped to fight a dragon, but as her fingers instinctively found themselves wrapped around the dragon fang she wore around her neck, she thought better of such a callous joke.

The dragon fang was linked by a silver ring to a choker around Rarity’s neck. Unlike the rest of her armory, there were no spells cast on it, no enchantments or benefits of any kind.

It was just a reminder.

“I think that’s everything,” Rarity whispered, thinking aloud as she finished taking stock of her equipment in the corner of the tiny smithy.

“I should hope so,” Applejack chuckled, and she didn’t see the bemused glance Rarity shot her as her eyes were glued to her work desk, as she sorted through piles of scrolls and parchments detailing what Rarity hoped were the names and orders of her shop’s various clients, but she knew were mostly likely debts and payments to be made.

“There’s no such thing as over-prepared, Applejack,” Rarity insisted, flicking a hand through her illustrious mane, taking a moment to appreciate its volume and fullness as she let her hand glide through it down to her shoulder.

“Relax,” Applejack said, “I’m just teasin’ ya, Rares.”

“Rarity! Rarity!”

Pinkie Pie came bouncing into the shop and quickly grabbed hold of Rarity’s arm and relentlessly tugged on it, though the tiny pink puffball had no real chance of moving the unicorn who was half-again as tall as her.

“Are you ready to go? Cuz I’m ready to gogogo!”

Applejack spoke up before Rarity could reply, looking up from her work desk to admonish Pinkie, “Huntin’ isn’t a game, Pinkie Pie. It’s dangerous.”

“I know that,” Pinkie groaned, no doubt tired of hearing Applejack’s scolding for the millionth time, “but I finally get to go on a real adventure and see what the Hunt is all about, and just in time for me to take the Exam next year! Can you blame me for being excited?”

“Rest assured,” this time Rarity was sure to speak quickly before Applejack’s admittedly reasonable concern could exacerbate tensions between the two earth ponies, “it will be a grand time for both of us, but I will be doing the actual hunting part alone, thank you very much.”

Rarity’s words, while aimed at Pinkie, were intended more for Applejack’s benefit, and she seemed to appreciate them, as she returned to her scroll sorting with nothing more than a small huff and dismissive frown.

“I know, Rarity,” Pinkie giggled, “and I’m not gonna put myself in any danger—I’m not stupid, after all—” Pinkie glared at Applejack and although she still didn’t look up from her desk, Applejack’s pursed lips and scrunched up nose were a good indication that she knew where Pinkie’s comments were aimed.

“And anyway,” Pinkie said, “I don’t wanna get in your way. I’m going to say hi to my friends in Ponyville and try to make the folks there feel as safe as possible, but I know that you’re the one who’ll be doing all the heavy lifting.

“Still though, if we’re gonna go, we should goooooo already!” Pinkie gave another enthusiastic tug at Rarity’s arm before hopping up and down in place.

“Just give me one second, darling,” Rarity said and playfully ruffled Pinkie Pie’s soft and curly hair, eliciting a tiny snort from her. “You go on ahead, and I’ll meet you at the station, okay?”

“Alright, but if you take too long, I’ll leave without’cha!”

Rarity watched Pinkie as she excitedly bounced out of the shop, bursting with energy that made the older mare—not that Rarity was ‘old’, of course—rather jealous of Pinkie’s enthusiasm. To Rarity, the hunting of timberwolves was no more extraordinary than kicking a pest out of the yard, but to Pinkie, it was an adventure.

Rarity thought about when she was a child and she accompanied her parents on a mission for the first time, and how excited she was… or at least, how excited she must have been.

Truth be told, Rarity couldn’t recall the exact events of that day, or how she felt. It was simply too long ago— almost twenty years— and after having her life slowly consumed by the Hunt over that time, she realized that the idea of hunting being anything more than a familiar drudgery was completely alien to her.

“I know I don’t gotta say it,” Applejack’s brusque words broke Rarity out of her trance and she snapped to attention, “but just make sure she doesn’t get hurt, alright?”

“Of course,” Rarity said, her voice barbed with contempt at the idea that she should even need to be told such an obvious thing. “I would no sooner let Pinkie Pie get hurt than my own sister, Applejack.”

“I know, I know.”

Applejack sighed bitterly and, in a manner most unbefitting of such a strong mare, cradled her face in her hands and gripped tightly at her temples, her face marred by a pained frown that made Rarity’s heart weep.

Rarity found herself instinctively clutching at the dragon fang around her neck and looking at the musty black cowboy hat hanging by the door of Applejack’s workspace, an item she hadn’t worn since her own short-lived days as a Slayer.

Rarity walked over to Applejack’s work desk and gently placed her hands over Applejack’s, who recoiled at first before slowly lowering her hands onto the desk and looked up at Rarity’s eyes.

“You need to trust me, darling,” Rarity placed a hand on Applejack’s cheek, “and you need to trust Pinkie Pie, as well.”

“I know,” Applejack took Rarity’s hand in both of hers and removed it from her cheek, lowering it onto the desk.

She clung to Rarity’s hand for a moment like she didn’t want Rarity to leave, but Rarity slipped her hand out from Applejack’s grip, brushing her fingers across the back of Applejack’s hand once more for good measure, and then headed out the door after Pinkie Pie.

Rarity wished she could have simply stayed by Applejack’s side and comforted her— perhaps be comforted by her in return, as well— but there was work to be done, and work took priority over everything.

Such was the life of a Celestial Slayer.

Author's Notes:

appul

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

03. On the Train To Ponyville

The heated private cabins of the steam train were a welcome relief from the biting cold winter outside, and Rarity was relieved to finally be on the track to Ponyville. The train wouldn’t arrive in Ponyville’s station for about two hours, so Rarity could relax, at least a smidge.

However, Pinkie Pie seemed much less interested in relaxing, pressing her face against the window and cooing at the sight of the orange-lit snow glistening in the sunset.

“Honestly, Pinkie Pie,” Rarity chuckled, a bright smile on her face as she sat and adored her friend’s ridiculous antics, “it’s not as though you’ve never travelled by train before.”

“Sure,” Pinkie said, her face still smushed up against the window, “I’ve travelled a whole bunch of times! But it never stops being incredible to me! I mean, just look at it! Have you ever seen anything more beautiful?”

Rarity took a lethargic look out the window, and while she could appreciate the splendor of the snow-dripped plains rolling by outside, she would be lying if she said that they provoked any kind of emotional reaction from her.

“It is something,” Rarity said wistfully, her cheek pressed up against her hand as her elbow rested on the side of her seat. “Though I find it curious, Pinkie Pie; you travel quite often to visit your family in all the far corners of Equestria, so why are you so keen on monster hunting? It sounds like your life is already full of adventure.”

“You’re not wrong,” Pinkie’s tone was cold as ice as she sat properly in her seat, hands placed delicately in her lap, and her uncharacteristic behavior left Rarity rather unsettled, “I guess…”

“You guess?”

“It’s not just about the adventure stuff.”

Pinkie wore a deep, bitter scowl and dug her fingernails into her legs, and Rarity knew she had to give Pinkie some emergency affection posthaste, so she moved across the cabin and sat next to Pinkie, gently taking each of her little fingers out of her leg, with Rarity placing one hand on Pinkie’s thigh instead while holding her hand with the other.

“Then what is it about?” Rarity asked, rubbing her thumb across the crease between Pinkie’s thumb and index finger.

Pinkie took a deep breath, slowly in through the nose, then even slower out through the mouth. Every instant that passed by felt like an hour to a tense and inquisitive Rarity, but she wasn’t about to pry where she wasn’t wanted, so if Pinkie was going to share her story, it would have to be at her own pace.

“Winter’s coming, right?” Pinkie said, and Rarity nodded. “Guy came into the smithery the other day, he’d busted an old heirloom and was picking it up after AJ fixed it. While he was in the shop, he was eyeing a rack of weapons that was on display.

“He walked over to the rack and put his hand on a sword, then he said ‘I oughta get one of these too, you never know when a roc could just come by and swoop the roof right off your house!’”

Rarity listened to Pinkie’s tale in silence, even as a knot gripped her stomach, and she refused to let go of Pinkie’s tensing hand.

“I know he was just joking,” Pinkie continued, “Applejack even laughed at his comment, but—”

“But he wasn’t just joking,” Rarity interjected, “was he? Not really?”

“Right,” Pinkie sighed and grit her teeth. “I hear ‘jokes’ and stories like that every winter. People live in fear of monsters every day and just accept it as normal, but it isn’t! It’s horrible! Nopony should have to live like that, and that’s why I want to be a Slayer. Cuz I wanna give ponies hope, I don’t want anyone to have to live in fear anymore.”

An admirable goal, though Rarity couldn’t help but wonder, as her fingers traced the edges of her dragon fang necklace, if Pinkie’s enthusiasm would survive an encounter with the actual atrocities some of these monsters were capable of.

If she knew why ponies lived in fear, would she question it then?

“I think that’s a wonderful goal, Pinkie.”

Rarity questioned only for a second if that was the proper thing to say, but any hesitation in her mind vanished at the sight of Pinkie’s bright smile and watering eyes, the look of someone who was finally told what she needed to hear.

“Thank you!” Pinkie said gleefully. “That’s what I keep telling everypony, but they all say I’m just being silly and that it’s ‘dangerous’! Like, I know it’s dangerous, but that doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t—”

Pinkie’s words were caught up by her own sniffling, and Rarity held Pinkie close to her and wiped tears out of Pinkie’s eyes.

“Thank you, Rarity. I’m glad that you get it.”

“I do, darling. I do. And when we get back to Canterlot, you should share a drink with me and Rainbow Dash.”

Pinkie had nothing to say that couldn’t be expressed by jumping onto Rarity and wrapping her arms around her in a tight hug, which Rarity happily reciprocated, patting Pinkie on the back for good measure.

Applejack wouldn’t like it, of course, Rarity encouraging Pinkie’s desire to be a Slayer. But Rarity knew that the call of the Hunt couldn’t be dissuaded with mere words. She knew it from herself, and from seeing it in Sweetie Belle.

Pinkie’s goal was an admirable one after all, and if Rarity saw fit to dash Pinkie’s hope then she wouldn’t be able to consider herself any better than the monsters that she protects people from. What would be the purpose of protecting a life without hope?

Besides, Rarity genuinely wished that Pinkie could succeed in her dream of bringing hope to Equestria, where Rarity herself had failed.

Author's Notes:

i rly like trains.. and pinkie pie

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

04. One Night at The Library

Inside a great oak tree, nestled into the mountain that sheltered the city of Canterlot and overlooked its Moon District, there existed the Golden Oaks Library.

The library was as large and full of books as the Sun District’s own glorious archives, though it was as devoid of ponies as any normal tree, the only creatures inside it being its librarian and her son, the latter of whom was soundly tucked into bed asleep by this late hour.

The librarian, Twilight Sparkle, was sitting behind the reception desk of the silent, darkened library.

Though she was aware that nobody was going to be looking for a book anytime soon—her library only received visitors once in a blue moon—her home and place of business were still open for another couple of hours, and she saw no reason why she couldn’t be present at the counter just in case anyone needed her.

Especially since it was a great place to curl up with a good book and read by the soft light of a lantern.

Imagine Twilight’s surprise when the door of her library suddenly swings open, the poor librarian nearly jumping from her seat with a frightened yelp that was drowned out by the sound of the raging rainstorm outside.

The one who opened the door was a light blue pegasus with rainbow hair cut incredibly short in the back but with messy, uneven bangs in front, and Twilight couldn’t help but feel a little bit endeared to someone with such a powerful mane.

“Hey, sorry to bother you,” the woman spoke with a raspy voice and stumbled into the library dripping wet, “but are you open? Can I stick around for a bit, at least until the storm passes?”

“Yeah, of course,” Twilight sat upright to get a good look at the mare walking into her library. “Sorry, I don’t have any towels or anything on hand right now, it’s a little sparse here still except for the books. I have blankets, will that help?”

“Nah, don’t worry about it,” the rainbow-haired mare waved away Twilight’s concern and sat down on a chair nearby the receptionist desk, so Twilight could see her a little more clearly in the light of her lantern.

The woman was thin and small, but she looked to be quite physically fit. She wore a sleeveless shirt and her arms were well defined with muscle, even if they were rather thin. Most importantly, Twilight could see that she was shivering and kept rubbing her arms in some futile attempt to warm up her soaking body.

Twilight sighed softly and walked over to the stranger, and as she knelt beside the chair and hovered a hand over the pegasus’ leg, the pegasus gave Twilight a curious— even a little skeptical— stare.

Twilight stood up and placed a hand on the woman’s forehead and before she could protest, Twilight’s horn lit up with a raspberry glow which soon enveloped her hand and then the pegasus she was touching.

Within a split second, the pegasus’ body was completely dry, and presumably warm if Twilight’s spell went off correctly— which of course it did, because Twilight Sparkle was not one to screw up something as simple as a mere drying and heating spell.

The pegasus took a baffled look at her own body, raising her arms and fluttering her wings before bolting to her hooves. “That was awesome!”

“Eheh, it was nothing,” Twilight said bashfully, rubbing the back of her neck and feeling a tingling heat peck at her cheeks. “Just a little heating spell, I use it all the time.”

“I’ve never seen magic like that,” the pegasus said, pumping her fists in front of her. “You didn’t have to draw any runes, you just held out your hand and bam! That’s incredible!”

“I guess I’m sort of a prodigy when it comes to magic,” Twilight muttered, a cheeky smirk on her face. “So, what’s your name, anyway?”

“Rainbow Dash,” the pegasus said proudly, pounding a fist against her chest. “You?”

“I’m Twilight Sparkle,” Twilight said, extending a hand to shake Rainbow’s, who took it firmly and grinned as she shook Twilight’s hand.

“I take it you moved in here pretty recently, huh?” Rainbow said, looking around at the spaciously empty library. “Either that or they didn’t have anything but books where you come from?” Rainbow said with a smirk, needling Twilight with her elbow.

“I do have a lot of books,” Twilight said, eyeing her hoard with a satisfied gleam in her eye, “I’m a bit of an avid collector. But also, it’s true that I just moved in. I only made this tree my home this past month.”

Twilight’s ears perked up and she stepped away from Rainbow, placing her hands in front of her. “I hope it’s okay, that I took the tree. No one else seemed to be using it, so I—”

“Look, I didn’t even know you could turn a tree into a place like this,” Rainbow placed her hands on her hips and looked around again at the library, seemingly in awe of its size, “so I think you’re fine. How did you do this anyway?”

“Well,” Twilight said bashfully, fretting with her bangs, “I do have my magic.”

“That’s some cool magic, Twilight Sparkle,” Rainbow gave a coy giggle and took a few steps around the library, Twilight following behind her unconsciously, though she stopped in her tracks when she noticed something peculiar about Rainbow’s body, something she was surprised she hadn’t noticed before.

Rainbow’s shoulder had an ugly scar on it, from what appeared to be nasty claw marks. And if Twilight had to guess, she would say the woman had gotten them recently.

“Are you okay?” Twilight said without thinking.

“Hm?” Rainbow turned around and looked perplexed by Twilight’s question, until she followed Twilight’s line of sight to her shoulder, where she laughed softly and patted her injury. “What, this? Don’t worry about it, it’s nothin’. Got this from a bugbear couple moons ago, no big deal. It’s almost healed up anyway.”

“You—what?” Twilight tilted her head and stared in complete bafflement, which only served to confuse Rainbow even more. “How did you get attacked by a bugbear? Their territory is all the way in the north-eastern mountains, north of Griffonstone!”

“Yep,” Rainbow puffed up her chest and pounded her fist against it, “and when they leave their territory to make things tough for ponies, the Celestial Slayers show ‘em who’s boss!”

“The Celestial Slayers?” Twilight asked, hoping her smile hid the sense of unease that was steadily building in her stomach.

“Yeah,” Rainbow nodded and cricked her neck, “I’m a Slayer. Me and my pal took out a swarm of bugbears couple moons ago like I said, and I got this sweet scar in return. Pretty sick, right?”

Twilight said nothing. She instinctively took a step back, but then she gave Rainbow a smile to hide her wariness.

“I’m just glad it’s nothing to be concerned about.”

“Nah,” Rainbow shrugged, and Twilight was thankful that Rainbow seemed oblivious to her distress, “this is nothin’ to me, so don’t worry about it.”

To the ponies of Equestria, the Celestial Slayers were a beacon of hope.

Not to Twilight.

She knew the power that Slayers held, the power that they saw fit to wield over others.

Twilight’s past had been scarred with the memories of Slayers using their power and clout to abuse the weak and helpless, and she knew that this dark side to their guild was something that no one could know about, for speaking such things was tantamount to blasphemy in Equestria.

But Twilight didn’t build a new home to continue living in fear. She deserved a better life than that. Her son deserved a better life than that. It was true that where she came from, she lived in fear of the Slayers. But that was not going to be her life, or Spike’s, from this day forward.

Lost in her thoughts, Twilight had lost track of Rainbow in the library and she felt like her heart nearly stopped beating as she worried that Rainbow might have gone upstairs to where Spike was sleeping.

“Rainbow Dash?!” Twilight called out into the pitch dark halls of books, her voice cracking with fear.

“Ssh!” Rainbow replied teasingly as she poked her head out from one of the halls. “This is a library!”

Twilight breathed the deepest sigh of relief in her life, hand clutching her chest, as Rainbow walked back toward her.

“Something wrong?” Rainbow asked.

“Wh—uh, no. Sorry,” Twilight awkwardly mumbled, “I just, I thought I lost you for a sec, and I got worried.”

“About what?” Rainbow cocked her head to the side.

“I thought—” Twilight hesitated for only a moment before she realized that a small part of the truth would suffice as an explanation. “I was worried you’d wake up my son. He’s sleeping upstairs, and if he woke up and a stranger was in the library, he might get scared.”

“You shouldn’t be yelling, then,” Rainbow stuck out her tongue, and Twilight just rolled her eyes and shook her head in response, though she couldn’t help the smile on her face.

“So,” Twilight tacitly guided Rainbow back to the reception desk and eagerly changed the subject, “were you thinking about checking out a book while you were here? This is a library after all, that’s what it’s here for.”

“I don’t really-” Rainbow paused for a moment, letting out a soft groan under her breath as she rubbed between her neck and shoulder “-read.”

“You don’t read?” Twilight had never heard anything more ridiculous in her life. She added with a sly grin, “Or do you mean you can’t read?”

Rainbow’s cheeks puffed up and turned bright red, but not in a way that was funny to Twilight, who recognized all too well that she had struck a sensitive nerve with Rainbow.

“It’s never too late to start,” Twilight said gently, clasping her hands in front of her and giving Rainbow a sincere smile.

Rainbow stared right through Twilight and took a step back, almost getting into a defensive posture like she was measuring Twilight up.

Seeing the Slayer in her midst tensing up pushed every panic button in Twilight’s brain, but she wasn’t going to back down.

This Slayer… Twilight wanted to believe that this Slayer wasn’t like the ones that she knew. She wanted to extend an olive branch, maybe even… be friends. It was worth a try, and what better way to make friends than through reading?

She couldn’t take another second of the pregnant pause between them though, so Twilight decided to take the initiative, and she quickly compiled a list of all the things she knew about Rainbow Dash.

She’s a Slayer, so she leads a dangerous life. Adventure novel, perhaps? Maybe she could relate, or would that be too close to her everyday life?

She got bit by a bugbear and apparently just shrugged it off, so she’s either very experienced or very reckless. Gut says both. In which case, adventure novel might be the right call, especially if it’s one with a quick pace and light tone; something fantastical that’s fun and doesn’t try too hard to be realistic.

She likes to joke around, and it feels like she’s using jokey-jokes as a defense mechanism, though she probably has an earnest appreciation for snarky quips, so something with a dry sense of humor and plenty of wit.

And she hasn’t read much of anything before, and appears to be sensitive about that, so don’t recommend anything too complicated or advanced.

Oh.

Oh, I’ve got just the thing.

“Have you ever heard of Daring Do?”

“Um, no?” Rainbow frowned and arched an eyebrow, but she didn’t protest as Twilight grabbed a copy of Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue from underneath the reception desk, where Twilight had just recently been reading it.

Twilight handed the book to Rainbow, who took it tentatively in her hands and looked it over like it was written in a foreign language or something.

“Hm, uh,” Rainbow flipped through the pages with a furrowed brow, “what is this, exactly?”

“That is a book,” Twilight said, helpfully pointing at the book in question, and didn’t realize until she saw Rainbow’s annoyed stare that she had taken Rainbow’s question a mite too literally.

She cleared her throat and ignored the heat in her cheeks as she explained, “This is the first of the Daring Do books, they’re lighthearted adventure novels. I thought you might enjoy something you can relate to, being a dangerous Slayer and all, but not something that takes itself too seriously, since you seem pretty lighthearted yourself.”

Twilight smiled proudly and felt completely naked as Rainbow just stared silently at her, flitting her eyes between the book and at her, before finally sighing and hanging her head.

“You really think I can—” Rainbow bit her lip.

“Enjoy that?” Twilight interjected. “Yes, I do. Reading is a great way to pass the time, and I promise that one’s really good. I was just reading it myself!”

Rainbow took another look at the book and inhaled slowly through her nose. She looked once more at Twilight, a glimmer of pain and frustration barely visible in her eyes before she tore them away from Twilight to refocus on the book.

“Okay,” she grumbled, “I’ll give it a try.”

“You won’t regret it.”

Rainbow sat back down at the chair close to the reception desk and Twilight returned to her place behind the desk. Twilight picked up her own book to read, relishing the opportunity to get some reading done in quiet while a patron discovered the joy of reading next to her, but she quickly realized she couldn’t focus on her book.

Not when every time she looked up, she saw Rainbow staring wide-eyed at the pages of hers, or reading with one hand while the other was busy having its nails clipped by Rainbow’s teeth. Twilight had to bite down a giggle when she saw that Rainbow had begun standing and even pacing back and forth while reading.

How could Twilight focus on reading her own book when she was enjoying Rainbow’s book so much more?

After a couple of hours in silent reading, the rain had passed by the library and it was time to close its doors for the night. Twilight headed over to the door to turn around the sign in the window, before returning to Rainbow who, to Twilight’s surprise, was waiting in front of the reception desk, Daring Do novel firmly in hand.

“So, um,” Rainbow awkwardly cleared her throat, “you said this was a series? There are more, right?”

“Did you finish that one already?” Twilight said eagerly, impressed that Rainbow managed to clear a novel almost as fast as she could.

“I couldn’t put it down!” Rainbow cheered, gripping the book tightly in front of her. “You were totally right, this was awesome!”

“Well yes,” Twilight walked behind the desk and folded her arms across it, “there are plenty more Daring Do books and, as you can see,” Twilight motioned toward the countless halls of books adorning the library, “many other books as well.”

Twilight yawned and had to resist the urge to rest her head on top of her folded arms.

“I would find the next book in the series for you-” Twilight grumbled as she tried to fight back another yawn and eventually failed “-but the library’s officially closed, which is code for ‘I need to get some sleep so I won’t be dead tired when my son wakes me up in the morning.”

“Can I check this one out?” Rainbow asked hesitantly, clutching the novel to her chest for dear life in a gesture that made Twilight nearly want to swoon.

“Of course,” Twilight smiled softly, “and if you come back tomorrow, I can put together a whole reading list for you if you want.”

“That’d be amazing!” Rainbow cooed, her wings flapping excitedly behind her. “And maybe I could talk to you about this one? You could tell me all the stuff that you liked about it and we could like, exchange notes or something?”

“That—” Twilight’s eyes started to mist up and she smiled ear to ear, but she bit down on her lip and wore a more reserved smile so she didn’t accidentally put Rainbow off with her over-eagerness. “That would be great.”

“I’ll see you tomorrow then,” Rainbow flashed a bright grin as she ran for the door. “Goodnight, Twilight Sparkle!”

“I’m looking forward to it,” Twilight beamed at Rainbow and gave her a wave as she exited the library.

Twilight groggily walked over to the door and locked it, peeking out the window to see the snow-swept village of Canterlot’s Moon District outside, a place that had seemed so cold and alien and even intimidating to her before, but now held a small spark of hope for her.

She smiled wide and let out a soft sigh as she turned her back to the door and slid down the wall to the ground, quickly falling asleep on the wooden floor right in front of the door, smile still on her face as her last thoughts before drifting off to sleep were of the first friend she’d made in Equestria.

Author's Notes:

Twilight Sparkle: Dork

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

05. Bright Eyes

It was already the dead of night when Rarity and Pinkie Pie’s train rolled into the Ponyville station—the train having been delayed several hours thanks to sheep deciding to take a snooze on the track.

Rarity hadn’t realized how tired she was until she had to force her groaning body to leave the warm train and walk onto the freezing platform, though she felt worse for Pinkie Pie, who Rarity gently had to coax awake once the train stopped and the poor dear just did not want to budge from the cozy cabin.

Thankfully, there weren’t a great many ponies in the station when they arrived, so Rarity was hopeful that she and Pinkie Pie could make a beeline for Sugarcube Corner and check in with her clients, then head straight for an inn to rest for the night.

And perhaps they would have, had they not heard Pinkie’s name being called.

Rarity stopped and turned her head to find the caller, though in the nearly empty train station it wasn’t hard to identify the tall, fat pegasus mare.

Rarity mused that no matter how crowded the station might have been, she would have noticed this woman right away from the plum-colored poncho she wore that clashed with her pale gray fur, and her fetching mane of wavy, unkempt blonde hair was rather striking too.

“Pinkie Pie, you old so-and-so!” she said, and ran over to Pinkie Pie to wrap her up in a tight hug that did not go unwelcomed by Pinkie.

“Bubbles!” Pinkie shook herself awake and beamed at the pegasus, and if her enthusiasm was anything less than genuine, she even had Rarity fooled. “What are you doing here?”

“Uh, I’m here to see you guys!” Bubbles giggled. “Obviously!”

Bubbles turned her attention to Rarity as the three walked out of the station and into the sleepy town of Ponyville proper, and her demeanor seemed to change from the bubbly air of enthusiasm she held for Pinkie to a feeling of… apprehension?

“So you’re the Slayer, huh?” Bubbles said, looking up and down curiously at Rarity.

“I am,” Rarity said, “and you’re a friend of Pinkie Pie, I take it?”

“Oh yeah,” Pinkie answered, “Bubbles and I have been pen pals for almost a year now!”

Pinkie rambled about how she and Bubbles had begun their correspondence, though Rarity was only half-listening as her thoughts were focused entirely on finding Sugarcube Corner to meet with the Cakes, who had hired her to deal with the timberwolves.

As Pinkie relayed her story, Bubbles nodded emphatically along, grinning ear to ear. It was endearing, mostly, but Rarity couldn’t shake the feeling that something about this woman was odd. Though she supposed it was simply because she reminded her so immediately of Pinkie Pie, who was nothing if not odd herself.

Or perhaps it was the mare’s eyes, one of which was always laser focused on whatever was currently the object of Bubbles’ ever shifting attention, but the other seemed to have a life of its own, drooping and bopping in seemingly random directions. Though this didn’t make Bubbles’ eyes any less attractive, as they seemed to glitter with an ethereal glow that Rarity found quite soothing.

“Wow, you’re really armed to the teeth, huh?” Bubbles jumped in front of Rarity, forcing her to abruptly stop in her tracks, and sized up Rarity’s assortment of weapons she carried.

“I am,” Rarity forced a strained smile onto her face; she didn’t want to be rude to Bubbles, but the late hour was already trying her patience and Rarity wanted nothing more than to check in with her clients and then get a good night’s rest before tackling the timberwolf problem.

“Now, if you’ll please excuse us,” Rarity gently, but sternly, pushed Bubbles to the side and continued walking, “Pinkie Pie and I really need to get a move on. It’s gotten quite late and we have a big day tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I bet!” Bubbles chirped as she bounced alongside Rarity, apparently unable to take the hint. “Timberwolves! That must be a real pain, huh? Coming all this way just to deal with a little pest problem?”

“It’s no trouble,” Rarity glanced over at Pinkie Pie and silently pleaded for some kind of help or suggestion to get Bubbles to leave her alone to focus, but Pinkie could only give a noncommittal shrug in return, “I’m happy to do it.”

“You don’t think it’ll take too long, do you?” Bubbles asked. “Like, are you just gonna go in there, bonk ‘em all on the head and that’ll be that, right?”

“I don’t know,” Rarity grinded her teeth together, though her tension was alleviated somewhat as she felt Pinkie’s fingers coiled around her hand. “I suppose we’ll see once I scope out the forest, tomorrow.”

“Ooooooh, that sounds exciting!”

Bubbles’s cooing was like an axe being grinded against Rarity’s last nerve, and she inhaled sharply to resist the urge to say some choice words to Bubbles regarding her currently bothersome nature, though feeling Pinkie’s fingers massaging her palm didn’t hurt either.

“Can I come with?”

“Yes, sure, you can come with us,” Rarity snapped, poking two fingers against her temples before grabbing Bubbles’s arms and saying sternly, “as long as you leave me be, right now.”

A silent moment passed by and Rarity realized she was still holding onto Bubbles’s arms. She regretted every word that had just left her mouth immediately, but before she could apologize or redact her invitation, Bubbles flashed a gleaming smirk.

“Okay! See ya tomorrow!”

Bubbles ran off into town before Rarity could even properly take stock of what had just happened, she even needed to look around her for a moment to make sure that Bubbles had really just left and she wasn’t imagining it or something.

Rarity blinked. She looked to Pinkie for confirmation, but the poor sleepy sheepy just had a droll, glazed-over look on her face.

“Wh-what just happened?” Rarity asked, more thinking aloud than expecting an answer.

“I think you just invited Bubbles to do Hunting stuff with you tomorrow,” Pinkie said, stifling a yawn.

“Ah.”

Rarity groaned slid a hand across her face.

“Nothing to be done for it now, I suppose,” Rarity shrugged and threw her arms listlessly at her side. “I don’t suppose you would mind too terribly coming along as well, keep your friend out of trouble?”

“Uh, heck yeah!?” Any drowsiness Pinkie had been struggling with before was instantly swept away by her excitement at Rarity’s offer and she jumped at Rarity with wide open arms, wrapping her up in a little hug which Rarity happily returned.

Rarity stood there for a moment with Pinkie in her arms, resting her head atop Pinkie’s head, and sighed softly.

A moment of peace.

“Come on,” Rarity yawned and pat Pinkie on the shoulder, and Pinkie bounced alongside her as she resumed the trek to Sugarcube Corner, “let’s go check in with your friends so we can some shut-eye.”

Author's Notes:

if u refer to her as d*rpy in my comments i will come to your house and leave a thick layer of tar on ur bathroom floor

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

06. Trouble Sleeping

The meeting with Mr. and Mrs. Cake went off without a hitch. Rarity explained to them how she was going to scope out the perimeter of the Everfree Forest first thing in the morning, then she would make her plan of attack, with Rarity stating confidently that she would have the town’s timberwolf problem eliminated within no more than two days at most.

While the Cakes were kind enough to offer Rarity and Pinkie free lodging at their place, and Rarity was genuinely moved by their offer, she turned them down as she preferred the privacy and peace-of-mind that an inn could provide that simply wouldn’t be available if she were sleeping in someone else’s home.

And so, Rarity and Pinkie Pie made it to the inn, and Rarity finally was able to lay her head down and rest, though she quite quickly realized that she couldn’t sleep.

She just—she needed to check her gear, to make sure everything was in order, or go over the plan in her head one more time to make sure she didn’t miss any details.

She had made a rather lofty promise to deal with the beasts in only two days— or had she? Timberwolves were only a C-Rank monster after all, so two days was probably more time than she needed.

But how could she be sure? Better go over the plan one more ti—

“Rarity?”

“Uh, yes, darling?” Rarity replied nervously to Pinkie’s quiet voice, her cheeks heating up as she briefly indulged the thought that she must have woken Pinkie up.

Pinkie yawned groggily and sat up, looking across the small room at Rarity with a knowing smile on her face.

“Go to sleep, silly.”

“I will,” Rarity said. “I am.”

“You can’t sleep with all those weapons on your bed.”

Rarity looked down at the veritable arsenal lying on her sheet and released a nervous giggle.

“I suppose,” she tugged at the collar of her shirt and prayed that her cheeks weren’t glowing in the dark, “you may be right.”

Rarity breathed in deeply and gently took the weapons off her bed, laying them on the floor or inside the cabinet of the night stand; except for her hand-axe, which always laid right on the stand beside her, so she could grab it at a moment’s notice in case of an emergency.

It wasn’t until she was finished clearing off the bed that she realized Pinkie was still staring at her.

“Darling? Is everything alright?” Rarity sat on the edge of her bed, legs dangling off and anxiously fretting with the hem of her nightshirt. “I’m sorry, I hadn’t meant to wake you.”

“Oh, you didn’t wake me,” Pinkie laughed. “You’re just not the only one having trouble sleeping, is all.”

“Is something that matter?”

Something in Pinkie’s voice raised an alarm inside of Rarity; she didn’t need to ask if something was wrong, she knew that it was, it was just a matter of whether Pinkie wanted to share, and there was no sense in charging at the situation like a rampaging bull.

“N-no, it’s okay,” Pinkie pulled her blanket up to hide her face, “I don’t want to bother you.”

Pinkie pulled the blanket back down, gripping it tightly, and her entire posture seized up like she was trying to retreat into herself. “I’m sorry, saying that probably made things worse, huh?”

Rarity knew exactly what she needed to do. She walked over to Pinkie’s bed and sat on the side of it, gently placing her hand atop Pinkie’s, “You are never a bother, Pinkie Pie dear.”

“I’m not?” Pinkie’s genuinely confused tone threatened to break Rarity’s heart clean in half.

“Of course not,” Rarity traced her thumb across Pinkie’s cheek to wipe away a tear. “Now please, tell me what’s the matter?”

Pinkie Pie sidled up next to Rarity, kicking her feet off the bed and wrapping her arms snuggly around Rarity’s stomach, her cheek smushed up against Rarity’s side.

“I’m worried about Applejack.”

“Applejack?” Rarity said, her ears flicking up. “What’s wrong with her?”

“Nothing,” Pinkie’s shake of her head tickled Rarity’s side and she stifled a laugh by biting her lip and placing her hand atop Pinkie’s head and running her fingers through her curly mane. “It’s what’s wrong with me that’s the problem.”

“Oh, I’m certain nothing’s genuinely wrong with you, sweetheart,” Rarity slid her hand over to Pinkie’s shoulder and pulled the Pinkie in closer to her, gently embracing her with both arms as Pinkie shuffled her legs under her and pressed herself against Rarity for comfort. “So, what is it that you think is ‘wrong’ with you, exactly?”

“Applejack’s really stressed,” Pinkie said, breathing heavily between her words as she tried not to burst into tears, “cuz y’know, our business isn’t doing too great. We thought starting up a shop together would be really fun and smart, cuz she’s amazing at making things and I’m an okay enchantress, but running a business is hard!

“Applejack’s always so stressed all the time cuz she has to make sure we’re making enough money, and we never are, and she needs to make sure everything runs smoothly and everyone’s doing their part, plus she actually makes the things and I just—I dunno what to do!

“I just keep thinking that it’s my fault, cuz none of the other smiths in town like us, because of me! They all say I’m too chatty and that customers don’t want conversation when they come to a smith, they want weapons, and maybe they’re right!”

And there were the waterworks.

Pinkie moaned and wheezed tearfully into Rarity’s chest while Rarity just held her quietly, massaging her shoulders or running her hands through Pinkie’s hair. Rarity had a lot to say, a lot of worries to dispel and arguments to make, but that’s not what Pinkie needed right now; what she needed now was someone to cry on, and Rarity was more than happy to provide the service.

Pinkie took some deep breaths and Rarity held onto her cheeks, Pinkie’s hands trembling atop Rarity’s. One more deep breath, in through the nose… and out through the mouth, and Pinkie was done crying.

“I’m sorr—”

“Don’t apologize to me,” Rarity placed a finger upon Pinkie’s lips. Rarity’s other hand felt a little simmer on Pinkie’s cheek as she nodded her head bashfully. “Now, how much of that stuff you just told me do you honestly think is true?”

“I dunno,” Pinkie shrugged, “some? I know I worry over nothing a lot, and Applejack hasn’t said anything to me about anything, but maybe that’s because she’s mad but she doesn’t want to start a conflict?!”

“I don’t think so, darling,” Rarity smiled and caressed Pinkie’s cheek with her thumb, “you and I both know Applejack can’t keep her feelings to herself, even if she tries to.”

“Yeah,” Pinkie’s little snorting giggle was music to Rarity’s ears, “you’re right. And I know— at least I think—that we’re breaking even, but we aren’t making any money—”

“You’ve only had the shop for about nine months, Pinkie Pie,” Rarity said. “It can take years for a new business to turn a profit—believe me, I know—but that doesn’t mean you’re doing poorly.”

“I know,” Pinkie said distantly, “but opening this shop was a gamble, and I was so sure at the time that it’d be a good idea, but Applejack’s so stressed out and I just want her to be happy.”

“Hey,” Rarity pinched Pinkie’s cheeks before letting her hands fall to her friend’s shoulders.

Pinkie looked up into Rarity’s eyes, the poor dear’s watery eyes pleading for some measure of assurance that everything would be okay.

“It’s okay to be scared,” Rarity said, “but don’t let that fear make you forget that you are surrounded by people that love you and that care about you. Me, your family, the Apple family, especially Applejack. And let me tell you, if you heard half the stories the folks at the Slayer’s Guild tell about you and Applejack, you’d have an ego the size of Mount Everhoof.”

“Wh—really?” Pinkie’s eyes glistened with hope, and Rarity giggled as she placed her forehead against Pinkie’s.

“Really,” Rarity whispered, a gentle smile on her face. “Everyone at the Guild knows that the Apple Pie Smithery is the greatest forge in Equestria, and I’ve never heard anypony say an unkind word about the positively delightful family that runs it.”

Rarity pressed her cheek up against Pinkie’s and glanced side to side, placing a hand at the side of her mouth and whispering, “And just between you and me, I think the family who runs the place are absolute darlings! But don’t tell ‘em I said that!”

Pinkie erupted into a fit of giggles and threw her arms around Rarity again, Rarity hugging Pinkie in return and softly laying her head atop Pinkie’s.

“Thank you, Rarity.”

“It’s my pleasure, sweetheart.”

“I guess what I’m really worried about,” Pinkie sidled away from Rarity and twiddled her fingers, “is that all this extra stress will make Applejack mad at me, that she’ll start hating me over this.”

Rarity opened her mouth to speak but Pinkie quickly raised a finger to cut her off.

“And I know that isn’t gonna happen,” Pinkie said, “but I don’t always know, y’know?”

“I do,” Rarity said coldly, pinching and rubbing her fingers over a bit of her nightshirt.

Rarity breathed in deeply and let out a soft sigh that masked the weight with which she took it, and she took Pinkie’s hand in hers.

“You don’t think,” Pinkie said hesitantly, “that Applejack will hate me?”

“Absolutely not,” Rarity gently caressed Pinkie’s hand.

“I’m still scared,” Pinkie whimpered.

“And that’s okay,” Rarity said. “Do you need a big spoon tonight?”

Pinkie Pie nodded effusively, and Rarity chuckled before planting a tiny kiss on the mare’s forehead and grabbing the blanket off her own bed. It was winter, after all, no sense in letting the extra blanket go to waste.

Pinkie was already sound asleep, her snoring like a tiny saw cutting through a tree branch and it forced Rarity to stifle a laugh to prevent waking the cutie pie up. She gently laid down in the bed behind Pinkie, who instinctively snuggled up into Rarity’s embrace, and neither Rarity nor Pinkie Pie found any trouble sleeping after that.

Author's Notes:

while editing this i wanted to punch past me for making pinkie pie cry

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

07. The Edge of the Forest

Rarity smiled proudly at the imposing silhouette of the Everfree Forest towering over her. She paced through the snow, her eyes flicking between the forest entrance and the two ponies watching her work from a safe distance atop a short hill.

She tried not to pay them much mind, Pinkie Pie promised to keep herself and Bubbles out of trouble and Rarity trusted her word. Rarity needed to focus, for now she was finally in her element; now the Hunt could begin in earnest.

“What’s she doing?” Bubbles asked at a volume that could only generously be described as a whisper.

“She’s scopin’ out the scene!” Pinkie answered, no better at keeping her voice down than her friend.

Rarity scowled as she tried to focus on the forest, but-

“What does that mean though?”

-Bubbles’ awful attempts at whispering were a little bit distracting.

“I dunno!”

Pinkie’s weren’t any better.

“Girls?” Rarity spun around to them, her hair flying fabulously around her as she flashed the two noisy mares a bright grin. “Maybe a little quiet while I focus, please?”

“Oh, sorry Rarity!” Pinkie chirped, nudging Bubbles with her elbow, though the pegasus’ only response was to rub her arm and then shrug, which did not inspire a great deal of confidence in her ability to remain quiet.

“Thank you, girls,” Rarity sighed bemusedly and elected to get back to work.

She returned her attention to the forest and tried to ignore the girls still chattering busily away behind her, rolling her eyes at the idea of reminding them again to be quiet, until her magic alerted her to a presence approaching from the forest.

“Pinkie Pie?” Rarity’s tone was urgent as the color drained from her face, and she turned to give Pinkie a stern glance.

“Y-yes? What’s the matter, Rarity?” Pinkie caught on easily to Rarity’s sudden urgency, and even Bubbles clammed up and let her speak.

“Take Bubbles-“ a spark of magic from Rarity’s horn activated the bracer on her arm, transforming it into a large steel shield “-and run to someplace safer. The wolves are coming out of the forest.”

Rarity saw Pinkie grab Bubbles’ wrist without a word and tug her toward the town proper, and to Bubbles’ credit, she followed Pinkie without protest. Rarity breathed a sigh of relief and backed up against the hill, facing the forest as she sensed the monsters coming closer at alarming speed.

A battle was imminent, and Rarity held her shield in front of her and her axe in her left hand, her sword, held by her magic, hovering beside her.

She steeled herself and prayed she was prepared. Which, of course she was; Rarity was always prepared.

Three timberwolves— magical canine beasts with stitched together bodies of leaves, twigs and logs— came tearing out of the forest and Rarity couldn’t have been happier to see them. And only three, no less! This would barely be a warmup for her!

Rarity’s sword tore into one of the wolves’ jaw, removing it entirely, but the beast didn’t slow down or even flinch as it rushed toward Rarity.

She threw her axe into its head, and that made it stop for a second, and the thumping clash of Rarity’s shield being slammed into its head knocked it to the ground and kept it down long enough for the hovering sword to slice right through its neck and disable the creature for good.

Rarity had no time to feel proud of herself, as she barely managed to shield herself from the pounce of another wolf, falling backward as the creature bit and clawed at her shield and brought her to the ground.

Her floating sword pierced right through the creature’s head and dragged it off her, but not fast enough for her to avoid the last wolf’s teeth crushing down onto her leg, piercing through her skin like it was paper and clashing right against bone, Rarity biting her lip until it bled to keep from screaming.

Rarity glanced over at the wolf on her left— which was occupied trying to claw at Rarity’s sword— and grabbed her axe with her magic, slashing it down hard onto the gnawing wolf’s head and thankfully separating the beast’s jaw from her leg.

She withdrew her leg and forced herself to stand, though before she was all the way up the wolf pounced her and she threw her shield up to defend herself, determined this time to stay on her hooves and not let this creature take her down.

Though the pain in her leg made it difficult, she managed to push the timberwolf back and knock it to the ground instead, then quickly hop away from it to get some distance.

It was at this point that she cursed herself for not paying better attention, because the wolf she had thought was still fighting with her sword had gotten behind her, no longer occupied by a sword that had been dropped when Rarity lost her concentration.

The wolf swiped a claw at the bright red wound in her leg, and the searing pain caused Rarity to instinctively recoil her leg and then stomp her hoof into the timberwolf’s head, smashing through the wood and cracking a hole clean into its lower jaw.

In a rage, she slammed her shield into the beast’s head and pulled out one of her knives, stabbing the creature’s neck and smiling with deranged glee as the explosion of blue magic consumed the monster’s body and reduced it to ashes.

Rarity’s cheer was cut short by the third timberwolf’s claws digging into her back, drawing not only blood but a piercing scream from Rarity as she collapsed to the ground.

The monster gnashed its jaws and prepared to bite down on Rarity’s neck, but she threw her knife into its mouth instead, and it couldn’t rightly bite down after its head was annihilated in a magical explosion, now could it?

It still took a moment to get the beast’s headless corpse off Rarity’s back, and the effort wasn’t made easier by the mind-numbing pain coming from her back and her leg, but once she did it she stood to her hooves and surveyed the forest once more, quickly checking to make sure no more timberwolves were on the horizon.

Rarity breathed a deep, haggard sigh of relief. Now she had to focus on her injuries; they were painful, but they weren’t deep or altogether too serious. More a nuisance than anything, and she briefly considered just walking them off, but she knew that would lead to more trouble than it was worth.

She opened her tiny yet fashionable little hip-bag and procured an ointment that would heal her wounds, given to her by the head of the Slayer’s Guild, Queen Celestia herself. If she ran out of the ointment, it was just a matter of making an appointment with the Queen to get more, so she had no reason to be stingy with it.

Rarity mused that perhaps that was the reason she was getting so reckless these days, so that she would have an excuse to be doted on by the Queen.

“Rarity! Are you okay!?”

Rarity’s ears perked up and her brow furrowed at the sound of Pinkie’s concerned call, and she looked around to see Pinkie—and Bubbles, of course—hiding behind a nearby abandoned farmhouse that was decidedly not a safe distance away from the forest and Rarity’s battle with the timberwolves.

“Pinkie Pie!” Rarity snapped, and her cold tone stopped Pinkie in her tracks as she ran to Rarity’s aid. “I told you to keep yourself and Bubbles out of danger!”

“And I did!” Pinkie yelled back. “You’re the only pony who got hurt! This isn’t the first time I’ve seen a monster, Rarity, and you aren’t the only one who worries about her friends getting hurt!”

Rarity’s ears flattened against her head as Pinkie huffed, her arms thrown down in front of her and her hands curled into fists.

“I’m sorry,” Rarity said, arching her back to make sure the ointment took. “You’re right, and I shouldn’t have yelled at you.”

“I’ll forgive you,” Pinkie puffed up her cheeks and crossed her arms, “if you let me give you a hug!”

“Deal!” Rarity giggled, and she and Pinkie ran toward each other and embraced in a warm hug, Rarity even lifting Pinkie an inch or two off the ground, much to Pinkie’s giggly amusement.

“So hey,” Bubbles said, “you did it, you beat the timberwolves! Yaaaay!” her rather lackluster cheering was accompanied by lethargic hand gestures that evoked a half-asleep drunkard trying to give directions to a place they’d never heard of.

“And you seem incredibly jazzed about it,” Rarity snarked.

“Oh I’m jazzed as heck!” Bubbles gave a thumbs-up and a big grin. “I’m just glad to be done with that timberwolf situation and not have to worry about it anymore!”

“Not even close, honey,” Rarity laughed.

“There’s more?” Pinkie, her arms still wrapped around Rarity’s waist.

“Absolutely,” Rarity said, gently prying herself away from Pinkie and toward a decidedly less enthusiastic Bubbles. “That was just a mere scouting party, looking for food. There’s a whole pack in there that I need to deal with.”

“Then what are you doing standing around here for?!” Bubbles clamored, throwing her arms in the air. “Shouldn’t you get this over with as fast as possible?”

“How about you don’t tell me how I should be doing my job, hmm?” Rarity remarked, cutting a bewildered-looking Bubbles down with a cold glare.

“I am going right away, but I just got injured since I had no plan in place. That fight was a disorganized mess, and I’d prefer my future encounters to end with less blood pouring out of my body onto the snow.”

“And I suppose you don’t need any help, huh?” Pinkie twiddled her fingers and smiled innocently at Rarity, who was practically smitten with the helpful cutie.

“I don’t, darling,” she said as she knelt to grab Pinkie’s hand and look her in the eye. “I need to do this on my own, okay? And I need you to stay put so that I don’t have to worry about you.”

“Okaaaay,” Pinkie sighed melodramatically, and Rarity couldn’t help bursting into giggles and giving Pinkie a big hug, and of course Pinkie couldn’t resist hugging her back. “Just be safe, alright?”

“Darling, please,” Rarity scoffed a playfully ran a hand through her hair as she walked toward the forest, “I still owe you a drink, don’t I?”

Author's Notes:

writing is fun tbh

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

08. The Librarian's Son

Twilight Sparkle was about halfway to pacing a groove into the wooden floor of the library.

It was early in the morning, one of the only mornings she can even recall where she woke up before Spike, though that had more to do with the fact that she had hardly slept during the night.

She slept soundly enough on the library floor for a couple of hours, but it wasn’t long until the brittle feel of the hardwood under her body forced her to get up and head to bed, but she never made it to the bed before her mind started racing at a pace too fast to allow her to get back to sleep.

How could she be so foolish? She didn’t set any time for Rainbow Dash to come back! For all she knew, Rainbow could already be on her way, or waiting until the wee hours of the night, or drop by in the afternoon, or dusk, or late morning, or noon hour, or—well, she had no idea and no way of knowing!

How could the ordinarily so organized and scheduled Twilight Sparkle have overlooked such an obvious detail!? It was shameful!

And now, she had nothing to do but wait anxiously for Rainbow to arrive, because she couldn’t focus on anything else! She certainly hadn’t for the last several hours she had spent pacing!

Oh no, what if Rainbow didn’t come back at all?! What if she decided she didn’t want to see Twilight again? Or what if she got hurt? Or what if something else came up?

Twilight had no way to know and no way to find out, and to make matters worse she was starting to come down with a splitting headache for some reason! Real good timing for that to happen!

“Twilight?”

Spike’s sleepy voice as he descended the stairs snapped Twilight from her trance, and she smiled at the little purple pegasus with the adorable little tuft of green hair, and his little dragon doll that kept guard over him while he slept.

“Sorry, Spike,” she said bashfully, “did I wake you?”

“Nah,” Spike yawned as he plopped himself onto the reception desk, and he tilted his head as he saw the worn hoof tracks all along Twilight’s pacing route. “Uh, is something the matter? Looks like you’ve done a number on the library, and you never get up before me!”

“Oh, Spike!” Twilight ran to her son and grabbed him into a tight hug, holding onto the poor boy as if she were a drowning woman clinging to a piece of flotsam. “It’s just awful!”

“What, what’s the matter?” Spike asked in alarm.

“I made a new friend!” Twilight backed away from Spike and sheepishly twiddled her fingers. “At least, I think I made a friend! I don’t even know!”

“Uh, that sounds awful?” Spike fluttered his wings behind him and tapped his fingers against the edge of the desk, a sign that he was becoming anxious with Twilight dancing around the real issue.

“You don’t understand, Spike!” Twilight pleaded.

“I don’t!” Spike said. “You haven’t told me anything yet!”

“I didn’t make a schedule!”

Spike slapped his forehead, and slowly dragged his hand down his face.

“That’s what this is about?” he asked drolly, arching an eyebrow at his mother, whose eyes were darting around at the walls like she was afraid they would close in on her.

“She said she would come over again today,” Twilight explained, “but she didn’t say when, and I foolishly forgot to set a time for her to come back! So now I have nothing to do but freak out until she gets here! IF she gets here! She might not! Who knows!”

“Twilight, it’s gonna be okay,” Spike patted the desk, inviting Twilight to sit beside him, which she did but she was still trembling.

Spike grabbed his mother’s jittery hand with both of his, though he quickly took one back for a moment in order to grab his dragon protector, and put it in Twilight’s lap, a gesture which melted her heart.

“People don’t just say they’re gonna do things, and then not do them,” Spike said.

“You’re right, Spike,” Twilight took a deep breath. “You’re right.”

She groaned dismally, her cheeks burning up as it dawned on her what a fool she was making of herself, and the sight of her tracks in the hardwood only painted her cheeks a brighter red. She put her arm around Spike’s shoulder and held him close to her, taking his little dragon friend in her other hand.

“Thank you, Spike,” she said with an embarrassed sigh, “and I’m sorry, you really shouldn’t have to talk your own mother off a cliff.”

“If I ever needed talking off a cliff,” Spike said proudly, “you’d be there for me!”

“In a heartbeat.”

“So why shouldn’t I help you when you need help?”

“You are too sweet,” Twilight nuzzled her son and delighted in hearing his little snort of affection. “Who raised you? They must’ve done an amazing job!”

“My mom did!” Spike booped Twilight on the nose. “And she’s alright, I guess.”

Spike wasn’t the only one capable of an affectionate snort, but Twilight’s came at the cost of her cheeks burning up again. Spike’s laugh made it better though.

“Well I guess that it’s time for you to get dressed,” Twilight hopped off the desk and gave Spike a kiss on the forehead. “You’re still in your pajamas!”

“So are you!”

Twilight looked at herself and realized she had indeed been wearing her extremely cool and not embarrassing at all star and moon pattern pajamas, and she remembered that was as far as she got to bed before her brained mutinied.

“R-right,” Twilight gently squeezed the back of her neck. “Okay, so I should get dressed, but you first.”

“Okay,” Spike said, “but first you gotta tell me about your new friend!”

“Oh.”

A knot formed in Twilight’s stomach, like a gong radiating outwards form her core.

Twilight had a fear of the Celestial Slayers that was justified by witnessing the cruelties they were capable of, but Spike had only Twilight’s stories and his own imagination to go off of, which just escalated his fear of them.

How could she tell Spike that she let a Slayer into the library? How would he react? No, scratch that, Twilight knew exactly how he would react; he would jump to his feet and proclaim that he would defend Twilight from the deadly monster, puffing up his chest even as his legs shook underneath him.

It would be adorable, but it would just lead Twilight to have to explain that he couldn’t protect her from them, and was she ready to have that conversation?

It didn’t matter. Twilight promised from the day she adopted Spike as her own, that her relationship with him would be built on a foundation of honesty. She couldn’t keep the truth from him, even if she desperately wanted to.

“Spike,” Twilight took a deep breath, and she could tell that Spike noticed her sudden change in demeanor, “my new friend is a Slayer.”

“What?!” Spike grit his teeth and jumped to his hooves, puffing up his chest and stomping forward. “Don’t worry, Twilight! I’ll protect you from—“

“Thank you, Spike,” Twilight held back a laugh and got on her knees, putting her hands on Spike’s shoulders. “I want you to know, that I would never let anyone in the library who I thought could hurt you.”

“It’s not me I’m worried about!” Spike huffed, and Twilight averted her eyes, knowing that Spike had no patience for Twilight’s selflessness.

Twilight sighed. “I won’t let anyone hurt me either. I promise.”

“But,” Spike bit his lip and Twilight’s heart broke as she saw him fighting back tears, “you said she was a Slayer! They’re dangerous, Twilight! We can’t let them—”

“Ssh,” Twilight wrapped Spike in her arms and massaged his back, “it’s okay. No one’s gonna hurt us. I know, that you’ve never heard anything but horror stories of the Celestial Slayers. But they aren’t all like that. No group is a monolith.”

“I don’t know what that means,” Spike sniffled.

“It means they’re not all the same,” Twilight smiled at Spike and pressed her thumb against his cheek, wiping away tears even as he tried to fidget away from her. “We didn’t come to Equestria to live in fear, right?”

Spike huffed and crossed his arms, and although he was trying to put on a tough-guy face, Twilight could see he was still ready to cry again.

“Spike?” Twilight bore a catlike grin as she gently prodded him in the arm. “Did we come to Equestria to live in fear?”

“No,” Spike mumbled.

“So we need to be brave,” Twilight stood up, but not before ruffling through Spike’s hair. “And we need to trust our instincts, and my instinct says that Rainbow Dash is a good person.”

Spike still didn’t seem convinced. Twilight put her hands on her knees and bent down, softly poking him in the forehead to get him to look at her.

“You trust me?” she said.

Spike took a deep breath and, though he did so with a quivering lip, said “I trust you.”

“That’s my boy,” Twilight scooped Spike up into her arms, picking him up and hugging him so tight like he was the only source of light in a pitch dark library. As she put him back down, she said “Now go get dressed, okay?”

Before Spike could answer, a knock at the door startled both mother and son, causing her to jump—practically out of her skin—and him to hide behind her and grip her leg for dear life.

Twilight cautioned Spike to stay put, the little pony hiding behind the reception desk, and Twilight inched toward the door, cursing her jumpiness as another knock made her heart nearly leap into her throat.

Once she was close enough for a simple spell to allow her to see through the wall, she breathed a sigh of relief as she recognized the familiar face, only for the adrenaline to start pouring through her body as she realized that her new friend was here.

“It’s her!” Twilight’s voice did nothing to hide her excitement. She turned to the reception desk, huge grin on her face, and saw Spike just barely poking his head out behind it.

“Your new ‘friend’?” Spike’s voice did nothing to hide his contempt. Twilight nodded and gave Spike a sad sigh, and Spike just rolled his eyes. “I’m gonna go get dressed.”

He jumped toward the stairs and started to head up, but stopped cold and stared at Twilight, who stared back at him.

“Promise me one more time that you’re gonna be okay,” Spike said, as deadly serious as a child could be.

“I promise,” Twilight said, mirroring every ounce of Spike’s serious attitude, “we will be okay.”

Spike nodded hesitantly and hurried up the stairs, and Twilight drew her breath as she approached the door.

Twilight took in another deep breath which was released in a haggard wheeze as another knock at the door— that she was now standing right in front of— knocked the wind out of her.

On instinct, she grabbed the knob and swung the door open, lurching forward and slamming her nose right into Rainbow Dash’s fist as she prepared to knock again.

“Aaaaowwww,” Twilight whined pitiably as she grabbed hold of her nose and stumbled back.

“Are you okay?” Rainbow asked, stepping forward and reaching a hand out to grab Twilight’s arm, though the librarian quickly lurched away from her and put on a strained smile.

“Yep!” she said. “If you don’t start your morning getting punched in the nose, can you honestly say you’re really living?”

Rainbow laughed and held out her hand. “Sorry about that.”

Twilight clasped Rainbow’s hand and most of her anxiety disappeared, replaced with new, unrelated anxiety as now she had to hold a conversation with her new friend and not screw it up somehow.

“Okay, look,” Rainbow scratched the side of her neck and tilted her head just barely away from Twilight, gazing at the ceiling with her peripherals, “I know it’s super early and you’re probably closed, so like I’m sorry for coming this early, but I hardly slept at all cuz I was reading this book-“

Rainbow pulled the Daring Do book out from her bag and handed it to Twilight.

“-and I was really lowkey excited about coming back—okay, I was kinda highkey excited cuz I wanted to talk to you about the book and maybe read some more of these books and talk to you about them and I know that’s super dumb but I just—“

Twilight clamped Rainbow’s mouth shut with her magic, and Rainbow bashfully rubbed the back of her neck.

“It’s good to see you too, Rainbow,” Twilight said with a bright smile, her anxiety all but faded away as she realized Rainbow was just as nervous as she was.

“Yeah,” Rainbow smirked shyly, and Twilight pretended to ignore that her cheeks were as red as the streak in her mane, “good to see you, Twilight Sparkle.”

Rainbow was silent for a moment as she looked Twilight up and down. She smiled ear to ear and her eyes glittered.

“Those are really cool pajamas!”

Twilight looked at herself and laughed. As she walked toward the reception desk, beckoning Rainbow to follow her, she knew she had no more reason to fear Rainbow than she had to fear herself.

“Welcome to the library,” Twilight said with a bright, tender smile, “make yourself at home, Rainbow Dash.”

Author's Notes:

a wild spike appears

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

09. The Fangs in the Forest

The pack of timberwolves ran through the winding, snowy paths of the Everfree Forest, completely oblivious to the Slayer watching them from behind a nearby snowdrift.

Tracking the beasts down proved to be almost an insultingly easy task for Rarity— the creatures’ clawed feet leaving easily traceable tracks in the heavy snow—but she wasn’t about to complain. Especially not when she could complain about the pack’s size instead.

Rarity knew going into this mission that this pack was unusually large, but it still left a sinking feeling in her stomach to have her worst fears confirmed and see over thirty timberwolves rampaging through the forest.

Rarity had almost gotten her leg torn off in a battle with three timberwolves; she shuddered to think of the state she’d be left in if she tried to stage a full-frontal assault on a group of thirty.

Luckily for Rarity, such a grisly scenario would not be necessary! While confronting the beasts head-on was quite simply out of the question, she knew that if she started picking them off from a distance with her arrows, the rest of the pack would be alerted and come charging toward her in a bloodthirsty fury.

Normally, that would lead to a rather ugly situation, but if Rarity placed magical traps along the path the wolves were sure to take, she could take down the entire pack in one fell swoop and make it back to Ponyville in time for luncheon!

Rarity watched the timberwolves’ movements for a little while longer, getting a feel for the area in which they travelled. Setting up the traps would be something of a tedious effort, so she wanted to be sure she was placing them in a location where she could reliably wait for the wolves to return to.

Once she was certain of her desired position— a narrow pathway absolutely choked with large, leafless trees—Rarity took out one of her knives and began carving runes into the base of a tree.

She quietly said a prayer of respect as she carved, more out of habit than anything, though she had learned that the people of Ponyville believed there was a powerful spirit who watched over the Everfree, and the last thing Rarity wanted was to get on such a spirit’s bad side.

If Rarity could have simply carved the runes into the ground, she would have done so, but the snow made that impossible, so these trees would have to do.

After carving only the second rune, Rarity groaned and rested her weary back against a tree, wiping snow out of her way so she could sit on the ground without getting too wet.

It had been a while since Rarity had used actual magic—as opposed to simply the enchantments on her weapons, which required considerably less effort—and she had forgotten how tedious it was to delicately etch the runes.

Oh well, she thought, no sense in simply lying around here. These timberwolves aren’t going to slay themsel—

A piercing scream tore through the air and Rarity was on her hooves instantly. She darted her head around in any direction, trying to find some sense of where the scream had come from, and another scream answered her question handily.

Without even thinking, Rarity took off in the direction of the scream, charging through the woods and snow as fast as her legs would carry her. The most important thing to a Slayer, to Rarity, was protecting the ponies, and she would be damned if she let an innocent woman be killed in these woods on her watch.

It wasn’t long before Rarity caught sight of a woman, blood trailing from the open wounds in her leg and arm, leaned up against a tree while a pack of at least a dozen timberwolves closed in on her. Rarity grit her teeth as she recognized the gray pegasus mare, but this was no time for her to start thinking about how she was going to scold Bubbles for following her.

Rarity jumped in front of Bubbles with her shield bared, just in time for a timberwolf to lunge right into it and be knocked back. Another wolf attempted to scratch at Rarity’s leg but her floating sword came down and pierced right through its skull, killing it instantly.

“Can you stand?” Rarity asked as she stared down the remaining wolves, who were all watching her warily and preparing to attack.

“I-I don’t think so!” Bubbles sobbed.

Rarity groaned and threw two of her knives into the ground at her feet, the magical explosion disorienting the pack of timberwolves just long enough for Rarity to grab Bubbles by her collar with her magic—which forced her to drop her sword on the ground— and throw her onto Rarity’s back, Bubbles wrapping her arms tightly around Rarity as she bolted away from the wolves.

Rarity’s one advantage as she ran, injured pony on her back, through the Everfree with at least nine timberwolves on her trail, was that the pathways of the forest were incredibly narrow.

The wolves had to clamber around each other and charge her in a straight line as they pursued, which made them quite vulnerable to another of Rarity’s knives as she threw it right at the leading timberwolf’s head, a smile gracing her lips as she saw the bodies of the timberwolves blown away by the resulting explosion.

Rarity quickly ducked into a thicket of trees while the explosion covered her tracks, and she breathed a silent sigh of relief as the remainders of her pursuers ran obliviously past her and her wounded charge.

Speaking of said charge, Rarity dropped Bubbles to the ground on her rump with a painful thud before turning around and giving the woman a piercing glare that could crack stone.

“Rarity, I’m so—”

“Shush,” Rarity knelt and applied a touch of her healing ointment to Bubbles’ arm and leg, letting out a deep sigh as she did so. “Why did you follow me? I told you, over and over, that this is dangerous and I needed to do it alone.”

A whimpering “I’m sorry” is all Bubbles had to offer.

Rarity took a deep breath and stood to her hooves. The howling of the timberwolves echoing through the forest made the fur on her neck stand on end, but at least it gave her an idea of how far away her enemies were, and based on that she was confident she had another minute or two before they found her.

“Thank you,” Bubbles said, “for saving me.”

“Of course,” Rarity shrugged. “I wasn’t going to abandon you. That’s not what I’m about. That’s not what the Celestial Slayers are about.”

“Really?” Bubbles looked up at Rarity with eyes that glistened with unshed tears. “That hasn’t been my experience with the Slayers.”

Before Rarity could properly absorb that sentence and ask Bubbles what she meant, a fast-moving object caught her eye, approaching from her left. Rarity threw her shield up, and if she had been even a half-second slower, the lunging timberwolf would have gouged her eye, but instead it scratched harmlessly at her shield.

Rarity clicked her tongue and grabbed Bubbles with her magic, dragging the mare to her hooves. Rarity cursed herself for being wrong in her time calculation as she slammed her shield into the timberwolf’s skull and saw a group of five more fast approaching.

“We need to go!” Rarity shouted to Bubbles, grabbing the woman’s wrist and running from the pursuing wolves.

“Go where?!” Bubbles hollered.

“Just trust me!” Rarity didn’t have the time to explain the traps she had already set, and how they needed to reach them before the rest of the pack caught up to them.

She didn’t have time because it was already too late.

As Rarity and Bubbles dived out of the thicket and back onto the narrow pathway, another timberwolf lunged at Rarity, and while she was able to defend herself with her shield, the blow still knocked her off balance, enough for a scraping claw against her shin to send her tumbling downward.

She grabbed her axe and hacked through one wolf’s head, and slammed her shield down onto the one that had scraped her leg. She gritted her teeth and ignored the pain as four more wolves quickly rushed her from down the path.

She couldn’t stand up in time, so she just barricaded herself behind her shield as best she could, but four wolves charging into it all at once was more than enough force to send her on her back.

Two of the wolves grabbed her legs in their jaws and started pulling at her, trying to tear her hooves from the rest of her body, but she couldn’t focus on those two until she dealt with the one standing atop her shield and crushing her arm underneath it, and the one that was trying to claw her eye out, that was only being kept at bay by a few desperate swings of Rarity’s axe.

She needed to move fast though; if caught in this position by the rest of the pack—which, judging by the proximity of their howling, was fast approaching her—she wouldn’t survive.

Rarity grabbed one of her last two knives in her magic, throwing it into the head of one of the wolves on her legs; the magic exploded outward and, to Rarity’s glee and relief, annihilated both the monsters.

It also distracted the other two wolves, who turned away from Rarity to look at the explosion, giving Rarity ample opportunity to slash off a leg of the wolf standing on top of her, which brought its head down within the perfect distance to be crushed by her axe.

Taking out the last wolf was a simple matter of stunning it with a blow to the head from Rarity’s shield, then crushing its skull with the axe.

Rarity knew by the howling that she had no time to apply the ointment to her bloody legs; she needed to force herself up and keep going.

A hot sting of fear radiated in her stomach as she realized that Bubbles was now missing. Rarity hoped that Bubbles had taken advantage of the wolves’ distraction and made a run back to Ponyville—she still had wings after all, despite her bloodied leg— but she had to force herself to not think about it either way.

Rarity needed to focus on slaying the timberwolves. It was the only way to guarantee both her own and Bubbles’ safety, and if Rarity went chasing Bubbles into the depths of the forest and away from her traps, it would only spell disaster for them both.

Rarity did her best to run back to where she had placed the traps, a simple locator spell allowing her to detect them even in the labyrinthian forest, but she was forced to concede that the pain in her legs made her slower than she would have liked.

The howling was getting closer, but so too had Rarity almost reached where she had laid the traps. She let herself smile as she quickened her pace as much as her bloodied legs would allow, and soon became certain that she would reach her destination in time.

Until a wolf jumped out from the trees beside her, grabbing her arm in its jaws and taking her down to the ground with an abrupt tug.

Rarity quickly let go of her axe, using her magic to cleave it into the wolf’s head before its fangs could do too much damage to the soft fold inside Rarity’s elbow. She winced as she moved her arm, thankful she could still move it at all but electing to use her magic to hold the axe until this was over.

Regardless, she could still make it to the traps.

She struggled to get back on her wounded legs, but before she was even fully upright, the howling ceased; replaced instead by furious growling and snarling.

They had found her, and it was too late to run.

She had been surrounded on nearly all sides, with several wolves poking their furious jaws out of the thickets on Rarity’s left and right, while the majority of the pack closed in behind her.

The path forward, toward the traps, was still uninhibited, but running for it would mean turning her back on a pack of angry timberwolves and there was no way she could outrun them on her torn up legs.

But she had to try.

She threw her last two knives to her left and right, and as the explosion covered her escape she sprinted toward the traps.

She felt the crushing jaw of a timberwolf biting into her leg an instant before the tug of its teeth tripped her and brought her crashing to the ground on her face, a feeling she was very quickly tiring of.

Rarity grabbed her axe with her magic and swung it into the wolf’s skull, shattering it, but three more wolves were already on her by then; one grabbing the same leg in its maw, another pinning her shield arm, and the other sinking its teeth into the soft flesh of Rarity’s inner knee.

Rarity wanted to scream but her pained throes came out as only a meager whimper.

No time to dwell on her pain, however. She tore her leg away from the gnawing timberwolf and cleaved through the one on her knee, before quickly sinking her axe into the skull of the beast standing on her arm.

She would crawl to those traps if she had to, but she would make it.

Three more wolves came rushing out of the forest and Rarity was about to swear there was no end to the damn things. She cornered herself against a tree and propped up her shield, but that didn’t protect her leg from getting yanked by a timberwolf’s jaw, nor her left hand from getting bitten and also painfully tugged.

The wolves were trying to drag her out of her defensive posture, but she needed to remain calm. She dug her axe into the wolf on her hand, but just as she was about to swing it at the next wolf, the third one leaped at the axe and took the weapon in its mouth, running away from Rarity with her last means of defense in its teeth, leaving her with only her shield and a bow to deal with the beast still gnawing on her hoof.

There was nothing for Rarity to do but to pound the timberwolf with her shield, though with fatigue rapidly grabbing hold of her she didn’t have enough strength to kill the beast in a single hit.

It took one hit for the timberwolf to acknowledge Rarity’s weapon and look up from the meal it was making of her foot. Two hits and it snarled at her and lunged forward, hitting the shield as she rose it to defend her face and chest.

As the beast scratched at the shield, she knew she would have to leave herself momentarily defenseless to attack again. If she didn’t time this right, the wolf would get a clear shot at her face and she didn’t even want to consider what a mess it would make of her then.

But she needed to hurry; no telling when more damn timberwolves might make their appearance.

Rarity lurched her shield-arm outward, thankfully knocking the wolf back a tad. She slammed the shield into the beast’s head, putting her entire bodyweight behind the attack and smashing against the wolf. But it wasn’t enough to kill it.

The timberwolf took a swipe at Rarity, ripping through skin and leaving three garish, bloody scratches across her face. But Rarity simply bashed the shield into the wolf once more, smashing the creature between the shield and a nearby tree, and that was enough to kill it.

Rarity lied on her back; her face was throbbing with a stinging pain and her legs had both become mostly numb to their injuries, likewise her left hand. Her elbow still resounded with a dull ache, though every movement of her arm sent a wave of pain crashing through her body, and the back of her right knee was in such searing agony that she wanted nothing more than to cry.

But she had to force herself to get up. The pack hadn’t been defeated yet, and she needed to reach those traps still.

Was there an opposite to the term ‘music to my ears’? If so, that’s what Rarity was feeling as she heard the snarl of a timberwolf from behind her.

Still prone on the ground, no weapons to defend herself, and bleeding from nearly every appendage, Rarity was in no position to fight yet another timberwolf, and god forbid if it brought friends.

But she had to move. She had to fight back.

Or at least, that’s what she thought before seeing the wolf’s head being sliced clean off by Rarity’s own sword, and a swirling torrent of mixed emotions welled in Rarity’s gut as she saw the little pink fingers wrapped around the hilt.

“You know, I really should scold you,” Rarity said to Pinkie Pie as the pink mare propped Rarity up, “but I’m glad you’re here.”

“That’s good,” Pinkie laughed awkwardly, “I was honestly worried this whole time that you were gonna yell at me.”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart,” Rarity said, retracting her shield into its bracer form and wrapping her one good arm around Pinkie Pie.

“It’s okay,” Pinkie giggled, holding Rarity in her arms, and Rarity felt more comfortable in that embrace than she did in her own bed, though her relaxing was abruptly cut short by Pinkie’s sharp gasp. “Rarity! You’re hurt!”

“Oh, am I?” Rarity said casually.

“Oh, oh! I can use your healy juice! Just tell me where it is!”

“It’s in the satchel,” Rarity patted a small satchel attached to her belt, “this one.”

“Okay,” Pinkie opened the bag and procured the healing ointment, proudly holding it over her head. “Don’t move a muscle, Rarity, and just let Doctor Pinkie Pie take good care of you!”

Pinkie Pie dressed Rarity’s injuries like a pro— after propping her up against one of the trapped trees at Rarity’s insistence.

As Rarity sat there letting Pinkie treat her wounds, Rarity bit her lip and wondered if she should speak her mind, concerned that she might worry Pinkie further if she spoke up, but decided she needed an answer more than she needed to protect Pinkie’s peace of mind.

“Did you see Bubbles, by the way?” Rarity asked, and time felt like it slowed to a standstill as she waited for Pinkie’s answer.

“I told her not to charge ahead,” Pinkie huffed. “But she told me she knew what she was doing cuz I guess she knows the forest super well, and then she flew off to try and find you, even though I suggested we stick together to find you. Very rude.”

“That is rude,” Rarity said, electing to put a pin in the question of why they thought it was a good idea to follow her. “But did you see her after you got separated? I ran into her briefly, but then we got separated, and I was worried—”

“Oh, yeah I did,” Pinkie nodded happily and Rarity felt a weight being lifted off her chest. “She’s the one who told me what direction to find you in, so she’s the reason I made it in time to help you out, but she was headed back to Ponyville. Guess the forest was too spooky for her.”

“Did her leg and arm look okay?” Rarity asked; those injuries looked ghastly to her.

“Hm? I guess?” Pinkie shrugged as she finished dressing Rarity’s wounds, wearing a disappointed scowl as she looked in the now empty jar of ointment. “I didn’t see anything wrong with them, but we didn’t really stop to chat or anything.”

“That’s good then,” Rarity stood up and stretched her limbs over her head, “I’m sure she made it back to town okay.”

“Are you gonna be okay?” Pinkie asked, squinting into the jar of ointment to make, as she put it, ‘super duper extra certainly sure’ that it was empty. “Without your healy juice?”

“Don’t you worry, darling,” Rarity swung her sword and flexed her arms, making sure every limb was in working order again just to be safe, “I won’t need it.”

“Why do you say that?” Pinkie prompted perplexedly.

In lieu of an answer, Rarity cupped a hand against her ear, motioning for Pinkie to do the same. Rarity didn’t expect Pinkie to hear what she was hearing, but she thought it polite to give her a chance to hear for herself.

When Pinkie shot her a desperate and confused look, Rarity explained; “The howling of the timberwolves has gotten quieter.”

“Oh!” Pinkie jumped to her feet and pumped her little fists. “So that means mission accomplished?”

“No, sweetie,” Rarity chuckled, “it means they’re transforming.”

Pinkie tilted her head and frowned, like she was trying to put together a puzzle but didn’t have every piece.

“When a timberwolf pack becomes threatened,” Rarity explained, “they transform. The pack gathers in one area and the magic within them combines them into a single, giant creature: a timberwolf king.”

“That sounds scary as heck!” Pinkie shuddered, holding herself tightly and rubbing her forearms.

“It is,” Rarity sheathed her sword and took a deep breath. “But in a way, it’s a good sign. It means the pack is on their last legs and, more importantly, it means only a single target to worry about. No more guarding against one timberwolf while another bites my leg, so I don’t think I’ll have a problem taking it down.”

“What?! You’re gonna go after it?!” Pinkie exclaimed, throwing herself in front of Rarity and jutting her arms out to her sides. “You can’t do that, you’re still hurt!”

“I’m not, actually,” Rarity said. “You treated my wounds perfectly, Pinkie Pie.”

Rarity knelt before Pinkie Pie and took her cheeks in her hands.

“And I need to do this. I need to finish what I started. I can’t leave the people of Ponyville with a timberwolf king to deal with on their own.”

“I—I know,” Pinkie mumbled. “But I’m worried about you! Can’t I come too?”

“Absolutely not,” Rarity spoke sternly but she ran a hand through Pinkie’s hair to show that she was only concerned about her, not upset with her. “Please, Pinkie Pie, wait here for me to return. The traps on these trees will keep you safe, and I will be back as soon as I can.”

“What if you don’t come back?” Pinkie said with tears streaming down her cheeks.

“I will come back,” Rarity embraced Pinkie in a hug, and Pinkie Pie wrapped her arms around Rarity so tight that Rarity was almost worried she wouldn’t be able to pry the dear off of her. “I promise you, I will not abandon the ponies of Equestria. I will not abandon you.”

“We still need to get a drink!” Pinkie sniffled, reluctantly letting her arms fall away from Rarity.

“Absolutely, darling.”

Rarity gave Pinkie Pie one small kiss on the forehead, before walking deeper into the forest with only her sword by her side.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

10. Don't Be Afraid

Twilight and Rainbow Dash sat on couch cushions around a little blanket that had an assortment of plates stacked with snacks on top of them, and both women had a mug of hot cocoa sitting next to them, with Rainbow’s nearly depleted even after going through four other cups.

“She does all the stuff I wish I could do, ya know?” Twilight said, answering Rainbow’s question about why she liked Daring Do.

“Like jump over chasms and fight monsters and stuff?” Rainbow replied with a smirk, wiping a rather unflattering cocoa mustache off her lip.

“N-no,” Twilight said hesitantly, holding her hands close to her chest and fidgeting with her fingers. “She’s just— she isn’t afraid to just be who she is. She gets into all these dangerous encounters, talks to all these dangerous characters, and she doesn’t compromise. She doesn’t bend on what she believes is right, is important,” Twilight groaned and hung her head. “I wish I could be more like that. I’m such a wallflower.”

“Confidence is hard,” Rainbow’s voice didn’t carry her normally lighthearted cheer as she spoke. Her voice wasn’t cold, per se, more like… solemn. “It’s tough to hear someone be like ‘you gotta be like this’ and just say ‘nuts to that, man!’”

Rainbow’s peculiar turn of phrase got a giggle out of Twilight, which sent the cocoa she was drinking spurting right out her nose which only served to make her, and Rainbow Dash, laugh even harder.

“It is hard!” Twilight said cheerfully. “How do you do it, Rainbow Dash?”

Twilight barely noticed Rainbow’s ears flatten against her head at Twilight’s question, but she was distracted by the sounds of tiny footsteps tromping down the stairs and the little purple face that peeked down at her and Rainbow from the stairwell.

“Spike!” Twilight said with a grand smile, patting an empty couch cushion sitting beside her. “Do you want to join us?”

“C’mon down, dude!” Rainbow added with a bright grin.

Spike’s face scrunched up into a disgusted frown, and Twilight’s heart sank as she worried which of the two women it was aimed toward. Rainbow noticed the glower too and looked to Twilight with a perplexed expression, pointing her thumb at Spike.

“What’s his deal?”

Twilight froze.

She hadn’t told Rainbow about her distrust of the Celestial Slayers. She hadn’t told Spike that she hadn’t told Rainbow, either. How could she explain to a Slayer that her son was afraid of her? How could she possibly make Rainbow understand?

Twilight opened her mouth to speak but before any words came out, they were silenced by the fluttering of small wings as Spike flew over beside her and took the seat she had laid out for him, though he quickly pushed the cushion as close to Twilight’s as it would go.

“Good choice, kid!” Rainbow said with a gleeful smile, oblivious to the shared distress between the mother and her son.

She couldn’t overlook it for long though, as Twilight and Spike simply stared silently at Rainbow. And while it took Rainbow a moment, even looking over her shoulder to make sure no one was behind her, she realized that they were both staring at her.

Twilight felt a bead of cold sweat drop down her brow.

She knows.

“Do you guys need to use the bathroom or something?” Rainbow asked awkwardly, scratching the back of her neck as she gave the two a curious glance.

Twilight released a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding as she realized that Rainbow did not, in fact, know anything.

“Spike and I are afraid of Slayers.”

Spike gave his mother a look that was nothing short of aghast, bolting his head around to look at her and making a loud gasp, but his shock was nothing compared to Rainbow’s, whose eye twitched with the bitter realization of what Twilight had said.

Twilight grit her teeth behind a very nervous smile.

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before,” Twilight said, measuring her tone with as much care as she would an explosive chemical. “I didn’t know how to say it. But I think, if we’re going to be friends, I need to be—” the word caught in Twilight’s throat, but she forced herself to say it regardless “—honest with you.”

“Twilight,” Spike cautiously grabbed his mother’s hand, and she felt a little safer knowing that he was beside her.

“Why?”

That was all Rainbow said, and her slightly cocked head and narrowed eyes— not aimed at Twilight but more like she was scanning her brain for information— spoke to Twilight of utter bafflement; nothing more and nothing less.

Twilight had no recourse but to give her the truth. She readied herself to spin a small yarn about her childhood, about the day her parents were murdered by Slayers, but she couldn’t.

The attempt to speak the memories tore her throat like shattered glass, and even if they could reach her mouth, they would not get past the wall of her teeth gritted so hard as to grind against each other like a trash compactor.

She knew if she gave herself an inch, if she let her guard down for even a fraction of a fleeting moment, tears would pour down her face like the falls of Neighagra.

“Listen.”

Rainbow stood tall and crossed her arms over her chest, a serious frown on her face as Twilight looked up at her, silently pleading for her to understand.

“I dunno what happened with you and the Slayers,” Rainbow said, “and I can’t pretend like I see eye-to-eye with every Slayer I’ve ever worked with, but I can tell you this.”

Rainbow knelt and grabbed Twilight’s hand, not noticing that Spike’s hands were already there and placing hers over his. The young man flinched, almost recoiled his hands away from her, but keeping them on his mother’s trembling hand was too important so he left them where they were.

“I am not gonna hurt you,” Rainbow said. “I would never hurt an innocent pony. You are super cool, Twilight Sparkle, and there’s not a doubt in my mind that your son is just as cool as you are. If me being here is gonna be weird for you guys, we can work something out where maybe I don’t come around that often, but I would like—”

“No,” Twilight said quickly, “I don’t want you to leave.”

Twilight looked down at Spike, who looked her in the eye with apprehension and even fear in his eyes, but he smiled at her, and that gave her all the strength to say what she needed to.

“I want you to keep coming to the library,” Twilight said boldly, “if you want to, that is. I know I have some issues with the Slayers, Spike does too, but—” Twilight took a deep breath, her face twisting into an embarrassing scrunch as she forced herself not to start crying. “I trust you, Rainbow Dash. I want to trust you.”

“I won’t betray that trust. I promise.”

Rainbow stood straight up to her feet and grabbed the back of her neck, stumbling backward and nearly tripping over her empty cocoa mug as she added awkwardly, “Weird thing to be saying to a pony I’ve only known for like a day, huh?” she laughed nervously, and Twilight didn’t know what to do but laugh with her.

“I mean it though, for what it’s worth.”

“It’s worth a lot to me,” Twilight said with a serene smile.

“I don’t—” Spike muttered. “I don’t like it.”

Twilight sighed and put her arm around Spike, pulling the little pegasus close to her and letting him lean against her side. “I’m sorry, Spike.”

“I don’t like that she said I’m ‘as cool’ as you,” Spike said, causing Twilight to frown drastically as her cheeks went red-hot, Rainbow’s snorting cackle not helping matters at all.

“Yeah, you’re right,” Rainbow laughed. “You’re at least twenty percent cooler than Twilight!”

“Hey!” Twilight balked, but Spike’s honest laughter washed away any reservations she had about the besmirching of her character.

She clutched her son close to her and laughed alongside him, feeling a sense of peace and relief she hadn’t felt since she left her home behind.

Because now she was certain that she found it again.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

11. The Story of Rarity

Rarity’s suspicions had been confirmed; a timberwolf king stood in a small clearing deep in the Everfree Forest, the remains of Rarity’s quarry having fused together to create a hulking monstrosity of wood, mud and leaves that dripped lime-green slime on the snow in its wake.

But as a single target, it would be a much simpler matter to defeat it than the pack before it had been.

It had taken Rarity no time at all to track the timberwolf king, the early-afternoon sun hanging high in the pale blue sky as she sat upon a sturdy tree branch far from her prey’s claws and nocked an arrow.

Rarity had several different types of magic arrows at her disposal, but if she hit her mark perfectly, it would only require one shot; the arrow upon hitting the timberwolf king’s muddy flesh would decay the creature from the inside out, making it easy to dispatch with her sword if the arrow didn’t slay it outright.

The beast paced around in a circle, and Rarity presumed it was gathering magical strength from the forest in order to solidify its transformation. It wouldn’t matter, as the wolf didn’t notice Rarity’s presence, and it wouldn’t until it was too late.

Or at least, that’s what Rarity thought, but the wolf was smarter than she realized, and Rarity should have known better than to underestimate it.

The instant Rarity released her arrow, the timberwolf king charged with startling tenacity toward Rarity’s tree—the arrow whooshing right past the beast to land harmlessly in the snow behind it— and slammed its head into the trunk, disorienting Rarity who managed to secure her position atop the branch just in the nick of time—

The nick of time to get unceremoniously knocked from the tree by a second rapid charge, with Rarity sent falling backward, the snow doing little to cushion the impact as her back hit the forest dirt with a blunt thud, and Rarity swore she heard a very disconcerting crack as well and hoped it was merely a fallen branch that had broken.

Rarity gripped her bow tightly; she had used all her knives to deal with the timberwolf pack— each one’s magic only good for a single charge— and her arrows were all she had left that packed enough punch to down this beast in one blow, so she couldn’t afford to lose the bow.

The timberwolf king wasted no time pouncing on top of her, a rancid green slime dripping from its snarling jaws as it stood over her, and Rarity activated her shield with a spark of magic, the sudden punch of iron into the timberwolf’s belly causing it to recoil ever so slightly, enough for her to pull an arrow out of her quiver with her magic and fire it from her bow, hitting the beast right in the eye socket.

The decaying process started immediately, and Rarity allowed herself a victorious smirk, albeit prematurely. To her shock and horror, the timberwolf king tore into the poisoned eye with its claw and ripped the organ out of its own head, throwing it aside as it withered into dust and leaving the rest of the beast unhindered, its bared fangs mere inches from Rarity’s throat.

The timberowlf sunk its splintered teeth into Rarity’s shoulder and it took every ounce of strength in her not to scream in agony as the wooden beast crushed her bones in its jaws. With a flick of its neck, the timberwolf flung Rarity with shocking force into a nearby tree.

Between her spine hitting the tree and then the ground, Rarity would be surprised if she could even move with the pain she was in, but she forced herself to try getting to her hooves and magicking out another arrow to use against the timberwolf.

But she was too slow. The timberwolf lunged, slashing across the side of her chest with a powerful claw that tore through her skin, leaving three bloody gashes in its wake and knocking Rarity to the ground once again.

She wasn’t about to give up though and used her magic to slash her sword through the timberwolf’s claw, separating three of its four talons from the rest of its body. The timberwolf bit down hard onto the sword, catching it between its fangs before skewering Rarity in the gut with another of its claws.

As Rarity retched blood and stumbled back, her already sore spine hitting another tree and sending a wave of pain shooting up it, the timberwolf threw the sword into the distance, separating it from the range of Rarity’s magic.

The timberwolf lunged again, but with only one useable claw, its attack was easy to predict and Rarity lurched underneath it, the beast jumping straight over her. She tried to sprint for her sword and she almost reached it before a claw tore open her back and made her scream bloody murder as she fell to her hands and knees.

She knew she had to keep moving, and forced herself to spring toward the sword as hard as she could, landing flat on her stomach with her pathetic, weakened jump, but getting close enough to the blade that she could grab it in her blue aura.

Rarity barely rolled out of the way of the timberwolf’s declawed stump pressing down on her and found herself underneath the beast, and she swung her flying blade through the timberwolf’s leg, cutting it from its stump of a foot and knocking it completely off-balance.

Incidentally, Rarity realized only too late that destroying the timberwolf’s leg while it was right above her would send the creature toppling down right on top of her.

The force of the timberwolf crashing down onto Rarity’s chest knocked the wind right out of her and her brain briefly entered panic mode before she managed to regain control of the situation by stabbing the timberwolf right in its one remaining eye, causing the beast to recoil.

It couldn’t push itself back into a standing position without both its forelegs, so instead it lurched back and let out a shrill howl, giving Rarity just enough breathing room to smash her shield into its other paw, severing two of its claws with the blunt impact of the shield.

The eyeless beast bared its fangs once more at Rarity, sickly green ooze pouring out its mouth all around her. Rarity held her hand out and grabbed hold of the hilt of her sword, stabbing the blade through the lower jaw of the timberwolf as it lurched toward her to bite her.

The timberwolf recoiled, and as Rarity pulled her sword toward her and the beast reeled back, its entire lower jaw was split in two. Rarity had enough of an opening to slowly back away from the giant beast now and prepare for her finishing blow.

She quickly took an arrow from her quiver and nocked it against the bow, firing it directly into the timberwolf king’s forehead; where it then exploded in a blaze of fire and flying splinters, several of which nicked Rarity as they buzzed past her.

The headless remains of the timberwolf king fell limply to the ground, defeated. And Rarity quickly did the same.

She thought she would be in pain, or that adrenaline would still be coursing through her veins. But more than anything, she just felt cold. And tired.

Her eyes fluttered, her vision blurred as she stared helplessly into the sky and her only sense of feeling other than the cold that wrapped around her entire body like an icy blanket, was the warm blood dripping down her chin.

She was breathing haggardly, her fingers twitching as she tried desperately to move her shredded body.

She couldn’t leave things like this. She couldn’t leave Pinkie Pie alone in the woods. She couldn’t leave Rainbow Dash without a partner, or Applejack without somepony to playfully bicker with. She couldn’t leave Sweetie Belle without her adored role model, or her parents without their beloved daughter, or Celestia without her prized student.

But more than anything, she hated the idea that this is what her life amounted to. She knew no one would find her body here, and the story of Rarity would be one of a woman who walked into the forest one day and never returned, her remains buried under the snow and lost to time forever.

No one would tell the story of her life. When her family passed on, no one would even remember it. And the saddest thing of all was that Rarity wouldn’t be able to blame anyone for forgetting her.

Because the life she had led had been completely pointless.

She couldn’t let that happen.

But she had no strength left to fight.

The last thing she saw, as her eyes rolled back and everything began to blur beyond recognition, were a pair of yellow hooves in the snow.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

12. Spirit of the Everfree

Pinkie Pie was huddled up as close as she could possibly be against the tree that Rarity had enchanted with a magical, timberwolf-slaying trap. She was curled into a little ball and trying her absolute best not to start freaking out.

She had no way to tell time inside the forest, but she knew from the faint orange tint in the pale blue sky that ‘early-afternoon’ was quickly turning into ‘late-afternoon’.

And Rarity still hadn’t come back.

Pinkie wondered if she should go look for Rarity, but every time she thought that, she worried what if Rarity came back to this spot while Pinkie was out searching and then the two never found each other again and they spent the rest of their days wandering lost in the forest until they freeze or starve to death and their families and friends will be super sad and will be all her fault!

So she stayed put.

Through the growing winter chill, through the choking shadow of anxiety, through that faint orange tint seeming to be less and less ‘faint’ with every passing second.

She stayed put. Just like Rarity had asked her to.

Because Rarity promised she was coming back. And Rarity doesn’t break her promises.

But Pinkie Pie could deal with the fear and the cold. She didn’t like it—she absolutely, unequivocally, irrefutably hated it, as a matter of fact—but she could deal with it, for Rarity’s sake.

Until another thought crossed her mind.

What if she left you behind on purpose?

That was the straw that broke her back. That was the moment Pinkie went from ‘terrified ball of anxiety’ to ‘desperate, weeping husk of a pony’.

She couldn’t leave her spot because she promised Rarity she wouldn’t, but the longer she was left alone with her thoughts, the longer they became consumed by that one recurring idea.

What if she left you behind on purpose?

Rarity wouldn’t do that.

Would she?

No. Of course she wouldn’t.

Right?

Why wouldn’t she?

Who could ever care about someone as annoying, stupid, ugly and worthless as the stupid pink party pony, who was shivering in a ball in the frozen wilderness, left alone to die like she deserved.

“I’m sorry,” Pinkie whimpered through tears that she worried would start sticking to her face in the cold. “I’m sorry,” she repeated again, desperate for anypony to hear her, desperate for someone to tell her that this whole day had just been some kind of cruel prank on her.

Desperate for anyone to tell her that she wasn’t alone.

“Are you lost?”

Pinkie stood to her hooves faster than should have been physically possible, her head zipping around to find the source of that mysterious, ethereal voice, and her eyes widened in disbelief and her mouth hung open in awe when she laid her eyes on the speaker.

The woman’s body seemed to faintly glow with a supernatural light. She looked to be a young pegasus woman, maybe just a year older than Pinkie Pie herself, but tall and lanky—almost skeletal in her thin frame.

She had a waterfall of pink hair that flowed down her shoulders and behind her back, and combined with her pale yellow coat, it reminded Pinkie of strawberry-banana ice cream, one of her favorite flavor combos.

The woman’s wings were splayed open behind her and their massive span took Pinkie’s breath away. They were thin like the mare they belonged to, but they looked so strong and majestic, golden feathers adorning them and shining in the dim sunlight like priceless treasure.

But the thing that struck Pinkie the most, the thing that left her completely enraptured, were the mare’s eyes. Teal like a tropical sea, they glittered like magic in the sunlight, like a beacon that led Pinkie back to some sense of inner peace.

Pinkie knew right away that this was the Everfree Nymph that the Cakes had told her about! She was majestic and beautiful and regal and—

And rather awkward as she cleared her throat, shrinking into herself as she did so and making Pinkie realized she had just been standing there gawking like an ape and never actually answered the woman’s question.

“You’re really pretty!” Pinkie smiled a little too wide as she tried to pretend she wasn’t immediately embarrassed by the words that poured out of her mouth as soon as she opened it.

“Thanks,” the woman said with all the emotion of someone who had heard those exact words hundreds of times.

“I’m sorry,” Pinkie sighed and hung her head. “I’m having a bad day.”

Pinkie shook her head furiously, the mysterious nymph arching an eyebrow in response. Pinkie cleared her throat and puffed up her chest.

“I am lost as heck, actually!”

The woman giggled at Pinkie’s candor. “I can guide you out of the forest, if you’d like.”

“I can’t,” Pinkie replied immediately, a wave of sadness washing over her. “I need to wait for my friend Rarity. She’s somewhere in the forest too, fighting a t—”

“Timberwolf?” the ethereal maiden finished Pinkie’s sentence, and the little pink mare was awestruck once again.

“Are you a psychic?” she gasped.

“No,” the maiden said with a soft smile and a shake of her head, “but I found your friend. She is in my care.”

Pinkie’s eyes widened. Did that mean that Rarity was okay? Or in even more danger? Had Rarity made the spirits of the forest mad by hunting inside of it? Or maybe the timberwolves were endangering the forest somehow and Rarity did a good?

Pinkie just had so many questions and it was frustrating not to be able to get any answers! But then she realized that maybe all she had to do was ask.

“Is she okay?” Pinkie said calmly. “My friend, I mean.”

“She was in very bad shape when I found her,” the spirit said, “but she will recover. She just needs time. And I have no intention of letting her leave the forest until she gets better, and even less intention of letting her die here.”

Pinkie awkwardly stood in silence for a second and kicked sheepishly at the snow, twitching her fingers to stim and hopefully drown out some of her anxiety.

“Can I see her? Will you take me to her?” Pinkie bowed her head. “Please?”

Pinkie looked up to see the spirit blinking a few times before a serene smile crossed her face that felt to Pinkie like a refreshing summer breeze.

“Of course,” the spirit said with a curtsy. “Follow me.”

The spirit gently walked—no, she glided—along the ground, the snow melting around her hooves with every step. Her movements were dainty and dignified, and Pinkie swore she was somehow the coolest and cutest pony Pinkie’d ever seen in her life.

Pinkie followed dutifully behind the spirit, eager to see Rarity and see that she was okay, but something else was pressing on her mind at the same time; a question that only the spirit could answer, and if Pinkie didn’t ask it, the curiosity would burn a hole in her stomach for all eternity.

“So, what do spirits do for fun?”

“Pardon?” the spirit politely replied with a thin smile still on her face as she tilted her head in confusion.

“What do you do for fun?” Pinkie repeated, and then another question dawned on her. “Uh, you are the spirit of the Everfree… aren’t you? The one the folks of Ponyville talk about?”

“Are they calling me ‘the spirit’ now?” the maiden said with a giggle. “Last I heard, I was the ‘Everfree Nymph’. Not sure which I like better,” the spirit stroked her chin gently, a playful smirk on her face.

“Well, what is your name?” Pinkie asked, more excited to hear the answer than if a dozen cupcakes had been put in front of her to eat.

“Um, ‘the spirit’ is a good enough name, I suppose,” the spirit replied, and Pinkie’s ears flattened against her head to accompany her disappointed frown. “You asked me another question though, didn’t you?”

“Yeah!” Pinkie jumped up and grabbed a tree branch, swinging from it for a moment before jumping in front of the spirit and doing a spin. “What do you like to do for fun?”

“I watch over the forest,” the spirit walked past Pinkie with barely an acknowledgement of her presence, “that’s all.”

“Uhh, that’s it?” Pinkie asked. “No offense, but that sounds super boring! It sounds like work!”

“It’s my home,” the spirit said, “so I’m happy to do it.”

“Don’t you ever get lonely?”

“Sometimes,” the spirit quickly cleared her throat, as if she hadn’t meant to blurt that out, but it was too late to deter Pinkie Pie now.

“Spirit of the Everfree!” Pinkie jumped in front of the spirit and pointed a finger at her, her other hand placed confidently on her hip. “I wanna be your friend!”

The spirit didn’t move or say anything for a moment, and Pinkie’s confident posture was beginning to feel more embarrassing than anything, finger still ‘proudly’ pointed at the spirit.

But then the spirit giggled, and she placed a hand on Pinkie’s head as she gently pushed her aside. “You’re cute. Come on, your friend is just up ahead.”

“I’m serious though!” Pinkie pleaded as she walked alongside the spirit, who only gave a sigh in response.

Pinkie wasn’t usually good at taking hints, but even she could see she wasn’t getting anywhere, and the last thing she wanted was to make the spirit uncomfortable, especially after she did so much to help Pinkie and Rarity.

“Can I at least bake you a cupcake?” Pinkie asked, hands in her coat pockets and idly kicking at the snow as she walked. “To say thank you for helping me and Rarity?”

“I—” the spirit paused, twirling a strand of pink hair around her finger, and Pinkie tried to not get excited. The spirit looked into the pale orange sky and gave another sigh, and Pinkie couldn’t help but think that she sounded super tired. How long had she been protecting the forest all alone?

“I wouldn’t mind that,” the spirit finally said, “I suppose.”

Pinkie squealed with delight and threw her arms around the spirit in a big hug. “You won’t be disappointed, spirit!” she soon realized what she was doing and her eyes widened as she backed away from the spirit as fast as she possibly could, bumping into a tree behind her. “Eh, sorry about that. Force of habit.”

The spirit traced her hands around her waist, where Pinkie’s arms had just been, and Pinkie found herself wondering how long it had been since anypony touched her, and then being horrified by the concept of living without hugs and smooches and high-fives and all the other amazing ways to show affection through touch.

The spirit continued walking in silence, and Pinkie walked behind her, stewing in a sinking feeling that she had screwed everything up again.

“What’s your name?” the spirit asked, her eyes still locked on the path ahead of her.

“I’m Pinkie Pie,” Pinkie answered nervously, though her anxiousness disappeared in a flash as the spirit turned around and gave her a charmed smile, and Pinkie couldn’t help beaming back at her.

“My name is Fluttershy,” she said. “Thank you for asking.”

“It’s my pleasure!” Pinkie said with a reserved smile; she was leaping for joy on the inside but she wanted to play it cool to respect her newfound hopefully-almost-friendship with the spir—with Fluttershy.

“So, um,” Fluttershy muttered, fingers idly playing with her long hair, “what do you like to do for fun?”

The reservation in Pinkie’s smile was gone and it beamed brighter than the setting sun as an explosion of cheer resonated inside Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy had no idea the floodgates she had just opened.

Author's Notes:

i love fluttershy

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

13. Without Reason

Rarity stirred awake slowly. While her first instinct, as a Slayer, was to immediately get to her hooves and survey the surroundings, she found she simply did not have that energy in her.

She wondered why she felt so tired, why her body felt so heavy, then it all came flooding back to her.

The fight with the timberwolves, her rescuing Bubbles, Pinkie rescuing her, then the king timberwolf battle that left Rarity’s body as little more than a shredded ragdoll to be devoured by the beasts of the Everfree.

But the most vivid image in her mind was that of two yellow hooves she had seen right before losing consciousness.

Rarity opened her eyes and found only darkness waiting for her. For an instant, she panicked, but then realized that her lack of vision was only due to night having fallen and the shadowy thicket of trees around her left little room for what faint moonlight there was to trickle in.

She was still in the forest it seemed, though lying on grass instead of snow.

And then Rarity jumped up, nearly making herself dizzy enough to vomit as her mind caught up with the instinctive movement, a movement that was driven by the sudden pang of guilt that came from the realization that she had left Pinkie Pie alone in the woods. Until nightfall.

Was Rarity the most horrible friend one could ever imagine? She certainly felt like it now. No matter how tired she was, how heavy her body felt, how many questions she had unanswered about how in Equestria she even managed to survive those wounds—let alone wake up to find them having vanished—none of that mattered.

She needed to find Pinkie Pie. NOW.

Turns out, she needn’t have been in such a hurry, for as soon as Rarity stood up, frightening a litany of small animals that had gathered around her unconscious body, she saw the pink mare sitting not ten feet from her, speaking with a yellow pegasus who Rarity did not recognize.

Or at least, not at first.

“You’re the pony who saved me,” Rarity spoke with certainty as she approached the sitting mares.

Her usual tact and manners seemed to still be catching up to her dazed mind, otherwise she never would have interrupted what seemed to be a rather lively conversation.

“You’re awake!” Pinkie wasted no time springing to her feet and wrapping her arms around Rarity, and Rarity found no reason to hesitate in returning the gesture, holding Pinkie tightly to her like she was afraid if she let go Pinkie would disappear.

“I’m glad to see you on your hooves, Rarity,” the pegasus said with a serene smile.

“Er, yes,” Rarity was slightly disconcerted with the stranger knowing her name, though it wasn’t a stretch to assume Pinkie had given it to her if they had been talking. “And you are?” Rarity reached out a hand, the other still resting on the head of the pink pony who seemed intent on never letting go of Rarity either, which Rarity was just fine with.

“My name is—” the woman paused.

She recoiled, and bit her lip. Pinkie unattached herself from Rarity and knelt before the pegasus, taking her hand gingerly in her own and offering a warm smile. The woman sighed, and though she seemed to try and resist the smile forming on her own lips, she was wholly unable to do so.

“My name is Fluttershy,” the woman said, looking up at Rarity with her hand still firmly held by Pinkie’s.

“She’s the spirit of the Everfree Forest!” Pinkie excitedly offered, and Rarity couldn’t help but smile at the bashful blush that tinted the ‘spirit’s’ cheeks.

“Oh? And how did you two come to be so familiar?” Rarity asked amusedly.

Whatever answer the two were trying to give didn’t reach Rarity’s ears, as the pair attempted to speak in unison only to talk over one another and bashfully shut their mouths right after, which just resulted in the pair giggling like schoolfillies at each other’s antics.

Rarity was delighted by Pinkie’s newfound friendship, and she was remiss to cut it short, but…

“Pinkie Pie,” she put her hand softly on Pinkie’s shoulder and the way she tensed up, Rarity could tell Pinkie knew what Rarity was about to say, “I think it’s time we leave the Everfree Forest.”

“But, b-but—”

Pinkie’s quivering was cut short by a single graceful finger pressed against her lips.

“Rarity is right, Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy’s words only served to deflate the mare further, her ears drooping down and her lips curling into a pout. “It’s dangerous in the woods at night.

“And besides,” Fluttershy gave an enchanting smile, one that even Rarity was jealous of, “you need to get your rest if you’re going to make, ahem, ‘super-duper amazing wonderfultacular’ cupcakes for me tomorrow.”

“Y-yeah! You’re right!” Pinkie hopped up and pumped her fists in front of her. “Just you wait, Fluttershy! I’m gonna make you the most super-duper-amazing-wonderfultacular cupcakes in the galaxy!”

“I can’t wait,” Fluttershy said with a wistful smile, and if Rarity didn’t know any better she’d swear the mare was smitten. “Now let me guide you both out of the forest.”

Rarity dutifully followed the ‘Everfree Spirit’ and Pinkie Pie around the woods, Rarity making sure to graciously thank Fluttershy not only for healing her wounds, but also for acquiescing to her request for a few minor detours, so Rarity could collect her equipment that found itself scattered throughout the forest.

With her items all in hand and more than an earful of Pinkie’s voice—the young mare filling the entire trek back to Ponyville with the sound of her mostly one-sided conversation with the spirit, not that the spirit seemed to mind even a little that Pinkie did most of the talking—the three women found themselves at the edge of the Everfree.

“Well, this is our stop,” Rarity said. She turned back once more to look at the curious pegasus who lived in the Everfree, and was surprised to see her looking rather somber. “Something the matter, miss Fluttershy?”

“Can you answer me one question?” Fluttershy stared right at Rarity—right through her, it felt like—and Rarity swallowed a lump of sudden anxiety.

“Uh, of course, dear,” Rarity chuckled awkwardly. “It only seems fair, considering how many questions you’ve answered this evening.”

Pinkie was bouncing in place as she awaited the spirit’s question, and Rarity wished she could share in Pinkie’s excitement but the only sensation she could feel was that she was about to be hit by an oncoming train.

“Why did you kill the timberwolves?”

“I’m… sorry?” Rarity took a step back and blinked helplessly. Of all the questions she might have expected the spirit to ask, that was certainly not among them.

“Why did you kill the timberwolves?” the spirit repeated, her teeth grinding against each other as she spoke the emphasized word.

Rarity took a deep breath and collected herself. She had no idea why this woman would be angry about what Rarity had done, and she had no regrets about it either. She simply did what needed to be done.

“I did so because they were attacking the ponies of Ponyville,” Rarity answered sternly. “I am a Slayer, and when monsters attack Equestria’s ponies, it is my job to destroy them so ponies don’t get hurt.”

“You know that timberwolves are magical creatures,” Fluttershy said, undaunted by Rarity’s confidence, which was starting to wane as the spirit’s brightly glowing teal eyes bore into her, “correct?”

Rarity simply nodded her reply.

“They are created from the magic of the Everfree Forest,” the spirit explained, “my magic, to protect the forest when ponies venture too deep into it and take what doesn’t belong to them.”

“What do you mean?” Rarity felt her fingertips glance across the hilt of her axe by instinct.

“The forest is generous,” Fluttershy said calmly; a little too calmly for Rarity’s liking, and she noticed that even Pinkie Pie was standing behind Rarity now, “it gives of its branches so that the ponies who live around it can survive. But when they take that which is not freely given, it hurts the forest.”

Fluttershy’s ghostly eyes stared right into Rarity’s and a chill went down her spine.

“I will not let the forest suffer and die for the greed of ponies,” Fluttershy said sternly. She took a deep breath and collected herself, holding her hands gracefully in front of her. “Please tell the ponies of Ponyville that they may freely take the trees on the edges of the forest to do with what they need, but to leave the trees that resist their axes alone.

“They won’t receive another gentle warning.”

With that, the spirit turned her back on Rarity and nearly disappeared into the forest before Rarity called her name and the spirit paused, though she did not turn back to look at Rarity.

“I always thought that—” Rarity paused to grit her teeth.

Of all the emotions to be feeling right now, embarrassment seemed like an odd one to Rarity, yet how else could she feel about what she had to say after hearing Fluttershy’s rather impassioned speech?

“I was under the impression that timberwolves were just mindless beasts,” Rarity admitted, “lashing out at ponies simply because they could.”

“No creature acts without reason,” Fluttershy turned to Rarity with a seemingly genuine smile, though that somehow only made Rarity’s stomach sink further.

And those were the last words the spirit spoke before she returned to the shadowy forest, which somehow felt to Rarity to be both safer and yet more dangerous than she had realized.

Rarity sighed, not even realizing that her breath was being held until Fluttershy had vanished into the darkness of the forest. She looked behind her at Pinkie Pie, expecting her to still be trembling, but instead she found her friend had a huge smile on her face and her cheeks were red as a ruby necklace.

Pinkie must have noticed Rarity’s staring, because she turned to the unicorn and beamed.

“I really like her!”

“I—” Rarity hesitated before letting out a very, very tired sigh.

“Everypony in this town is crazy. Including me.”

Author's Notes:

flootersnoot

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

14. See You Tomorrow

Twilight gently placed a blanket over Spike as he snuggled up against his pillow, protective dragon doll firmly in hand. She gave him a little kiss on the forehead and whispered “Goodnight, Spike.”

“Goodnight, Twilight,” Spike said groggily, his eyes already closed and a content smile on his lips that made Twilight put a hand over her heart to make sure it wasn’t literally about to burst with affection.

She turned the upstairs bedroom light off and moved to head back down the stairs, but his sleepy voice calling her name stopped her.

“What’s up, Spike?”

“Um,” Spike’s yawn did little to hide the embarrassment that stemmed from whatever he was about to ask, “is Rainbow coming back tomorrow?”

“I think so,” Twilight allowed a devilish grin to creep across her face. “I’m glad you like her. I knew you would.”

“Well, I mean—” Spike’s face turned bright red and it brought a giggle to Twilight. “Okay, I like her. I think she’s cool. You win, you’re always right.”

“Yup,” Twilight said proudly, adjusting her shirt to look suitably victorious, “I always am.”

“Just,” the playful tone in Spike’s voice was gone, replaced with noticeable apprehension as he clutched his doll even harder, “promise me one more time that she won’t hurt you?”

“No one is going to hurt me,” Twilight walked back over to Spike and knelt at his bed, taking his hand in hers and gently caressing it with her other hand, “or you. And that’s a promise.”

“Okay,” Spike yawned and crashed back onto his pillow. “I love you, Twilight.”

“I love you too, Spike,” Twilight gave her son one more kiss on the forehead before heading downstairs and letting him sleep peacefully.

When Twilight returned downstairs, she found Rainbow Dash stretching her arms above her head as she stood up, letting out what was less a ‘yawn’ and more a small roar.

“Headed home?” Twilight asked her.

“Yeah, ‘fraid so,” Rainbow almost sounded more disappointed than Twilight was. “I got up super early today to come he—er, for some reason,” Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck as her cheeks turned pink, and while Twilight tried pretending not to notice, she couldn’t help but smile.

“Anyway,” Rainbow continued as she took the second and third Daring Do books that Twilight had lent her and put them into her backpack, “I started falling asleep like two hours ago, so I gotta go to bed. Sorry we couldn’t hang out more one on one, but your kid is super rad, so it all worked out.”

“It is too bad,” Twilight chuckled and sat down on the reception desk, crossing one leg over the other. “I was hoping to have you all to myself tonight— that sounded bad,” Twilight immediately felt awash with shame and covered her bright red face with her hands, “that was awful, I’m so sorry I said that.”

“I thought it was cute,” Rainbow laughed, and Twilight peeked at her from between her fingers, her hands feeling like they were on a lit stove as they touched her face.

“Are you, um,” Twilight cleared her throat as she walked behind Rainbow to the library door, “are you coming back tomorrow?”

“Yep,” Rainbow nodded, “same time we agreed on, eleven o’clock.”

“Or three o’clock if you sleep past eleven,” Twilight added teasingly, getting a chuckle out of Rainbow.

“Right,” she said, poking Twilight’s nose, and Twilight bit down a smile in response, “and hey, do you mind if I bring a friend with me? She’s not a Slayer.”

Twilight was of two minds; on the one hand, there was a part of her that couldn’t wait to meet more ponies, but she also was afraid of getting overwhelmed, or of overwhelming Spike.

But surely one more friend wouldn’t hurt, right?

“I suppose,” Twilight shrugged with a smile. “The more the merrier, right?”

“Exactly!” Rainbow beamed.

“So who is this friend?”

“She’s this super-hot blacksmith I know,” Rainbow said excitedly, flicking her fingers in front of her. “You’ll like her a lot, I promise!”

“Oh?” Twilight arched an eyebrow with a teasing grin on her face, crossing her arms and leaning against a bookcase. “She’s ‘super-hot’ huh? I like her already.”

“Did I say that?” Rainbow’s blush could only be described as ‘furious’ as she awkwardly ran her fingers through her short mane. “I meant she’s, like, a, uh—a regular blacksmith.”

Not even Rainbow believed that lie, judging by the utter bemusement painted on her face, like she literally couldn’t believe what she’d just said.

“Does some pony have a crush?” Twilight asked teasingly.

“Maybe,” Rainbow huffed, crossing her arms and looking away from Twilight with her cheeks puffed up. She quickly deflated like a balloon though and looked apprehensively at Twilight. “Honestly, can I ask you a favor?”

“Uh, of course?” Twilight said concernedly, chewing on her fingertip.

“This girl is really hot,” Rainbow’s shoulders tensed up and she clasped her hands together in front of her chest, “but she’s also super cool and smart and rad and amazing and—ugh, you get it.

“Point is, whenever I try to talk to her, I get super flustered. I was hoping that having another cool pony around might help me break the ice.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes and added, “Rarity’s a cool pony too, but she’s definitely not an ‘ice breaker’ type. She’s more a… ‘steals all the attention just by being in a room’ type. Which, I mean, good on her but that doesn’t really help me.”

“Uh, well I don’t know who ‘Rarity’ is, but—”

“Just a friend from the Guild,” Rainbow dismissively waved her hand. “Don’t worry about it.”

Twilight shrugged and completely forgot about this ‘Rarity’ pony right away, certain she wasn’t important. “Well, I’m happy to help, so feel free to bring your hot blacksmith friend over with you tomorrow.”

“Awesome!” Rainbow cheered, pumping her fists and giving an excited thumbs-up. “You’re really helping me out here, Twilight, thanks a million!”

“It’s no problem,” Twilight laughed softly and brushed a finger under her bangs. “You came back to the library to talk to me, even though you didn’t have to, you hung out with me and my son all day, and you weren’t—”

Twilight found herself reflexively rubbing the back of her neck, musing how Rainbow was already rubbing off on her. “You didn’t judge me for my aversion to the Celestial Slayers. You were nice to me about it, and that means a lot to me. So thank you, Rainbow.”

“No biggie,” Rainbow shrugged, and the ear to ear grin she was sporting made Twilight’s heart melt. “See you tomorrow, Twilight!”

Rainbow headed out the door and Twilight waved at her, watching her new friend shrink into the horizon of the snowy, sleepy city of Canterlot’s Moon District.

“Goodnight, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight called out, and she smiled giddily as Rainbow waved back to her.

Twilight bit down a smile, but she couldn’t hold it back for long and beamed as she held her arms and leaned her back against the door of the library, slowly sliding down to the floor with a tender warmth blazing in her heart.

“See you tomorrow.”

Author's Notes:

I'm really not a fan of how Spike was written in the actual show (especially his """relationship""" with Rarity), but his relationship with Twi is genuinely really heartwarming. I like 'em.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

15. WHY IS TALKING TO GIRLS SO HARD!?

Rainbow breathed heavily in a panic like her skin was on fire as she paced through the snow outside of the Applepie Smithery early in the afternoon, being sure to avoid pacing in front of the windows or anyplace where Applejack could see her.

Honestly, why was this so HARD?!

It should’ve been totally simple! Just go up to her and say ‘hey, you wanna come to the library? There’s a cool unicorn who lives there and she’s super smart and knows a lot about books’. Or something like that anyway.

Instead, Rainbow had been pacing back and forth for what felt like days, and to top it all off she was barely able to fall asleep last night because her mind was too busy racing thinking about what to say to Applejack!

UGH.

Rainbow rested her forehead against the stone wall of the smithery and it crossed her mind to just bang her head into it until her skull cracked, but she knew that wasn’t a great impulse to follow.

Eventually Rainbow would have to either confront her fear of being rejected by Applejack or spend an eternity drowning in all the ‘what ifs’ that she could think of, and she wasn’t sure which one was scarier.

She took a deep breath and puffed up her cheeks, kicking the door of the smithery only to find her hoof in terrible pain as she realized the door didn’t open inside the shop. She gasped and nearly jumped out of her skin as the door swung open, filled with a mixture of relief and pure blood-chilling horror as she saw Applejack step outside the smithery.

“Rainbow Dash?” she asked curiously. “Did you just—” Applejack looked around for a sec, then back at the door, before looking at Rainbow again. “Did you bang on the door just now?”

“Uh, yeah, that was me,” Rainbow drew herself up and tried to look as confident as possible, but she could feel her cheeks burning hotter than Applejack’s forge. “Sorry, I accidentally… kicked it.”

Great excuse, Rainbow, Rainbow thought and fought back the urge to roll her eyes. Sure hope she doesn’t ask why you ‘accidentally kicked’ the door.

“How’d you accidentally kick the door?” Applejack asked.

“Uh, I flew into it,” Rainbow blurted out immediately. She cleared her throat and let her shoulders relax a bit, feeling confident in her lie. “I was trying out some new aerial maneuvers, kinda botched one, landed into your door.”

“That’s funny,” Applejack stroked her chin and Rainbow gulped audibly, trying to ignore how hot the earth pony was, especially when she was confident, “it sure didn’t look like you were doin’ ‘aerial maneuvers’ while you were pacin’ outside my shop the last two hours.”

“WHAT?!” Rainbow shrieked. She coughed nervously as not only Applejack looked at her in shock, but several passerby ponies as well. “H-how did you—I was so sure I wasn’t walking in front of the windows!”

“Uh, that’s a weird thing to say,” Applejack tilted her head and crossed her arms. “What were you skulkin’ out here for, anyway?”

Great. This was great, it was perfect even. Now, not only did Applejack know Rainbow’d been out here pacing in front of the shop, but she looked like some kinda creepy stalker weirdo, or at least a burglar or something.

Rainbow groaned in frustration and slapped her hands against her face, slowly dragging them down and letting them fall to her sides. There was nothing to do now that could fix this, so she might as well be honest.

“I wanted to invite you to the library with me,” Rainbow muttered, looking at anything but Applejack, “but I didn’t know how to ask, so I was trying to come up with something, and just… never did.”

“And the door kicking?”

“I was trying to make a dramatic entrance,” Rainbow swore she was gonna get heat stroke if her face didn’t cool down, “and didn’t realize the door opened out.”

Applejack stood in stoic silence, the only indication that she even heard Rainbow at all being a couple of blinks.

And then she burst into laughter.

Rainbow shrunk into herself, putting her hands in her pockets and fidgeting her wings anxiously. If a meteor could’ve just struck her down where she stood, she would’ve been totally cool with that.

“I’m sorry, sugarcube,” Applejack said, tapping on Rainbow’s arm, “I don’t mean to laugh at’cha. But ya gotta admit, that’s pretty funny.”

Rainbow bit down a smile and shrugged huffily. And then Applejack pulled her in close and gave her a hug, and if Rainbow felt like her cheeks were hot before, that was an icy blizzard compared to the inferno that blazed in her as her face pressed against Applejack’s chest.

“I didn’t mean to embarrass ya,” Applejack said softly, tussling Rainbow’s hair. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s totally okay,” Rainbow said. She didn’t move a muscle, afraid that any movement would either tip Applejack off that she was into her, or worse, made Applejack let her go. “Thanks.”

“Now then,” Applejack took a step back from Rainbow and placed her hands on the pegasus’ shoulders. If she had any idea that Rainbow was so flustered, she wasn’t showing it. “Let’s talk about that library, huh?”

“D-do you wanna go with me?” Rainbow said hopefully, rubbing the back of her neck.

“I wish I could,” Applejack sighed, “but I gotta run the shop. Pinkie’s gonna be gone a couple days, I think. Don’t know exactly when she’s comin’ back.”

“Oh, right,” Rainbow cursed herself for totally forgetting that Pinkie wasn’t here, so of course Applejack couldn’t leave the shop. “Well, don’t worry about it. It’s just a dumb ol’ library, no big deal.”

Rainbow backed away and her eyes darted toward the direction of the library. “I’d better get going though. Promised someone else I’d meet ‘em today, and I’m already running kinda late,” it was just past one o’clock last Rainbow checked, and she didn’t want to miss her three o’clock deadline she’d promised Twilight.

More than that though, she just wanted to be anywhere but the Applepie Smithery, standing like a complete idiot in front of its super-hot blacksmith.

“So, I’ll see ya later I guess,” Rainbow said, her wings unfurling as she prepared to head into the sky.

“W-wait, hold on a sec,” Applejack called out, and while Rainbow was just about to take off, she paused and looked Applejack’s direction. “Just cuz I can’t go to the library with ya, doesn’t mean you can’t spend a little time in my shop, does it? It gets kinda lonely without Pinkie around,” Applejack coughed, and Rainbow could swear she heard her say under her breath, “or without any customers for that matter.”

Rainbow’s wings flattened against her back instantly as she stared wide-eyed at the blacksmith, who seemed to be avoiding Rainbow’s gaze for some reason. Rainbow wondered if she could really take Applejack up on that offer; if she could really stand to spend two hours in the smithery with her without embarrassing herself.

On the other hand, would she even be able to tear herself away from Applejack if it went well? Or would she lose track of time and totally bail on her promise to Twilight Sparkle?

She couldn’t do that. She couldn’t risk it; the embarrassment or breaking her promise.

“S-sorry, I can’t,” every word out of Rainbow’s mouth felt like a hot coal forcing itself through her throat, “I promised I’d meet a friend at the library, and I’d feel just awful if I broke it.”

“O-oh, yeah. Yeah, of course, of course,” Applejack nodded with a smile, arms crossed over her chest. “Wouldn’t want you to break a promise, that’d be just awful. Sorry.”

“No, you shouldn’t be sorry!” Rainbow said, ears flicking up and holding her hand out. “I really appreciate the offer, I just can’t today.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Applejack shrugged, same passive smile still on her face. Her ears perked up ever so slightly and she glanced toward Rainbow. “Maybe you could come by later tonight? I’m closin’ up the shop early tonight, on account of Pinkie not bein’ here. Eight o’clock sound good?”

“I, I guess I could do that,” Rainbow nodded eagerly, but stopped herself and bit down on her lip so she didn’t look too eager.

“Great!” Applejack beamed, holding out her hand. “See you then, Rainbow Dash!”

“Yeah,” Rainbow hesitantly shook Applejack’s hand and was thankful that Applejack’s gloves made her unable to feel the sweat on Rainbow’s palm, “see you then. Definitely.”

Applejack walked back into the shop, turning back to Rainbow and giving her a wink as she shut the door and left her alone outside.

Rainbow fell on her rump right where she stood, curling into a ball and holding her legs close to her as the magnitude of what she just promised to do hit her.

Come by after Applejack closes up the shop? When she’s all alone and totally undistracted, so her and Rainbow would have nothing to occupy their attention except each other? It was the perfect opportunity!

…for her to screw everything up!

Author's Notes:

was trying to figure out what to title this chapter and decided to just speak from the heart

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

16. An Innocent Picnic

Rarity took one of Pinkie’s cupcakes as a formality to make her friend happy, and not because she felt like eating anything after her encounter in the forest the previous night. But Pinkie Pie hadn’t been lying when she said her baking skills were out of this world; as soon as Rarity tried it she knew she had to help herself to three or four more, and Pinkie Pie was more than happy to oblige.

Rarity sat at a table with Mr. and Mrs. Cake, the proprietors of Ponyville’s leading bakery, Sugarcube Corner. She was reporting to them not only a job well done in banishing the timberwolves, but also of Fluttershy’s ‘gentle warning’.

“Oh, we had no idea the spirit of the forest had been taking Ponyville’s logging so seriously!” Mrs. Cake said concernedly, her hand over her mouth.

“We’re really glad to know though,” Mr. Cake added. “The last thing the folks here want is a problem with that forest, or the spirit who lives in it!”

The two seemed to speak more out of genuine concern and respect for the forest, rather than out of fear like Rarity had anticipated, and that warmed her heart a little bit.

“I really should just tell the mayor myself,” Rarity said, “but due to Pinkie Pie’s important errand, I’m afraid I just won’t have time before we have to catch our train home.”

“Don’t trouble yourself at all, dear,” Mrs. Cake waved off Rarity’s concern with a flick of her wrist. “We’ll talk to the mayor and get this whole thing straightened out!”

“Thank you,” Rarity bowed her head. “And thank you again for the meal, it was lovely.”

Rarity wasn’t sure when the last time she had an honest to goodness meal was, instead of just rations or the like, and she found after the delightful little breakfast the Cakes had provided, that she sorely missed it.

Rarity took a deep breath, recalling one more matter of business she had to make sure of before she left Ponyville.

“May I ask,” Rarity said cautiously, “is Bubbles alright? I haven’t seen her since our little encounter in the forest.”

“She’s absolutely peachy,” Mrs. Cake said casually, “why do you ask?”

Rarity arched an eyebrow and gave the woman a curious look, which was mirrored by Mrs. Cake herself.

“She was injured in the forest,” Rarity explained, not entirely certain why she had to explain what should have been obvious. “I just wanted to make sure she recovered alright. Her leg looked pretty badly hurt, and if she had to walk back to town on it—”

“Bubbles is an odd one,” Mr. Cake said fondly. “She goes into that forest all the time, and she’s never gotten hurt in it.”

“But—” Rarity shook her head. “But I saw her. Her leg was bleeding, she had gotten slashed by a timberwolf.”

“Well both her legs were just fine when she came by last night,” Mrs. Cake said with a shrug. The woman answered Rarity’s next question before she could even ask it. “She came by to tell us that you were dealing with the timberwolves, and that you’d probably be hungry once you were finished so she asked if we could prepare a meal for you, on her, once you returned!”

“And we told her no way,” Mr. Cake laughed, “cuz we already planned on treating you on us!”

What a curious story. Rarity supposed it wasn’t all that odd, for Bubbles to want to pay Rarity back for saving her. But then why hadn’t Bubbles come to see her after she returned from the forest?

“All done!”

Pinkie Pie’s melodic voice clamored from the kitchen, and a smile graced Rarity’s lips at the sound as she allowed herself to forget about her little mystery. Pinkie poked her head out into the seating area and Rarity couldn’t stifle the giggle that came from seeing Pinkie’s face white as a sheet from all the flour and baking supplies she was covered in.

“Are you ready to go, Rarity?” Pinkie asked with a huge grin.

“Absolutely, darling,” Rarity nodded and stood on her hooves, feeling reinvigorated from Pinkie’s smile.

A few more heartfelt words of gratitude were exchanged between the two travelers from Canterlot and the Cakes, the latter being thankful to Rarity and Pinkie for heeding their request to deal with the timberwolves, and Rarity and Pinkie couldn’t help but thank them again for their hospitality, and for allowing Pinkie to bake her super-duper-amazing-wonderfultacular cupcakes in their kitchen.

As the two girls headed back to the forest, Rarity found herself oddly pleased at the thought that the spirit would definitely enjoy Pinkie’s cupcakes, and that surprised her. She shook it off though, and she just let herself feel delighted in seeing Pinkie Pie’s exuberance as she hopped alongside her toward the forest.

The Everfree Forest was far less exciting to Rarity the second time going into it. Something about searching for a waifish spirit was much less adventurous than going in to hunt timberwolves. But not to Pinkie Pie, who couldn’t help but beam ear to ear as they entered the wood.

It wasn’t long before they found the object of their search; Fluttershy had been waiting for them in a small clearing, sitting in a patch of grass surrounded by snow with her legs folded under her, and she smiled at the pair as they approached.

“It’s good to see you again,” she said softly.

“Fluttershy!” Pinkie squealed and nearly catapulted herself at Fluttershy, who caught Pinkie in her arms with surprising ease, not even flinching as Pinkie threw herself into Fluttershy headfirst. “I am so happy to see you! And I brought cupcakes, just like I promised!”

Fluttershy allowed herself a small giggle, and she stood up as Pinkie opened up her bag to hand out the sweet treats. Though Rarity and Pinkie had already eaten, Rarity was sure just one cupcake wouldn’t hurt her. Or maybe two.

Rarity was in charge of setting out a picnic blanket, a lovely little thing with a delightful pastel checkerboard pattern of yellow and pink decorating it.

“Why, it looks just like you, darling!” she said teasingly to Fluttershy, who seemed surprised by the comparison, looking alarmed at Rarity before squinting at the blanket and leaning her head away, causing Rarity to giggle.

Despite her rather intimidating nature the last Rarity had spoken to her, nothing about Fluttershy seemed dangerous to her now. If anything, she seemed more wary of them than they were of her.

“Don’t get many visitors, I take it?” Rarity asked as Fluttershy knelt on the blanket, Pinkie Pie scooching up next to her.

“Um, no,” Fluttershy replied, shaking her head slowly. “Most are afraid of coming into this forest, and the ones that aren’t leave quickly after running afoul of the forest’s protectors.”

“Well that’s just too bad,” Pinkie pouted. “Cuz I’m sure anypony who gave you a chance would really like you! You’re so sweet and nice!”

“Um, if you say so,” Fluttershy said awkwardly, twirling a strand of pink hair around her very thin finger.

The little cupcake picnic went off without much of a hitch, if Rarity could be so bold to say. Granted, the three enjoyed their confectionaries mostly in silence, but if only Fluttershy knew what an enormous display of respect that was coming from Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie stole glances at the spirit of the Everfree whenever she could, and Fluttershy either pretended not to notice or gave a humoring smile back to Pinkie. Rarity found the Pinkie’s crush on the supernatural pegasus nothing short of adorable, though she had trouble deciphering Fluttershy’s feelings.

The spirit of the Everfree was incredibly reserved. Rarity could tell she was polite, patient, and she seemed genuinely kind, but despite acquiescing to Pinkie Pie’s offer of a cupcake picnic, Fluttershy didn’t seem terribly keen on opening herself up to the two ponies.

Though perhaps that was to be expected; if she didn’t get many visitors, it’s not so surprising that she would keep herself so closed off. She had a forest to protect too, and if that was her priority— well, Rarity knew all too well how easily meeting other ponies could become unimportant.

Lost in her thoughts, it took Rarity some time to notice that Fluttershy had been staring at Rarity’s necklace.

“It’s quite fetching, isn’t it?” Rarity smiled as she ran her fingers across the dragon fang hanging from the choker around her neck. In truth, she thought the thing was frightfully garish, but with enough confidence she could pull off any look, so she would never admit to it.

“It’s—” Fluttershy seemed lost as she stared at the fang. “It’s a dragon fang, isn’t it?”

“It is,” Rarity nodded, examining the necklace and finding herself frowning at it despite herself.

Rarity looked up from the fang to notice that Pinkie Pie had gone curiously stiff and was giving Rarity a concerned expression, which soon softened when Rarity smiled at her.

“Why?” Fluttershy’s words took Rarity by surprise, and she tilted her head and looked confusedly at the pegasus. “Why do you wear something so ugly around your neck?”

“Well, it’s not ugly,” Rarity said unconvincingly, “it’s just, um—”

“That’s not what I meant,” the spirit said coldly, and Rarity was sure she saw a spark of fire in the woman’s glowing teal eyes.

“Ah,” Rarity sighed and let go of the fang. “I see, you’re wondering where it came from.”

Fluttershy responded only by staring; first at the fang, then at Rarity, who gave a cold smile as she recounted her tale.

“It’s a memento,” Rarity said, “of the first time I—”

“Rarity,” Pinkie whimpered, “are you sure you wanna talk about this?”

The poor dear looked more shaken up than even Rarity herself was, and a wave of affection and sympathy washed over Rarity. She moved over beside Pinkie and put her hand on Pinkie’s thigh, and Pinkie responded by snuggling right up to Rarity’s side, wrapping her arms around Rarity in a protective embrace that Rarity was certain wouldn’t relent until her story was finished.

Rarity found herself now sitting mere inches from Fluttershy, and she looked the spirit in the eye as she continued:

“Imagine a young mare, just entering her twenties and feeling so proud of herself for getting a headstart on her dreams,” Rarity wasn’t sure how much embellishment her story required, but Fluttershy’s unenthused reaction made her clear her throat and decide ‘not a lot’ would be a good choice.

“I was nineteen when I became a Celestial Slayer. Usually to take the license exam, you need to be twenty-five, but I was a special case due to—” Rarity shook her head; it wasn’t important. “Shortly after my twentieth birthday, I received my first A-Class mission, which is only for the most deadly and dangerous of creatures. While the level of lethality is generally up to the Slayer’s discretion in most missions, A-Class monsters are kill on sight.”

Rarity found herself clutching her necklace tighter, just as Pinkie was clutching her tighter. Rarity looked up from the necklace to see a very pensive frown on Fluttershy’s face, the spirit anxious for Rarity to continue her tale.

“I’m sure I don’t need to tell you the obvious; the creature in question was a dragon.”

“So you took the fang as a trophy,” Fluttershy groaned in disgust, “to commemorate your very first ‘A-Class mission’. Good for you,” Fluttershy hissed, her eyes narrowing into daggers at Rarity.

“No,” Rarity said sternly enough to make Fluttershy flinch. “You misunderstand. This is not a trophy, this is a reminder.”

Fluttershy looked taken aback, but said nothing, and Pinkie Pie was practically in Rarity’s lap as she clung to the unicorn. Whether it was for her comfort or Pinkie’s own, Rarity had no clue, but she was grateful for the gesture nonetheless.

“I went to the town the dragon had been hiding around,” Rarity said, “only to find it wasn’t hiding near the town, but in it, disguised as a pony with magic. When she met me, she was nothing but kind and helpful, pretending to offer advice and good wishes on my hunt.

“When I discovered her treachery, I tricked her into following me to the nearby mountains, and drove my axe into her neck. She transformed and tried to kill me then, but I overpowered her.”

Rarity grit her teeth as the memories came flooding back to her. Pinkie Pie tried to comfort her in some way, but Rarity barely noticed, too lost in her memories for anything around her to register.

“She begged—” Rarity said through heavy breaths “—begged for her life. And I let her go. She looked up at me with tear-stained eyes and pleaded to let her live, and I couldn’t bring myself to harm her any further, but I told her to leave Equestria and never return.

“When I went back to town to report my success, I found that she had beaten me there, and burned every single house to the ground, families still screaming from inside for salvation that would never come.

“This time, I showed the dragon no mercy. I brought her down from the sky and as she laid in an ocean of her own blood she had the damn nerve to beg for her life again. My only response was to cut her head from her body.”

Rarity was the one staring daggers now, the pain and fury in her eyes intimidating even the ethereal spirit of the Everfree.

“This fang is no trophy, it is a reminder of what happens when I fuck up. It is to remember every scream from that night, the smell of burning skin, the crying children who would not survive the night with their wounds, leaving grieving parents behind.

“And all because I couldn’t stand to get blood on my hands. My weakness killed dozens, and I will never let it happen again.”

If Fluttershy was moved by Rarity’s story, the unicorn couldn’t see it on her face. Fluttershy stared impassively, like a stone wall, back at Rarity, her glittering teal eyes coming across as a mockery of Rarity’s pain.

Rarity stood to her feet, toppling Pinkie Pie over as she tried in vain to hold onto Rarity. She walked away from the blanket lying on the ground and back toward Ponyville, turning back only briefly to bark an order at Pinkie Pie.

“Collect your things, Pinkie Pie. We have a train to catch.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

17. I'll Wait For You

Pinkie Pie was filled with a looooooot of swirling emotions as she and Rarity sat down on their beds in Sugarcube Corner, having missed their afternoon train back to Canterlot and forced to take the morning train tomorrow.

The two had spent the rest of their afternoon in Ponyville, and while Rarity was reluctant at first to accept the Cakes’ offer to stay at Sugarcube Corner for the night, bits didn’t grow on trees so she graciously took them up on it.

Rarity hadn’t done much with her time, mostly staying at Sugarcube Corner, helping herself to some on the house sweet treats and making sure she had everything she needed neatly packed for the morning.

Pinkie took the time to visit as many of her Ponyville friends as she could fit into one day; all except Bubbles.

Bubbles was nowhere to be seen, and when Rarity asked the Cakes why, they told her about how Bubbles had a tendency to disappear on short notice, only to show up again safe and sound the next day or day after.

Pinkie already knew that about her friend though, so she wasn’t worried.

At least, not until she and Rarity settled into their room for the night. Then she felt all kinds of need to worry, though not about Bubbles. Instead her mind raced with thoughts of the trip and what she’d experienced.

On the one hand, she was super glad to finally have her very own adventure! On the other hand, Rarity almost died, and Pinkie got left alone in the woods for several hours. But on the other other hand, she got to meet Fluttershy! But on the other other other hand, Rarity had barely said a word since telling her scary story.

Pinkie had heard that story before, of course. Applejack insisted Rarity tell it to her to dissuade her from becoming a Slayer, but in all honesty it only made Pinkie more certain that she wanted to do it. She heard Rarity’s descriptions of horrified ponies, calling out for help as they were burned to death, and it broke her heart into little bitty pieces.

No one deserved to die like that, and even more, no one deserved to live in fear of that fate. Pinkie couldn’t live with herself if she didn’t do something to help, and becoming a Slayer was the only thing she could think of!

Pinkie sighed and stared solemnly out the window. She was as lost in thought as Rarity was, and neither really had much to say to the other, but Pinkie hoped that didn’t mean Rarity thought Pinkie was mad at her. Then Pinkie was terrified to think that Rarity might be mad at her.

“Rarity?” Pinkie whimpered. When the unicorn looked impassively in her direction, Pinkie swallowed a lump of fear and clung to her pillow.

Rarity’s eyes lit up and her mouth took the shape of a concerned ‘o’. She smiled softly and got up to sit next to Pinkie on the bed, placing her hand gently on Pinkie’s thigh, which got a giggle out of Pinkie.

“I’m sorry, darling,” Rarity said, “I have been terribly dull company today, haven’t I?”

“It’s okay,” Pinkie put her hands on top of Rarity’s. “I know you have a lot on your mind. I just wanna make sure you aren’t upset with me.”

“Why would I be?” Rarity tilted her head, and Pinkie instinctively clenched her fingers tighter around Rarity’s hand.

“Well, um, cuz I made us miss the train?” Pinkie murmured.

“Oh, please, sweetheart,” Rarity chuckled and put her arm around Pinkie, letting Pinkie lean against Rarity’s chest while Rarity stroked Pinkie’s hair. “I know you had something very important that you needed to do.”

“It was,” Pinkie bit down on her lip but couldn’t stop herself from smiling ear to ear, “super important.”

Even after Rarity commanded Pinkie to gather her things, she delayed. She started picking up her things suuuuuper slowly, Rarity letting out a frustrated groan in response that made Pinkie flinch.

“Do you need help?” Fluttershy asked.

Pinkie shook her head, and when she inadvertently made eye contact with Rarity, she flinched again and focused on picking up the picnic supplies.

“Should I just wait outside the forest for you?” Rarity said grumpily.

“You promise you won’t leave me?” Pinkie said pitifully.

Rarity took a deep breath and sighed, a weary frown on her face. She forced a small smile and promised, “I won’t leave you.”

Pinkie opened her mouth to speak but Rarity cut her off, performing a series of odd gestures and saying, “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. Pinkie Promise.”

“Thank you, Rarity,” Pinkie said with tears in her eyes.

“Don’t be too long, okay?” Rarity said with a giggle. “We don’t want to miss our train.”

“No worries!” Pinkie chirped, giving Rarity a salute.

“I’ll wait for you,” Rarity said as she left the forest, leaving Pinkie all alone with Fluttershy.

As Pinkie picked up the stuff, Fluttershy shifted uncomfortably, watching Rarity walk away from the forest.

“Are you going to be okay?” Fluttershy said suddenly, startling Pinkie who stood to attention right away. “With her?”

“Oh yeah,” Pinkie nodded, “she’s one of my best friends! I know she got super intense all of a sudden, but she’s really nice. Why do you ask?”

“Uh, um, I just wasn’t—” Fluttershy cleared her throat and took a few steps back, allowing Pinkie to grab the blanket off the ground. “You didn’t seem sure, just a second ago.”

“I’m not sure of anything,” Pinkie laughed, only half-joking. “My brain doesn’t work right, y’know? It gets all noodly and tries to make me believe not-true stuff.”

“I—” Fluttershy seemed hesitant to speak, but Pinkie waited with rapt attention for her to, especially since Pinkie hadn’t actually meant to say that brain stuff, it kinda just slipped out and was really embarrassing. “I’m like that too.”

Pinkie’s eyes sparkled with affection as well as tears. She grabbed Fluttershy’s hand, surprising Fluttershy, who gasped at Pinkie’s touch, and Pinkie looked up into Fluttershy’s beautiful teal eyes.

“I wanna come back and visit you!” Pinkie said excitedly, perhaps a little too excitedly, judging by Fluttershy’s stricken expression. “Um, if that’s alright?”

Fluttershy just blinked, staring down at Pinkie whose smile was becoming more and more strained as she waited for Fluttershy to speak. Pinkie let her hand fall off Fluttershy’s and got back to picking up her stuff.

Once she had collected everything, she sighed softly to herself and wanted to kick herself in the butt for being such a stupid, dumb, boring, ugly pink earth pony who no one will ever—

“I’d really like—” Fluttershy’s words got caught in her throat and it was as hard for Pinkie to hide her enthusiasm as it was to try and not get her hopes up. “I’d really like for you to come back. If that’s okay with you.”

“I’d love to come back,” Pinkie said sweetly, beaming brightly. “I can’t just drop everything at home though, so I don’t know when I’ll be back…”

“Oh,” Fluttershy’s ears drooped and her eyes drifted toward the ground. Pinkie felt the painful prong in Fluttershy’s heart like it was her own.

“But I’ll definitely come back!” Pinkie assured, only receiving a half-hearted ‘mm-hmm’ in reply.

Pinkie knew the only way to convince Fluttershy that she was being honest would be to actually come back, but her words were true; she couldn’t just drop everything at the smithery on Applejack and leave to Ponyville whenever she wanted.

“Give me one month, okay?” Pinkie’s voice cracked as she tried to remain confident despite her fears. “One month, and I’ll come back to see you. I promise,” Pinkie turned to face Fluttershy and puffed out her chest. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye! I Pinkie Promise! I’ll come back to see you in a month!”

Fluttershy stared in bewilderment at Pinkie’s odd chant for a moment, and Pinkie very briefly worried that she had made things worse, but all the tension in her whole entire body fluttered away at the giggle Fluttershy made.

“I’ll wait for you.”

Author's Notes:

rly starting to crank those omniship gears with this one :3c

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

18. Safe Inside the Library

Seven fifty-three.

Twilight watched helplessly as Rainbow Dash stared out the window of the library, a thumbnail bit between her teeth.

Rainbow had been at the library for nearly seven hours, and in that time Twilight swore she knew more about Applejack the blacksmith than she knew about herself. Rainbow Dash talked about her like she rose the sun every morning, and Twilight found it absolutely adorable how infatuated Rainbow was.

At least until the clock struck seven fifty, and Rainbow said that she had to leave. And then didn’t.

Seven fifty-four.

Twilight couldn’t take the silence anymore, and she approached Rainbow Dash and gently put a hand on the trembling pegasus’ shoulder, which only made Rainbow jump and brush Twilight off in surprise.

“Sorry,” Rainbow said sheepishly as she turned to Twilight. “I’m a little jumpy, I guess.”

“Do you want to talk about it?”

Twilight could tell the last thing Rainbow wanted to do was talk about it, but Twilight just didn’t know what else to say.

“Rainbow Dash?” Spike said curiously, walking out of the makeshift kitchen in the back of the library with a bowl of ice cream in hand. “You’re still here? I thought you were going to go see Applejack.”

Twilight groaned under her breath at Spike’s unfortunate timing and lack of tact, but the sound was completely swallowed by the loud BANG as Rainbow Dash’s forehead hit the side of the bookcase in front of her.

“I should go,” Rainbow said, for about the fifth time in as many minutes. “I need to go, I promised I would.”

Seven fifty-five.

“Rainbow?” Twilight’s perfectly calm and clear voice demanded Rainbow Dash’s attention, and the pegasus looked at Twilight with a desperate frown. “I say this as your friend, and am asking in complete honesty: why haven’t you left yet?”

Rainbow recoiled from the question, as Twilight was afraid that she would, but Rainbow’s expression quickly softened, only to just as quickly turn into a snarl of frustration, gritted teeth bared as she clenched her fists so hard Twilight was worried she would bleed on the library floor.

“I don’t—” Rainbow started breathing heavily, a look of pure panic settling into her eyes.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” Twilight said softly, gently touching Rainbow’s hand.

Her eyes darted over to Spike, who was sitting on the other side of the room now, eating his ice cream while his legs dangled off the reception desk. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief that he understood the delicateness of this situation and stayed out of it.

“I’m gonna screw everything up,” Rainbow said quickly. “It’s just me and her, all alone, and I know I’m gonna screw everything up. I don’t want to screw everything up!”

“Hey, hey,” Twilight slowly caressed the back of Rainbow’s hand, “it’s okay. You’re not going to screw anything u—”

“Yes I am!” Rainbow yelled, yanking her hand away from Twilight and slapping her palm against a bookcase, wincing from the pain of it. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about—”

“I’m sorry,” Rainbow repeated, and Twilight suddenly realized Rainbow wasn’t talking about the bookcase, or even to Twilight at all.

Twilight took in a deep breath and squeezed Rainbow’s hand, letting her friend know that she was still there for her, even if Rainbow was lost in her thoughts.

“I can’t go,” Rainbow shook her head. “I just can’t—I can’t go. I can’t go.”

“It’s okay,” Twilight took Rainbow’s other hand, rubbing her thumb against the crease between Rainbow’s thumb and index finger. “You don’t have to go if—” was there any way Twilight could finish that sentence that wouldn’t make Rainbow’s panic worse?

“You’re safe inside the library.”

“Then can I stay in the library?” Rainbow backed off and turned away from Twilight, rubbing her arms and shivering. A loud sniff clued Twilight in to why Rainbow turned her face away, and Twilight turned to Spike, gesturing for him to go back in the kitchen and fetch two more ice creams.

“You’re welcome to stay as long as you like.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

19. Blood

It was too early in the morning.

Too early for Rainbow Dash to even be awake, much less braving the winter weather—she could even see her own breath as she grumbled, for pony’s sake!

But how could she call herself Rarity’s friend or partner if she wasn’t there to meet Rarity at the train station?

Rarity could’ve waited for the afternoon to come back, though.

Rainbow Dash sighed and shook the bitter thoughts away. She was just grumpy because she didn’t get enough sleep—again. But last night she wasn’t kept awake by the exciting prospect of meeting a new friend, but instead by the raging storm in her brain that twisted her stomach in knots and made her feel like she was going to vomit the entire night.

And y’know, the anxiety is something she could deal with. Sure, she felt like she wanted to throw u—no, she felt like she wanted to forcibly extract all of her internal organs and throw them into a meat shredder.

But anxiety fades, and it passes.

Shame remains.

Shame sticks with you; it claws at your brain as the library closes three hours after your panic attack ruined everyone’s night. It sticks with you as you’re sheepishly apologizing to the librarian while you’re heading out the door because you ‘just don’t know what’s wrong’ with you, even though you know exactly what’s wrong.

Shame sticks with you as you lie awake in bed, thinking about what you should have done, what you could have done if you weren’t such a coward. It sticks with you the whole night, nine hours, while you toss and turn and try to sleep, and even after you realize sleep isn’t happening.

Shame sticks with you as you trot to the train station in the bitter cold, and you want nothing more than to just crawl under your bed and decompose but you can’t break another promise, damn it!

Shame sticks with you because your panic attacks aren’t real. Because you’re just trying to ‘get attention’, or you’re ‘just a coward’, or a thousand other things people say because they don’t feel that violent storm inside, where you feel like tearing the flesh off your body like old paper because you just can’t stand to be.

It doesn’t matter.

Rainbow Dash tried to slap herself awake, taking a too-big sip of her black coffee and nearly choking, the idle thought that maybe she deserved to choke to death on her coffee and boy that’d show them rushing through her head and disappearing just as fast as it came when Rainbow chastised herself and clicked her tongue, wondering who ‘them’ was even supposed to be.

She was nearly at the train station. Rarity was sure to have a whole bunch of cool stories to share about her timberwolf mission, and Rainbow was sure that some light teasing would make her feel better.

Rainbow’d whine about how she wished she’d been there, only for Rarity to assure her that Rainbow would’ve ‘only slowed me down, darling,’ then Rainbow of course would joke that Rarity couldn’t get any slower.

Rainbow chuckled to herself at the little scene she was putting together in her head as she finally reached the train station, and she already started to feel a little bit like herself again.

Only for the violent storm to return in full force when her eyes locked onto the muscular orange mare standing by the train platform, her arms crossed as she patiently waited for the train to arrive.

Rainbow’s first instinct was to wonder what Applejack was doing there, but before she even formed that sentence in her mind she remembered that Pinkie Pie was riding the train with Rarity, and of course Pinkie’s best friend and partner would be there to meet her at the station.

If Rainbow had been lucid enough to remember that when she was still in bed, she might not have gotten up; made some excuse about her ‘injuries’ or whatever to tell Rarity about why she couldn’t—

Ugh, no. That’s awful, Rainbow thought with a groan.

The sound of Rainbow’s frustration was just loud enough to catch Applejack’s attention, which wouldn’t have been so bad if Rainbow hadn’t been staring right at her as she turned, locking eyes with Applejack as she looked over.

Rainbow blinked, eyes wide like a jackolope with an axe bearing down on its head. Applejack’s eyes only narrowed; her frown deepening as she turned away from Rainbow and back to the train tracks.

If Rainbow had been serious about leaving the train station, it didn’t matter now. Her window was closed. There was no way she could just walk home after Applejack had seen her.

Or could she?

No, NO. She absolutely couldn’t.

With a deep breath, Rainbow walked slowly over to Applejack, hands in her pockets as she took a spot in the nearly empty train station next to Applejack, Rainbow’s wings fidgeting behind her as she tried to think of something to say.

“Um,” Rainbow smoothly said, flinching at the sharp inhale that Applejack made in return. “I didn’t—” just saying ‘sorry I didn’t show up yesterday’ should have been enough to smooth things over, so why was that so HARD?

“I had a thing to take care of last night,” Rainbow cleared her throat, “that’s why I didn’t show up. Uh, so, yeah. That’s why.”

Applejack didn’t have to know that ‘thing’ was a panic attack. Nopony but Twilight and Spike needed to know that.

“It’s fine,” Applejack didn’t bother to look at Rainbow as she replied, and while reading a room was not Rainbow’s strong suit by any means, even she could tell that it definitely was not fine.

Any weak excuses Rainbow thought to mutter were drowned out by the whistle of the oncoming train, and Rainbow bit her lip hard enough to draw blood to distract herself from the thought of jumping in front of it that intruded in her mind without warning or welcome.

“Are you bleedin’?”

Rainbow’s eyes darted up at Applejack, wide as saucers. The last thing she expected was for her to suddenly be talking to her, and about that of all things.

“Uh, I bit my lip,” Rainbow said, “just now. Accident. No big deal.”

“Hard enough to draw blood?” Applejack’s tone sounded somewhere between incredulous and concerned, and Rainbow couldn’t tell which it was.

“It happens sometimes,” Rainbow moved her arm to wipe the blood off but was stopped by Applejack lightly grabbing her wrist, causing Rainbow’s cheeks to suddenly feel like they were pressed against a glass fireplace.

“Don’t do that,” Applejack said teasingly. “Here,” she pulled out a white cloth from a satchel on her belt, and used it to wipe the blood off Rainbow’s lip, which only increased the burning in Rainbow’s cheeks, but she didn’t mind at all.

“I’m sorry I missed you last night,” Rainbow said, the words nearly forcing them out Rainbow’s throat like a mutinying crew. “I—” Rainbow groaned and shook her head, taking a step back once Applejack was done cleaning her lip. “I don’t have any excuses.”

“Thank you for apologizin’,” Applejack’s smile made Rainbow feel like at least thirty pounds had fallen off her shoulders, and she could actually breathe again.

“Don’t sweat it,” Rainbow shrugged and took her place next to Applejack again, a wide grin propping up her bright red cheeks.

Anxiety still crept around in her stomach, but that was fine. Anxiety would fade, but her joy at seeing Applejack’s smile would remain.

Author's Notes:

ladies is it gay to gently wipe the blood off another girl's lips

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

20. Home

As Rarity stepped off the train and breathed a sigh of relief to set foot in the familiar Canterlot station, she was delighted to see Rainbow Dash was at the station waiting for her, even if the poor pegasus looked like she hadn’t gotten a good night’s sleep since Rarity left.

And of course, she was not nearly so delighted as Pinkie Pie was to see Applejack. Pinkie didn’t even wait for Rarity to get off the train before speeding past her and galloping toward Applejack, jumping into the bigger mare’s arm and being wrapped up in a tight hug, Applejack proceeding to spin Pinkie around for good measure, Pinkie giggling like a schoolfilly all the while.

“Hey Rarity,” Rainbow Dash said with a yawn, and pointed her thumb at Applejack and Pinkie, “you wanna do that?”

“No thank you, dear,” Rarity playfully rolled her eyes and gave Rainbow Dash a much more reserved hug, and a kiss on the cheek for good measure. “I’m glad to see you, though you look positively dreadful. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow batted Rarity’s concerns away with a flick of her wrist, “don’t worry about it. Just a couple late nights chatting it up with a friend. No biggie.”

“Oh, you have friends other than me?” Rarity stuck out her tongue and poked Rainbow teasingly, Rainbow letting out a smarmy chuckle and trying to give Rarity a playful shove but her sleepiness made her miss her target and stumble forward, Rarity catching her before she tripped.

As Rainbow got her footing back and cleared her throat, keen to pretend that hadn't just happened, Rarity noticed Applejack looking her way and fluttered her eyelashes.

“It’s a pleasure to see you as well, Applejack,” Rarity said with a wink. “I know you’re here for Pinkie, but no doubt you simply couldn’t wait to see me too, hm?”

Applejack rolled her eyes and gave Rarity a light punch in the arm, a soft chuckle escaping her lips. “Good to see ya, Rarity. Thanks for keepin’ Pinkie safe like you promised.”

“Of course, darling,” Rarity said with a dazzling smile. “I would never let one of my best friends be hurt on my account, I assure you.”

“And I take it all my gear came through for you okay?” Applejack asked with a gleam in her eye that made Rarity chortle.

“Absolutely, dear,” Rarity crossed her arms and rolled her eyes playfully. “Honestly, what would I do without you?”

“Be a timberwolf snack, probably!” Pinkie helpfully chimed in, getting a laugh from Rarity and Applejack both.

Rainbow also let out a small, reserved chuckle and Rarity looked over to see Rainbow looking rather uncomfortable.

“I suppose I’d better head off,” Rarity didn’t know what was bothering Rainbow, but she had more tact than to ask around Applejack or Pinkie Pie, “I do have a report to file to Queen Celestia.”

“That’s gotta be the next step on my adventure!” Pinkie said, pumping her fists. “Meeting Queen Celestia!”

“Alright, sugarcube,” Applejack gave a long-suffering sigh and picked Pinkie Pie off the ground, helping the little darling hitch a ride on Applejack’s shoulder, Applejack being more than strong enough to carry Pinkie with ease. “Let’s maybe focus on one step at a time. Like, how ‘bout helpin’ me set up shop? Y’know, at our job?”

“Ugh. Yes, boss!” Pinkie grumbled huffily, but her inauthentic grumpiness gave way to an enamored giggle in no time, as she wrapped her arms around Applejack and gave her friend a kiss on the neck.

The pair of earth mares walked off, giving fond ‘see you laters’ to Rainbow and Rarity, which Rarity returned by blowing a kiss at the two and flashing a winning smile, and Rainbow did by… waving awkwardly.

Once the two were out of sight, Rarity wasted no time in getting to the bottom of things.

“What’s the matter?”

“It’s, nothing,” Rainbow said unconvincingly.

“You know I don’t believe that for a second,” Rarity scolded, “and you’ve never been terribly good at hiding things from me, so why don’t you—”

“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Rainbow said coldly, slamming a metaphorical door between herself and Rarity that took the unicorn by surprise.

“Oh,” she stammered sheepishly. She soon regained her composure with a deep breath. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to pry.”

“No biggie,” Rainbow shrugged, offering a tepid grin. “I’m just-” Rainbow groaned and shook an empty paper coffee cup “-a little bit tired.”

“Are you going to be alright if I go home,” Rarity asked, gently massaging Rainbow’s shoulder, “file my report?”

Rainbow nodded, her eyelids drooping as she herself stumbled forward a step, her eyes jolting open at the sudden movement. “Y-yeah, I think I’ll be alright,” she chuckled nervously, Rarity biting down a giggle of her own. “Think I’ll head back home, try and get some shut-eye.”

“I think that’s wise,” Rarity said with a smile.

“That said,” Rainbow grinned and stroked her chin, “I’m gonna head over to the library later tonight. You wanna come with?”

“The library?” Rarity shook her head and stared in utter confusion at Rainbow Dash, Rarity certain that she must have misheard.

“Yeah,” Rainbow snickered, “does that surprise you? That I’d spend time at a library?”

“It does a bit,” Rarity said seriously, though she quickly gave a teasing smile and tapped Rainbow’s arm. “I didn’t even know you could read! I’m so proud of you!”

“Hey! I’m not a total meathead!” Rainbow replied huffily, and Rarity giggled in response, getting a fuming look from Rainbow that quickly melted away into a soft laugh. “That said, I mostly go cuz I think the librarian’s cool. And her kid’s actually super rad too. I think you’d like ‘em a lot.”

“Well, I may take you up on the offer,” Rarity groaned and arched her back as the exhaustion of her mission was beginning to catch up to her now that she was home. “But for now, I think the only place I’d like to go is home.”

“Fair enough,” Rainbow shrugged and patted Rarity on the arm before taking off. “See ya later, Rarity! And don’t forget, I still owe you a drink!”

“I promised Pinkie Pie one as well!” Rarity called out to her friend, getting a thumbs-up in reply.

With Rainbow gone, leaving Rarity standing alone in an empty train station, Rarity finally gave a weary sigh as she had no more reason to wear a mask of charismatic cheerfulness. Truth be told, after the timberwolf mission, Rarity was feeling anything but cheerful.

It was true that all Rarity wanted was to go home, but she had little interest in filing a report—though she would do so anyway because it was her responsibility and she would not be tardy on a report to Queen Celestia.

But what Rarity really wanted was her bed. She wanted to fall into her bed and simply sleep. For no less than two straight weeks, if fate would allow her.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

21. Book Club

Twilight took stock of the scene in front of her, her hands resting on her hips as she smiled proudly to herself.

Four blankets laid on the library floor, with three cushions sitting on top of them; in front of the cushions sat three old plates with a dozen cookies on each, all neatly compiled into orderly stacks of three different flavors, so that no one felt like they were getting less cookies than anyone else.

Three glasses of milk, not to mention a pitcher containing refills, also sat by the scene, and it was all tied together nicely by a small pile of books, mostly Daring Do but also some of Twilight’s favorites that she wanted to share, some that Spike had picked out, and a few recommendations for Rainbow Dash, who wanted to branch out.

And last but not least, sitting on the reception desk was a small pegasus colt, writing on a scroll with a very pronounced frown because he was just so tired of writing down checklists.

“I think that’s everything we need for tonight’s book club!” Twilight said with a huge smile. “What do you think, Spike? Think we’ll have a grand old time?”

“As long as I don’t have to take anymore notes,” Spike stuck his tongue out at his mom, who returned the gesture with a giggle and a playful roll of her eyes.

Twilight sat down on one of the blankets and gazed longingly at the plate of cookies in front of her. She really, really wanted to try just one, but she knew it would be very rude to start eating before everyone was present.

“Things sure have changed,” Twilight said idly, mostly just to distract herself from the cookies, “since Rainbow started coming to the library. Two weeks doesn’t seem like it should be much time, and yet everything can change in a heartbeat.”

After a moment of silence in which Twilight had expected Spike to reply, she looked over to see the young pegasus with a mouth full of several cookies, looking very guiltily at Twilight as soon as she locked eyes with him.

Spike let the cookies fall out of his mouth and his mother gave him a very unimpressed stare. She had half a mind to scold him, but instead she simply laughed.

“Wow, you’re right. Things really have changed,” Spike’s comment only made Twilight snort in her laughter.

“They really have,” Twilight said happily.

While the Golden Oaks Library was never completely without patronage, it was rare to see more than a dozen ponies within its walls in a given week. Thanks to donations and Twilight selling off some of her old trinkets she no longer wanted, she made enough money for her and her son to live off of, but just barely. But that was enough for Twilight.

At least until Rainbow Dash started coming, and soon enough Rainbow was telling every pony in Canterlot how ‘awesome’ the library was, and just like that, not a day went by when at least three or four ponies didn’t stop by the library to check out new books or return old ones, even donating some from their personal collections!

“I’ve even gotten pretty good at the art of small talk!” Twilight exclaimed proudly, finishing her train of thought out loud.

“Well, you were always good at book recommendations,” Spike said, “though I’m not sure a lecture about magic thermodynamics can really be qualified as ‘small talk’. Or ‘good’, for that matter.”

“Hey!” Twilight said indignantly, puffing up her flushing cheeks. “That Sea Swirl pony was really interested in my lectu—er, I mean small talk!”

“Right,” Spike rolled his eyes with a mischievous smirk, “and what about Roseluck? Or her sisters? Or Spring Showers? Or Amethyst Star?”

“Alright, I get it,” Twilight crossed her arms and tried to pretend she wasn’t bothered by the heat in her cheeks. “So maybe I need my small talk to be a bit—”

“Smaller?” Spike finished his mother’s sentence for her with another self-satisfied grin. Twilight looked at him with vague annoyance, which only made his grin wider, before she playfully ruffled his mane.

Twilight couldn’t help herself and decided just one bite of a cookie wouldn’t hurt, and four cookies later she decided she had been wrong. She looked over at Spike, expecting him to be happily chowing down on his cookies, but again her expectations were subverted when she saw him simply staring down and off into space.

“Spike?” Twilight asked, a twinge of apprehension in her voice. “Is something wrong?”

“Twilight?” was all he replied with, looking up at Twilight with eyes that sparkled with unshed tears.

“Yes?” Twilight scooched closer, and so too did Spike, leaning against his mother as she put her arm around him.

“Are we gonna leave again?” Spike looked up at Twilight and his tears could no long be called ‘unshed’.

“No,” Twilight replied firmly and quickly. “Not this time.”

Twilight had no idea if that was a promise she could keep. But she couldn’t ruin the hope of her son, not again. She couldn’t darken the days spent with Rainbow Dash, or talking to the other library patrons, or their book club, with fears and doubts.

And she resolved to make sure that she did keep that promise. That somehow, she would find a way to give Spike the peaceful life he deserved, and not run from their new home with her tail between her legs as she had done too many times before.

This time would be different. This time had to be different. For his sake.

Twilight’s troubled thoughts were interrupted by the creak of the library door, and Spike nearly jumped up to the ceiling as Rainbow Dash walked into the lobby.

“Rainbow!” Spike called as he ran toward her, his arms open wide.

“Heya, squirt!” Rainbow said teasingly, grabbing the younger pegasus in a hug before lifting him into the air and spinning around, much to the giggly pleasure of Spike, a gesture which made Twilight’s heart sing. Rainbow put Spike down and flashed a grin at Twilight, and she in turn gave Rainbow a soft and welcoming smile.

“Welcome back to the library, Rainbow Dash,” she said, in awe of just how happy she was to see her one Equestrian friend.

When Twilight first came to Canterlot, she was terrified of other people, and she still remembered the fear that gripped her heart the first time Rainbow entered the library on that stormy night.

But now that fear almost seemed silly; Rainbow wasn’t just some pony or a terrifying Slayer, she was Twilight’s friend, and knowing her made Twilight’s life a little brighter and she was just so happy to meet her.

Of course, Rainbow being a trans gal like Twilight definitely didn’t hurt either. Twilight had never really been friends with another trans woman, and it was nice to finally meet someone Twilight could connect with that understood where she was coming from with all the gender crap.

“You punks ready for book club!?” Rainbow cheered as she and Spike headed over to the blankets and pillows splayed across the floor, eliciting a cheer of confirmation from Spike as he followed her.

“Glad you could join us,” Twilight said with a grin of her own as Rainbow sat down.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Rainbow replied, running her hand through her short mane.

“Glad to hear that,” Twilight chuckled, “because you’re our only other member! It’d be a bit lonely without you!”

“Yeah!” Spike added, his mouth absolutely full to bursting with cookies, spraying crumbs everywhere as he opened it.

“Funny you bring that up,” Rainbow smirked mischievously, which made Twilight slightly wary as she arched an eyebrow at her.

“How so?” Twilight asked.

“I was thinking about how I haven’t had any luck getting my friends to visit the library—”

“Just every other pony in Canterlot, that’s all,” Spike interrupted, getting a small chuckle out of Twilight and a playful eye roll and hair ruffle from Rainbow.

“Point is,” Rainbow smiled ear to ear, “I thought of the next best thing!” Twilight absentmindedly took a sip of her milk as Rainbow talked, not wanting the drink to get warm just sitting there. “Instead of getting my friends to come here, you should come with me outside the library!”

And at that, the milk came spurting out of Twilight’s mouth and all over Rainbow’s face, Rainbow just staring with wide eyes, mouth agape, as Twilight bashfully wiped her mouth with a blanket.

“Maybe we should focus on one step at a time,” Spike helpfully suggested, his comment filling the library with the echoing laughter of three good friends who were simply happy to have found each other.

Author's Notes:

in which i finally establish that rainbow and twilight are trans (lmao rip to my like\dislike ratio)

tbh the only reason i didn't establish that much earlier is that i honestly just forgot that it was something i had to establish, that not everyone sees them as trans by default like i do (and by "them" i mean all of the mane six, i'll establish that they're all trans in-story a bit later). oh well, better late than never!

and of course, if u have problems with trans folks or with the girls being trans in this story, u can see urself out

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

22. Tired

Rarity had indeed stayed in her bed for nearly two straight weeks. Not because she wanted to, but simply because she couldn’t find a reason not to.

Even with periodic visits from Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Pinkie Pie to check on her, she couldn’t bring herself to leave her bed for any extended length of time, much less leave her house.

Her empty little cottage, big enough for a small family and it felt so large and threatening to Rarity, a constant reminder of what she was missing.

Of course she dearly appreciated her friends; both in Canterlot’s Moon District, and in the Slayer’s Guild. But she couldn’t pretend that the wall she placed between them and her— the wall that protected the ‘real’ Rarity from the fear of mockery and judgment, that took the form of this over the top, fabulous persona— she couldn’t simply pretend it didn’t exist.

But time waits for nopony, and after two weeks the simple matter of ‘I’ve been in bed for two weeks’ was enough reason for Rarity to get back on her hooves, and take an express train to Canterlot’s Sun District, where a meeting had long been overdue.

The Moon District where Rarity lived was somewhat quaint—or, if Rarity was being entirely honest, completely depressing—with small houses of stone built into the side of a grand mountain, the snow nearly burying the tiny village every winter.

The Sun District could not have been more different. Why, Rarity would even say they were like night and day, and then feel that she was mildly clever.

Beautiful houses made from polished marble, ornate white spires that towered over the city and offered protection with their powerful enchantments, paved roads kept spotless by routine cleanings, and of course the city’s crown jewel; Hunter’s Haven, the home of the Celestial Slayers.

Built into the very face of the mountain was the four-story lavender building, decorated with brilliant rainbow-colored lights and soothing waterfalls pouring from its balconies, the building’s face decorated with the blazing sun that acted as Equestria’s symbol of peace.

Simply seeing the building in the distance from the Sun District’s train station was enough for Rarity to breathe a sigh of contentment. After all, that place was more home to her than her own house was, and certainly more so than her actual destination.

While Rarity would have loved to go to the Hunter’s Haven, and she would after her detour was complete, the building she searched for was much more homely.

A small cottage, much like her own in the Moon District, but painted a much livelier shade of violet. Snow dripped from the rooftop onto the red brick pathway in front of the house which was already a snowy mess because of course it would be.

That girl never could focus enough to do her chores properly, Rarity thought with a giggle as she took in the familiar sight.

This was her family’s house, where her parents and sister lived, and Rarity had long since owed them a visit.

Most of the lights were off even during the early evening, but Rarity presumed this was because the three occupants were in the game room at this hour.

Rarity’s parents enjoyed nothing more than spending their retirement as leisurely as possible—which they more than deserved after spending their entire lives protecting Equestria from foul beasts, much like Rarity was now doing— and whenever they could convince little hyperactive Sweetie Belle to spend time with them instead of in her daydreams of adventure and romance, they jumped on the opportunity.

Rarity’s hand hovered over the doorknob, but she wondered if it would be better to knock first. While the door was most certainly locked, it was never locked for Rarity, who only needed to use a spark of her magic for the door to swing open. That was her father’s idea, to make sure she never felt unwelcomed in the family home.

Still though, it was rude to simply walk into another’s home without knocking first.

But another thought occurred to Rarity as her hand, now balled into a fist as she hesitantly prepared to knock, hovered over the door.

Perhaps she simply didn’t want to go in.

Perhaps she didn’t want to tell her family, who worried for her constantly, that she had almost died. Perhaps she didn’t want them to know that she had practically thrown herself into the open jaws of a timberwolf pack because she was just so tired.

Tired of everything. Tired of the hunt, tired of projecting this mockish notion of goodness to the world, tired of pretending that she wasn’t lonely, or that she wasn’t completely and utterly miserable.

As Rarity’s rant concluded in her mind, her hand fell away from the door. Even with two weeks of nothing to occupy her but her own thoughts, not once did she spend any time dwelling on the timberwolf mission.

It never occurred to her before this moment why she had let herself get so badly injured, why her performance in her latest hunts had been so consistently and uncharacteristically reckless and mediocre, or even why she had spent the two weeks in bed!

She was tired. Simply tired of life.

Well that’s a spirit breaker, Rarity thought with a sigh, turning away from her family’s home.

Why hadn’t she noticed before? Why had it taken her so long to realize how miserable she truly was? But more than any of that, one question lingered on Rarity’s mind.

What could she actually do about it?

The answer, of course, was nothing.

With that bitter thought occupying her mind, Rarity didn’t even notice the pony watching her from the road until Rarity collided with her, bumping into the taller woman with a thud.

“Oh, I’m so sorry!” Rarity said, shaking herself out her thoughts. “I wasn’t watching where I was—”

Rarity’s sentence stopped abruptly, her mouth hanging open, as she realized just who she had bumped into.

“It’s no trouble,” the woman said with a disarming smile.

The woman was a tall white pony—no, calling her ‘tall’ simply did not do her justice. She was a mountain of a pony, taller by at least a head than Rarity and possibly twice as broad, even without her armor.

She was dressed in a casual winter coat, which was an utterly stellar choice of soft pink that complimented not only her white fur, but also her shimmering mane that flowed behind and around her like an aurora.

The woman was the leader of the Celestial Slayers. She was the Queen of Equestria, and Rarity’s personal mentor since as long as Rarity cared to remember.

She was Celestia.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

23. Celestia

“Celestia, darling!”

Rarity tried to bury the embarrassment of having literally bumped right into the Hunter-Queen of Equestria by putting a hand to her face to cover one of her bright red cheeks, and giving an awkward smile, one that Celestia could doubtlessly see right through.

Celestia wasted no time; she didn’t make a joke or pretend to be serious or any such thing, she simply reached her arms around Rarity and pulled her into a tight hug, enveloping her mighty white wings around the unicorn who melted into her mentor’s embrace.

“It’s been too long,” Celestia said, clutching Rarity slightly tighter, as if she were afraid to let go.

“My, ever the affectionate one, I see,” Rarity giggled and pulled herself away, though her hands were still gingerly clasping her Queen’s. “It hasn’t been that long, princess.”

Celestia let out a soft giggle, grazing her thumb over the crease in Rarity’s hand. “Perhaps,” she said wistfully, “but the winter is long, and it feels longer without my favorite student.”

“Now, now, Celestia,” Rarity said with a teasing wink, though she couldn’t help but affect a very genuine smile, “you shouldn’t play favorites!” Rarity ran one of her hands through her mane and allowed herself a haughty laugh. “Even if I am the most fabulous mare in Equestria.”

“That you certainly are, my dear student,” Celestia shook her head and laughed once more, then a sigh left her lips as she stared Rarity down.

Rarity looked up at the Queen; while she was only about a head taller than Rarity, she felt like a mountain to the unicorn, moreso even than the mountain that Canterlot was built around.

“So,” Celestia cleared her throat and began walking down the road, Rarity following behind, eager to put her old family home far behind her, “headed to Hunter’s Haven?”

“Absolutely,” Rarity nodded. “You?” Celestia nodded as well, and while another pony may have missed it, Rarity caught the slightest moment where Celestia’s smile faltered. “Something the matter, darling?”

“The winter is getting longer,” Celestia said grimly, almost a whisper, like she was simply thinking out loud. Rarity’s mood shifted with the Queen’s, becoming dour the moment the Queen’s smile vanished.

“Pardon?”

Celestia looked down at Rarity and offered a warm smile. Rarity knew the gesture was only meant to keep her from worrying, but even still, there was nothing quite so relaxing as Queen Celestia’s smile.

“I apologize, Rarity,” she said. “I have simply been on far too many difficult missions this season,” Celestia sighed and shook her head, almost melodramatically so, “I’m just a bit tired today.”

“That’s completely fair,” Rarity said with a nod, a gesture that seemed to make Celestia relax a little. “After all, you may be an immortal alicorn, but you’re still a pony! You need rest just like all of us!”

“I suppose that’s true,” Celestia muttered.

“It is true,” Rarity harrumphed. “I don’t want to hear any more stories of how you’re overworking yourself!” Celestia opened her mouth to speak but Rarity cut her off, “I know ‘overworking is part of your job’ but that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve to relax from time to time!”

“You’re right, Rarity,” Celestia sighed in defeat, and Rarity finished Celestia’s sentence in unison with her, “like always.”

Celestia took a deep breath and arched her back, letting her wings flare out behind her. Rarity walked beside her as they headed for home together, keeping each other engaged with light jokes and small talk during their walk.

It was early evening, the moon was blanketing the snowy buildings and clean roads in its pale light while the ponies of Canterlot were mostly settling into their homes or into restaurants for dinner time.

The roads were mostly clear of ponies, though a few waved at Celestia and Rarity as they passed by, though none were bold enough to interrupt the Queen’s conversation with her protégé.

“So,” Celestia said as the two drew near Hunter’s Haven, “you haven’t told me about the timberwolf mission! How did it go?”

“I didn’t?” Rarity fluttered her eyelashes at her mentor. “Why, I could have sworn I filed a report like always!”

“You certainly did,” Celestia said, and something in her tone needled Rarity, but she couldn’t quite put a finger on what. Was Celestia teasing her? “And quite an interesting one, at that!”

“How so?” Rarity asked, slightly afraid to learn the answer.

“You almost died,” Celestia said so casually, and Rarity supposed that flirting with death would be something rather casual to an immortal queen, wouldn’t it? Celestia looked down at Rarity and she was sure the alicorn’s gaze was going to puncture a hole right through her. “What happened? It isn’t like you to be so careless, especially for such a simple mission.”

Rarity dared not look at Celestia as the two stopped in their tracks, standing just in front of the bridge that led over the nearly frozen river to Hunter’s Haven, the majestic lavender building towering in the horizon.

“I wish I knew,” Rarity spoke, her eyes glued to the snow at her hooves. “I fear I simply haven’t been myself as of late.”

“It’s something all Slayers go through, I’m sorry to say,” Celestia’s soft voice was comforting, though not nearly as much as her wing stretching out across Rarity’s back, or the feeling of being tugged by that wing into a one-armed hug from the Queen. “You will power through it. I have great faith in you, my dearest Rarity.”

Rarity wanted to thank her Queen, but settled for a contended hum instead as she let herself lean against Celestia’s chest, the alicorn gently caressing Rarity’s shoulder.

“And I know something that will help you immensely,” Celestia said with a pleased grin.

“Oh?” Rarity asked, her eyes closed as she breathed deeply of the crisp winter air. “And what would that be, darling?”

Rarity opened her eyes just in time to see Celestia’s cheerful wink. “A drink with your favorite alicorn, of course!”

“Oh,” Rarity resisted the urge to let a devilish grin cross her face, “I didn’t realize Luna was here.”

The disgusted scoff Celestia made as she shoved Rarity away in shock was nearly as priceless as the positively aghast expression on the Queen’s face, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide as saucers, but the most exquisite element of Rarity’s teasing had to be the bright red flush that adorned Celestia’s pale white cheeks.

Simply marvelous.

Rarity couldn’t hold back her delighted laughter, and after a moment of glaring at Rarity and looking ever so deadly serious, neither could Celestia, who quickly wrapped Rarity up in another hug.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

24. Good Luck

It was just before eight o’clock as Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle and Spike wrapped up their book club, and while Spike picked up the books and bedding, Rainbow and Twilight Sparkle stood at the door of the library, Rainbow pacing back and forth and Twilight simply watching her patiently.

Book club wrapped up right around the time the Applepie Smithery closed up shop for the night. Rainbow couldn’t remember if that was her idea or Twilight’s, but either way, it was no coincidence.

“So,” Twilight cleared her throat, “are you going to go?”

Rainbow shrugged and continued pacing.

Twilight hummed thoughtfully, and Rainbow stopped her pacing for a sec to look at her, feeling somewhat overwhelmed that Twilight looked so deep in thought for her sake. It meant a lot to her that Twilight was so invested in helping Rainbow over her stupid stumbling block, and Rainbow wished she had the ability—or the nerve, at least—to thank her.

“I have an idea!” Twilight said suddenly, eyes sparkling with pride.

“Yeah?” Rainbow flicked her fingers and leaned back against the library door. “Let’s hear it.”

“So, your issue is that you get really nervous and flustered around Applejack, right?” Twilight’s words brought a pronounced red tint to Rainbow’s cheeks, and instead of answering Twilight’s question, she just rubbed the back of her neck and glanced away—which, of course, was more than enough answer for Twilight. “But doesn’t Applejack have a partner? Pinkie Pie, if I’m remembering correctly? Why not ask her out?”

“Uhhh, cuz I don’t wanna date her?” Rainbow looked at Twilight with utter confusion, crossing her arms. “Like, I don’t really know her that well, and she seems nice enough, but like—” Rainbow felt that familiar heat sting her cheeks and oh how she wanted to just be suddenly struck by lightning. “She’s not Applejack.”

“I know,” Twilight chuckled, “that’s not what I meant. I’m not saying you should date Pinkie Pie—I am getting that name correct, aren’t I?” after a nod from Rainbow, Twilight continued, “I’m saying you should ask her out for drinks.”

After waiting a moment for Rainbow to reply, in which Rainbow only stared with ever mounting confusion at her friend’s ‘helpful’ suggestions, Twilight went on;

“You enjoy meeting new people, right?”

“Heck yeah I do!” Rainbow exclaimed, pushing herself off the door with her wings and pumping her fists. “It’s exciting! I love talking to ponies and hearing all their cool stories and stuff, and telling ‘em cool stories about me, which I have a whole lot of!”

“Exactly,” Twilight giggled. “So what I’m suggesting, is that maybe if you can focus on Pinkie Pie instead of Applejack, you’ll feel less nervous around her.”

The wires were almost connected in Rainbow’s head, and after one more helpless glance shot at Twilight, the librarian sighed and explained herself once more.

“I’m saying, ask Pinkie Pie out for drinks, but say something to the effect of ‘do you and your partner want to go out for drinks’? That way, you have Applejack out with you, but you don’t have to feel nervous because you’ll have something else to focus on: Pinkie Pie! Kind of like how you listen to music and read at the same time.”

“Oh, so you’re saying to distract the noisy part of my brain that tells me how stupid I am,” Rainbow said, “by chatting it up with Pinkie Pie, but Applejack’ll still be there so I’ll get a chance to talk to her too!”

“Exactly!” Twilight said with a bright smile. “And plus, I’m sure Pinkie Pie is a great lady, so you’ll probably make a new friend too, and get in Applejack’s good graces by being friends with her partner! Everybody wins!”

“Twilight, that’s genius!” Rainbow had half a mind to hug Twilight, and she almost went for it but decided on a friendly clap against her arm instead.

“That said,” Twilight cleared her throat and talked sternly for a sec, “it’s really important that you don’t just treat Pinkie Pie like a stepping stone to get to Applejack.”

“I would never do that,” Rainbow said coldly, disgusted by even the suggestion.

“Then it sounds like you have nothing to worry about!” Twilight grinned.

“Alright! Then I’m gonna do it!” Rainbow clapped her hands and turned around toward the door, reaching for the doorknob and almost putting her hand atop it before freezing.

“Rainbow?”

“What if—” Rainbow’s words were quiet and ragged, like they were being choked out by a woman on her deathbed. “What if, after I do this, Applejack doesn’t like me? What if Pinkie doesn’t like me? What if they think I’m—”

A gurgling noise came from Rainbow’s throat as she forced herself to suffocate those thoughts, but she couldn’t quite put them out of her mind and now the temperature of the room was rising. She felt sweat dripping down her brow and clinging to her hands, until a warm hand placed itself over hers.

“They will like you, Rainbow,” Twilight said softly in Rainbow’s ear. Rainbow took a step away from Twilight and looked up at her, Twilight’s soft hand still gently grasping Rainbow’s. “You’re the coolest, smartest pony I know—”

“How many ponies do you—”

“That’s not my point,” Twilight cut Rainbow’s snide remark off with a boop to her nose, which made Rainbow chuckle. “They’d have to be crazy not to like you.” Twilight let out a soft chuckle and smiled teasingly. “Honestly, it’s almost rude of you to have deprived them of such a cool pony for this long!”

Rainbow snickered at that and placed her hand over Twilight’s.

“Thank you, Twilight.”

“I mean it, Rainbow,” Twilight said. “I believe in you.”

Rainbow took a deep breath, then she went in for that hug, which was happily reciprocated by Twilight. Rainbow clapped Twilight on the back twice before releasing her, and swung the door open, quickly jumping outside.

“Make sure to tell me all about it,” Twilight said cheerfully. “And good luck!”

Rainbow paused for a sec before flashing a brilliant smile at Twilight.

“Won’t need it!”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

25. The Best Laid Plans

Rainbow refused to listen to herself as she marched toward the ApplePie Smithery.

She refused to listen to the voice that said ‘you’re wasting your time’. She refused to listen to the voice that said ‘she’s isn’t going to like you’, or the voice that said ‘no one likes you, how could they?’

She just kept walking, hands in her pockets, until the bright pink sign came into view and a sense of comfort washed over her, a bubbling feeling of excitement following it.

It wasn’t until she saw the sign that she considered that maybe her plan—Twilight’s plan—might actually work. And what if it did? What if she actually managed to go out for drinks with Applejack and Pinkie Pie?

If Rainbow was being honest, she’d always kinda wanted to get to know Pinkie Pie better; Pinkie seemed cool, but Rainbow was always too worried that she might seem weird for… talking to Pinkie Pie? That didn’t make any sense, but when did her intrusive thoughts ever?

Rainbow hurried her pace to get to the smithery as soon as possible, but she stopped dead in her tracks as Pinkie Pie walked out—no, she stormed out, stomping madly away from the shop before sitting on a little stone fence just outside it, crossing her arms in a huff.

That’s probably not good.

Rainbow stood there, far enough away from the shop that Pinkie probably wouldn’t notice her, and wondered what she should do.

Like, obviously she should turn back the way she came, forget this whole nonsense and go home, right? Pinkie was obviously in a bad mood so asking her out for drinks now was out of the question, especially if she was mad at Applejack.

That should’ve been the thought that crossed her mind; maybe it was, and it just went completely ignored. Because all of Rainbow’s thoughts regarding Applejack and Twilight’s plan completely fell through when she saw Pinkie start to shiver in the cold, and she could almost see tears falling down the young woman’s cheeks.

Rainbow didn’t care about her big plans anymore, because in front of her was someone who needed help, and Rainbow couldn’t stand by and do nothing.

“Hey,” Rainbow said as she approached Pinkie, and she could tell that Pinkie was definitely crying. “Are you okay?”

“Um, yeah,” Pinkie said with a forced smile, looking up at Rainbow with teary eyes. “Yeah, I’m just fine! Just a long day at work!” Pinkie’s forced laugh was like a nail screeching down a glass window to Rainbow, who grit her teeth but affected a smile of her own.

“Pinkie Pie, right?” Rainbow asked as she took a step closer. “C’mon, I can tell something’s bothering you. If there’s something I can do to help, just let me know. I’m not only the best at helping ponies, I’m also discreet as heck, I promise!”

Pinkie looked up at Rainbow and a frown flickered across her face, but she bit her lip and glanced away. Rainbow’s stomach sank and she wondered if she screwed up, pressed too hard, or stuck her nose where it didn’t belong.

“You’re Rarity’s friend, right?” Pinkie asked. “From the Slayers? Rainbow, uh—”

Pinkie bit her lip again as she searched for the right name, but Dash chuckled and saved her the trouble.

“Rainbow Dash. And yeah, Rarity and I are buds.”

“Did she tell you about the spirit of the Everfree?”

Rainbow’s brow furrowed at the odd question. This was the first she was hearing of any spirit, or of the Everfree for that matter.

“I take it that was during the timberwolf mission?” Rainbow asked, receiving a shaky nod in reply. Rainbow sighed bitterly and shrugged. “Rarity didn’t tell me anything about the timberwolf mission, and I’ve been a little too distracted lately to have pressed her on it.”

“So she didn’t tell you,” Pinkie said bleakly.

“Nah,” Rainbow sat down next to Pinkie and put her hand on the mare’s shoulder. Pinkie almost flinched, but she seemed to relax pretty quickly, so Rainbow hesitantly kept her hand on Pinkie.

“Why don’t you tell me about it?” Rainbow asked, and Pinkie hesitated, a little mumbly grumble escaping under her breath. “I promise I won’t tell anypony if you don’t want me to.”

“I just—” Pinkie slouched and brought her legs up in front of her, wrapping her arms around them and curling into a ball. “I just don’t want anypony to laugh at me, or call me stupid.”

“Did Applejack say that?” Rainbow asked in alarm. “Or Rarity?”

“N-no!” Pinkie gasped. “No, nothing like that! It’s just-” Pinkie groaned “-I know they both think I’m weird.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” Rainbow grumbled. “I always got weird looks in flight school and stuff, ponies always talked behind my back about me. It sucked.”

“Right?” Pinkie said, getting a nod and a smile from Rainbow that hopefully made Pinkie feel a bit better, if her own smile was any indication. “I met this spirit, in the Everfree,” Rainbow’s ears perked up to listen to Pinkie’s tale, “she was kinda like a pony? But I’m not sure she was one, or at least, not entirely. I dunno how to put it, but she was—” Pinkie bit her lip to avoid saying the word—

“Weird?” Rainbow said the word instead, letting out a little snicker at Pinkie’s blush. “There’s nothing wrong with being weird, you know.”

“I know that,” Pinkie said, “I just don’t want anypony else to think she was weird! Cuz she was so cool too! And like, well, to condense a suuuuuuper long story, I promised I’d go see her again later this month, but Applejack, well she doesn’t want me to go.”

“How come?”

“Well, the smithery’s not doing so hot right now,” Pinkie groaned and buried her face in her hands. “We’ve only been at it for a couple of months, so of course we’re not gonna be buried in customers overnight, but we put everything we had into this venture, so if it doesn’t work out, we—”

“It’ll work out,” Rainbow interrupted, almost feeling offended on Pinkie and Applejack’s behalf at the idea that their smithery wouldn’t work out. “You guys are the best! I’ve never felt as confident in all my monster slaying business than I have since Rarity introduced me to you two!”

“That’s what Rarity said too,” Pinkie didn’t sound too convinced, “but every day that goes by and there’s only a little drip of progress… it makes it harder and harder to believe that any of this was worth it.”

Rainbow didn’t know what to say, so she settled for just gently rubbing Pinkie’s back.

“And the spirit,” Pinkie continued, “her name is Fluttershy, by the way, I don’t think she has any friends. You should’ve seen the look she gave me when I promised I’d come back. I can’t break that promise to her! I just can’t! I’d feel so bad!”

Rainbow was just about to say something, hopefully something encouraging, when the door to the smithery opened up and Applejack walked outside, a pained expression on her face. Pinkie looked over at her and stood up, but Rainbow could tell she was really worried about what Applejack would say.

“I’m sorry, Pinkie,” Applejack rubbed her arm and knelt on the snowy ground in front of Pinkie, gently taking her hand. “I shouldn’t have gotten mad at you. If meetin’ this spirit of yers is really important to ya, we’ll figure somethin’ out. I promise.”

Pinkie’s eyes instantly filled with tears as she pounced on Applejack and embraced her in a hug, bringing them both to the ground.

“Applejack!” she cried. “Thank you so, so, so much!” Pinkie tore herself away from Applejack for a sec, a big smile plastered on her face. “And I just know Fluttershy’s gonna love you whenever you get to visit her!” Pinkie gasped. “Maybe I can convince her to come to Canterlot with me!”

“How ‘bout we focus on one thing at a time, sugarcube?” Applejack chuckled, rubbing Pinkie’s back as she resumed their hug. “First thing’s first, we gotta figure out how to keep the shop runnin’ if yer gonna be hoppin’ on a train to Ponyville for another few days.”

Rainbow suddenly wondered how quickly she could learn how to craft enchantments, and wondered if Twilight could help her; she was good at magic, right? How hard could it be?

“But for right now,” Applejack stood up, a soft smile on her pretty face, “we got a half-eaten apple pie in the fridge that’s just callin’ our names.”

“Sounds good to me!” Pinkie jumped up and sported a bright, beaming grin.

Applejack chuckled and as she looked away from Pinkie, she finally noticed Rainbow Dash still sitting on the stone fence. “Rainbow!” she said in surprise, but quickly cleared her throat and crossed her arms, looking cool as heck. “What can I do ya fer?”

Before Rainbow could speak, Pinkie chimed in, “Rainbow was listening to me talk about the spirit! She helped me feel a lot better!”

“Oh,” Applejack smiled at Pinkie, and then at Rainbow, a gesture which made Rainbow smile, and her heart melt. “Well thank ye kindly, Rainbow Dash. Takin’ care of Pinkie’s s’posed to be my responsibility, so sorry you had to take over.”

“I can take care of myself, Applejack!” Pinkie said teasingly, blowing a raspberry at Applejack.

“I know, I know,” Applejack awkwardly ran a hand through her gorgeous blonde hair. “It’s just old habits, y’know?” Pinkie just giggled, and Applejack cleared her throat again. “Anyway, thank you, Rainbow.”

“Uh, no problem,” Rainbow shrugged.

“Was there somethin’ else ya needed though?” Applejack asked.

“Oh yeah,” Pinkie added, turning around to face Rainbow, “you were already in the neighborhood, huh? Were you coming by the smithery for something?”

Rainbow looked at Applejack and Pinkie Pie and the smiles they were both giving her. It seemed whatever argument they had been having before had been settled between them and they were back to being friendly partners, and Rainbow would have liked to think that she helped somehow.

She probably didn’t, but she’d like to think she did.

“Yeah, I was—”

Rainbow stood on her hooves and felt that seizing feeling in her stomach that she always got around Applejack, and was careful to avoid the beautiful orange mare’s gaze.

“So what’s up then?” Applejack asked heartily. “Somethin’ we can do for ya?”

If she wanted to ask the two out for drinks, this would be the perfect time. And would she honestly be okay with herself if she let this opportunity slip by? What would Twilight think?

Rainbow took a deep breath.

“Nah.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

26. The Cragadile Mission

Rarity stared at her tea getting cold as she sat at a humble table in the corner of the bar of Hunter’s Haven. Her gaze drifted up to the white alicorn looking terribly uncomfortable as she gave polite smiles and conversation to a veritable horde of ponies all gathered around her, eager to share their stories and to hear hers.

It was something Rarity quite admired about Celestia, that she would always give time to those who asked, even if she had none to give.

Rarity took a sip of her tea and her face twisted into a disgusted sneer at the lukewarm beverage, but her disdain quickly faded at the sound of Celestia’s soft laughter.

“I’m sorry,” Celestia said, sitting down in the chair opposite Rarity’s and eyeing her own cup of tea sitting in front of her, “did I keep you waiting long?”

“It’s no trouble,” Rarity said as she pushed her cup toward Celestia, the alicorn hovering her hand over it and returning the drink to a much more agreeable temperature before taking a sip from her own now steaming beverage. “I wasn’t expecting quite so many Slayers to cling to you like that.”

“I was,” Celestia muttered between sips.

“Has it been a while since you were back?” Rarity asked, slightly taken aback by Celestia’s words.

“It has,” Celestia said wistfully.

Rarity followed Celestia’s gaze to look out at the tables that were all crowded by various members of the Celestial Slayers, and Rarity noticed that every single one of them was in a much more delighted and carefree mood than when they had walked in the door.

Such was the power of the Queen, she supposed; to make everyone near her feel safe and comforted. Rarity found herself wishing she had a similar power, but laughed it off as mere fantasy.

“Too long,” Celestia’s voice brought Rarity back to their present conversation. “But I’m afraid I’ve just been too busy to return here very often, as of late.”

“Oh?” Rarity said, curiosity thoroughly piqued. “And why is that, pray tell? I know you’re always quite busy, what with assisting Equestria’s government, overseeing the Slayers, and your own hunts on top of it all, and yet not once have I ever heard you bemoan the business of it. I always just assumed you enjoyed it.”

“I do,” Celestia said defensively, an arched eyebrow from Rarity cluing Celestia in that perhaps she had spoken too quickly and she cleared her throat. “I do,” she said at a much more serene volume. “It’s only been very recently that I’ve been preoccupied more than usual…”

Celestia drifted off and her eyes looked like they were staring into another realm, and Rarity remembered something the Queen had said on their walk here.

“Is it about the winters getting longer?”

Celestia gave Rarity a sharp look for the briefest of moments, but it was quickly washed away by closed eyes and a bright smile.

“Something like that.”

“Well, what is it?” Rarity asked, tapping her nails anxiously against her tea cup. “If the winters are truly getting longer, that’s a problem for all of Equestria, is it not? Should we not be prepared?”

“If I felt you should be concerned,” Celestia’s voice was soft, yet Rarity could feel a sternness to it that warned her to watch her boundaries, “I would let you know. You know I would never keep my subjects, and especially my dearest student, in the dark without reason.

“But I’m afraid I simply don’t have much to say at the moment,” Celestia took another sip of tea and let out a small sigh. “Too many pieces that I haven’t quite put together. But I assure you, Rarity, once there is something to tell, you will be the first to know.”

Rarity let her hands slip away from tea cup and off the table entirely as she leaned back into her chair. That wasn’t the answer she had wanted to hear, she wanted to be in the loop now, but she supposed it wasn’t her place to hurry the Queen.

“By the way,” Celestia said, “you mentioned in your report that you needed more health goo, right?”

Rarity snorted and drew herself up. “I’m quite certain I didn’t phrase it like that.”

“Oh, of course,” Celestia playfully rolled her eyes, “you referred to it as ‘healing ointment’, I believe, which is a far less entertaining term, to be quite honest.”

“It’s a bit more proper though,” Rarity smiled, hiding her disgust for the term ‘health goo’, “don’t you think?”

Celestia simply hummed and a spark of yellow light flashed from her horn, and suddenly two small jars of the healing ointment hovered in the air beside her before floating down onto the table in front of Rarity, alongside a sealed scroll.

“What’s this?” Rarity asked, gently touching a finger to the scroll.

“That is a scroll,” Celestia said with quite the proud smirk on her face, which only widened after Rarity’s unenthused scowl. “I find that when I am having a difficult time with my life as a Slayer, the best way for me to ‘power through’, as it were, is via a distraction. So I am giving you one.”

Rarity unfurled the scroll and looked over the contents, recognizing them immediately as a Slayer’s mission. Her brow furrowed, yet a small smile graced her lips.

“A cragadile?”

Author's Notes:

i'm very excited, because tomorrow... the Fated Meeting occurs
and the s.s. raritwi can finally set sail

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

27. In Which Rarity Meets a Cute Librarian

“You’ve finally done it, Rainbow,” Rarity said in mock-defeat as she followed Rainbow Dash’s steps, “you’ve finally convinced me. So how do you feel?”

“Pumped!” Rainbow turned to Rarity and grinned. “Super hyped! How ‘bout you?”

“Intrigued,” Rarity said after a short pause, “let’s leave it at that.”

Nearly three weeks ago, Rainbow Dash had visited a library. A most unbefitting place for her to be, Rarity had thought when Rainbow told her, and yet nearly every day that the two had seen each other since, Rainbow had pestered Rarity to come with her to the library.

Not necessarily for the books, though Rainbow was always eager to share the exciting adventures of Daring Do whenever the opportunity presented itself, but Rainbow returned almost every day to the library for another reason, a reason she seemed absolutely certain that Rarity would appreciate just as much as she had:

The librarian.

And every time Rainbow would request Rarity join her library escapades, Rarity would always find some way to excuse herself. Now that she finally had a reason to go, she wondered why she had put it off so long, but the truth of it was as simple as it was depressing.

There is no life outside the Hunt, and now the Hunt had led her to the library.

If one had seen Rainbow Dash’s excitement when Rarity shared with her their mission, to slay a frenzied cragadile in Haysead Swamp, one would have thought Rainbow was possessed by some sort of spirit.

No, it wasn’t the mission itself that excited Rainbow, but Rarity’s admission that she knew next to nothing about cragadiles. That was when Rainbow became excited, because she knew exactly where they could learn all the information they needed; or rather, from whom.

“Trust me, Rarity,” Rainbow said with a huge grin, completely unable to contain her excitement, “you’re gonna love the librarian! She’s smart, she’s rad, she’s really funny, and hey she’s trans just like us. She said it was cool if I tell you that.”

“I take it she already knows that we have that in common?” Rarity asked.

“Yeah, sorry,” Rainbow said bashfully, stopping in her tracks and rubbing the back of her neck. “I kinda made an offhand comment one time that like all my friends are trans and she put two and two together.”

“Which makes her better at math than you are,” Rarity smirked, giving Rainbow a very smug side-eye.

“Har har,” Rainbow stuck out her tongue and sighed. “I am sorry though, I didn’t mean to out you or anything.”

“You have nothing to apologize for,” Rarity traced her thumb across Rainbow’s cheek. “It’s not like my gender situation is a secret, or as if you outed me to somepony dangerous.”

“Yeah I guess,” Rainbow huffed. “Still feels bad though. Outing your friends is just not a cool thing to do ever.”

“True,” Rarity shrugged and put her arm around Rainbow, dragging her into some combination of a hug and a headlock. “But in this case no harm was done, so don’t worry your pretty little head over it.”

“Okay fine,” Rainbow laughed softly and squirmed her way out of Rarity’s embrace.

Rarity pondered for a second as she continued following Rainbow to the library; it was true that almost all of Rainbow and Rarity’s friends were trans, but it was also true that Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Luna, and Celestia were the only trans ponies Rarity could think of off the top of her head, and it was depressing to think that she had so few friends in the world.

Maybe striking up a relationship with this librarian wouldn’t be such a bad idea after all.

Rainbow had long since given up the pretense of restraint by the time they reached the giant oak tree nestled into the side of the snowy mountain; Rarity almost likened her to a child on Hearth’s Warming Eve.

While Rainbow headed inside to prepare her friend the librarian for Rarity’s arrival, Rarity lingered outside and her eyes fell on the tarnished golden plaque that rested above the library’s entrance way.

The Golden Oaks Library.

Rarity thought the name was quite majestic, and she giggled to herself that she was already taking a shine to the place.

She didn’t wait for Rainbow Dash to return to step into the building, it was a public place after all, and Rarity had no desire to stand around in the snow and blistering cold. Rarity let out a quiet gasp as she walked inside and a radiant warmth instantly washed over her as soon as she shut the door behind her.

The first thing that caught her attention was the smell not only of old books, but also of burning incense. She found it rather peculiar for a moment, but breathing deeply into it she discovered it was quite pleasant.

The library was so warm compared to the winter landscape outside, and even the hardwood under her hooves felt bright and inviting, as if the very place beckoned her to come further inside.

Everywhere she looked she saw rows and rows of bookcases and she was baffled by just how many books could seemingly fit inside of one tree, even musing that the place must have been bigger on the inside than out.

It was comforting. That was the primary conclusion that Rarity had come to; that being in the library felt comfortable, and that was a far cry from her usual routine. Even her own house or her home in Hunter’s Haven weren’t ‘comfortable’. Familiar, certainly. Pleasant even. But not comfortable.

It was beautiful too. Rarity couldn’t help but admire the sleek and efficient designs of the bookcases, the plush chairs that sat in a circle in the lobby, or the reception desk which she swore must have been made from the finest polished mahogany.

Everything was lovely, but the most beautiful thing in the room—besides Rarity herself, of course—walked out of a doorway to the side of the reception desk.

The librarian.

Rarity was leaning against the reception desk when the librarian walked into the lobby, and the lavender mare had yet to see her, so Rarity took a moment to appreciate the woman’s beauty.

Her fur looked soft and vibrant, her long indigo hair tied into a ponytail that fell past her shoulders was already a stunning sight, but the streaks of deep violet and bright pink that streamed through it made it even more so.

But Rarity was most of all captivated by the woman’s eyes; stunning violet that glittered with ethereal light.

“You’re the librarian, I presume?” Rarity said softly, alerting the woman to her presence and seemingly startling her, if her little adorable squeak was any indication.

“I am,” the librarian said with a bow of her head. She walked behind the reception desk, so Rarity took her elbow off of it and stood up properly to look her in the eye. “How can I help you?”

“I can see why Rainbow keeps coming back here,” Rarity said with a soft laugh, “you’re quite easy on the eyes.”

Rarity’s comment was meant to clue the librarian in that she was friends with Rainbow—as Rainbow had suggested she do in the event that Rarity met the librarian without her—but Rarity couldn’t deny that she looked forward to seeing the cute librarian’s reaction to Rarity’s light flirting.

“Oh, um,” the librarian cleared her throat and looked away, but she had a very distinct blush across her cheeks. Suddenly her ears flicked up and she looked back at Rarity. “You know Rainbow Dash?”

“Yes, I—”

“You’re her partner!”

Rarity wondered for half a second how on earth she figured that much so suddenly, but by tracing the librarian’s line of sight to the dragon fang hanging around Rarity’s neck, she found her answer.

“You’re Rarity, then,” the librarian said confidently, and she suddenly seemed like a much different mare than the one who had been so easily flustered just a second ago. “Rainbow Dash has told me about you. You’re a Slayer like she is, but you’re kind, and generous, and would never hurt an innocent.”

“Right,” just like all Slayers, Rarity wanted to conclude, but she didn’t, for thanks to Rainbow’s prior warning she was well aware of the librarian’s distaste of her guild. “And you are Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight nodded, but seemed preoccupied as she continued to look over Rarity, not that Rarity could blame her, of course. “She also said you were—” the librarian looked Rarity up and down for a moment and bit down on her lip to an almost comical degree.

“Charming? Illustrious? Beautiful?”

“Yes, that,” the librarian cleared her throat awkwardly.

“And am I?” Rarity put her hand on the desk and leaned toward Twilight Sparkle, fluttering her eyelashes.

The librarian gulped audibly and that familiar rosy hue crossed her cheeks, to Rarity’s delight.

“Hey, I couldn’t find her in the—” Rainbow Dash jumped from the second story balcony, using her wings to slow her descent, and her eyes immediately locked onto Twilight Sparkle. “Oh, there you are! Thought you’d be in your room, so I knocked!”

“I was in the kitchen,” Twilight said, Rarity thinking it was unusual for a library to even have a kitchen before remembering that this library was not merely Twilight’s place of business, but her home as well. “You told me you were bringing a guest, so I prepared milk and cookies, like we do for our book club.”

“And how is she?” Rainbow grinned and cocked her head toward Rarity, who played with a curl of her hair, shooting a tender glance at Twilight. “Everything I said she’d be, right?”

“She’s—” Twilight looked at Rarity and it was as if all incentive to speak had washed away from her, her face turning a very bright pink. “I should check on the cookies!”

With that, Twilight fled behind the very door she had come through, leaving behind a rather confused Rainbow Dash and a rather pleased Rarity.

“Hope you didn’t tease her too much,” Rainbow said.

“Not at all, darling,” Rarity smiled. “I was nothing but honest.”

Author's Notes:

*steam boat noises* all aboard the s.s. raritwi!

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

28. In Which Twilight Freaks Out Because She Doesn't Know How To Talk To Beautiful Women

Twilight retreated into the kitchen where her son greeted her enthusiastically as he took a sheet of cookies out of the oven and placed them on the counter. She felt the need to barricade the door with her body, at least until the burning sensation in her cheeks went away, which drew a curious glance from Spike.

“You okay?” the young pegasus asked.

“Rainbow’s friend is here,” Twilight said nonchalantly, “she’s in the lobby.”

“Oh!” Spike chirped. “We should go say hi! Wait, did you talk to her already? What’s she like?”

“She’s—” that burning feeling returned to Twilight’s cheeks and she choked down her reply. She cleared her throat and walked slowly, painfully, away from the door. “She’s everything Rainbow said she would be.”

“I wanna meet her!” Spike said, throwing his hands in the air.

“Yeah,” Twilight bit her lip, “we should go out there together. Just— just give me a second.”

Twilight sat down in a nearby chair and took a few deep breaths. Spike waited until she looked somewhat calm again to ask her “Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t look too good.”

“I’m just a little—” Twilight twitched the fingers on her right hand like she was using a typewriter as she tried to find the proper word. “I feel like there’s a swarm of angry bees rumbling around in my stomach.”

“You sure you don’t mean butterflies?” Spike tilted his head.

“Uh, maybe I do,” Twilight said sheepishly. Her ears suddenly perked up and she said, her voice cracking ever so slightly, “It’s actually fascinating! I’ve never felt like this before! I hate it! But also, I kinda like it? I think? I dunno!”

“Twilight, Twilight, Twilight,” Spike shook his head and clicked his tongue, walking over to pat Twilight on the leg. Twilight wanted to be annoyed by his condescension, but it was more adorable to her than anything. “It sounds like somebody has a crush.”

“Wh—no I don’t!” Twilight balked, standing straight up and nearly hitting her head on a hanging pan. “I don’t—that’s—I wouldn’t—”

“It’s nothing to get so worked up over, Twilight,” Spike crossed his arms and nodded confidently. “Sometimes that just happens when you’re not as cool and stoic as yours truly.”

“Is that right?” Twilight grinned and raised an eyebrow.

“Yep!” Spike said as he approached the door. “Now, how about you grab the milk and cookies, and you can just follow my lead as I show you how to talk to girls without getting all flustered and stuff! It’s easy!”

“Uh-huh,” Twilight rolled her eyes and collected the four plates and glasses in her magic, following Spike back into the lobby because she just had to see this.

Spike marched confidently into the lobby of the library, where Rainbow Dash and Rarity were already seated across from each other around a coffee table with several books piled up in front of them. Rainbow’s ears twitched as she heard the two approaching but she didn’t look up from her book, though Rarity turned her head to see them.

“Oh, hello!” she said with a charmed smile upon seeing Spike. “You must be Spike?”

Spike froze in his tracks immediately, his face turning bright red as he gurgled out his reply.

“Uh, buh hi.”

Rarity giggled and her smile widened, and Twilight was equally delighted by that and by Spike’s reaction, which was to run behind Twilight’s leg and grab onto it for dear life.

Twilight entertained the idea of relaying a teasing comment to Spike, but decided to just chuckle and place the milk and cookies on the table before grabbing Spike himself in her magic and levitating him into an empty chair next to Rainbow Dash, Twilight sitting in a chair at the end of the table, so she could be close to him but also see both Rarity and Rainbow.

As Twilight scanned the collection of books on the table, her brow furrowed and she frowned in disappointment. There were several bestiaries, a couple of adventure novels and some travel guides among them, but none of them would give her two guests the real information they needed if they were going to be dealing with something as dangerous as cragadiles.

Without really thinking, Twilight conjured the mental image of several different books that she wanted to present to the two Slayers before lighting up her horn and, with a spark of magic, teleporting to her three heavy volumes and a stack of loose papers bound in a makeshift leather strap, which she then placed gently on the table.

It was only after she did this that she looked up at the ponies sitting at the table with her, who all had their eyes on her. Spike had a proud smile, and Rainbow a mischievous grin, but it was Rarity’s reaction that captured Twilight’s attention.

Her eyes were wide and her mouth was half open, like she was staring at Twilight in awe. Twilight looked behind her worriedly, afraid she had been snuck up on by some dangerous creature, then looked over herself to make sure she hadn’t accidentally transformed into a monster or gotten blood on her somehow.

“How did you do that?” Rarity asked.

“Do wh— oh, oh!” Twilight cleared her throat bashfully. She had forgotten that long range teleportation of objects, multiple-object levitation and levitating ponies were not something most unicorns could do. “I’m, um—”

“Twilight’s a magical prodigy!” Spike relayed proudly, puffing up his chest. “She’s the best magician who’s ever lived!”

“I don’t know about that,” Twilight bit her lip and ran her fingers through the hair on the side of her face.

“Well even so,” Rarity said with a smile, folding her arms on the table, “I’m quite impressed!”

Twilight couldn’t help a pleased grin from coming over her, even as her cheeks felt at least twenty degrees hotter.

“So what’re these books, Twi?” Rainbow knocked on one of the books Twilight put on the table, snapping Twilight back to attention.

“This one is a journal of a pony who travelled all across Equestria,” Twilight explained, levitating the first book in her magic, “and he wrote about his encounter with a cragadile in one of his entries.

“This one,” Twilight floated another book, “is an obscure bestiary. The author is eccentric and not well-regarded amongst most ponies, so a lot of his books have fallen into obscurity, but his insight into rare beasts is unmatched.

“And this last one is the most comprehensive guide to swamp-based flora and fauna I’ve ever read, with an extensive article about cragadiles and their natural habits.”

“Wow,” Rainbow leaned back in her chair, eyes wide and grin even wider, “that’s incredible, Twi. I wouldn’t’ve even thought to grab books like those. I kinda just went for bestiaries.”

“That’s okay,” Twilight said coyly, “I wouldn’t be a very good librarian if I didn’t have a deep understanding of the books at my disposal.”

“And what about this one?” Rarity asked, caressing the stack of papers in her magic.

“Those are—” Twilight coughed, anxious about giving the answer. “Those are my personal notes. I’ve been putting together my own bestiary based on my travels and experiences, since I find a lot of the ones available to be a little dry. I have some notes about cragadiles that should be helpful in there.”

“My, my,” Rarity purred, placing her elbows on the table and resting her chin on her intertwined fingers, “you have your very own bestiary? Does our little librarian live a secret life of danger perhaps?”

“I’m, er, well-travelled, but—” Twilight glanced at Spike and let out a soft giggle as she saw he was still staring absolutely entranced at Rarity; she could practically see the hearts in his eyes. “I’m looking to settle down.”

Rarity hummed, and her smile grew. Twilight felt that familiar heat creeping up her cheeks again, and though she wanted to look away from Rarity’s eyes, she found she couldn’t bring herself to.

Twilight stared at Rarity, at her blue eyes and her enchanting smile, for what felt like an eternally slow moment, Twilight biting down on her lip before forcing her eyes away, her brow furrowing at the sight she landed on.

“Rainbow,” Twilight said as she recognized the Daring Do book Rainbow’s nose was in, “you aren’t actually considering riding the cragadile like a raft, are you?”

“Wh—you said it was possible!” Rainbow said defensively, slapping the book down on the table and blushing furiously.

“So is looking into the sun without going blind,” Twilight balked, “that doesn’t mean you should do it!”

Rarity giggled, and Twilight was absolutely bewitched by the sound. She was less endeared to Rainbow’s snickering, and her mood soured even more when she looked to see Rainbow looking right at her with a big grin on her face.

“What?” Twilight grunted, her eyes glancing quickly at Rarity, who had drawn herself back up and was now sitting properly in her chair, playing coyly with her mane, and for a fraction of a second Twilight was dumbstruck by just how impossibly beautiful Rarity was.

“Nothing, nothing,” Rainbow shrugged and exchanged a brief glance with Rarity, which seemed to fluster the unicorn as she quickly looked away from her partner. “Hey Spike,” Rainbow tapped Spike’s arm, getting the boy’s attention, “you wanna help me put some of these books away?”

“Uh, no?” Spike said confusedly. Rainbow frowned at her and quickly darted her eyes back and forth from Rarity to Spike, which only seemed to confuse him more.

Rarity sighed, and Twilight couldn’t help but feel she sounded uncomfortable. Twilight wondered if she had done something wrong, but before she could delve too deeply into that thought train, Spike spoke up again.

“Oh! Y-yeah! Rainbow, let me help you put these books away!” he said suddenly, grabbing all the books he could in his little hands, along with his plate of cookies, and trotted off into the rows of bookcases.

“Hey Rares,” Rainbow grabbed her own plate and glass of milk before giving Rarity a wink, “you can handle the research stuff on your own, right? I can’t read, sooooo…”

“I’m sure I’ll manage,” Rarity said with a playful roll of her eyes, and Twilight was sure that she mouthed the words ‘thank you’ to Rainbow before the pegasus smiled at her and followed Spike into the library.

“That was odd,” Twilight said, ever the dense one.

“Rainbow can be a bit impatient,” Rarity said, reaching her arm across the table until it was resting on one of the books that Twilight had brought, Rarity’s fingers tantalizing close to Twilight’s. “And I suppose she figured that it would be best for me and you to delve into this research business… at our own pace.”

“Oh, okay,” Twilight said with an oblivious smile, and Rarity laughed softly into her hand for some reason. “Where do you want to start?”

Rarity took a deep breath, and as she looked over to the bookcases where Rainbow and Spike had disappeared, she seemed to relax for the first time. She rested an elbow on the table, cheek gently propped up by her hand, and fluttered her eyelashes at Twilight, who could practically feel steam coming out of her ears.

“Darling,” Rarity whispered, sending a jolt of electricity up Twilight’s spine, “why don’t you tell me about your travels.”

Author's Notes:

i hope u all enjoyed my obligatory nod to spike's crush on rarity. i will now promptly be dropping that subplot because it is gross and bad, especially when twilight and rarity are supposed to be dating.

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

29. In Which Rarity and Twilight Reach a Mutual Realization That the Other Is Very Cute

Rarity had learned everything she ever needed to know and more about cragadiles. Or at least, she was certain she would once she read the notes that Twilight had been taking at her request while she was telling Rarity about them.

Rarity had insisted on Twilight taking notes on the important parts of their cragadile conversation, and she was quite pleased that Twilight acquiesced with no argument. Rarity said she needed the notes on account of not having a great memory, and so that she could read them on the train so they would be fresh in her mind when she really needed the information.

And the second part of that statement was true enough, but the real reason she insisted on the notes was simply because she could not have been less interested in talking about cragadiles, for the only thing she could focus on was the radiant lavender unicorn sitting before her, who only became more beautiful and more interesting with each word she spoke.

In truth, Rarity had actually learned rather little about Miss Twilight Sparkle herself, for the librarian seemed loathe to discuss herself. Twilight had been much more keen on sharing not only everything she knew about cragadiles, but she had also gotten quite caught up in the book about swamps and wanted to share with Rarity her own thoughts, ideas, and insights on swamp-dwelling flora and fauna.

Rarity, of course, had never once in her life been remotely interested in learning about swampy plants and creatures. At least not until the moment Twilight Sparkle had begun talking about it, somehow making it the most compelling and fascinating topic Rarity had ever heard.

Twilight was much more than simply a pretty face—though she was absolutely that as well. She had a special talent for making anything interesting; during their conversation, Twilight had gotten distracted by a rather impassioned rant about rocks—ROCKS, for pony’s sake!— yet Rarity hung on each and every word with bated breath.

It was perplexing, even slightly frustrating! How in the world had Rarity—RARITY, who had so long ago mastered the art of composed detachment—managed to become so wrapped up in this unusual mare? How in all of Equestria was she sitting there, chin resting upon intertwined fingers, smiling like a smitten schoolfilly, while the librarian gave a sincerely enrapturing lecture about the differences between hard water and heavy water?!

By the way, neither type of water had anything to do with ice, and the librarian didn’t look terribly amused by Rarity’s incredibly clever joke about that. Apparently she’d heard that one before.

No, you see, hard water is water with high mineral content, formed when water percolates through deposits of limestone and chalk which are largely made up of calcium and magnesium carbonates, whereas heavy water has more hydrogen isotope deuterium than normal.

And no, Rarity had absolutely no idea what any of those words meant! But she would remember those facts, because the sunforsaken pony of the Golden Oaks Library somehow made Rarity care about said facts!

Rarity rolled her eyes, bemused that she could remember the damn differences between two different types of water, but not a bloody thing that she’d learned about cragadiles.

“Rarity?” Twilight must have caught her rolling her eyes, because she was now looking at Rarity with a pensive expression. “Are you listening?”

“More than you know, darling,” Rarity replied with a smile that satisfied Twilight, if the bright grin on her face was any indication. “Though, I must ask, where does this insatiable thirst for knowledge of yours even come from? I swear my mind feels like it’s going to burst from just our conversation, yet there seems to be no end to the well of information that you have!”

“Oh, um—” Twilight tapped her fingers against the edge of the table, and shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

Goodness, Rarity thought as she bit her lip, did I embarrass her?

“I don’t want you to get the wrong impression,” Rarity slid her hand on the table toward Twilight’s, “I am quite impressed! I’m simply curious because—well, because quite honestly, you have been rather tight-lipped about your own history, and I just find myself frightfully curious about you.”

Twilight blushed and she bit down on a smile. Good sign.

“I just find the process of learning—” Twilight shrugged, and though she looked up at Rarity, it was only for a fraction of a second before she turned her head toward the rows of bookcases, her cheeks’ lavender fur being tinted red. “I enjoy it. I enjoy the act of learning, not just the end result. So I try to learn as much as I can.”

Twilight fixed her eyes on Rarity, and once Rarity was sure Twilight wasn’t going to look away again, now it was Rarity who felt her cheeks burning. Twilight Sparkle had a curiously intense gaze, like everything else in the room melted away except her and the object of her fixation.

And her eyes were so pretty; like shimmering gemstones glistening against the light of the moon.

“Don’t you have something that you just love?” Twilight said, bright smile on her face and hands clenched into excited fists in front of her. “Something that doesn’t even make sense to anybody but you, but it doesn’t matter because you just—you just love it?”

Rarity bit her lip, and then wondered how many times had she done that today, thanks to Twilight. She wished she had a better answer to give, for her own sake as much as for keeping the conversation going with Twilight, but—

“No.”

“No?”

“No,” Rarity shook her head, “I’m afraid I don’t. Maybe you’ve heard this refrain before, but there is no life outside the Hunt.”

“That’s stupid,” Twilight huffed, crossing her arms and turning her head away with puffed up cheeks. Rarity couldn’t help but laugh at her tremendous lack of tact.

“Perhaps,” Rarity said with a broad grin that quickly faded as the somber tone of her words crept into her, “but for the sake of Equestria’s safety, I would sacrifice my own life a thousand times, and a thousand times again.”

Twilight was silent, and her eyes—that intense gaze of hers—suddenly seemed fixed on Rarity’s dragon fang necklace. So intense was Twilight’s stare that Rarity felt compelled to grab the necklace, then cover it with her hand, and only then did Twilight’s eyes meet Rarity’s again.

And there they were again; those eyes that Rarity simply could not get enough of. She saw so many things in those eyes; intensity, ferocity, wisdom, an insatiable lust for knowledge, but also kindness, sweetness, warmth and safety.

Safety.

Rarity couldn’t put a finger on why, but she felt safe inside the library, with Twilight Sparkle.

And that feeling compelled her to share something with Twilight that she hadn’t shared with anypony since she was a child.

“I wanted to be a fashion designer,” Rarity spoke, her cold words leaving her mouth almost unbidden. She dared not think about them as she spoke, for any second thought would smother them with her fear.

A moment of silence, and Rarity dared not look at the disappointed sneer that Twilight must have been giving her for such a meager and unexciting aspiration.

“I still do,” Rarity whispered.

And again, Rarity didn’t look up. Not until she heard the distinct cracking sound that accompanied Twilight’s teleportation spell, and she looked to see Twilight sitting there with a soft smile on her face, several books on fashion, clothing, accessories, and even famous designers of the past all floating around her.

“Maybe something in one of these could help?” Twilight offered warmly, and it took every ounce of willpower in Rarity to stop the tears that glistened in her eyes.

“Hey, Rarity!”

Rarity shot Twilight a horrified glare at the sound of Rainbow’s approaching voice, and frantically waved at her to get her to put those books away.

When Twilight took the hint and quickly teleported the books someplace else, humming innocuously and tapping her hands on the table, Rarity breathed a heavy sigh, and the relief she felt washing over her dwarfed even the relief she felt at escaping the Everfree alive.

“Rarity?” Rainbow walked up to the table, Spike groggily trailing behind her and rubbing a sleepy eye, and Rarity couldn’t help but think he looked adorable. Twilight thought the same, based on the way she smiled at him and placed her hand on her chest.

“How can I help you, Rainbow Dash?” Rarity said sweetly, offering a winning smile that was definitely not covering up the lingering distress of Rainbow possibly seeing and asking about those fashion books.

“I know Twilight is totally cool and all,” Rainbow’s statement made both women at the table smile, and Rarity wasn’t sure which one was more pleased, “but we gotta catch a pretty early train tomorrow.”

“Ah,” Rarity looked to the library’s window and saw complete blackness outside. She knew she had been talking to Twilight for several hours, but she could have sworn it was still daytime the last she looked.

Rarity stood up from the table, and Twilight quickly followed.

“I need to tuck Spike into bed and close up shop,” Twilight said, gathering the books strewn all across the table. “I hope my notes can help you though!”

Twilight levitated her notes on their cragadile conversation over into Rarity’s waiting grasp, and Rarity smiled brightly at her.

“I’m absolutely certain that they’ll be invaluable, my dear,” Rarity said, and she bit down on her lip one more time at the wonderfully adorable sight of Twilight’s widening smile and rosy-tinted cheeks.

“Ready to go?” Rainbow cocked her head to the door.

“I believe so, yes,” Rarity looked at Twilight, “I have everything I need.”

“Will you be coming back?” the sleepy voice of the young pegasus child attracted Rarity’s attention and she found herself regretting that she hadn’t been able to properly meet him yet.

“Absolutely,” Rarity responded without hesitation. “After all,” Rarity looked back to Twilight once more and while her cheeks warmed up again, the rest of her body shuddered in trepidation, “Twilight was going to help me read over some rather interesting books, wasn’t she?”

Twilight blinked, apparently having Rarity’s statement fly completely past her head, which left Rarity feeling rather cold and she tensed up her shoulders.

“Oh!” Twilight exclaimed, her ears flicking up in recognition. “Yes, yes I would love to,” she said with a bow.

“Then once I return from Haysead Swamp,” Rarity said, “you can help me with those.”

Twilight drew herself up, almost bit down a smile before letting it spread across her face unhindered. “It’s a date then.”

Rarity smiled softly and coyly, but inside she wanted to beam from ear to ear.

“It’s a date.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

30. An Entire Year

“What kind of modern town doesn’t have a train station?” Rarity grumbled for the thousandth time, gently stepping across several large stones sitting in a stream. Rainbow rolled her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose, dead tired of listening to Rarity’s complaints

“Haysead Swamp apparently,” Rainbow replied for the thousandth time, swinging off a tree branch and flying across the same stream, landing in the melting snow that gave way to brown grass.

“Well, it’s quite inconvenient of them!” Rarity harrumphed.

“Maybe,” Rainbow shrugged, her hand brushing across the bark of a leafless gray tree as she passed, “but it’s a nice day out. And Haysead Swamp’s so far down south that winter hasn’t quite caught up with it yet.”

“I suppose,” Rarity’s wistful reply caught Rainbow’s attention, and she could swear the unicorn got lost in thought for a sec, but before she could press the issue, Rarity smiled. “Though you are right, it is quite a lovely day.”

“Good day for cragadile hunting!” Rainbow grinned, getting Rarity to laugh.

“Good day for cragadile hunting,” Rarity said in that same wistful tone as she pulled Twilight’s notes on cragadiles out of her bag and ran her fingers across the pages for the hundredth time.

“Toldja you’d like her,” Rainbow said with a satisfied smirk, which only widened at Rarity’s blush.

“Yes well,” Rarity flicked her mane back and pretended not to be embarrassed, “pardon me for not listening to your sage advice, darling. At least it didn’t take me an entire year!”

Rarity’s laugh was good-natured but it rattled Rainbow Dash like a mace to the spinal cord, stopping her in her tracks. Rarity didn’t notice Rainbow had stopped until she asked a question Rainbow couldn’t hear and turned around.

“Rainbow Dash?” she called out. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah!” Rainbow hollered back, her voice straining with the lie. “I’ll be right with ya!”

At least it didn’t take me an entire year!

Rainbow knew Rarity didn’t mean anything by it. She knew Rarity was just teasing her. She knew Rarity couldn’t have known how much it bothered Rainbow, how much she felt like a complete idiot and a loser because she couldn’t bring herself to even talk to Applejack, let alone make a proper introduction or ask her out or anything else.

But what if Rarity did know? What if Rarity knew exactly how Rainbow felt and was just trying to rub salt in her wounds?

Nah, that’s nonsense. Rarity’s not like that; even if she does think I’m a big loser, she wouldn’t say it.

“Are you sure you’re alright, darling?” Rarity brushed the back of her hand against Rainbow’s cheek once she caught up.

“Uh, hungry,” Rainbow nodded. “Maybe we should sit down and grab lunch.”

“That’s a splendid idea, my dear!” Rarity beamed and Rainbow felt relieved that she’d made Rarity smile and gotten Rarity off her case.

The two found a brown grassy clearing to set up in and Rarity set out a clean white blanket for the two to sit on, though Rainbow was already sitting on a large rock by the time Rarity had fussed around with the blanket to make sure it was perfect.

Rarity helped herself to a pair of cucumber sandwiches, and Rainbow devoured a small mountain of haycakes, each one being destroyed in a more visceral and messy fashion than the last, much to Rarity’s bemusement.

“So what’s bothering you, Rainbow?” Rarity asked after she finished her second sandwich and put the rest of her food away, Rainbow still in the middle of her sixth haycake. “You can’t think I haven’t noticed you’ve been staring off into space quite a lot today.”

Instead of answering, Rainbow stared off into space, the haycake in her mouth falling out and onto the plate with a plop.

Rainbow thought about the other night, when she tried to ask Applejack out but completely choked. She thought about how she’d done the same thing the night before. And probably the night before that one too, and the night before that one, and that one, and on and on and freakin’ on for nearly an entire YEAR!

But what could she actually say to Rarity? ‘Oh yeah sorry, I’m just thinking about what a big stupid loser I am and how my life has no value! No biggie!’ Rainbow couldn’t even imagine how pathetic she’d look to Rarity if she admitted that she was feeling all of this because of some girl she had a crush on.

Well, it was actually a lot of things. It was seasonal depression, it was Luna, it was thinking about that bugbear mission, it was thinking about how she’d nearly gotten injured in like a dozen other missions cuz she just couldn’t care enough about her own safety to even try.

But right now, it was mostly Applejack.

“It’s nothin’,” Rainbow stuffed the haycake back into her mouth, ignoring Rarity’s look of complete disgust as Rainbow shoveled the whole thing down in like two bites. “I mean, it’s not nothing, but like, it’s nothing. Y’know?”

“Does this mean you don’t want to talk about it?” Rarity said sweetly.

Absolutely not.

Or wait… do I?

Can I?

…

“Nah.”

“If you insist.”

Rainbow looked over her shoulder, and a thicket of shady, leafless trees caught her eye as they stood over a small river. She looked down at herself and the mess she had made with all those haycakes.

“Hey,” she chuckled, “you mind if I take a minute? Gonna go wash my face in that river over there, get all the cake off and stuff.”

“Far be it from me to stand between you and proper hygiene,” Rarity snickered, “it is a rare occurrence for you, after all.”

Rainbow forced a smile, and waved as she took off for the trees.

She hid under the trees’ shade, where Rarity couldn’t see her, and splashed the river’s water on her face, so when she got back Rarity couldn’t tell she’d been crying.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

31. What's Bothering You?

Despite Rarity’s previous gripes regarding the town’s lack of modernity, Haysead Swamp turned out to be quite the pleasant little vista. The entire town was built atop the swamp, using wooden bridges to connect various houses and shops, and the residents were very relaxed and friendly.

Rarity and Rainbow had made the necessary preparations, checking in with their client and learning everything they knew about the target, and were sitting down in an outdoor seating area enjoying refreshing beverages before they set out into the swamp proper in search of their coveted cragadile.

Tall, looming trees surrounded the village, and Rarity couldn’t help but think they almost looked like the town’s protectors; sleepy guardians that would come to life and enact nature’s vengeance upon anyone who would harm the town’s people. Rarity wondered if any of the locals thought of them the same way, but she acknowledged that she was probably just being very silly.

Though she also wondered if there was such a thing as a tree that came to life to protect ponies, then remembered of course there were, she fought some of them no less than two weeks ago.

I wonder if Twilight’s ever seen a timberwolf? Probably, if she’s been all over.

Rarity took another look over the quaint bog town as she took a sip of her tea, and as she observed the ponies going about their days and the looming trees all over, she thought about her conversation with Twilight regarding the flora and fauna of the swamp.

She couldn’t remember any details of the conversation, nor anything she had ostensibly ‘learned’ about swamp inhabitants, but she knew that if Twilight were here she could almost certainly answer any questions Rarity might have had about the environment around them, and that thought brought a smile to her lips.

I wish she were here.

That thought made Rarity nearly choke on her tea, and she sputtered and coughed as she chastised herself for thinking it. Rarity had only just met Twilight, and now here she was fawning over her like some smitten kitten? How very un-Rarity of her.

Rarity looked across the table to see if Rainbow had noticed her little incident just now, but unless Rarity had quite literally exploded in a mass of fiery devastation, the pegasus staring blankly into the distance away from Rarity wouldn’t have noticed a single thing.

Rarity took in a deep, silent breath. She was concerned for her partner, who had barely spoken a word since they departed Canterlot that morning despite nearly always being lightning fast with a clever quip or teasing remark.

And on the subject of teasing, Rainbow hadn’t returned Rarity’s earlier ribbing with snarky retorts of her own; if Rarity hadn’t known better, she would believe that Rainbow was actually hurt by Rarity’s gentle teasing.

But that couldn’t be right… could it?

Rainbow never let anything bother her; she was always full of enthusiasm and confidence, and nothing ever got underneath her skin. And yet, looking at the pale blue mare resting her head listlessly against an arm propped up on the table, Rarity couldn’t help feeling that her partner looked incredibly worn down.

“Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow’s eyes flickered over toward Rarity, but she barely gave any hint of acknowledgment.

“There’s something bothering you,” Rarity said concernedly, “I can’t pretend I don’t notice.”

“It won’t affect my work,” Rainbow replied sternly, as if that was what Rarity was concerned about. “Promise.”

“That’s not—” Rarity shook her head “I’m worried about you, darling.”

“Why?”

“Wh—why?” Rarity leaned back, aghast at such a ridiculous question. “Because you’re my friend, dear, and I can see that you’re struggling! If there’s anything going on that I can help with, I want to—”

“Nah,” Rainbow shrugged and batted her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it.”

Rainbow’s dismissal of Rarity’s concern seemed sincere enough, but something was still eating at Rarity. Something wasn’t right, but what was it? Rarity tried to think back to their conversation around breakfast time, and what was it that set Rainbow off before? What had they been talking about when Rarity first noticed Rainbow was very obviously not feeling well?

Haycakes. It was just the haycakes. They hadn’t truly spoken before Rainbow took off to that stream.

But, before they sat down for breakfast, Rainbow had fallen behind. Why again?

Rarity scanned the horizon, searching for an answer as she took another sip of tea, and as her thoughts idly gravitated toward the Golden Oaks Library again, it hit her like a steam train.

“Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said cautiously, “may I ask you something?”

Rainbow took a sip of cider and arched an eyebrow at Rarity, but she said nothing.

“Why haven’t you allowed me to properly introduce you to Applejack? I think you two would get along famously.”

Rainbow blinked. She grabbed her mug of cider and pressed it to her lips, taking big, noisy gulps from the mug until she had emptied the entire thing in a single sip, and slammed it onto the table as she stood on her hooves.

“How ‘bout we save the personal talks until after the mission,” Rainbow grumbled.

“But we will talk after the mission?” Rarity asked, her tone a carefully measured mix between gentle and firm.

Rainbow said nothing. Just walked away.

For what felt like the thousandth time that afternoon, Rarity found herself wishing Twilight was here. Either so Rarity had someone to talk to or because she thought Twilight might be able to get through to Rainbow where she could not, somehow.

Oh well, Rarity thought as she took the finishing sip of her tea, it doesn’t matter, I suppose.

Twilight was not here, but Rainbow was, and— more importantly for the moment— so was a vicious cragadile.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

32. Wobbling Around With Ice Skates On

Twilight Sparkle stood in the open doorway of the Golden Oaks Library, arms stretched across the portal and hands tightly gripping the doorframe as Spike attempted to push her out the door.

“C’mon, Twilight!” he grunted and huffed as he tried in vain to overpower the much taller woman. “We talked about this!”

“Yeah, I know,” Twilight said nervously, “but I don’t have to go right now, do I? I could wait for Rainbow to get back, or for winter to pass, or for a couple years to go by, maybe for you to go to college?”

“Pfft, college is for eggheads, Twi,” Spike scoffed and rolled his eyes, eliciting quite the sharp look from his mother.

“College is for eggheads?” she groaned. “Did Rainbow tell you that?”

“She did,” Spike nodded, “but is she wrong?”

Before Twilight launched into a stirring lecture on the importance of formal education, followed by a scathing critique of the current disastrously lacking education system, she let her hands slip away from the doorframe, allowing the tiny pegasus pushing her to finally shove her out of the library and face-first into the snow.

“Alright now don’t come back until you make a friend!” Spike said cheerfully as he slammed the door to the library, and had Twilight not been so frantic to get to her hooves she would’ve given him another lecture on proper door treatment.

“Spike!” Twilight’s tone was a mix of indignant and desperate as she heard the door lock from inside. “Spike! Open this door right now!”

“Sorry, we’re closed!” Spike chirped from behind the door that Twilight was furiously fighting with. “Come back later tonight! HINT HINT!”

Twilight groaned in defeated frustration and pressed her forehead against the door. It was true that she agreed to at least attempt to wander around the Moon District on her own while Rainbow was off on her mission— she’d told Rainbow she would— but now that the time had come, she was ready to jump out of her skin.

And while she could use her magic to easily open the door to the library and hide inside it, could she really do that after all the effort Spike put in to pushing her out? He sounded so pleased with himself, and Twilight did promise, both him and Rainbow.

“Ugh, fine.”

Twilight put her hands in her coat pockets and took a deep breath as she walked two steps away from the library, before looking back and reconsidering. It wouldn’t be so bad of her to postpone this little outing, would it?

No, she promised. No turning back now.

She made it three more steps from the library before stopping and looking behind her.

The library was safe. It was warm— well, technically it wasn’t that much warmer than anywhere else to Twilight, who didn’t have a problem with the cold, but it was warm metaphorically.

But it was comfortable, and most importantly—and this was something that really could not be stressed enough— it was safe.

As a rather accomplished magician—if she said so herself— Twilight wasn’t in any physical danger in Canterlot. There was scarcely a creature, beast or pony, who was an honest threat to someone with Twilight’s power.

But Twilight knew she didn’t belong in that city, and if anyone else realized she didn’t belong there, what would happen to her? What would happen to the life she had been building, to her friendships, to Spike?

She couldn’t risk anyone becoming suspicious of her, and that’s why she didn’t want to interact with Canterlot outside the library. Granted, it had gotten to the point where every other day some patron or other remarked about how they never saw Twilight outside her library, so perhaps by trying to avoid suspicion she was actually being quite suspicious.

Though she supposed it didn’t really matter; she made a promise, and that was that.

Twilight forced herself to take deliberate steps away from the library as she thought about all these various things, and when she was finally satisfied with her conclusion enough to drag herself away from her thoughts and pay attention to the world around her, she found herself at an ice-skating rink.

Though there were close to a dozen ponies skating on the ice, as Twilight sat down on a nearby bench to watch them her eyes were immediately drawn to two very peculiar ponies.

They were both earth ponies; one had an orange coat and blonde mane, and while Twilight was hesitant to refer to her as a ‘giant’, that was the first word that entered her mind. The woman was easily taller than any other pony on the rink and was blessed with truly mesmerizing muscles.

The other pony would have been small compared to an average sized pony but compared to her friend she was absolutely tiny. She was pink and pink and pink; mane, fur, even clothes all in different shades of warm, comforting, bubblegum pink, though her clothing was complimented by some pastel yellow and baby blue so as not to be too overwhelmingly pink. She wore a bright and cheerful smile that lightened up the world around her as she skated effortlessly around her friend, trying to keep the much less acrobatic mare from losing her balance.

As Twilight watched the pair she was surprised to see the orange mare was not lacking in athletic skill or even grace, she simply seemed to be a little gun-shy about the skates; but once her pink friend helped her to get used to them, she was skating circles around the other ponies, even making her pink friend look like she had two left feet.

Twilight tried to keep her amused laughter to herself, but she erupted into full giggles when the orange mare skated over to the pink one and lifted her up off the ground, hoisting the tiny pony onto her broad shoulders, the pink mare laughing and smiling all the while.

Twilight’s laughter must have been a bit more disruptive than she’d thought, because after a few moments of skating around on top of the orange mare’s shoulders, the pink mare whispered something to her friend and pointed at Twilight, mortifying the librarian as a bright red blush spread across her face.

Twilight stood up to leave as the orange mare skated over to her, and the pink one jumped off her shoulders onto the ground, somehow sticking a perfect landing even with the ice skates on.

“Hey, hey!” the pink mare called out as she wobbled over to Twilight, trying to keep her balance off the ice on her skates. “What’re you doing over here all by yourself? You wanna skate with us?”

“Um, no thanks,” Twilight said politely, “I’m just here to, um—” why was she here again? How did she end up at an ice-skating rink anyway?

“You new in town?” the orange mare asked, taking off her skates and walking over to Twilight and the pink pony. “Thought I knew every face in town, but haven’t seen yers before. Welcome to Canterlot, stranger!”

“Oh, I moved in a couple months ago,” Twilight looked away from the two and nervously fidgeted with her fingers, “I just don’t usually leave… my library.”

“Your libra—” the orange mare began to speak but was suddenly cut off.

“YOU’RE THE LIBRARIAN!?” the pink pony shouted with enough force to level a small forest.

“Uh, yes?”

“I’m Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie Pie grabbed Twilight’s hand and shook it very effusively, making Twilight slightly dizzy in the process.

“Cool it, Pinkie,” the other pony grabbed Pinkie’s shoulder and gently tugged her away from Twilight, “yer makin’ her nervous.”

“Oh, sorry!”

“Uh, don’t worry,” Twilight sidestepped just an inch, thinking of slowly making a beeline for the exit and running back to the library, “it’s fine.”

“Name’s Applejack,” the orange mare said with a wink. “Rarity was tellin’ me about you when she was in the shop this mornin’.”

“And Rainbow Dash keeps talking about how rad the library is!” Pinkie shouted, hopping up and down. “I keep meaning to come over and bring you an apple pie, I just keep getting distracted!”

“You two know Rainbow Dash,” Twilight asked, and a smile and soft blush crept onto her face as she added, “and Rarity?”

“Can’t exactly say I ‘know’ Rainbow Dash,” Applejack rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, and Twilight sensed a note of resentment in Applejack’s voice, “but Rarity’s been my friend since we were kids.”

“Me too!” Pinkie added. “I mean, Applejack and Rarity are like a million years older than me—”

“I’m only a few years older’n you, Pinkie,” Applejack interrupted, “and Rarity’s even younger.”

“It’s practically a million!” Pinkie insisted, making Twilight chuckle. Pinkie returned her gaze to Twilight, Applejack playfully rolling her eyes behind Pinkie’s back. “Point is, Rarity’s like one of our best friends! And Rainbow’s also… there sometimes.”

‘There sometimes’? That’s an odd way to put it.

“So, erm, you said you had a shop?” Twilight was able to make eye contact with Applejack as she asked her question. She felt a lot less anxious around these two, knowing they were friends with her only two friends in the city.

“Yup,” Applejack nodded with a smile on her face, “it’s a mite humble, but it’s ours.” Applejack pointed out toward the city, and Twilight turned to see a barely visible stone building with bright pink signage on the horizon. “The ApplePie Smithery.”

Twilight’s ears perked and her entire face lit up as she pumped her fists in front of her and shouted, “You’re the super-hot blacksmith!”

Applejack blinked, her arm falling limply against her side as her mouth hung open and her cheeks turned bright pink. Pinkie Pie merely grinned at her.

“U-uhm, thanks?” Applejack coughed and ran a hand through the back of her mane.

Twilight chuckled nervously, her own cheeks feeling about a thousand degrees hotter, which obviously wasn’t possible because a mere blush didn’t actually raise your body temperature, it just—that wasn’t important.

“Someone who came into the library said that.”

“Who?” Applejack said with a perky smile.

“Uh,” Twilight coughed and remembered how Rainbow had told her not to say anything about her crush to anyone, “just someone. I don’t really remember, sorry.”

“Aw,” Applejack mumbled and snapped her fingers.

“Was it Rainbow Dash?” Pinkie chimed in, causing a nervous sputter from Twilight and a loud, uncomfortable cough from Applejack.

Twilight wasn’t sure how well she could pull off a bald-faced lie, but she was thankful that she didn’t have to when Applejack spoke up before her.

“Pinkie Pie!” she yelled in a strained voice. “Ya can’t just be askin’ stuff like that!”

“But how cool would that be?” Pinkie said excitedly, biting down on her lip. “If Rainbow had a crush on you t—”

“PINKIE!” Applejack croaked. Pinkie’s ears clamped against her head and she weakly kicked at the snow, and Applejack knelt down to give her a hug. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to yell.”

“I’m sorry too,” Pinkie returned the hug and nuzzled her face against Applejack’s, “I got too excited, and I didn’t mean to embarrass anypony, or to put my nose where it doesn’t belong.”

“Yer a sweetheart, Pinkie.”

“You too, Applejack!”

Twilight cleared her throat.

“Sorry about that,” Applejack said nervously as she stood back up. “Pinkie can get a little overeager.”

“It’s no trouble,” Twilight said with a smile, sharing it with both Applejack then Pinkie Pie, who returned the smile in turn.

That said, now Twilight was curious; and if she didn’t at least try to sate her curiosity, it would burn a hole inside her for weeks.

“May I ask why Pinkie can’t just ask about Rainbow? Seems like an innocent enough question.”

Pinkie was silent; very silent. Applejack inhaled sharply through her nose and spoke up in her stead.

“Look, if you promise not to tell anypony—”

“I promise,” Twilight said immediately, more out of a genuine distress that Applejack might think that she would tell someone another person’s secret than out of an eagerness to get to the information faster, though she couldn’t deny she was a little bit eager.

“I have a crush on Rainbow Dash,” Applejack said and rubbed her arms. “It’s the stupidest thing; girl doesn’t even talk to me, she totally ignores me like nine times outta ten when she’s in the shop, and even that’s hardly ever. I dunno, I just— I guess I got bad taste.”

“You can’t help who you get feelings for,” Twilight said sincerely, putting a hand on Applejack’s arm and trying really hard not to think about Rarity.

And while Twilight couldn’t divulge Rainbow’s secret without her permission, she could at least try and give Applejack a little bit of encouragement.

“And have you considered she just tries to avoid talking to you because she,” Twilight puffed up her cheeks as she thought of the most discrete way to phrase her sentiment, “I dunno, maybe she likes you too and doesn’t know how to say it?”

“That’s what I keep saying!” Pinkie cheered.

“That’s, uh, awfully optimistic of y’all,” Applejack gave a weary smile and it was killing Twilight inside to not be able to tell Applejack the truth. Maybe when Rainbow got back, Twilight would be able to tell her that Applejack—but wait, she just promised Applejack that she wouldn’t tell anyone!

And while a part of her wanted to justify that they would both be happier if she just told one or the other that they returned each other’s feelings, that wasn’t her decision to make. She couldn’t just decide for them that they would be happier if she went against the promises she made to them.

Still, that didn’t mean she couldn’t do anything.

“Would you two like to come by the library sometime?” Twilight said with a bright smile, one that was completely dwarfed by Pinkie’s resulting smile. “I know I wouldn’t mind getting that pie you talked about, Pinkie, and I know my son would love some too.”

“Ehhh,” Applejack groaned hesitantly, but she couldn’t resist the puppydog eyes coming from both Pinkie Pie and Twilight, and she sighed. “Yeah, honestly that might be nice. How ‘bout tonight?”

“Great!” Twilight chirped. “I’ll get the library all cleaned up for you to come over!”

“And we’ll bring pie!” Pinkie clamored. “Lots of pie!”

“Like, probably two pies,” Applejack ruffled Pinkie’s hair, but then hummed in consideration. “Maybe three. Hope you like apples, Ms. Librarian.”

“Oh!” Twilight’s blush returned in full force as she realized she never introduced herself. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. It is a pleasure to meet you both.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

33. Oh, There It Is

While the village had been nothing but delightful, the actual swamp of Haysead was a dreadful place that, despite its relative warmth, had Rarity missing the damn Everfree, of all things.

Of course, perhaps such unpleasantries could be overlooked with the right companionship, but Rainbow Dash had been growing more pensive and irritable with each passing hour that the two spent fruitlessly searching for the cragadile.

The sun was setting now, casting a golden orange glow that filtered through the canopy of trees over the swamp that Rainbow looked like she had half a mind to burn to the ground if it meant finding this damn cragadile faster.

Rarity felt a knot in her stomach that was only tightening with each unbearably silent hour she spent with Rainbow, until she simply couldn’t stand the silence any longer and asked, “Rainbow, will you please tell me what’s bothering you?”

Rainbow stopped, and the only sound either could hear were the steady flaps of Rainbow’s wings as she kept herself hovering in the air. Rarity tried to decipher the pegasus’ expression, the fearsome frown that marred her face, but all Rarity could see was that Rainbow was irritated, which told her nothing; Rarity was irritated too, and she doubted their feelings stemmed from the same cause.

“Rainbow, please. I’m worried about y—”

“I can read, y’know.”

“P-pardon?”

Rarity took a step back as Rainbow looked over her shoulder at her. Whatever Rarity was expecting Rainbow to say, it certainly wasn’t that.

“Yesterday,” Rainbow growled, “you said a thing, made a joke, about me not being able to read. I can read.”

“Yes, I—” Rarity stuttered, unsure of what Rainbow was getting at or just why she was so angry over what Rarity had perceived as merely some lighthearted teasing between friends. “I didn’t actually think you couldn’t read, Rainbow. I was making a joke.”

“It wasn’t funny.”

Rarity blinked, and a scowl crept onto her face.

“I apologize,” she muttered, eyes darting away from Rainbow, teeth grinding against each other. “I didn’t realize I had hit a nerve, though I’m curious why you’re only bringing this up now.”

“Look, you’re really lucky,” Rainbow hissed, and the hairs on Rarity’s neck stood on end. “You’re soooo lucky to have a big gay crush on the librarian, I’m really happy for you, Rarity.”

“What does that have to do with—”

“It must be SO GREAT, to be able to just have the hots for somepony without having to be like ‘oh man, am I gonna make myself look like a huge idiot to her’ or ‘yeah if she knew I was into her she’d be creeped the hell out’ or my personal favorite ‘literally everyone would laugh at you if you told them you were into that girl, she’s way out of your league’.”

Rarity clenched her fists and glared daggers into Rainbow. Rainbow had no idea just how many times those exact thoughts had crossed Rarity’s mind in the past, and how guilty she was already feeling for having a crush on a woman she just met, and now here Rainbow was rubbing salt into her open wound.

“Rainbow Dash,” Rarity’s tone was measured and remarkably calm, considering her ever increasing frustration, “I am sorry that I hurt your feelings, but you are being needlessly uncivil right now. What exactly is your problem with me?”

“I don’t have a problem with you¸ Rarity!” Rainbow screamed, turning around and facing Rarity as she threw her arms in the air. “I have a problem with all of it! You aren’t the only one who’s almost died on the job for being ‘reckless’ y’know! You aren’t the only one who’s super exhausted and just done with ALL of this!”

Rarity took a step toward Rainbow, and the pegasus jolted back, flying over a brackish pond so that Rarity couldn’t pursue her. This conversation— if you could even call it that— was over.

Rarity took a deep breath. She tried to comfort herself with the knowledge that whatever was grinding against Rainbow’s nerves, her anger was likely not actually aimed at Rarity. But then again, perhaps it was. And perhaps Rarity deserved that anger.

Either way, Rarity had a cragadile to find. Dealing with Rainbow’s outburst would have to wait.

An explosion of water erupted from the pond Rainbow hovered over, taking both women completely by surprise. Rainbow looked down to see what had happened and Rarity tried to yell at Rainbow and tell her to get away from the water.

Before she could bring her voice to bear, or before Rainbow could react at all, the cragadile leaped out of the water and clamped its jaw down on Rainbow Dash’s leg, a piercing scream coming from the bleeding pegasus’ mouth.

Rarity drew her axe and ran toward the water, but the cragadile disappeared as quickly as it came, dragging Rainbow into the water with it, and disappearing.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

34. The Murky Depths

Rainbow barely had time to hold her breath before the cragadile dragged her by her leg into the gross, greenish-brown swamp water, pulling her into the murky depths of Haysead Swamp with alarming speed. She felt like a dog’s chewtoy being dragged around in the cragadile’s jaw and she wasn’t about to just let the monster get its way.

Granted, it was kinda hard to focus between the water pressure and the velocity, but who needs focus when you have knives?

Rainbow tried to tug her leg out from the beast’s mouth but all she accomplished was the cragadile’s fangs digging deeper into her skin. She drew one of her trench knives and stabbed it into the cragadile’s tough, scaly back, and while the cragadile’s hide was one of the toughest things to penetrate known to Equestria, Rainbow’s knives were enchanted for just such a purpose and the blade dug into the cragadile’s skin like it was going into a haycake.

The cragadile recoiled from the pain and its jaw opened, allowing Rainbow to retrieve her hoof and smirk, but her satisfaction was short-lived as the cragadile spun around at lightning speed and slammed its tail into Rainbow’s ribs, disorienting her just long enough for the beast to snap its jaws at her arm, though Rainbow was miraculously able to push herself away using her wings just in the nick of time.

Or so she thought.

The cragadile charged forward and clamped its jaw down again, snatching Rainbow’s arm between its fangs and causing Rainbow to gasp, filling her lungs with brackish water. Rainbow’s face twisted into a scowl as she drew another knife in her free hand.

She’d be damned if she needed to let Rarity rescue her.

She stabbed the cragadile right in the eyeball with her trench knife, the beast growling furiously as it clamped harder on her arm, the pain shooting through the limb accompanied by a palpitation of Rainbow’s heart as she heard bone snap under the cragadile’s attack.

Rainbow grit her teeth and pulled out her knife, stabbing it again into the cragadile’s eye, over and over again, but accomplishing nothing except tainting the brownish-green water red with the blood of the animal and her own.

Rainbow kept her mouth tightly shut, grinding her teeth against each other as she breathed water in through her nose. She couldn’t hold her breath for much longer and she couldn’t get free of the cragadile. She only had one recourse now, and she hated it.

Luckily for her, said recourse arrived just in time as Rarity’s arrow lodged itself right into the cragadile’s non-stabbed eye, the beast releasing Rainbow’s arm as it recoiled in pain and frustration.

Even without its sight, the cragadile was still a force to be reckoned with, as it proved when it bolted toward Rarity where she floated in the water. Rarity had no hope of out-swimming an angry cragadile and looked to be bracing herself for the inevitable attack, but Rainbow was faster.

Rainbow charged through the water and grabbed Rarity just in time for the pegasus to have her non-injured leg end up where the cragadile was biting down, though Rainbow was moving fast enough to slip right through with only shredded skin instead of being stuck in the monster’s grip yet again.

Rainbow jumped out of the water, wings keeping her aloft and Rarity held in her arms, but she couldn’t stay airborne for long with her injuries, so she tossed Rarity onto the ground before falling onto the mossy floor of the swamp herself, landing on her back and gasping for air.

An explosion of water alerted the two women that the cragadile had not given up its pursuit, but an arrow quickly fired from Rarity’s bow exploding in the creature’s face was enough for it to change its mind and scuttle back into the water.

They would have to chase after it of course, but that could wait until after—

Rainbow hissed in pain as her arm twitched, and she looked in disgust at the extent of her injuries; a leg that looked like it had been caught in a pulp grinder, another leg that looked—and felt—like it caught the business end of a wheat thrasher, and an arm that was like a broken twig that flopped around by the thin threads of skin that connected two separate pieces.

She was a mess.

“Rainbow Dash!”

Rarity’s alarmed voice hurt more than Rainbow’s injuries; she hated making people worry.

“It’s nothi—”

“Don’t say that,” Rarity scolded. “Please, just let me help you.”

Rainbow groaned hesitantly, wondering for a sec if there was any way out of this situation without having to rely on Rarity, but then she asked herself why. Why have a partner if you can’t rely on them? And didn’t Rainbow want to be partners with Rarity?

So why is she pushing her away now of all times?

It’s stupid.

“Yeah, okay.”

Rarity focused her magic and her horn lit up a pale blue as a similarly colored light washed over Rainbow, making her body feel a little bit lighter as Rarity picked her up and gently placed her onto a nearby tree stump to inspect her wounds.

Rainbow tried to hide how much pain she was in, but her gritted teeth smile gave her away, even if Rarity was too polite to say anything.

Rarity knelt in front of Rainbow and pulled what looked like a roll of white tape from her bag.

“What is that?” Rainbow asked, feeling nervous about whatever Rarity was planning.

“It’s something Twilight told me, actually,” Rarity said proudly. “We were talking about safety strategies last night, and she taught me a neat spell to fuse my healing ointment with bandages, which essentially makes my ointment usage twenty-percent more efficient, or so she says.”

“Is it gonna work?” Rainbow asked, biting down on her thumb.

“I have no reason to doubt it,” Rarity traced her thumb across the roll of bandages. “Twilight Sparkle seemed to know an awful lot, and I trust her judgment.”

Rainbow felt the same way, but she wasn’t sure she wanted her busted legs to be used as Rarity’s test subject. But before she could voice another objection Rarity was already wrapping the bandages around Rainbow’s pulp-grinder leg, and Rainbow gasped quietly as she felt instantly relieved, like her leg was being wrapped in a soft blanket.

“So,” Rarity said as she administered the blanket tape to Rainbow’s arm, “how long have you been… ‘reckless’?”

That wasn’t a question Rainbow was expecting, and it wasn’t one she wanted to answer. But she’d already given Rarity enough grief today, and maybe it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to talk to her about something.

“Long as I can remember, honestly,” Rainbow said. “It’s why I became a Slayer in the first place, because I just didn’t know what else to do with my stupid worthless life.”

“Your life is neither stupid nor worthless,” Rarity gently scolded as she finished wrapping Rainbow’s other leg with the tape, and Rainbow stood on her feet right away and futzed her arm about to make sure everything was working okay.

“I know,” Rainbow sighed. “I know you’re right, and it’s not like I wanna die, I just— don’t really wanna live either, y’know?”

Rarity was silent for a moment as she put the tape back in her bag, but she let out a soft sigh as she stood to her hooves and looked Rainbow in the eye.

“All too well.”

“I just don’t know what to do about it,” Rainbow shrugged and rubbed her arms, a grim scowl across her face.

“I wish I knew,” Rarity placed her hand delicately on Rainbow’s shoulder and rubbed her thumb through the blue fur. “For your sake as much as for mine.”

“Rarity,” Rainbow looked up into Rarity’s deep blue eyes for a single second, but the sight of Rarity’s warm smile choked Rainbow with guilt and forced her to look away.

“Yes, darling?”

Rainbow paused.

A strained breath left her lips as she reconsidered what she wanted to say. But she wondered again, why have a partner if you can’t rely on them? If you can’t be honest with them? And Rainbow would’ve liked to be a person that could actually be honest sometimes, so…

“It really hurt my feelings, when you made that joke about me not being able to read.”

Rarity blinked. She took a half-step back, but her hand was still gently placed on top of Rainbow’s shoulder, and it didn’t budge.

“I— pardon?”

“Back at the train station,” Rainbow explained, “you joked that you didn’t even think I could read. I know it was just a joke, and I know you had no way of knowing that’d hurt my feelings, and I should’ve told you then, but it did.”

“I had no idea, I—”

“I know!” Rainbow recoiled and stomped away from Rarity, hands in her pants pockets. “I know you had no idea! How could you?! I definitely never told you! How could you know that all my life people have made fun of me for not being able to read?

“How could you know that I can’t focus for anything, and I’ve never been able to get into books because of that and everyone always thinks I’m stupid for it?!

“I never told you, cuz I can’t just be honest about my feelings and stuff! Cuz then I feel like a stupid loser idiot! And I know that’s wrong, but I don’t know what to do about that either!”

“I’m sorry,” Rarity said softly, and Rainbow looked over her shoulder to see Rarity’s serene smile. “Whether I knew about it or not, my words still hurt you, and I’m sorry for that. You are my partner and my friend, and I never want to hurt your feelings, Rainbow.”

Rainbow’s face twisted up as she turned away from Rarity so the unicorn couldn’t see the tears in her eyes.

“I wanna be honest,” Rainbow squeaked, her voice straining to not sound as pitiful as she felt. “I don’t wanna have the kinda relationship with you where we’re afraid to talk to each other about stuff, cuz we don’t wanna be made fun of, and I know I’m not exactly the kinda person you can just say personal stuff to.”

“Be that as it may,” Rarity said, and Rainbow bit her lip to keep from gasping as she felt Rarity’s hand gently clasp her own, “it’s never too late to become the person you want to be. I don’t want to have the kind of relationship either where we can’t speak to one another honestly, and I would be remiss if I didn’t point out some of the things you’ve said that have hurt me as well, but…”

Rarity placed a hand on Rainbow’s shoulder, Rainbow jumping slightly at the touch before taking a deep breath and turning to look at Rarity.

“Back at the drink shop,” Rarity said, “you said we should put off our personal chats until after the cragadile is dealt with. Do you still think that?”

Rainbow nodded.

“Then we will table this discussion for now,” Rarity said, “but we will have it once the cragadile mission is completed, okay?”

Rainbow nodded and rubbed her eye, trying really hard not to cry in front of Rarity.

“But,” Rarity said warmly, “there’s no reason I can’t give you a hug right now, is there?”

Rainbow smiled and shook her head, and Rarity wrapped her arms around Rainbow, pulling her in for a tight hug that Rainbow happily melted into, placing her hands on Rarity’s back as well.

After a moment where Rainbow was content to just be comfortable with Rarity, she started feeling hot and tapped Rarity’s back, signaling that all the mushy stuff had to stop or she’d explode.

“Now then,” Rarity took one of Rainbow’s hands in hers and lifted her axe with the other, “I believe we have a cragadile to catch.”

“Nothing would make me happier,” Rainbow grinned and lifted a knife in her free hand, sharing a dashing smile with Rarity, and in that moment she knew that she couldn’t have asked for a better partner.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

35. It's Over Now

“Are you ready?”

Rainbow snickered at Rarity’s question, wondering how Rarity could even ask her that.

“Are you?”

Rarity rolled her eyes, and Rainbow grinned at that. This was nice; it was a nice break from their conversation earlier, and from the like million hours that Rainbow spent avoiding that conversation.

Besides that, planning on how to take down an obnoxious, leg-chomping cragadile was loads more Rainbow’s idea of fun than talking about feelings. She did make a promise though, and her and Rarity would talk feelings until there were no more feelings left to talk.

After they executed their awesome plan, that is.

Rainbow turned to look at Rarity, who gave her a thumbs-up and a nod of confidence, though the unicorn looked anything but confident herself.

“Are you worried?” Rainbow’s smile was halfway between teasing and comforting.

“Can I be honest?”

“Of course,” Rainbow didn’t have to think twice to answer that question.

“I am worried,” Rarity spoke softly. “I understand how ‘recklessness’ is, and I— I don’t want you to get hurt.”

Rainbow didn’t know what to say, especially cuz Rarity’s fears weren’t entirely groundless. Her ears perked up though as she thought of something that might make Rarity happy.

“You think I’m gonna leave Twilight and Spike without saying goodbye?” Rainbow snickered and flicked a hair across her bangs. “Those dorks’d be lost without me, I ain’t gonna abandon ‘em.”

Rarity giggled into her fist, and Rainbow beamed at that good sign.

“Good luck, then.”

“Won’t need it,” Rainbow flashed a dazzling grin before turning on her hooves and diving headfirst into the water.

Rainbow ignored the chills going up her spine as she held her breath under the water and her mind flashed with images of the last time she was down here, barely an hour ago. She tried to ignore it anyway, but that got harder and harder with each second that she swam deeper and deeper, until she was sure she couldn’t hold her breath any long.

Then she saw it; the cragadile resting at the floor of the pond.

Rainbow grit her teeth to keep from gasping and cautiously drew her bow, her hands trembling. She wished Rarity could have done this part instead, but it was pretty obvious from their last encounter that Rainbow could outswim the cragadile, and Rarity couldn’t.

It had to be Rainbow, a fact that didn’t bring any comfort to the trembling pegasus as her nose wrinkled with the desire to breathe.

Now or never.

Rainbow released the arrow, and for a fraction of a second the cold aura it left in its wake was a welcome relief from the muggy water and air of Haysead Swamp. It was not quite as refreshing to the cragadile it hit directly above the eye, icy shards exploding out of the arrow and skewering the beast’s flesh.

A red fog emanated from the creature’s brow as it turned its eyeless face toward Rainbow Dash, the pegasus releasing another arrow that she hoped would fell the little bugger before it could even fight back, but her hopes were crushed along with the arrow in the cragadile’s jaw, its fangs breaking through the rune on the arrowhead and dispelling its enchantment before it could activate.

Oh well, at least she had the monster’s attention now, and Rainbow wasn’t stupid enough to stick around and wait for the cragadile to chase her before she dashed upward toward the surface. Besides, she could tell by the displacement of water and the dull growl getting closer and closer that the beast was definitely chasing her.

Which was perfect.

Rainbow instinctively turned to make sure the monster was behind her, and she nearly choked when she saw it closer than she expected, its jaws wide open as blood caked across its injured eyes and brow, with pegasus blood still painting its teeth.

Rainbow’s breath hitched, and for the quickest of seconds she stopped moving as her mind was seized by the painful memory of her leg being caught in the cragadile’s fangs, her inability to breathe immediately coming to her attention as she opened her mouth and slimy water poured in.

Her pause had been so brief, barely a second, but it was more than enough time for the cragadile to close the distance and slam her jaw down on Rainbow’s leg once more, if only it had been a little bit faster than Rainbow.

Rainbow wasn’t about to let Rarity, Twilight or Spike mourn her. Her grave wasn’t going to be a random puddle in the middle of a swamp so far south of her hometown that it wasn’t even on the maps sold there.

She wasn’t ready to die.

Rainbow propelled herself with her wings and tucked her legs under her, rocketing up to the surface and past the threshold, taking a huge gasp of air that was accompanied by a furor of water all around her.

“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity’s cheer was even more a breath of fresh air than the literal one Rainbow just took, and she grinned down at the unicorn and winked, signaling her to take the lead from here.

When the cragadile exploded out of the pond with its mouth open wide to try and catch Rainbow in its jaw, Rarity fired an arrow right into the beast’s tongue that easily pierced it and caused its tongue to wither to ash in seconds.

The cragadile slumped to the ground, unable to move a muscle through its rapidly growing injuries.

“Was that it?” Rainbow sneered, flying above the pond and the body of the cragadile.

“Do you want to take a closer look?” Rarity said teasingly, getting a smarmy chuckle out of Rainbow in return.

Rarity walked over to the cragadile, and Rainbow watched from above and couldn’t help the sinking feeling in her stomach. That thing was definitely dead, but what if it wasn’t?

“Be careful, Rarity,” Rainbow caught herself saying, her cheeks turning bright red as she heard the words leave her mouth.

Rarity looked up at her and an amused smirk flashed across her face until she saw Rainbow avert her eyes, then the smile vanished.

“Thank you, darling,” Rarity said calmly. “Watch my back?”

“You got it,” Rainbow nodded with a big grin, notching an arrow into her bow and leveling it at the definitely dead body of the definitely dead cragadile.

Rarity inched toward the beast’s body, axe in hand and sword hovering beside her. The closer she got, the more Rainbow swore the damn thing was gonna come to life any second now and try to sink its teeth into her.

Rarity stepped closer.

And closer.

She tiptoed right next to the beast and gave it a dainty kick in its muzzle, quickly recoiling and jumping back in anticipation of the beast’s inevitable attack.

Which never came.

Rarity walked up again and kicked a little harder this time, Rainbow’s eye twitching because she was sure the thing was gonna come back to life. Rarity kicked it again, and again, and again until she was practically stomping on the carcass of the dead monster.

“I think it’s had enough,” Rarity said amusedly, sheathing her weapons and looking up at Rainbow with her hands on her hips.

“Are you sure?” Rainbow bit her lip and refused to lower her bow.

“Not certain how I could be more sure.”

“I dunno,” Rainbow said hesitantly, cuz she wasn’t sure either, “open up its mouth?”

“I am not doing that.”

“Fine,” Rainbow sighed and gently lowered herself to the ground, only putting away her bow after a few more seconds had passed and Rarity had kicked the cragadile once more for good measure.

“I think we can call this mission a job well do—“

Rarity didn’t even scream as the fangs of the definitely dead cragadile sunk into her shin and shredded the skin like paper, her eyes simply widened and a pitiful whimper left her lips.

Rainbow screamed Rarity’s name but she barely even heard herself much less think Rarity could hear her.

With a flick of the cragadile’s neck, it brought Rarity crashing to the ground, her face hitting a sharpened rock on the impact that split her cheek open. Rainbow ran toward her and drew her trench knives as Rarity managed to grab a thick gnarled root to keep herself from being dragged underwater.

But the cragadile had no interest in taking in Rarity anywhere, which it established by opening its maw wide and releasing Rarity’s shin, only to clamp down on the thigh of her other leg, an act that brought a bloodcurdling scream from Rarity.

Rainbow jumped on the cragadile and started viciously stabbing at the oozing, cakey messes that used to be eyes, fresh blood pouring out with every stroke, but the cragadile seemed entirely unfazed as all it did was dig its teeth further into Rarity’s body, an agonized wince leaving the mare’s lips.

Rainbow drew a different knife from her belt, one that was coated in several blue runes, and rolled off the creature’s head in order to get a clear hit on its stomach, sinking the blade in-between the rock-hard scales covering the cragadile’s belly.

The knife exploded a second after, and Rainbow gasped in horror as a cloud of black and red smog hid Rarity from her view.

“Rarity!?”

“I’m alright!” Rarity said wearily. “I think you got it!”

Rainbow blew the smoke away with a buffet of her wings and saw that her explosion had separated the beast into two halves, the chompy half no longer connected to an incredibly bloodied Rarity as she stood to her feet and wobbled on busted legs away from what was NOW definitely, absolutely a corpse.

“How did that happen?” Rainbow asked desperately as Rarity handed her the healing tape.

“I honestly have no idea,” Rarity replied haggardly as Rainbow applied the tape to her injured shin, Rarity slopping a truly absurd amount of her health goop onto her thigh.

“Wait, what the—” Rainbow’s eye caught a glint of something and before Rarity could react, Rainbow snatched something that was buried in the unicorn’s thigh. Once she had it in her hand, she could see it looked like a charred black stick, or maybe a splinter.

“What the hell is that thing?” Rarity said coldly. Rainbow didn’t have much of a head for magic, but even she could feel pure malevolence radiating from the tiny object, and she couldn’t imagine how much worse it must’ve felt for someone as sensitive to that stuff as Rarity.

“I don’t—” before Rainbow could muster any kind of reply, the stick vanished, dissipating into black vapor that soon vanished with the wind. “Welp. That’s terrifying.”

“Perhaps,” Rarity breathed a very slow, very soft, very overwhelmed sigh. “But at least it’s over now.”

Author's Notes:

writing every day is actually very hard

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

36. Breathe In

Twilight paced back and forth in the library, hands behind her back and gaze burning a hole right into the floor.

Spike sat nearby on top of the reception desk, helping himself to a tub of ice cream as he watched the familiar sight of his mom working herself into a tizzy.

“Twilight, you’re—”

“I am not working myself into a tizzy!” Twilight interrupted, her cheeks burning up as she glared at Spike, who could only laugh at how silly he thought she was being. He was wrong, of course, this was a very serious matter, but Spike was just a kid and he didn’t know any better.

“I didn’t say anything like that,” Spike gave a mischievous grin.

“You were thinking it,” Twilight huffed.

“How could’ja tell?”

Twilight paused, ceasing her pacing. She tapped her hoof on the ground three times before looking at Spike, who was curiously arching an eyebrow at her now. Twilight grimaced and looked away from him.

She opened her mouth to speak, but bit her tongue.

Another pause.

“Because I am working myself into a tizzy!” Twilight cried cradling her head in her hands helplessly as Spike tried not to laugh.

“C’mon, Twilight,” Spike hopped off his post and walked—or rather waddled, since he was so full of ice cream at this point—over to Twilight, patting her on the leg. “It’s not like we’re strangers to having ponies in the library these days.”

“I know that, Spike,” Twilight sighed and backed into the side of a bookcase, slowly sliding down until she was sitting with her back up against it, arms wrapped around her legs and her face buried between her knees. “But this is different-” Twilight snapped her head up “-this is big! Like, really big!”

“Uh, how’s that again?”

“These aren’t just any ponies,” Twilight explained frantically, “they’re friends with Rainbow and Rarity! What if I mess things up?! What if they talk to Rainbow and Rarity and are all like ‘ugh that librarian is super obnoxious, she’s always yammering about rocks and sticks and weird stuff and won’t shut up, plus she’s and her voice is annoying and she keeps working herself into tizzies’!”

“I really don’t think anyone’s gonna say that,” Spike comforted his spiraling mother with a pat on the shoulder. It helped, a little, to know he was in her corner.

“I wish Rainbow were here,” Twilight moaned, burying her face in her legs again. “I wish I hadn’t invited those two.”

“Twilight, it’s gonna be okay,” Spike gently rubbed Twilight’s forearm, and while she appreciated the gesture and his sympathy, the concerned tone in his voice made alarm bells start ringing in Twilight’s head.

He was comforting her, he was taking care of her. That was her job, to take care of him! Not the other way around, that makes her a bad parent! She can’t have that! Spike can’t ever comfort her, or think that he needs to make things okay with her, especially with her stupid brain problems.

“I need a minute,” Twilight’s tone was as ghostly as her face as she quickly rose to her hooves and walked away from Spike, trying to keep her breathing steady as panic flooded her like a bursting dam.

Twilight opened the door to the spacious attic that acted as her and Spike’s joint bedroom and threw herself onto her bed, burying her face in a pillow and using her magic to cover herself with blankets.

She had so many whirling thoughts racing through her brain that she couldn’t focus on any one of them for more than a fraction of a second. It was like everything around her was spinning out of control, faster and faster and faster until she could hardly breathe, let alone think.

Zecora, what would you do?

That was the thought that finally silenced the raging maelstrom in Twilight’s mind, as she recalled her mentor’s advice to breathe deeply and empty her mind whenever she lost control of it.

She felt her heart beating. She felt magic flowing through her veins. She felt the warmth of her breath as it coursed in and out of her.

She breathed out, slowly, lifting her head and sitting up straight, tossing the blanket covering her aside.

Twilight wondered if her own mother ever felt bad about Twilight becoming her de facto therapist, but quickly swept that thought away.

Doesn’t matter now.

Twilight thought about the kind of parent she wanted to be, ever since she adopted Spike. She thought about the life she wanted him to live; peaceful, serene, and above all, happy.

Loneliness and happiness couldn’t coexist.

Twilight took in another deep breath and put her hooves on the wooden floor. She stood tall and straightened her clothing and hair; it wouldn’t do to greet guests in the sorry state she’d let herself fall into.

Pinkie and Applejack visiting the library was scary to Twilight, but so was meeting Rainbow for the first time, or meeting Rarity, and those were two of the best days in her life.

And more importantly, Spike was so much happier since Rainbow started coming to the library, and Twilight was so endeared by his little list he’d made of things he wanted to talk to Rarity about.

Twilight was scared to meet new people— and potentially screw everything up— but for Spike’s sake, she could put aside her fear for now and let herself be hopeful that these two new ponies would only make her life brighter, as the last two had.

Twilight descended the stairs and was heartbroken by the sight of Spike anxiously chewing his thumbnail, sitting on the reception desk and holding a spoon full of melting ice cream that he must’ve been too nervous to eat.

“Spike,” Twilight said softly, and her son quickly turned in her direction.

“Are you okay?” he asked before she could say anything.

“Yes, Spike,” Twilight sighed and offered what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “I’m fine now. I remembered Zecora’s calming techniques, and they helped a lot.”

“They always do,” Spike chuckled, “when you remember to use them.”

“Harhar,” Twilight rolled her eyes but she couldn’t help smiling. She walked over to Spike and embraced him in a hug. “I’m sorry, you shouldn’t have to—”

“Stop, Twilight. You don’t ever have to apologize to me, okay?”

Twilight let a tense sigh leave her body gently through her nose.

“Okay.”

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” Spike said, happily grabbing that spoon and plopping it into his mouth, Twilight giggling at how quickly he went back to his usual chipper self.

“Of course I’m okay,” Twilight said proudly. “After all, how could I greet our honored guests in the middle of a tizzy?”

“So we’re still having them over?” Spike said hopefully, his eyes growing wide and sparkling like cute little gemstones.

“I wouldn’t miss it for anything,” Twilight beamed.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

37. New Friends

A canopy of stars gleaming in the black night sky greeted Twilight Sparkle as she walked onto the balcony of the Golden Oaks Library. Her important guests were going to be arriving at the library shortly, and she thought it might be good for her to get a breath of fresh air before they arrived.

To think, Twilight had changed so much just since Rainbow’s arrival at the library, so much that she was now inviting people to come over all on her own. While she still wished Rainbow was there—and she wished Rarity was there, albeit for different reasons—she was happy with herself and with the progress she had made, and she was tentatively excited about getting to know Pinkie Pie and Applejack.

Twilight’s eyes lit up as she saw the orange and pink mares approaching in the distance, and she bit her lip and wondered if it would be too forward to wave to them and greet them from the balcony.

“Pinkie Pie! Applejack!” Twilight called out with a wave, deciding that she could forgo proper greeting procedure for just a moment.

“Well howdy, ma’am!” Applejack laughed and waved at Twilight from the ground.

“We brought pies!” Pinkie cheered, proudly holding up several boxes for Twilight to see, and Twilight didn’t even have to be anywhere near the desserts to start salivating for them.

“I’ll be right down!” Twilight said. “Let yourselves in and make yourselves comfortable, okay?!”

“Will do!” Applejack saluted and gave a grand smile, which made Twilight smile in turn as a warmth radiated in her stomach. She couldn’t believe she was actually nervous about this before.

Well, okay, she was still a little nervous. But she was mostly excited! And nervous.

She took a few deep breaths of the crisp night air before entering the library with a big grin on her face, descending the stairs to see that Applejack and Pinkie had indeed made themselves comfortable, sitting on the book club blankets and dolling out pie for themselves and for a very eager Spike.

“Oh, Twilight!” Spike said. “Look, Pinkie Pie and Applejack are here!”

“I know,” Twilight said as she sat down next to Spike, bowing her head to greet the two guests, “I saw them from the balcony.”

“We told’ja as much, sugarcube,” Applejack chuckled, though Spike probably couldn’t hear her through the mouthful of pie he was loudly chomping on.

“Pinkie was just—” Spike, speaking with a mouthful of pie, was cut off by Twilight loudly clearing her throat. Spike rolled his eyes and swallowed his food before speaking again. “Pinkie was just about to tell us about the spirit of the Everfree!”

“Oh really?” Twilight cocked her head. She had heard the tales of a mystical creature that lived in the forest south of Ponyville, but she hadn’t learned anything conclusive about it other than rumors. It was an interesting topic for sure.

“Yeah, I met her!” Pinkie said proudly, beaming from ear to ear.

“And hasn’t been able to talk ‘bout hardly anythin’ else since,” Applejack chuckled, smiling widely as Pinkie stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry at her.

“Tell us about her,” Twilight said idly as she teleported a plate over to her and placed a piece of pie on top of it.

“Well,” Pinkie could hardly keep a straight face and kept erupting into giggles as she tried to recount her encounter with the Everfree Nymph, “she’s super pretty.”

“And?” Twilight arched an eyebrow, and she could see Applejack trying not to chortle.

“Aaaaaand,” Pinkie looked from side to side before whispering with her hand up to her mouth, “she’s super nice.”

“That’s it?” Twilight blinked. Not exactly the riveting account Twilight had hoped for.

“Did I mention she was super pretty?”

“She only got to talk to her for like ten minutes,” Applejack said, “so there’s not a lot to really tell.”

“But I’m going back to see her pretty soon!”

“Right,” Applejack cleared her throat, and Twilight could feel the sudden tension sparking between her and Pinkie.

“I am!” Pinkie huffed, and Applejack inhaled sharply.

“I know, sugarcube,” Applejack placed her hand on Pinkie’s head and ruffled the girl’s hair. Pinkie didn’t look terribly appreciative at first but she soon purred in delight as Applejack continued to stroke her mane. “I know, and I ain’t gonna stop ya. We went over this.”

“Went over what?” Twilight asked. She turned her eye to Spike for a moment, wanting to make sure he wasn’t being bored by their conversation, and she rolled her eyes as she saw him trying to fit three slices of pie in his mouth at once. He was going to have a stomach ache unrivaled in Equestria by the end of the night, but Twilight didn’t think that was a reason to spoil his fun right now.

“Well,” Applejack said, “Pinkie and I run a blacksmithin’ business here in Canterlot, and it ain’t doin’ so hot.”

Pinkie Pie tried to hide the pang of shame that flickered across her face with a sweet smile, but she couldn’t hide it from Twilight.

“Pinkie wanted to take a whole week off,” Applejack tapped her knuckles against her palm, “right outta the blue, to go and visit Ponyville, and that just— I just don’t know how we can afford it.”

“So I’m just gonna go for one day,” Pinkie said, taking in a deep breath before shoveling pie into her mouth and spewing crust as she spoke. “But it’ll be the best day ever, cuz I’ll get to see Fluttershy again and it’ll be super fun!”

“I certainly hope it goes well,” Twilight said with a smile.

“So Applejack,” Spike said, glancing over at Twilight and swallowing his pie before continuing his sentence, “how do you know Rarity anyhow?” Twilight managed to withhold her chuckle at Spike’s total lack of subtlety.

“Rarity?” Applejack stroked her chin, and Pinkie helped herself to a third helping of pie. “We’ve known each other since childhood. We grew up together, our families lived right next door and were in the same business.”

“Monster hunting?” Twilight said with barely hidden contempt.

“Yeah,” Applejack’s eyes narrowed at Twilight, who swallowed a lump of anxiety as she averted her eyes. “You have somethin’ against the Slayers, Twilight?”

“Um…” Twilight bit her lip.

“Rainbow was saying something about that,” Pinkie said, her mouth full of pie and Spike pointing at her as if her doing it made it okay for him to do it, which Twilight just rolled her eyes at. “You had a bad experience with some mean Slayers, right?”

“Something like that,” Twilight said, rubbing the back of her neck. “Mostly I just get nervous around people who are violent for a living. Nothing personal, just anxiety.”

“That’s fair,” Applejack said, and Twilight wanted to breathe a sigh of relief, but didn’t because she didn’t want to make it too obvious that she was on edge. “Honestly, I ain’t a big fan of ‘em myself. Bad blood and all that, but that’s just my own baggage talkin’.”

“So hey,” Spike said, pointing his finger at Applejack, then at Pinkie, “how did you two meet anyway?”

Twilight was amused by how quickly Spike had dropped the topic of Rarity, at least until she saw the stricken expressions on Applejack and Pinkie’s faces and felt a sudden chill in the air emanating from them.

Whatever that story was about, it could wait for another day.

“Applejack,” Twilight said quickly, “do you mind helping me take these boxes out to the trash?”

“Sure,” Applejack stood up with a groan.

“Pinkie,” Twilight said as she stood up and smiled at Pinkie, “maybe you could tell Spike a bit more about your trip to the Everfree?”

“Ooh, I’d like that!” Pinkie beamed and looked expectantly at Spike.

“Take it away, Pinkie,” Spike said, wolfing down yet another slice of pie.

Twilight and Applejack gathered up all the boxes as Pinkie chatted ceaselessly about how pretty and cute and nice the spirit of the forest was, before they took the boxes outside into the snow and threw them out in the garbage can outside the library.

“Sorry that got a little intense there for a sec,” Applejack said. “Didn’t mean to imply nothin’, or make ya nervous.”

“Oh, it’s no problem,” Twilight said. “I know my ‘thing’ with the Slayers is pretty weird around these parts.”

“Yeah I guess,” Applejack rubbed her arm, “but I meant more the me’n Pinkie freezin’ bit.”

“Oh,” Twilight said, “sure. Well don’t worry about that either.” Twilight waved Applejack’s concern away. “It’s not our place to pry, or to make anyone talk about stuff they aren’t comfortable with.”

“Truth be told,” Applejack said, leaning her back against the oak of the library, “me’n Rarity found Pinkie when she was pretty young, in her mid-teens maybe? Dragon tore down her whole village. Poor girl’s been terrified of the things ever since, and talkin’ ‘bout that day makes her start relivin’ it.”

“You don’t say,” Twilight said coldly, before abruptly clearing her throat. “You and Rarity, huh? You two are pretty close, I guess?”

“Practically family,” Applejack laughed. “And I say ‘practically’ cuz family that flirts as much as we do would be pretty messed up.”

“Oh yeah?” Twilight bit her lip and tried not to sound too disappointed at the prospect of Rarity being interested in somebody already.

“Sure,” Applejack shrugged. “Nothin’s gonna come about from me’n her though, least not romantically. We’re both kinda—” Applejack drifted off, and a few seconds passed before she simply finished her statement with a shrug.

“What about Rainbow Dash?”

“What about her?”

“Do you think she’s too—” Twilight mimicked Applejack’s shrug. “For you or for Rarity?”

“Dunno,” Applejack crossed her arms and furrowed her brow. “Doesn’t matter to me. What Rarity does is her own business, and as for me, I’m pretty sure Rainbow wouldn’t be interested in-” Applejack gestured weakly at herself “-all this.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure,” Twilight muttered, twirling a lock of hair around her finger.

“Why?” Applejack gave a single, acidic laugh. “She say somethin’ to ya?”

“N-no,” Twilight blurted out, “I just, think you should be optimistic!”

Applejack hummed thoughtfully, before pushing herself off the library.

“C’mon,” she said as she headed for the door, “those two’ll eat all the pie if just leave ‘em.”

“Yeah,” Twilight said weakly, disappointed that her conversation with Applejack was over, and even more disappointed that she messed it up, “okay.”

“Twilight,” Applejack stopped suddenly and turned to look at Twilight, though she refused to make eye contact.

“Yes?” Twilight said, body as stiff as a post as she ran through her mind the thousand different bad things that Applejack might’ve been about to say to her.

Applejack paused, and Twilight felt like she was inside an oven even despite the snow around her hooves.

Applejack cleared her throat, putting her hand up to her mouth and biting down on a thumbnail. Twilight just waited for her; despite Twilight’s growing trepidation, she wasn’t going to press Applejack to continue until she was ready.

Applejack sighed and ran her hand roughly through her hair.

“Thanks. For the vote of confidence. That was real nice of ya.”

“I only said it because I believe it,” Twilight smiled, and internally she was ready to scream her gratitude to the heavens that all Applejack wanted to say was ‘thanks’. “You’ll be surprised how much can change in the space of a heartbeat.”

“Yeah,” Applejack laughed softly, “I guess you’re right.”

“Now come on,” Twilight grazed Applejack’s arm gently as she walked past, “let’s go get some pie.”

“Right behind ya,” Applejack said heartily as the two re-entered the library, Pinkie and Spike greeting them with joyful smiles and waves.

“No more intense backstory talk,” Twilight whispered to Applejack as they sat down next to each other, “promise.”

“Sounds good,” Applejack laughed.

It was warm inside the library, and the pleasant chatter of new friends made it warmer still. Twilight still wished Rarity and Rainbow could be there, but she wouldn’t have traded the time with Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Spike for anything.

And besides, she had a good feeling that Rainbow and Rarity would make their way back home— and to the library— pretty soon, and Twilight would have a really lovely story to tell them about the new friends she made.

Author's Notes:

the rumor come out: does friendship is magic??

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

38. The Way Back Home

Rainbow and Rarity made the trek back to Baltimare—the closest town to Haysead Swamp with a train station—mostly in silence, both women wrapped up in their thoughts after their encounter with the cragadile and their arguments with each other.

They agreed to talk after the mission was completed, but it wasn’t until night had fallen and they were safely on the train headed back to Canterlot, sitting across from each other in a private cabin, that either felt comfortable enough to speak, and Rainbow was the first to make a move.

“Um…”

Rainbow was truly an expert wordsmith.

“Hm?”

Rarity was just as skilled.

“I wanna talk about feelings and stuff now,” Rainbow tapped her fingers together and couldn’t bear to look at Rarity, “if you wanna.”

“I would very much like to,” Rarity said softly, and Rainbow didn’t have to look at her to know she was smiling.

“I didn’t like your joke,” Rainbow said with no small amount of hesitation, but she forced the words out cuz this was important, dammit, “about me not being able to read, cuz when I was growing up I couldn’t focus for anything, and that made it hard to read, and everyone always thought I was stupid cuz of it.”

“I don’t think you’re stupid Rainbow,” Rarity leaned forward and softly put her hand on Rainbow’s thigh, “and I never would have made a joke like that if I knew it would make you feel bad. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Rainbow shrugged, “you didn’t know.”

“Perhaps,” Rarity took back her hand and stared vacantly at it, “but I still should have— should have sensed it somehow? I don’t know, I just know that I’m your friend, and a good friend doesn’t make her friends feel bad about themselves.”

“Rarity,” Rainbow groaned, “it’s not like you even could’ve known. I’ve never told anyone that before, and I usually try to just laugh stuff like that off, pretend it doesn’t bother me. It’s just that this time, when you did it, I dunno. I couldn’t pretend it didn’t hurt my feelings. I don’t think I wanted to pretend.”

“What made you change your mind?”

“Because it’s you,” Rainbow bit repeatedly on her thumbnail, trying to distract herself from the growing anxiety in her stomach. “I don’t wanna hide stuff from you, Rarity. You’re—” Rainbow cleared her throat. “You’re my best frie—”

Rainbow made a retching noise that caused Rarity to cock her head in confusion. Rainbow pulled her legs up in front of her and curled her arms and wings around them, burying her head behind her wings so Rarity couldn’t see the tears forming in her eyes.

“You’re like my only friend. And I don’t wanna lose you by letting you see what a fat garbage fire I am.”

“You’re not a garbage fire, darling,” Rarity let out a soft laugh and Rainbow looked up to see her eyes were glistening just like Rainbow’s, “no more than I am, at any rate.”

“C’mon, that’s not fair,” Rainbow said, “you’re awesome. You’re so cool and smart, and you always know what to do and how to make everypony feel better. You’re amazing, Rarity.”

“Rainbow Dash, you’re just as smart as I am,” Rarity said, “and you’re dashing, and brave and cool, and your confidence is infectious. I love being around you, and that’s not going to change just because I occasionally see some of your flaws. You’ve put up with mine long enough.

“And I apologize, because I feel that I put undue pressure on you to act tough with my teasing and such. I don’t want you to pretend to be something you’re not, or try to hide the way you really feel, just because you think it’s what I want. I want a relationship where we both feel safe to be honest with each other.”

Rainbow didn’t know what to say so she just buried her face behind her wings again. She didn’t bear to think about how Rarity was gonna react to that until she felt Rarity’s hand on her back as the unicorn switched seats to sit next to her.

Rainbow looked up at Rarity and could barely see the tears falling down her cheeks past the blurring of tears in Rainbow’s own eyes.

“I’m sorry I snapped at you earlier,” Rainbow said, “about the whole Twilight and Applejack thing.”

“My comments were uncalled for as well,” Rarity said, though she then paused and bit her lip. “But I do appreciate your apology. If I’m being honest, I did feel a tad burned by your comments.”

“I figured you would be,” Rainbow muttered, “that’s why I said it in the first place. And that was shitty of me, so I’m really sorry.”

“I think you’ve apologized enough, my dear,” Rarity gently rubbed her hand in circles on Rainbow’s back. “I’m just embarrassed, because I have a crush on that silly librarian after only talking to her for a single day. It’s a little pathetic.”

“If talking to her makes you happy,” Rainbow said, “and thinking about her makes you happy, then what’s the problem? You should embrace the stuff that makes you happy, not run away from ‘em.”

“Are you speaking from experience, sweetheart?”

Rainbow once more tried to bury her face, but Rarity grabbed her cheeks and softly tilted her head up to look her in the eye, brushing some tears from Rainbow’s face with her thumb.

“Yeah,” Rainbow croaked, a tender smirk on her face.

“I’m going to the library once we return to Canterlot,” Rarity said. “I think you should go to the smithery.”

“What if she doesn’t like me?” Rainbow whimpered.

“I’ve known Applejack for practically my whole life, sweetheart,” Rarity said, “and I can assure you, the two of you will get along famously. I’ve been saying as much to both of you for months!”

“But what if she doesn’t?” Rainbow repeated.

Rarity sighed and ran her hand through Rainbow’s mane.

“Then you’ll still have me,” Rarity said, “and Twilight and Spike, who are also your friends, by the way.”

“I know, I know,” Rainbow muttered. “I just don’t want to admit they’re my friends, cuz I’m afraid of them leaving, of them deciding that I’m too—”

“Shh,” Rarity put a finger across Rainbow’s lips. “I don’t want to hear you tearing yourself down for even one more word, understand?” Rainbow nodded, and Rarity gave her a small kiss on the forehead. “You are courageous, smart, funny, and charming. Applejack is going to adore you, and if she does not, well then clearly she has bad taste.”

Rainbow snickered at that, and Rarity smiled at making her friend feel a little better.

“I’ll see her when we get back,” Rainbow promised.

“And I look forward to hearing all about it tomorrow morning.”

“Thank you, Rarity,” Rainbow said, rubbing her legs. “You’re really cool.”

Rarity wrapped her arms around Rainbow, giving her a hug that the pegasus resisted only slightly before wrapping her arms around Rarity in return and squeezing her tight.

“I love you too, you silly pony.”

Author's Notes:

something i rly appreciate about friendship is magic is that characters often apologize when they've done something shitty, and the apologies are often rly good. i hope i did it justice here tbh

also i'm lowkey excited for the next few chapters cuz they're gonna be so gay

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

39. Right In Front of the Door

Rainbow and Rarity shared one more hug as they got off the train and went their own ways from the station, Rarity bolting toward the library like a bullet and practically leaving Rainbow in a cloud of dust behind her.

Rainbow lingered at the station for a moment before slowly walking in the general direction of the smithery, wondering if she really should go that way.

She promised Rarity she would, so she kept walking down that route, but every step felt heavier than the last, weighed down by a constant squall of anxiety and horrible thoughts about how things could go wrong or how she could mess everything up with Applejack.

She stopped in her tracks, looking down at her hooves buried in the snow, and took a deep breath.

She promised Rarity, and she didn’t want to run away anymore. She wanted Rarity, and Twilight, and Spike, to all go after the things that made them happy, and she couldn’t feel good about supporting them and their efforts to do that if she couldn’t do the same.

She’d just have to go talk to Applejack, even if she became more and more certain with each step that it’d be the worst conversation of her life.

“Rainbow Dash!”

Hearing Pinkie Pie’s voice calling out to her from nowhere made Rainbow nearly want to throw up, and she darted around to see where it was coming from, only to feel like a total stooge when she saw Pinkie and Applejack walking up to her from directly in front of her.

“Hey, you guys,” Rainbow said nervously, waving at the pair as they approached. “What’re you guys doing out so late?”

“Could ask you the same thing,” Applejack said with a smile that melted Rainbow’s heart. “Surprised yer back already. Didn’t you just leave this mornin’?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck and tried to keep her breathing steady, “Rarity had some important stuff to handle, and she didn’t want to wait to come back. That’s not—we both had important stuff.”

“Oh,” Applejack said, “we won’t keep ya then. See ya ‘round, Rainbow Dash!”

Applejack moved to walk away and Rainbow was seized by an incredible desire to just grab her and shake her and admit she had a huge crush on her but that would be incredibly stupid and bad but she didn’t know what else to do so she just stood there frozen, hand on the back of her neck, and did nothing.

“Wait, hold on, AJ!” Pinkie grabbed Applejack’s hand and the larger mare stopped, turning to look at Pinkie. “I wanted to hear Rainbow’s cragadile story! I’m sure it’s really exciting! Plus I wanted to tell her all about our trip to the library!”

Rainbow’s breath hitched.

They went to the library?

“C’mon, Pinkie,” Applejack sighed, “we don’t wanna keep her from whatever made her rush home so quick. It’s gotta be a big deal if she’n Rarity didn’t even bother to rest ‘fore comin’ back home.”

“Actually,” Rainbow choked out, sliding her hands into her pockets and feeling pretty good about how calm she was coming off, “you guys are headed home for the night, yeah?” Applejack nodded once, and Pinkie nodded so hard her head looked ready to fall off. “I actually gotta head home first, and it’s on the way… maybe we could walk and talk? I’d love to hear what Twilight talked you guys’ ears off about.”

“If you’re sure we ain’t gonna bother ya,” Applejack chuckled, and Rainbow could’ve sworn she sounded nervous, but that couldn’t be right, “then I guess it’s fi—”

“We accept!” Pinkie cheered, jumping into the air and pumping her fists.

Rainbow walked alongside Applejack and Pinkie Pie through the sleepy Moon District of Canterlot, and Pinkie happily regaled Rainbow with stories about Twilight.

She talked about how Twilight lectured them all on the importance of proper mane maintenance, how she taught Pinkie this really cool spell to aid stomach aches—which of course she demonstrated on Spike—and how highly she spoke of Rainbow Dash whenever the pegasus became the topic of conversation.

“Which was all the time, by the way,” Pinkie said, “because you’re all Applejack wanted to talk about!”

Applejack coughed, and Rainbow felt her entire face burning up. She was sure Pinkie was just trying to be a tease, but was less sure on who she was teasing.

“Pfft,” Rainbow scoffed, “yeah, I’m sure Applejack didn’t have anything more interesting to talk about than me. Don’t be silly, Pinkie.”

Rainbow looked over at Applejack, who had been weirdly quiet the whole walk. Rainbow figured it was her fault somehow, but she chose not to dwell on it.

“We did talk about you,” Applejack said calmly, “a little bit at least. Twilight’s real fond of ya, it’s sweet.”

Applejack smiled at Rainbow, and Rainbow forced herself to smile back instead of biting down on her lip because sweet Celestia she has such an incredible smile!

“Twilight’s a cool girl,” Rainbow shrugged. “I’m glad she recognizes another cool girl when she sees one!”

Pinkie giggled and bumped her shoulder against Rainbow’s side.

“Couldn’t agree more, to be honest,” Applejack said, her smile somehow becoming even brighter and beautifuller.

Suddenly Applejack stopped, and it took a sec for Pinkie and Rainbow to halt and see what she was looking at. Rainbow turned away from the two to hide the look of frustration on her face as she looked up at her house.

“This is yer stop, ain’t it?” Applejack asked.

“Y-yeah,” Rainbow said, her hands fidgeting in her coat pockets.

“Awwww,” Pinkie bemoaned, slouching forward and letting her arms dangle sadly in front of her, though she just as quickly perked up and beamed at Rainbow. “Oh well! I guess we’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Uh, sure,” Rainbow said hesitantly, looking up at the house that she wanted nothing more than to not go inside of right now.

“Unless,” Pinkie said slyly, “somepony has something else that they wanna say? Something to get off their chest?”

Rainbow frowned at Pinkie with an arched eyebrow, and Applejack cleared her throat rather abruptly, causing Rainbow’s gaze to shift to her. It was the first time during the whole night that Rainbow had actually looked at Applejack for more than just a second, more than just stealing guilty glances at her while they walked, and Rainbow felt her cheeks heating up again as she remembered oh no she’s hot!

“So,” Applejack said awkwardly, holding out her hand to Rainbow, “see you tomorrow, I guess?”

“Y-yeah,” Rainbow hesitantly reached out for Applejack’s hand, and a wave of electricity shot through her arm as their fingers touched and wow did Rainbow feel stupid for it. “I guess so.”

Rainbow stood there for a moment, her hand clasped in Applejack’s, and while she wanted to relish in being that close to her— in actually touching her just for a moment— the longer their hands were together the more Rainbow felt like her hand was pressed up against a hot grill.

Rainbow yanked her hand back.

“Okay, yeah. I’ll, uh, see you guys later I guess. G’night!”

Rainbow turned to her house and stomped away quickly before either of the mares could say anything else, before they could comment on what a lousy exit that was, or how stupid Rainbow was, or how she was obviously hiding a pathetic crush that was super obvious and totally pathetic.

Rainbow opened the gate in front of her house but didn’t bother to close it behind her, and she quickly stomped up the path to her front door, but her hand hovered over the knob and she hesitated.

Even in the middle of a winter night, she felt like the sun itself was beating down on her inches from her neck. She couldn’t bear to turn back to see if Applejack and Pinkie were still there, no doubt staring at her in utter bewilderment at the stupid loser, and they were only staring cuz they were too polite to point and laugh.

Rainbow placed her hand on the doorknob and took a deep breath.

Oh well. At least I… sorta tried. I guess.

Geez, I am the worst.

“Rainbow! Hold on a tick!”

Applejack’s voice made Rainbow’s ears fly up and she nearly jolted around on the spot, but she caught herself and forced herself to turn around slowly, so she didn’t look so pathetically eager.

Applejack walked up the path halfway to Rainbow’s door, and Rainbow stepped off her porch to meet Applejack there.

“What’s up, Applejack?” Rainbow asked, trying and failing not to get her hopes up.

“Uhhh,” Applejack said eloquently, and Rainbow would’ve laughed if it didn’t remind her so much of herself. Applejack cleared her throat and pounded a fist against her chest, before clearing her throat a second time for good measure. “You wanna grab some coffee? Maybe this weekend?”

“Uhhh,” Rainbow’s mouth hung open but she swallowed the supernova of anxiety she suddenly felt in her throat and forced herself to act like an adult, even if she could feel sweat pouring down her face like Neighagra Falls. “Say what?”

“It’s just,” Applejack cleared her throat again, “me and Pinkie are headin’ to the library again, Saturday night. We’re gonna bring more pies and make a big thing outta it. Pinkie’s gotta stay home and actually make the pies, and I gotta do some shoppin’ that mornin’. That leaves a bit of time before the party, I was thinkin’, maybe, if you wanted to, maybe— we could, um—”

“You’re going shopping by yourself?” Rainbow asked, holding back an excited smile.

“Yeah?” Applejack tilted her head, confused by Rainbow’s seemingly unrelated question.

“Maybe I could help with that?” Rainbow smirked. “We could grab some coffee after, like to celebrate a job well done… at shopping. I dunno, is that totally dense?”

“Nah, that sounds great!” Applejack said with a bright smile, and this time Rainbow couldn’t stop herself from biting her lip because holy crap she is SO cute! “I’ll swing by your place Saturday morning, I guess? That alright with you?”

“Yeah, go for it!” Rainbow nodded, and Applejack nodded in turn with an even bigger smile that made Rainbow practically go weak at the knees.

“It’s a date then!” Applejack said, but quickly stammered. “Well I mean not a date date, but you get me!”

“Y-yeah,” Rainbow chuckled nervously, “totally.”

“See ya then, sugarcube,” Applejack held out her hand, and this time Rainbow took it without hesitation or reservation, delighting in the sensation of warmth and comfort that washed over her once their hands were connected.

“Lookin’ forward to it.”

Author's Notes:

Appledash: LEVEL UP!!
(and tomorrow... raritwi)

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

40. How To Confess To the Cute Librarian You Just Met That You Would Like To Kiss Her (and Other Inconveniences)

Rarity was out of breath by the time she made it to the Golden Oaks Library, and her heart swelled at the sight of the familiar tree nestled into the mountains. The building itself was enchantingly beautiful, but the mare who lived there even moreso.

Goodness, Rarity, she chastised herself as she slowed her pace in front of the building, must you make everything so melodramatic? It’s just a little crush!

…

Yes, yes I must. Don’t even know why I asked such a ridiculous question in the first place.

Rarity reached for the door handle, expecting to easily and quietly let herself in and surprise the librarian with her timely arrival, but to her shock and dismay the door resisted her attempts to open it.

Now Rarity remembered why she hurried to the library in such a frenzy, and she cursed herself for still being too slow to make it before it closed for the night.

She considered knocking on the door, but she didn’t want to disturb Twilight, or poor Spike who was certainly already in bed at this hour.

Perhaps it would be better if she just came back tomorrow.

Rarity finagled the knob a little bit more, hoping in vain that it had just gotten stuck or jammed somehow and would open with just a bit more elbow grease, but she relented after the door’s loud creaks rung in her ears and she realized how ridiculous she was being.

She took a deep breath and prepared to leave, but she couldn’t bring herself to turn around quite yet.

Rarity closed her eyes, and raised her hand up to knock on the door, because she couldn’t just leave without seeing her, not after the day Rarity had been through.

With a sharp release of her breath she knocked furiously on the door, surprised to find the oak was much softer and quieter than she had expected. Fluffier too, like she was tapping not on an old, oaken door, but on… somepony’s… forehead.

Rarity opened her eyes and was mortified to see Twilight had somehow opened the door without a sound—or perhaps the pounding of Rarity’s heart just drowned out the noise— while Rarity’s eyes were closed, and yes she was indeed knocking on the poor librarian’s forehead now.

“Ahem,” Rarity lowered her hand and prayed the darling librarian couldn’t see the incredibly obvious blush decorating Rarity’s cheeks. “Sorry.”

“You were wrestling with the door so hard, I thought a timberwolf was trying to break in or something!” Twilight laughed, and Rarity mimicked the gesture as awkwardly as possible.

“Well, I—”

“You’re out of breath. Did you run here?” Twilight cocked her head as she sized Rarity up, Rarity feeling rather like she was under a heat lamp beneath Twilight’s inquisitive gaze.

“Um, well you see—”

“Do you need something urgent? Is it something I can help with?”

“Uhhh—”

“Did the cragadile mission not go well?” Twilight gasped. “Wait, where’s Rainbow? Is she hurt? Did something happen to her and you came over to tell me that she—”

“No, darling, it isn’t anything like that!” Rarity put her hands on the hyperventilating librarian whose shoulders were so soft, and both mares calmed down in response to the touch. “It isn’t anything quite so urgent. Rainbow had a, a uh, a thing, to take care of. Something she’s been putting off, and it couldn’t wait. I’m sure she’ll tell you all about it in the morning.”

“Well that’s fine,” Twilight sighed in relief. “I didn’t expect to see her tonight anyway. Or you, for that matter,” Twilight tapped a finger against her cheek. “But if you don’t need anything urgent, why were you in such a hurry to come here of all places?”

“Well, I, uhhh…” Rarity trailed off, her hands dropping to her sides as she realized she did not take the time to come up with a flattering excuse for why she rushed straight to the library, and now that she was on the spot, no answer but the humiliating truth presented itself to her.

“Yes?” Twilight tilted her head, in that most adorable way that she tended to do when she was listening intently, and Rarity cursed her for being so cute and herself for already noticing little tells like that from her.

“I wanted—” Rarity bit her thumbnail.

“I—”

She what? She wanted to see Twilight again? She wanted to wrap Twilight up in her arms, pick her up off her hooves and spin her around, carrying her like a bride into the library and smother her in a flurry of kisses?

Yes, obviously, but just as obvious was the fact that she couldn’t say that!

Rarity had to consider that perhaps it would be best for her to just wish the librarian a good night, and be on her way.

“I wanted to see you.”

But then again, perhaps not.

“You-” Twilight cleared her throat and took a step back “-wanted to see me?”

Rarity rolled her head back and groaned in self-pity. “What I’m about to tell you is very silly, and I hope you don’t think me too much of a silly, ridiculous pony when I tell you, but may I confess something to you?”

“You may,” Twilight said, hands gently placed in front of her as she stood tall and imposing in the library’s doorframe, and Rarity once again cursed her for being so cute!

“I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you,” Rarity admitted shamefully, “since our conversation last night. I know it’s silly, but I quite fancied my time with you, and I found myself thinking time and time again while at the swamp, ‘oh I wish Twilight could see this’, or ‘I bet Twilight could tell me what that is’, and I just couldn’t wait to see you again and hear a surprisingly riveting lecture on how bath salt is different than basalt.”

“The two have nothing in common,” Twilight said idly, and Rarity bit her lip to keep from giggling. “Bath salts are pulverized minerals applied to bath water to increase the user’s enjoyment of the bathing experience, and basalt is volcanic rock, formed from the rapid cooling of magnesium-rich and iron-rich lava, and furthermore—”

Rarity erupted into a fit of giggles that cut off Twilight’s stirring lecture, and she bit her tongue as quick as she could to stop herself lest she seem very rude.

“I’m sorry,” Rarity said sheepishly, pointedly avoiding eye contact with the cute librarian. “I shouldn’t laugh, you probably think I’m some kind of—”

“Can I confess something to you?”

“Um, you can,” Rarity said awkwardly, taken aback by Twilight’s sudden shift in demeanor.

Rarity stood as straight as she was able and placed her hands in front of her to mirror Twilight’s earlier posture, but a quick glance at the librarian revealed she now looked like anything but the graceful guardian of her library, with her shoulders slumped and one hand curling around the hair of her ponytail as she awkwardly looked over Rarity’s shoulder instead of in her eye.

“I hope you don’t think I’m a total dork,” Twilight said, “but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you either.”

“W-what now?” Rarity took a step back and placed a hand over her pounding heart.

“I was reading something earlier today and I thought ‘oh, I bet Rarity would like this! I can’t wait to tell her when she gets back’, as if you coming back to the library was just a sure thing, like I’m sure you have nothing better to do than to hang out with some dork who barely leaves her house and smells like books probably and—“

“So what was it?” Rarity said suddenly.

“Huh?”

“What was it you thought I would like?”

“I, uh,” Twilight cleared her throat and bit down on her lip, her eyes scanning the air before her like she was trying to recall the information. “I don’t remember. It’s been a long day, I met some new friends.”

“Oh,” Rarity said with a shrug.

Twilight paused for a moment before inhaling sharply.

“Maybe we could find it together?” Twilight asked. “I’m sure I left the book lying around, I haven’t cleaned the placed up quite yet, and I just poured myself some tea, I could pour you a glass as well! If, y’know, if you’d like that sorta thing.”

“As long as you don’t mind the company of an incredibly silly, smitten hunter,” Rarity put her hoof on the door jam and her hand gently grazed Twilight’s forearm.

“I hope you don’t mind hanging out with a dorky librarian who is also… really easily smitten.”

“I can’t think of anywhere I’d rather be,” Rarity said as she passed the threshold into the library, whispering in Twilight’s ear as she passed, “darling.”

Twilight’s giggle as she closed the door behind them was music to Rarity’s ears, and as Twilight poured Rarity a cup of piping hot tea, Rarity wrapped herself in a soft blanket and got comfortable, a feeling which she found rather unfamiliar.

Rarity took a sip of the tea and found it to be as pleasant as the company, and she purred with delight as she nestled herself in her blanket. Twilight sat on the ground next to her, teacup floating in her raspberry-colored aura beside her, and made herself comfortable next to Rarity.

“Is this okay?” Twilight asked bashfully as her shoulder brushed against Rarity’s. “It’s not too close, is it?”

“No, darling,” Rarity hummed as she placed her hand on Twilight’s thigh, the perky smile Twilight made adding at least five years to Rarity’s life, “you’re perfect.”

Author's Notes:

reaching a new plateau in the raritwi relationship right on a big even chapter number is filling my brain with Good Feelings Juice

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

41. Excommunicated

The coffee that floated in a blue aura beside Rarity’s head was almost as warm as her smile as she hurried through the sleepy morning streets of Canterlot’s Moon District to get to her new favorite place; the Golden Oaks Library.

It had been a week now since she entered the library for the first time, and what began as a silly, immature crush on the librarian had now blossomed into a genuine rapport.

Rarity had spent nearly all the nights in the past week talking with Twilight from the moment she closed the library to the moment the sun rose in the morning, which was an absolute disaster for Rarity’s sleeping schedule, but sleep could be sacrificed if it meant spending more time with her dear friend.

Honestly, Rarity felt rather silly for how nervous she had been when her relationship with Twilight was just starting; true, she had several fancy tales and grandiose fantasies of her and the librarian getting swept into a whirlwind affair of passion and intrigue, but the reality of the situation was much better.

They were friends. Nothing more, nothing less. And Rarity wouldn’t want it any other way.

Well… perhaps there would be time for passion and intrigue later, but for now, her friendship with Twilight Sparkle was enough.

It was just before noon as Rarity headed over to the library, which was rather early for Rarity to even be awake, much less out the door, but she wanted to surprise Twilight with an earlier visit than usual. Or perhaps she was just that desperate for the warmth of the library and Twilight’s company that she simply couldn’t bear to stay away for even a single minute.

Oh, Rarity, she chuckled to herself as she took a sip of her coffee and slapped herself awake, ever the drama queen.

Rarity breathed a contented sigh and allowed herself to smile ear to ear as the library came into view. She could already feel its warmth as she approached the towering, sheltering tree, and her hand jittered with anticipation as she reached for the doorknob.

Though her anticipation was replaced by curiosity and slight frustration as she tried to open the handle and it resisted her.

She wasn’t about to try and tear the handle off the door like she had nearly a week ago, but she was slightly concerned. True it was still fairly early, but it was almost noon and Twilight always had the library open by this time, even despite the havoc their late nights had wreaked on Twilight’s own sleeping schedule.

Rarity couldn’t help but feel something was wrong, and a pulsating throb in her gut accompanied the thought that it might have been her fault somehow.

Rarity knocked her knuckles against the door. No answer.

She knocked again, louder and more intensely this time.

Silence greeted her, and she bit her lip as curiosity and concern melted away into worry.

She’s probably just still sleeping, Rarity told herself, though if that were the case, usually Spike would still open the library regardless. Something was definitely not quite right here.

Rarity raised her hand to knock again but froze as she heard the latch open on the other side of the door. She wasn’t about to knock on Twilight’s forehead again; Twilight refused to let Rarity forget that it happened the first time.

The door creaked open ever so slightly, revealing a pitch-dark library and a single violet eye peeking out from behind it.

“There you are, Twilight!” Rarity said cheerfully, feeling relieved that Twilight was at least present in the library. “Honestly, you had me worried for a moment! I thought perhaps you had been whisked away by some other charming hunter who had come and swept you off your feet!”

Twilight said nothing, simply continued to peer out at Rarity in silence from the darkness of the library.

“Darling?” Rarity’s worry returned. If there was something ‘not quite right’ with the library, then there was something very wrong with Twilight. “Is something the matter, dear?”

“Um,” Twilight let her fingers slide into the sunlight as they gripped the door, “I got into a fight.”

“Oh no!” Rarity gasped, hand pressed against her fretful heart.

“With Spike.”

“Oh,” Rarity said concernedly, dreading how this sentence was about to end.

“About you.”

“Ah.”

And there it was, what Rarity had been dreading.

Truth be told, it felt better to have it out in the open at least. Rarity had heard, from Twilight and even from Rainbow Dash, that Spike had become quite a bit grumpier since Rarity started visiting the library, but she merely chalked it up to coincidence, even if in her heart she knew better.

She simply didn’t want to face what she knew was the truth; that her presence in Twilight’s life was disturbing the peace that Twilight had built for herself and her son.

“What exactly did you fight about?” Rarity drew herself up and elected to get to the bottom of this; no sense moping about it, not unless she had all the facts at the very least. “If I may ask?”

Twilight tried to stand up straight, but the weight of her sadness and worry pressed down on her shoulders like a heap of stone, and her posture suffered for it.

Twilight cleared her throat and opened the door a little bit wider, and as the light hit her, Rarity could see that Twilight was an absolute mess; hair frazzled and disheveled, eyes heavy with fatigue, and fur damp with sweat. Rarity couldn’t pinpoint when exactly this fight with Spike happened, but she could see that Twilight not only hadn’t slept, but had worked herself into a state in the time since.

“Ever since Rainbow started coming to the library,” Twilight said, “and things became much busier around here, I’ve still always spent my mornings with just me and Spike. That was our time, but, well, I’ve been sleeping through the mornings lately.”

“Because of me,” Rarity said casually, and while Twilight was visibly determined not to say as much, she ever so slightly nodded. Rarity took a deep breath and gave a glance over at the frazzled librarian, sadness and sympathy washing over her as she looked at the poor dear, not only for Twilight but for Spike just as much.

Rarity thought about Sweetie Belle, and how jealous the poor girl could be whenever someone would ‘steal’ Rarity’s attention away from her. When you had someone in your life who you so greatly respect and admire, it can be difficult to share them, especially when you’re worried that this new person is going to replace you in your favorite person’s heart.

“Twilight?” Rarity allowed a small smirk to grace her lips as Twilight winced at the sound of her name. “Was your response to this conflict, by any chance, to try and shut me out of the library?”

“Um,” Twilight shrunk into herself, and Rarity was certain Twilight would transform to the size of a mouse if she could, “not just you. But if nobody comes back to the library, then no one can be mad at anybody else.”

“And you just get to be lonely forever?” Rarity asked. “How is that fair?”

“That doesn’t matter,” Twilight said sternly, and the sudden intensity she spoke with caught Rarity by surprise. “My first priority is Spike, and if the way I’m taking guests into the library is hurting him, then I have to—”

“Excommunicate all the new friends he’s making as well?”

Rarity took a sip of her coffee while Twilight stammered to try and think of something clever to respond with.

“Sweetheart,” Rarity put her hand on Twilight’s cheek and secretly delighted in the way Twilight leaned into her touch, “is it possible that perhaps, just perhaps, you jumped to a rather extreme and unnecessary measure? I know I’m a tad biased, but don’t you think there’s a better way to resolve this conflict other than shutting the door on all your friends?”

“I don’t know what to do,” Twilight whispered, the desperation in her voice breaking Rarity’s heart. “I made him cry, Rarity. I promised him that I would never hurt him, but you should have seen him when he was yelling at me. I let him down. I’m an awful parent.”

“We can’t help hurting the ones we love from time to time,” Rarity caressed Twilight’s cheek as she spoke. “It’s simply a matter of how we handle it that speaks to our character, and our priorities.”

“But I don’t know what to do,” Twilight said coldly, her eyes closed as she leaned her head against Rarity’s hand.

“Let me handle this,” Rarity’s words caused Twilight’s eyes to snap open. “Spike’s conflict is with me, not with you, so let me talk to him and we can figure this out. I think I understand what he’s going through, and I think I can convince him that he isn’t going to be replaced—”

“He could never be replaced,” Twilight said abruptly, as if the very notion sickened her.

“I know,” Rarity said softly. “But you know as well as I do that worry is not rational. So let me talk to him, and we can figure out how to resolve this whole mess together.”

“You would do that?” Twilight said, her hands trembling as they clung to Rarity’s hand for dear life.

Rarity flashed Twilight a serene smile as she wiped a tear away from Twilight’s cheek.

“It would be my pleasure, darling.”

Author's Notes:

problem solving with ur horse

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

42. Heart To Heart

Rarity was allowed into the library without any more resistance, and she quickly made her way upstairs to the spacious attic that acted as Spike and Twilight’s joint bedroom.

The thought briefly crossed her mind that this was certainly not how she wanted to visit Twilight’s bedroom for the first time, but she swatted that thought away in disgust because now is hardly the time for such notions, thank you very much!

Spike was on his bed, curled into a ball and moping as he stared out the attic window.

“Spike?” Rarity said softly as she approached. “May I speak with you?”

“You can do whatever you want,” Spike huffed, which was not a great sign.

“May I sit next to you?”

Spike shrugged.

Rarity took a deep breath and sat down on the bed next to Spike. He had been crying very recently, and by the way his lip quivered when Rarity fixed her gaze on him, he had only just stopped as Rarity came up the stairs.

“I heard you got into a fight with Twilight,” Rarity said. “What’s the matter?”

“Nothin’,” Spike said with a grumpy shrug.

“Come now, Spike,” Rarity gave a courteous chuckle, “you and I both know that isn’t true. I heard that you were upset with me, and your mother is very upset that you’re upset, and I don’t want to be the cause of any undue conflict between the two of you, so will you please tell me what’s wrong?”

“You’re stealing Twilight,” Spike hissed, “that’s what’s wrong.”

Rarity inhaled sharply through her nose. She already knew that’s what was bothering him, but to hear him say it out loud, directly to her? Well, she would be lying if she said it didn’t sting.

“I’m not trying to—”

Rarity stopped as Spike sniffled and wiped a stream of tears from his face. For a moment, Rarity stopped seeing the huffy, grumpy pegasus who was struggling with childish jealousy, but saw the genuine distress and worry in a small child who felt like he was losing the most important person in his world.

“I’m sorry.”

Rarity couldn’t think of anything else to say.

“I’m so sorry, Spike.”

“Why’re you sorry?” Spike asked, trying in vain to keep his tears at bay.

“Because I wasn’t thinking of you,” Rarity said, her eyes stinging with tears, “and I should have. It never even crossed my mind that my late nights with Twilight were taking her time with you away, and that was wrong of me. I’m sorry.”

“C’mon, Rarity,” Spike put his arm on Rarity’s knee, “please don’t cry.”

“Hey, I’m the one who’s supposed to be comforting you!” Rarity said with a laugh, ruffling Spike’s hair which made him give a soft laugh in return.

“Sorry,” he sniffled, “force of habit.”

“I want you to know,” Rarity said soothingly, her hand resting on Spike’s shoulder and caressing him with her thumb, “that no one is going to take Twilight away from you. She loves you far too much to let that happen.”

“I know,” Spike took a deep breath and wiped his eyes. “I just got scared, cuz we’ve been alone together all this time, now she’s starting to make a bunch of new friends, what if she doesn’t need me anymore?”

“She’ll always need you, Spike,” Rarity said, aghast that Spike would even think such a terrible thing. “You’re her son, and I have it on pretty good authority that you’re her best friend too.”

“Really?” Spike whimpered, his eyes glistening with tears.

“Absolutely,” Rarity gently brushed the tears from Spike’s cheeks. “She talks about you all the time, you know. Just absolutely gushes about you. If there’s one thing I can say about that woman with absolute confidence, it is that she loves her son.”

Spike sniffled and Rarity embraced him in a soft hug, which the young pegasus gladly reciprocated.

“To be honest,” Rarity smiled at Spike, “she talks about you in such glowing terms, that I’ve been rather looking forward to meeting you for real. I just wish our first heart-to-heart had been under better circumstances.”

“I’m sorry, Rarity,” Spike said, his arms wrapped tightly around Rarity’s stomach.

“It’s okay, Spike,” Rarity placed her hand atop Spike’s head and gently stroked his mane. “I understand the feeling of watching someone you care very deeply for suddenly spending so much time with someone else. You feel left out, and it hurts, and I never should have placed that burden on you. For that, I apologize.”

“I know you didn’t mean to hurt my feelings, Rarity,” Spike said, “and I’m sorry I made such a big deal out of—”

“You have nothing to apologize for, darling,” Rarity placed her finger on Spike’s lips to shush him. “Though I do think there’s a certain purple pony who the two of us should probably speak with together. I would very much like to continue seeing her, but I also have no desire to siphon the time she shares with you.”

“Knowing her,” Spike chuckled, “she’ll probably try to put together a color-coordinated schedule and jot down specific times to hang out with everyone, right down to the minute.”

“Oh goodness, I could absolutely see it,” Rarity giggled. “Well, let’s go down there and talk to her before she starts organizing her life down to the second and forgets to put eating or bathroom breaks on there.”

“And then she realizes she didn’t plan for them,” Spike giggled, “and as soon as she has to go she freaks out cuz it’s not in the schedule!”

“Oh the poor dear,” Rarity laughed, “where would she be without her friends watching out for her?”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

43. A Restless Heart

Twilight paced back and forth on the floor of the lobby, frantically writing notes upon notes upon notes upon notes with several quills on several sheets of parchment that all floated around her.

How could Twilight let Rarity fix things with Spike? She didn’t know Spike that well, and more importantly, this was Twilight’s mistake, she’s the one who needed to fix it! But she had no idea how to fix it!

There just wasn’t enough time in the day for everyone Twilight wanted to spend time with, and heaven forbid she meet even more amazing ponies she wants to talk to! Applejack and Pinkie Pie were coming to the library tomorrow, what if Twilight hit it off really well with them? Then that’d be five ponies Twilight would want to talk to and be with all the time, plus take time for herself!

The only thing she could think to do was scratch down some makeshift schedules, but she didn’t know any of the others’ routines, and they probably weren’t half as organized as Twilight anyway so could their routines even be counted on not to fluctuate? There were just too many variables to consider!

The important thing to note though was that Twilight definitely was not freaking out!

“Twilight!”

All of Twilight’s pens and papers fell to the floor as she turned to see Spike calling to her as he ran to her from the stairwell, arms open. Twilight rushed to him and picked him up into a hug, holding him tightly to her as his tiny arms tried to wrap all the way around her.

“I’m sorry, Spike,” Twilight said, trying to stifle her tears, “for making you feel like you weren’t important to me.”

“I’m sorry for making you freak out,” Spike replied, puffing up his cheeks to try and look brave even as tears rolled down his face.

“You should never have to apologize to me, Spike,” Twilight pressed her forehead against Spike’s. “And I’m sorry for th—”

“I think there’s been quite enough apologies today,” Rarity chimed in as she leaned against the reception desk, “wouldn’t you agree, dear?”

Twilight looked at Rarity, then back at Spike who nodded with a bright smile on his face. Twilight turned back to Rarity and nodded, both in confirmation and in deep appreciation of what Rarity had done for her.

“I never meant to make you feel like you were losing me, Spike,” Twilight said as she put her son back on the ground, crouching down to meet his eye level. “And if you’ll let me, I think I know how to make things right.”

Spike’s eyes glanced over at the assorted quills and parchments scattered across the floor and grimaced.

“I sure hope your plan wasn’t to relentlessly schedule every second of your day to make everyone happy,” Spike said drolly, crossing his arms and looking up at Twilight with an expression that was far too stern for him to be giving his mother… or at least it would’ve been, if he wasn’t right. Which he wasn’t!

“N-no!” Twilight stood up tall and teleported the parchments and such away, coughing into her hand and hoping no one could see her blush, which only got brighter as Rarity and Spike giggled at her reaction.

“See? I told’ja,” Spike pointed at Twilight while giving a snide grin to Rarity.

“Never doubted you for a second, darling,” Rarity replied with a grand smile that almost made Twilight forget her embarrassment. “Nopony knows her better than you, after all.”

“That’s right!” Spike said proudly, puffing up his chest.

“Hey, you don’t know everything about me!” Twilight said indignantly, crossing her arms and puffing up her cheeks.

“So,” Rarity said as she walked over to Twilight and Spike, gently placing her fingers upon the former’s shoulder, “you weren’t planning on making ridiculously detailed schedules for every waking moment of your life to make sure that everypony got to spend an equal amount of time with you?”

“Nooo…” Twilight whined. Rarity arched an eyebrow, that same winning smile still on her face, and Spike choked back a laugh. Twilight sighed and hung her head. “I couldn’t fit everybody in.”

“Of course you couldn’t, darling,” Rarity brushed back Twilight’s bangs as Twilight rose her head to look at Rarity, who was looking really pretty this morning. Her makeup was a little uneven though, around her eyes; wait, had she been crying? “Have you ever stopped to consider what you want, Twilight?”

“Eh?” Twilight quacked.

“That’d be a ‘no’,” Spike said casually.

“What I want,” Twilight said confidently, “is for you and Spike to be happy. Rainbow too, and even Pinkie Pie and Applejack when they come over.”

“Yes, but what about you, Twilight?” Rarity placed her hand on Twilight’s cheek and caressed her face with her thumb, and Twilight did her best not to purr in contentment. “What do you want for your life?”

“I want—”

Twilight hadn’t considered that before.

“Umm…”

She hadn’t taken the time to think about what ‘she’ wanted, because her first priority was Spike, and then she started prioritizing the visitors of the library, because they came to her and it wouldn’t be right to put her own wants above theirs, they were her guests!

And also, she didn’t want them to leave her.

“I enjoy our late nights,” Twilight said to Rarity, choking the words out through a smothering web of anxiety, “but I also really enjoy our early mornings,” Twilight looked toward Spike, who nodded his approval and that made Twilight smile. “But I don’t know how to keep doing both.”

“You could close the library a tad earlier,” Rarity suggested.

“But then ponies who want to visit might be disappointed,” Twilight immediately shot back.

“We could open up a little bit later instead?” Spike added.

“But—”

“Or we could close up early a couple days a week?” Spike said.

“Weekends perhaps?” Rarity said.

“Eh, umm—” Twilight backed away from Rarity and Spike and bit down on her thumbnail, tugging on her hair with her other hand.

“We don’t have to decide anything right now, Twilight,” Rarity grabbed hold of Twilight’s hands and lowered them in front of her, squeezing them softly, and Twilight bit her lip to keep from squeaking in delight. “There may be some growing pains, but I think the three of us can work together to find a balance that works for all of us, so we can all get what we need from these burgeoning relationships.”

“That’s right!” Spike said cheerfully. “And maybe we could even have some of those conversations over ice cream!”

“I—” Twilight smiled at Spike and the big goofy grin he sported—that he always sported when he talked about ice cream—and then looked at Rarity and the much more reserved, but still calming and beautiful, smile that Rarity wore as she lifted her hand to brush Twilight’s bangs again.

“I’d really like that,” Twilight gave a weary smile, and for the first time today—for the first time since she could even remember—she felt for just one moment that she could breathe easily.

Author's Notes:

twilight sparkle u useless fucking lesbian u gotta let ppl help u sometimes!!

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

44. The Party Preparation Mission

“Pinkie Pie?” Rarity called out as she knocked on Pinkie’s door, rubbing her arms from the cold and stamping her hooves in the snow. “Darling, are you in there?”

“It’s unlocked!” Pinkie called back. “Let yourself in!”

Rarity did just that and found Pinkie working tirelessly in the kitchen, preparing dish after dish of scrumptious smelling desserts and courses, and Rarity couldn’t help but be starstruck, mouth hanging open in awe, at Pinkie’s culinary skill.

“My, this certainly is something,” Rarity said as she walked past a long table absolutely covered in treats, snacks and ingredients. “Are you planning on inviting an army to the library tonight?”

“Twilight said she can use her magic to keep the food warm or to reheat it,” Pinkie said, taking a tray out of the oven and putting another in just as quickly, “so I wanna make sure she has leftovers cuz I know her and Spike kinda scrape by on a whole lotta not much.”

“So do you and Applejack,” Rarity said cautiously, fingers gently grazing the table. “Are you sure you don’t need these leftovers more than her?”

“We’ll manage,” Pinkie shrugged, mixing a bowl with a wooden spoon over the sink. “Me and Applejack already talked everything over, we’re good! Honestly, don’t worry so much, Rarity! You’ll start turning into Applejack!”

“Honestly, I wouldn’t mind turning into Applejack, if only to have her physique,” Rarity chuckled, and her eyes fell over the enormous lineup of delicacies again. “You certainly are going through a lot of trouble to plan this party though.”

“Parties don’t plan themselves, Rarity,” Pinkie flipped something out of a pan onto a plate, then poured whatever was in that bowl from before into the now empty pan. “And besides, it’s no trouble. I really like doing it!”

“That’s fair.”

Rarity took a seat and stretched her arms above her head, grateful that Pinkie’s kitchen allowed her the space to do so, unlike Twilight’s which was constantly cramped with far too many hanging pots and pans.

Honestly, one of these days Rarity would need to help Twilight manage her space more efficiently. Spring cleaning, perhaps? Well, if spring ever came at this rate.

“How goes your ever-so-anticipated return trip to Ponyville?” Rarity chirped, returning to the conversation in front of her. She needn’t daydream about Twilight right now, they were going to be seeing each other tonight, after all. “Ironed out all the details already, I presume?”

“Yepyepyepyep, yepyep!” Pinkie giggled as she stirred a pot on the stove. “Got it all planned out for next week! Gonna bake a bunch of special treats for Fluttershy! I’ve even got some new recipes I haven’t tried before that I’m dying to test out! It’s gonna be so much fun!”

“And you’re going by yourself?”

“Yeah,” Pinkie sighed, though her momentary deflation was quickly swept aside as she bounced to the other side of the counter to grab some more ingredients for whatever was in that pot. “Applejack can’t go with me cuz she’s running the shop, and I don’t really know Rainbow well enough to ask her to go with me.”

“I’m sorry I can’t go,” while that statement was half true, Rarity also had no desire to revisit the Everfree Forest again in her life. But more than that, her time with Twilight had started to make her feel rather lax in her duties as a Slayer, and it was imperative that she sign herself up for another mission before the month was out.

“It’s okay,” Pinkie said cheerfully, pouring the contents of the pot into a colander in the sink. “Honestly, I think it’ll be nice just to get some one-on-one time with Fluttershy. Speaking of-” Pinkie’s eyes lit up as she grinned at Rarity, who arched an eyebrow in concern “-you excited for the party tonight?”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Rarity replied teasingly, knowing full well what Pinkie Pie was implying.

“I hope you don’t get too jealous that everypony else is gonna wanna spend time with Twilight too,” Pinkie giggled and returned to her frying pan, poking at the contents with a spatula.

“Well,” Rarity harrumphed dramatically, biting down a smile, “at least I don’t have to take a two-hour train ride to visit my crush!”

The air inside the kitchen froze over instantly as Pinkie’s silence was met by a pang of guilt from Rarity.

“Rarity?” Pinkie asked, standing completely still over the stove.

“Yes, Pinkie Pie?” Rarity replied, her breath held as her guilt crept up into her throat like a virus.

“Do you think I’m wasting my time?” Pinkie asked, her voice as cold as the wind outside. “Do you think I’m making a big deal outta this whole thing, and Fluttershy just doesn’t even care, and I’m being totally stupid for thinking about her so much?”

“Does the thought of seeing Fluttershy make you happy?”

“It does,” Pinkie replied without hesitation, nodding her head and poking at the frying pan again. “I really wanna see her again and talk to her.”

“Then as long as you respect Fluttershy’s boundaries and her agency,” Rarity said, “you should follow that trail of happiness for as long as it goes, wherever it leads you.”

Pinkie Pie sniffled, and that was Rarity’s cue to walk over to the little pink mare and give her a hug.

“Thanks, Rarity,” Pinkie giggled, and then snorted as she sniffled and tried not to cry over the stove.

“Don’t mention it, sweetheart,” Rarity whispered, holding Pinkie tightly and resting her head above Pinkie’s. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

“It’s okay,” Pinkie said sweetly. “Thanks for the apology, and for the advice.” Pinkie looked up at Rarity and grinned devilishly, and Rarity arched an eyebrow expectantly, waiting for Pinkie’s smart remark. “I’ll be sure to take it to heart, since you obviously know a lot about having a crush.”

“Oh har har,” Rarity rolled her eyes and returned to her seat at the other side of the kitchen.

“Honestly, it’s not even a crush,” Rarity said about her crush.

“Then what is it?” Pinkie asked idly, not even looking at Rarity as she whisked something over the stove or some such; Rarity had lost track of Pinkie’s movements as she started daydreaming about what it might be like kissing Twilight.

“Uhhhh,” Rarity replied eloquently.

“Oh okay,” Pinkie snorted again. “That clears it up.”

“Oh shush,” Rarity said, trying and failing to suppress a laugh, but it wasn’t long before the laughter of the two ponies resonated throughout the kitchen.

Author's Notes:

a new story arc begineth...

oh hey somepony sent me a rly nice dm yesterday, and i don't respond to dms because Reasons, but i did wanna say THANK YOU!!! for ur kind words, stranger! i rly appreciated ur message!

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

45. Applesolutely the Uselessest

Applejack took a deep breath as she watched herself in the mirror, Pinkie throwing Applejack’s jacket across her broad shoulders.

Applejack knew Pinkie was chomping at the bit to get to making the feast for the library party tonight, but Applejack just couldn’t bring herself to get ready on her own, so Pinkie was a real sweetheart and decided to help Applejack out before she got started in the kitchen.

“Y’know you really don’t have to be so nervous,” Pinkie said with a giggle, and Applejack just rolled her eyes.

“I ain’t nervous,” she insisted, scrunching up her face instinctively the way she always did when she told a lie.

“Oh yeah,” Pinkie laughed, “you definitely don’t look nervous!”

“Alright,” Applejack huffed and fell onto the bed behind her with a loud FOOMPH, “I may be a mite nervous. But can ya blame me? I’ve been daydreamin’ ‘bout this exact thing for like a year almost!”

“Yepyep,” Pinkie nodded, sitting on the bed next to Applejack and playing with her blonde mane, “it’s a big deal, I get it. I just don’t think you need to be nervous cuz I know she’s gonna super like you!”

“You say that—”

“Cuz I believe it!”

Applejack sighed and sat up, dragging her hands slowly down her face. She’d been harboring a crush on Rainbow Dash practically since the two met somewhere around a year ago, when Rarity introduced Applejack to her new partner. Said partner immediately tried to show off her flying skills and then, when Applejack cheered for her, slammed face-first right into a steel beam.

But Applejack’s first impression of Rainbow wasn’t that she was a klutz, or even a blowhard, but that she was very uniquely herself. She was genuine, in a way a lot of ponies Applejack knew just weren’t. Or at least that was the impression Applejack got at first, and it was something that always stuck with her.

She’d always meant to ask Rainbow out, but the pegasus always seemed to find some way to avoid being alone with her, until Applejack just took the hint that Rainbow wasn’t interested. And while Applejack had tried really hard to move on, her feelings stayed put and they ate at her all the time.

Eventually Pinkie convinced her to go ahead and ask Rainbow out, if only to finally clear the air and know for absolute certain whether Rainbow’d be interested in her.

But there was no way she was gonna be. Rainbow was so Rainbow, and Applejack was just so… Applejack.

“Deep breaths,” Pinkie said, rubbing Applejack’s shoulders, “calm blue ocean.”

Applejack thought about last week, when she finally managed to sorta kinda ask Rainbow out.

She was walking home with Rainbow and Pinkie Pie, and they reached Rainbow’s house. Rainbow seemed hesitant to go inside for whatever reason, and Applejack thought that might be her chance to ask Rainbow what had been on her mind the entire walk, but Applejack completely choked.

Pinkie Pie though, wasn’t having any of it.

“Look, look!” Pinkie said, pointing to Rainbow as she stood on her front porch, staring at the doorway like she didn’t want to go in. “She’s hesitating! Now’s your chance!”

“I dunno, Pinkie,” Applejack muttered, “I just don’t think—”

“Applejack, she is soooooo into you!” Pinkie insisted, rolling her eyes and putting her hands on her hips. “Did you see the way her whole face turned red when I told her she was all you wanted to talk about?”

“I didn’t see that, Pinkie,” Applejack said sternly.

“That’s cuz you were too busy looking at your hooves the whole time, you useless lesbian!”

“Hey! I am not—”

Pinkie gave Applejack the most unimpressed scowl she’d ever seen on a pony, and Applejack tapped her thumbs together and muttered, “Okay, maybe I’m a bit of a useless lesbian.”

“The uselessest,” Pinkie joked, elbowing Applejack in the side. “Now go talk to her! This is your chance!”

Applejack looked over at Rainbow, who was opening up the door to her house, and Applejack sighed as she watched her ‘chance’ totally evaporate in front of her face.

At least that’s how she felt until Pinkie shoved her into the gate around Rainbow’s home, and Applejack shouted out almost instinctively, “Rainbow! Hold on a tick!”

And it was that easy. All she did after that was go up and ask Rainbow if she wanted to spend some time together, even if the excuse she made up on the spot about shopping—while technically true—was just that; an excuse.

“You are gonna have an awesome time!” Pinkie said to Applejack as the older mare walked out the door of their house, into the snowy morning air of Canterlot’s Moon District.

“Yeah,” Applejack said distantly, at least trying to sound confident. Failing, obviously, but at least she was trying. “I’m gonna have an awesome time.”

“You both are!” Pinkie cheered. “And I wanna hear aaaaaaall about it tonight, after the party! Okay?”

“Will do, Pinkie,” Applejack gave her best mate a smile, and she couldn’t help but laugh as Pinkie returned the smile with one that was twice as bright and affectionate. “Thanks, for all yer help.”

“Pffft, it’s my pleasure, you big silly!” Pinkie said. “I just want you to be happy!”

“Yer the best,” Applejack knelt down and gave Pinkie a big hug.

“No you are!” Pinkie said as she nuzzled her cheek against Applejack’s.

“Team effort then,” Applejack laughed, “we’re both the best.”

“I can live with that!” Pinkie grinned, bumping her forehead against Applejack’s. “Now shoo! You have a hot date to get to!”

“Alright,” Applejack stood up and gave one last confident-ish nod before heading out, “see you tonight, Pinkie Pie.”

Applejack tried very hard, especially for Pinkie’s sake, not to think of all the ways this whole situation could go horribly wrong on her way to Rainbow’s house. She practiced what she was gonna say over and over; she was gonna say hi, gonna ask Rainbow if she still wanted to go shopping with her, then suggest maybe the two grab some coffee after shopping.

Though her growling stomach reminded her that maybe she needed to fit breakfast into her plan somewhere. But no, breakfast could wait. It’s not like she could eat anything with this raging storm of anxiety wrangling her stomach into knots anyway.

The important thing was to not come on too strong. If Rainbow realized just how interested in her Applejack was, what could Rainbow possibly do other than laugh? Rainbow was so far out of Applejack’s league, it’d be hilarious to think that Applejack had a chance, if it weren’t so pathetic.

She took a deep breath and slapped her face a couple times as she saw Rainbow’s house come into view. Truth be told, it wasn’t that far from her and Pinkie’s place.

She opened up the gate surrounding the building and immediately felt like throwing up. She cursed her total inability to fib for a sec, cuz she knew she couldn’t bail out of this and make some excuse up to Pinkie later, and if she did bail and just told Pinkie the truth, boy that girl would be sooooo mad at her.

So Applejack closed the gate behind her and walked up the steps to Rainbow’s porch, each step being accompanied by a thousand beats of her frantic heart pulsing in her ears.

She walked up to the porch and could hardly breathe, but she forced herself to take a deep breath regardless as she raised her fist to knock.

She banged the back of her knuckles against the door three times and caught herself prayin’ that Rainbow’d be too sleepy to answer, or maybe she got called away on a mission all of a sudden, or—

The sound of the door latch flushed every thought out of Applejack’s head.

The door opened slowly.

Rainbow yawned as she opened the door and revealed herself to Applejack, and Applejack’s entire face turned bright red as her eyes widened and she stared like a slack-jawed moron at Rainbow.

Rainbow Dash was completely naked.

If Applejack had even remembered her practiced speech past all that heavy breathing and heart racing before, it was sure gone now.

Truth be told, Equestria didn’t have such a thing as a nudity taboo; ponies greeting visitors at the door in the buff wasn’t an uncommon occurrence, at least in the summer time, and that was all well and good but Applejack couldn’t really think about that or anything because HOLY HELL.

She is SO hot.

Applejack loudly cleared her throat and Rainbow looked up at her, her eyes widening for a second before she let out a wheezy laugh.

“Hey, Applejack,” she ran a hand through her mane and held her other hand on the door frame, leaning lazily against it. “Fancy meetin’ you here.”

“I, uh,” Applejack cleared her throat again and prayed Rainbow couldn’t see how red she was; she could still play this off like it was a normal interaction and Applejack wasn’t totally turned on right now. “We had a thing? We were gonna do shopping together? You remember that? I mean, it’s fine if you don’t! Or if you’ve changed your min—”

“Why would I change my mind?” Rainbow crossed her arms and scoff. She looked down at herself and chuckled, and Applejack tried not to swoon at how coolly she was playing this off. “I mean, I can’t really go out like this, not in the middle of winter, so just give me a sec to grab some clothes, okay?”

“Yeah,” Applejack nodded and affected a smile, subtly putting her hand in her pants pocket just in case she needed to cover a suspicious growth in that area, “sure.”

“Wanna come in?”

Ah. There was the growth. And Applejack’s face turned red as an apple. Again.

While Applejack’s first instinct was to utter a string of complete gibberish and fall on the ground, she decided that if Rainbow could play it so cool, she could at least try to do the same.

“If you’ll have me.”

“Make yourself at home,” Rainbow said with a wink and turned her tail on Applejack, giving her an eyeful of Rainbow’s lean, muscled back as she walked away.

And as Applejack walked into the house and watched Rainbow right up until she disappeared into her bedroom, all Applejack could think was:

UNF

Author's Notes:

i try to keep my writing very tame and not-lewd but whenever i break that rule it always seems to be with appledash.. thorsty lesbians

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

46. The Moment of Truth

Rainbow had been lying in bed awake, trying and failing to get some sleep —a grossly common occurrence these days— when she heard a knock at the door. She wasn’t awake enough to wonder who it was, but not asleep enough to ignore it.

As she rolled out of bed, falling on the floor for good measure, she remembered she had something important to do today. Was someone supposed to come over? She thought that’s what it was, but she couldn’t for the life of her remember who was supposed to swing by.

She remembered it was important though, so she forced herself off the ground and toward the door, and as she opened it, yawning herself awake and feeling the chill air blow through the doorway onto her bare body, she remembered who was coming by.

Applejack.

Rainbow didn’t think to get dressed before getting the door; why would she? She answered the door naked all the time, and who cares, right? But when the hottest mare you’ve ever seen knocks at your door and you answer her butt-ass naked, it’s more than a little embarrassing.

For a second, Rainbow wished for death to take her right then and there, but she let out a wheezy laugh to clear away that thought and ran a hand through her mane.

“Hey, Applejack,” Rainbow held onto the door frame and sleepily leaned against it, trying to act like she wasn’t totally humiliated to have Applejack—APPLEJACK—looking at her naked, “fancy meetin’ you here.”

Applejack stammered and cleared her throat, and Rainbow looked up at her and tried not to swoon.

Wow, she’s pretty.

“We had a thing?” Applejack said, and if Rainbow didn’t know better she’d swear AJ was blushing. “We were gonna do shopping together? You remember that? I mean, it’s fine if you don’t! Or if you’ve changed your min—”

“Why would I change my mind?” Rainbow scoffed, pushing herself off the doorframe and crossing her arms. Changing her mind about spending time with Applejack was the last thing she wanted to do.

That said, as Rainbow looked down at herself she remembered there was one slight thing she needed to deal with before her and Applejack could depart on their shopping trip.

“I mean, I can’t really go out like this,” Rainbow chuckled, “not in the middle of winter, so just give me a sec to grab some clothes, okay?”

“Yeah, sure,” Applejack nodded and gave a smile, and Rainbow felt pretty proud of herself that she didn’t melt into a literal puddle, because DAMN, Applejack was hot.

“Wanna come in?” Rainbow grinned, allowing herself just a second to revel in the fact that Applejack was actually here and she wasn’t dreaming this or anything.

Applejack paused for a second and her face flushed, Rainbow looking at her with concern and wondering if she was sick or something. She couldn’t just ask if Applejack was okay though, cuz then it’d seem like Rainbow cared a little too much and that’d be weird… somehow.

“If you’ll have me,” Applejack gave a relaxed sigh, and Rainbow replied with a wink.

“Make yourself at home.”

Rainbow turned around to walk back in the house and briefly wondered if Applejack was staring at her butt, and she wanted to turn around and look to see what Applejack was looking at, but then she realized she’d actually be kinda bummed out if Applejack wasn’t looking at her, plus what kinda excuse could she give for turning around to look at Applejack other than she wanted to know where Applejack’s eyes were—

—and before she could even finish any of those thoughts, she was already turning to see that Applejack’s gaze was directed right under Rainbow’s tail.

“Like what ya see?” Rainbow said with the proudest grin she’d ever bared in her life.

Applejack’s head bolted straight up as her cheeks turned bright red and she looked straight forward, through Rainbow’s living room and out the window on the other side of the room.

Wait.

Rainbow was suddenly having a revelation, but there was no way it could be the case.

But still, she had to wonder…

Is she into me?

“Eheh, sorry,” Applejack rubbed the back of her neck but she kept looking straight ahead and extremely not at Rainbow as she talked, “didn’t mean to stare.”

“I mean, I could go shopping like this,” Rainbow bit down on her lip cuz she couldn’t believe she just said that, “if you’d like. It’d be a little nippy, but I think I could manage.”

“That’s— that’s funny, Rainbow,” Applejack laughed nervously, and Rainbow’s whole body tensed with dread as she worried if she went too far and made Applejack uncomfortable. “You should probably get dressed though, it’s cold out there.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow nodded and forced herself to keep smiling. “Just give me a sec.”

Rainbow went into her room and closed the door while Applejack sat down at her dining room table. Rainbow slid down the door with her back propped against it, her head buried in her hands because FUUUUUUUUUUUUCK.

Rainbow inhaled sharply and stood up straight. No thinking, no worrying about how she screwed up—again, like she always—

None of that.

Just put a shirt on, get a jacket and some pants—

Would I look cuter in a skirt? Would Applejack like that—

None of that either.

Rainbow reached for a pair of grey slacks, her face twisting into a frown because she didn’t even like those pants but who cares it’s just clothes. But she paused. She walked over to her dresser, full of gifts and hand-me-downs from her parents that she never wore, and found something a little more…

…worthy.

That was the word that came into Rainbow’s mind. Worthy of what? Applejack? Herself?

It didn’t matter. For better or for worse, this was the day she was finally going to spend with Applejack, after like a year of pathetic pining, and she’d be damned if she didn’t look her absolute best.

A pink hoodie jacket, hiding a black and white striped shirt underneath, with the kinda black tights that bleed into like a deep purple at the bottom. Killer.

Now for the moment of truth; pants or skirt?

Rainbow dug around in the drawer for something, she didn’t even know what, and pulled out a dark blue pencil skirt, which would definitely restrict her movement and make her feel like a big dork—

Or maybe…

Rainbow dropped the skirt on the ground and stood over it.

Maybe it’ll be nice?

She crouched down and put her hand on the skirt.

To not have to worry about feeling like such a huge dork.

Rainbow pulled the skirt up her legs and felt a sigh of relief leave her lips as it settled around her waist.

Maybe it’s okay if I put all my cards on the table, just for today.

Just for good measure, Rainbow did a little spin. She wasn’t wearing anything flowy, but when you’re a trans gal putting on new clothes, you gotta spin.

“Hey,” Rainbow said as she stepped back into the living room, crossing her soft-fleece clad arms across her hoodie-covered chest and winking at Applejack. “How do I look?”

Applejack’s mouth opened like she was gonna say something, and then she just… never did.

“You okay?” Rainbow scoffed, feeling her cheeks warming up so she put her hands in the front pockets of her hoodie. “Look like you’ve seen—”

“A really hot girl?” Applejack said abruptly, Rainbow freezing in place instantly. “Oof, that was bad. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Rainbow rubbed the back of her neck and was suddenly very aware of how warm she’d dressed cuz wow it sure was hot in here all of a sudden. “Thanks.”

“I mean it,” Applejack tapped her fingers on the table and shrugged, her eyes bolting away from Rainbow. “For what that’s worth.”

“It’s worth a lot actually,” Rainbow sat down at the chair across from Applejack’s and put her elbows on the table, folding her hands and resting her chin on top. “But we’d better go, huh? That shopping isn’t gonna do itself.”

“Actually, can I be honest for a sec?”

Applejack’s words sent a chill up Rainbow’s spine and she could totally feel the sword of Damocles or whatever hanging over her head, the thread getting thinner with each word.

“Yeah, sure,” Rainbow said reflexively, no emotion leaking through her tone.

“I don’t actually need to go shoppin’ right now,” Applejack said, tapping her fingers on the table. “I mean, I do need to shop, but the part where I needed to do it today was kinda made up.”

Rainbow grit her teeth and tried not to nervously look every which way for the crowd of people who were gonna jump outta nowhere and laugh at her for thinking for even a second that Applejack really wanted to—

“I just wanted an excuse to spend time with you,” Applejack admitted with a sheepish smile.

Oh.

OH.

Rainbow didn’t say anything, cuz what could she say to that? She was totally sure she wasn’t dreaming, right?

“I just couldn’t ever think of the right thing to say,” Applejack filled the silence with her own words, but she didn’t look any more comfortable than Rainbow felt, “or it never seemed like the right time, but Pinkie pushed me into askin’ you to do the shoppin’ thing, but like, seein’ you walkin’ outta that room, all dressed up like that, I don’t really wanna shop, I just wanna—”

Applejack paused, and it was the most skin shreddingly, bone breakingly, nails dug into her palms painful pause of Rainbow Dash’s life.

“Yeah?” Rainbow said agitatedly, because for the love of everything she needed to know how that sentence ended!

“I just wanna hang out with you,” Applejack buried her face in her hands. “I know that’s so dumb, but like—”

“It’s not dumb,” Rainbow placed her hand on one of Applejack’s. “You’re not dumb.”

She lowered Applejack’s hand onto the table so the two could look each other in the eye, and said the words that she’d desperately wanted to hear from Applejack for like a year, the words she desperately wanted to say but was too big a chickenwuss until she realized— sooooo late to the party cuz she was a huge freakin’ idiot—that Applejack wanted to say and hear them too.

“You wanna grab some coffee? Maybe breakfast?” Rainbow gave Applejack a soft and reserved smile.

“I—” Applejack bit her lip, and Rainbow smiled at her because she was so beautiful. “I’d like that.”

“I’d like it too,” Rainbow gently rubbed her thumb across the crease in Applejack’s hand, and for a sec she felt like everything was gonna be okay, and she hoped more than anything that Applejack felt the same way. “I’d like it a lot.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

47. Sometimes You Just Gotta Lie on the Ground and Eat Cookies

Twilight had written a mile-long list of preparations she needed to handle today before the library would be ready for the party tonight, but after approximately one thousand hours of executive dysfunction, she decided the best way she could prepare was by lounging around on the floor and eating cookies with her best friend.

“You were right, Spike,” she said, not even caring about all the crumbs around her face and on her chest, “this was the best way to prepare.”

“Told’ja,” Spike laughed and affected a pretty haughty little smirk as he shoved another cookie into his mouth. “Honestly, I don’t know why you ever doubt me.”

“Me either,” Twilight rolled her eyes with a smile. “So, are you nervous about the party? All of our new friends inside the library at the same time? Could be a lot.”

“No way,” Spike scoffed, spewing cookie crumbs everywhere. “I’m super excited! Really, I should be asking you that question!”

“Fair enough,” Twilight chuckled and took another cookie, putting it up to her lips and taking a tiny nibble out of it. “Actually, I’m really excited about it too. It might be a bit overwhelming, at least at first, but I can’t wait to see Applejack and Pinkie Pie again, and having Rainbow and Rarity there-“ Twilight took a deep breath, feeling both exhilarated and terrified as she thought about Rainbow, and especially Rarity “-I think it’ll be a lot of fun. And I think I’m ready for it.”

“Y’know, you’ve changed a lot since we moved into the Golden Oaks,” Spike said, grabbing two cookies and preparing for the kill. “For the better, I mean.”

“You think so?” Twilight laughed. She didn’t really think she’d changed very much at all, but she appreciated the compliment.

“I do!” Spike insisted, shoving both cookies in his mouth and chewing on them while he talked. “I wonder what Zecora would say if she could see how far you’ve come in the friend-making department! She was always super worried you’d never be able to do it!”

“She was not!” Twilight scoffed, lurching up and watching as a bunch of crumbs fell off her onto the ground, but she just harrumphed at Spike’s comment instead of paying attention to that. “Zecora believed in my friend making skills!”

“Sure she did, Twilight,” Spike chuckled and rolled his eyes.

“Well, I guess we’ll just have to ask her next time we see her,” Twilight stuck her tongue out at Spike, who returned the gesture. “Granted, I don’t know when that’s going to be. Not exactly a walk down the street to get to Zebrica from here.”

“We should plan a trip sometime,” Spike suggested. “I bet Rarity would really like Zebrica!”

“Zebrica’s pretty big, Spike,” Twilight said, “I think it would be pretty implausible for Rarity to like all of—wait, why are you singling out Rarity?!”

“Oh, I dunno,” Spike giggled and stuffed his mouth full of cookies before Twilight could question him any further.

Besides which, Twilight’s attention was suddenly rapt by something else; a tingling feeling on the back of her neck that brought a smile to her lips.

“They’re here,” Twilight stood up and straightened herself, wiping crumbs off her clothes and onto the floor. “Are you ready, Spike?”

“Yup!” Spike gave a thumbs-up as crumbs flew out of his mouth, Twilight just rolling her eyes and making a note to give him another lecture on proper table manners sometime soon. Surely this one would be the one that sticks!

Twilight approached the door and looked out the window, biting down a smile as she saw the four ponies chatting amongst themselves as they drew close to the library.

When Twilight opened the door, she was greeted by the smiling faces of Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack, and she returned their affection with a bright smile of her own.

“Hello, everyone!” Twilight beamed. “Welcome to the Golden Oaks Library! I hope you enjoy the party we have planned!”

Author's Notes:

originally i was gonna set this fic in like Pony Tamriel instead of equestria, and i only bring this up cuz the draft for this chapter mentioned the absolutely excellent pun Hammerfoal and i want everyone to hear that

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

48. Make Rarity Blush As Much As Possible

Twilight stood at the door to her library and welcomed in the four ponies who had come to have a party with her and Spike.

“Twilight!” Pinkie Pie shouted, jumping up and down to make herself as seen as possible. “Are you ready for party time?!”

“I am, actually!” Twilight replied with a proud smile.

“I should certainly hope so,” Rarity added, and Twilight noted that Rarity looked as beautiful as the last time Twilight had laid eyes on her. “Because we have an absolute armada of delicious treats that Pinkie prepared for this, and it would be a shame to waste it all.”

“So let’s get to the eating already!” Rainbow chimed in, throwing her hands in the air. “I’m starving!”

“We just had lunch like three hours ago,” Applejack chuckled, and Rainbow just scoffed and bat her hand in return.

Twilight, for her part, was delighted to see everyone, and stood to the side so all four ponies could enter the library, where Pinkie, Applejack, and Rarity set out all the various assorted treats and desserts and meals and such and such, the intoxicating smell wafting through the library and bringing a contented hum out of Twilight.

Twilight then shrieked in shock when she turned around to close the door, only to see Rainbow standing behind her like two inches from her face.

“Can I help you?” Twilight asked in confusion.

“I just wanted to point out how awesome I am,” Rainbow said with a smug grin, “for bringing all these happy ponies to the library, just for you. You’re welcome, Twilight.”

“Please,” Twilight scoffed and crossed her arms, arching an equally smug eyebrow at Rainbow, “you and I both know you couldn’t stay away from this place. I’m the reason everyone’s so drawn to the library, I guess I’m just irresistible.”

Twilight closed her eyes and smirked, feeling oh-so-devilish for getting to act so confident and smug for once.

“Yeah, you’re right.”

Though Rainbow’s reaction caught Twilight off-guard, and she quickly opened her eyes to take stock of Rainbow’s expression, looking at the pegasus to see her wearing an earnest smile.

“Everypony’s here to see you, and I’m really glad that they are,” Rainbow said softly. “You totally deserve it.”

“Thank you, Rainbow,” Twilight reached out her hand to grab Rainbow’s, but hesitated when she remembered that Rainbow didn’t care for physical affection, hence it surprised her when Rainbow grabbed her hand instead. “I’m really glad I met you.”

“Same here, Twi,” Rainbow said, her cheeks turning pink as she rubbed the side of her neck.

“I hope you won’t forget about li’l ol’ Applejack,” Applejack approached Twilight from behind and made the poor girl yelp in surprise, “after your passionate tryst with the librarian.”

Applejack laughed at the flustered expressions from both Twilight and Rainbow, but Twilight couldn’t help but laugh alongside her.

“OOOOOOOOOOOOOO!” Pinkie hollered from the lobby, cupping her mouth with her hands. “I know somepony who’s gonna be super jealous if Twilight has a super passionate tryst with Rainbow Dash!”

Rarity spit out her drink as Pinkie winked at her. “I certainly hope you’re not referring to me!”

“Don’t worry, Rarity,” Rainbow spread her wings and flew over to perch on the reception desk behind Rarity, putting her hands on the unicorn’s shoulders, “even if I did have a super passionate thing with Twilight, I wouldn’t forget about you either, there’s no need to be jealous!”

“Sorry, Rainbow Dash,” Spike chimed in with a huge grin, “Rarity’s only got eyes for Twilight, y’know.”

“WHAT?!” Rarity nearly toppled over her chair with the speed she stood up. “I don’t—I do not have—”

“C’mon, sugarcube,” Applejack headed over to Rarity and needled her in the ribs, “it’s obvious you like Twi, no need to be coy about it.”

“I do not ‘like’ Twilight!” Rarity insisted, loudly.

“You don’t like me, Rarity?” Twilight walked into the lobby and let her hands hang down in front of her, affecting the widest, most innocent puppy-dog eyes she could muster.

“Wh—now that’s simply unfair!” Rarity harrumphed, crossing her arms and turning her head away. “Honestly, busting out the puppy-dog eyes like that, have you no shame, Twilight?”

“So you do like me?” Twilight said with a smirk, sidling up beside Rarity.

“OOOOOOOOOOOO!” Pinkie chimed in, Rainbow and Applejack snickering in chorus.

Rarity sighed melodramatically and rolled her eyes practically out of her head, making a big show of frowning at Twilight.

“Yes, Twilight,” Rarity said in mock protest, “I guess I like you.”

“Yaaaay!” Pinkie Pie clamored, jumping into the air and clapping, the other three present ponies all applauding Rarity’s declaration as well, and it took every ounce of willpower Twilight possessed to not erupt into a giggling fit.

“I call dibs on being Rarity’s maid of honor!” Rainbow said.

“WHAT?!” Rarity shrieked, practically busting Twilight’s ear as she was standing in between the two.

“C’mon, Rainbow,” Applejack chided, “I think yer movin’ a bit fast there. Rarity still needs to get Twilight a ring first.”

“Oh for the love of—” Rarity sighed and buried her bright red face in her hands, and Twilight tried to be supportive and not laugh… too much.

With everyone satisfied by their game of ‘make Rarity blush as much as possible’, Rainbow, Applejack, Spike, and Pinkie sat down on the floor of the lobby and distributed plates and bowls and desserts and snacks and drinks and everything else for each other, though Rarity lingered beside the reception desk for a moment and Twilight stood beside her.

“I hope the teasing didn’t get out of hand,” Twilight said, twirling a strand of her ponytail around her finger. “I’m sorry if you thought I was making fun of you, I just—”

“No, darling,” Rarity gently took Twilight’s hand and brushed her other hand through Twilight’s bangs. “I know it was all in good fun, and I would’ve done the same thing to Rainbow had I been faster.”

“Okay, good,” Twilight sighed in relief, “because it really was funny.”

“I’m so glad you enjoyed yourself at my expense, my dear,” Rarity playfully rolled her eyes and tapped Twilight on the nose.

“You’re normally so unflappable,” Twilight said softly, “it was really cute to see you get all blushy and stuff.”

Rarity blinked, and her cheeks turned red again; Twilight tried not to notice and bit down a smile.

“That’s nice of you to say—”

“It’s the truth,” Twilight insisted, smiling gently at Rarity. “Thank you for coming today, by the way.”

“Oh, darling,” Rarity put her hand on Twilight’s cheek, Twilight leaning comfortably into Rarity's hand with a soft purr. “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

49. Useless Lesbians II - More Useless, More Lesbian

Applejack scanned the library’s lobby; Rarity was listening enraptured to Spike’s tales of heroism and conquest which were definitely not made up or taken from books, Pinkie was sharing recipe and baking tips with Twilight and learning how even earth ponies could use magic to liven up their kitchens with the proper training, and Rainbow Dash…

Rainbow was sitting at a long, rectangular table off the side of the lobby, shadowed by the bookcases surrounding it, while she had her nose in a book that Applejack vaguely recognized as being a part of the Daring Do series.

Applejack wanted to go over and talk to Rainbow, but she felt a little silly since she’d spent most of the entire day with her, and Rainbow was probably sick to death of Applejack by now and needed a break.

But then, when Applejack considered it for a tick, Rainbow hadn’t given her any reason to actually think that, Applejack’s head was just kinda… like that.

She took a deep breath and slowly walked over to the table, figuring she’d just ask if Rainbow was enjoying the party, and take things from there.

“Hey,” Applejack said as she stood over the table, Rainbow looking up at her from her book and flashing a gentle smile, “you look really great.”

Applejack kinda hoped that an anvil would just fall right outta the sky and crush her into paste after she heard what she actually said.

“Thanks,” Rainbow smiled, and Applejack could see the barest hint of one of Rainbow’s fangs peeking out past her lip and she tried not to be overwhelmed by the adorableness, “you too, by the way.”

“What, you think so?” Applejack fretted with the edges of her red jacket and patted the pockets of her pale blue cotton pants. Truth be told, she’d dressed nice cuz she kinda hoped Rainbow would notice, so she was having a hard time not being flustered by her comment.

“Yeah,” Rainbow nodded with a grin. “How’re you liking the party, by the way? It’s super rad that Twilight ran into you while me and Rarity were away, what’re the chances, right?”

“I’m glad too,” Applejack took a seat across the table from Rainbow and folded her arms over it. “She’s a swell girl, that Twilight. Pinkie really nailed it with this party idea, huh?”

“Yep, Twilight’s a lucky girl,” Rainbow said, “to be making so many friends so easily these days.”

“Hey, but she’s not the only one makin’ friends for days, right?” Applejack gave a single nervous chuckle when Rainbow merely arched an eyebrow at her. “I mean, I was kinda hopin’, maybe we could be friends and stuff.”

“Oh yeah?” Rainbow rested her chin on top of her intertwined fingers and leaned over the table. “What kinda ‘stuff’ you talkin’ about?”

Applejack sputtered, and Rainbow laughed before Applejack could think of anything to say, which was probably for the best.

“Kinda jealous I don’t get her all to myself now though,” Rainbow mused, her cheek resting on her hand.

“Tryin’ to make me jealous right now?” Applejack teased, and Rainbow laughed.

But then she sighed, and her eyes became colder.

“Honestly,” she whispered, “I’m more jealous of Twilight. She makes it look so easy, to just be funny and cute and charming. I dunno how to do any of that.”

“Well I think yer pretty swell just the way you are,” Applejack shrugged and couldn’t bear to watch Rainbow for her response, “for what that’s worth.”

“Can I be honest with you for a sec?” Rainbow said abruptly, and the mirroring of Applejack’s earlier words was not lost on her.

“Go ahead,” Applejack said tentatively, wondering if the pounding thump of her heartbeat couldn’t be heard throughout the whole damn library.

“I should’ve told you this before,” Rainbow said, her wings fidgeting on her back like she was getting ready to take flight at any second, even if she had to crash through the ceiling of the library, “back when you admitted that you wanted to-” Rainbow audibly gulped “-to spend time with me.

“I’ve had a crush on you for a long time,” Rainbow admitted, and Applejack felt the heat of the room go up by like a hundred degrees. “Like, a really long time, and when you said that thing about never finding the right thing to say, or it never being the right time, I felt that, cuz that’s where I’ve been for—

“For a long time.”

“Wow,” Applejack said at once, “you mean we’re both useless lesbians?”

Rainbow cackled and nearly slammed her face onto the table as she lurched forward, Applejack erupting into a laughing fit herself.

“Just the uselessest!” Rainbow said. The laughter quieted down after a moment—and after Applejack caught a peep of the others all looking in her and Rainbow’s direction from the lobby— and Rainbow took a deep breath. “The truth is though, I’m really—”

Rainbow groaned, and Applejack went out on a limb to guess where Rainbow was gonna take that sentence.

“Scared?” Applejack asked, and Rainbow nodded without a word. “Yeah, me too. Gotta lotta baggage and stuff, and I reckon you’re probably the same.”

Rainbow nodded again, much more enthusiastically

“And I figure we may not wanna rush into nothin’ and get ourselves hurt cuz we gotta a ton of feelin’s and emotions and stuff goin’ every which way.”

“Yep,” Rainbow sighed, and Applejack could swear she felt the girl’s soul being drained from her body as she buried her head in arms folded on the table. “That pretty much sums it up.”

“But that ain’t no reason we can’t be friends,” Applejack placed her hand on the table, palm facing up, Rainbow raising her head just an inch to look up at Applejack, “and maybe see where we end up from there.”

“I—” Rainbow bit her lip, and Applejack suppressed a giggle at how cute she looked. Rainbow hesitantly put her hand in Applejack’s but as Applejack closed her hand around Rainbow’s, Rainbow gently wrapped her fingers around Applejack’s. “I’d like that.”

“I’d like it too,” Applejack beamed, placing her other hand atop hers and Rainbow’s. “I’d like it a lot.”

Author's Notes:

yo i'm startin to think rainbow and apple might be a lil gay

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

50. Group Hug

Pinkie Pie stood on a stool in front of the library’s kitchen sink, finishing the last set of dishes and placing them on the counter to dry, breathing a sigh of contentment as she did so and praising herself for not even one time thinking about Fluttershy while she was alone.

Wait. Crap, she just did.

Pinkie took a deep breath and dried her hands off on a towel, then rubbed the towel on her face because uuuuUUUUURRRRGGGHHH.

Not a day had gone by since her trip to the Everfree Forest that she hadn’t thought about Fluttershy, and her thoughts on the spirit bounced back and forth at rapid speed between thinking about how cute and beautiful she was and gosh Pinkie sure hoped that Fluttershy was gonna like her, to thinking about how distant and almost sad Fluttershy felt when Pinkie got to talk to her.

But then, what if Pinkie was just projecting her own feelings onto Fluttershy? What if Fluttershy was totally fine with her life in the forest. She said as much herself, didn’t she? Did she? Pinkie couldn’t quite remember every single detail of that day, though she desperately wished that she could.

That said, along with every thought of Fluttershy came the haunting chorus of ‘what if Fluttershy didn’t like her’, or ‘what if she was just forcing Fluttershy to do something she really didn’t want to’ or whatever else.

It was a lot to take, and it’d been a long three weeks.

“Hey Pinkie, do you need help with the—” Spike walked into the kitchen and Pinkie affected a bright smile so he couldn’t see her distress. “Oh, you’re done with them already! I was gonna help you with the dishes.”

“It’s okay,” Pinkie giggled, “I got it! Thank you so much though!”

“I’m just really impressed you blew through them so fast!” Spike said, taking a seat on a nearby chair.

“Eh, I like doing it,” Pinkie shrugged. “So how’re you enjoying the party? I planned it for you and Twilight, cuz I want you to be my friend just as much as her!”

“It’s been amazing!” Spike cheered, and Pinkie’s heart swelled with joy and pride. “it’s been like the best day ever! Definitely the best day since we moved to Canterlot!”

“Oh, Spike!” Pinkie launched herself at the tiny pegasus and absorbed him into a bear hug. “I’m so glad!”

“Honestly, Pinkie, I dunno why you’re so surprised!” Spike said, patting Pinkie’s back. “You put a ton of effort into making everything for this, and it totally shows! You’re a real good friend, I’d say!”

“Spiiiike!” Pinkie held Spike’s shoulders and tried to not to gush tears out her face like faucets, but no dice. “Thank you!” Pinkie wailed as she grabbed Spike again and nearly crushed his entire body with another hug.

“Darling, try not to hurt the poor dear,” Rarity chuckled as she walked into the kitchen, Pinkie bashfully letting Spike go, but her heart grew three sizes when he hugged her.

“Hi, Rarity!” Pinkie greeted Rarity with a wave and a bright smile. “What’re you doing back here?”

“Twilight’s about to referee an arm-wrestling match between Applejack and Rainbow Dash,” Rarity laughed very delightedly, “so I wanted to know if either of you wanted to watch Applejack snap Rainbow’s entire arm off like a withered old tree branch?”

“I do!” Spike cheered, jumping onto the floor and running for the kitchen door. “I definitely wanna see that!”

Rarity and Pinkie watched Spike hurry into the lobby to watch the carnage, but the two mares stayed behind, Pinkie giving a soft smile to Rarity, which Rarity returned with that smile she does when she can tell that something’s bothering the pony she’s smiling at but she’s too polite to say anything.

But Pinkie knew she couldn’t hide anything from Rarity for too long.

“Pinkie Pie?”

“Y-yes?” Pinkie smiled and hoped it looked more genuine than it felt.

“Is something the matter?” Yep, there it was. “You seem uncharacteristically pensive this evening. And your party is a smashing success, I would say. I’d think you’d be over the moon for that.”

“Oh, I am!” Pinkie said. “I abso-tootly-lootly am! It’s just—” Pinkie bit her lip and twiddled her fingers. “I miss Fluttershy, and I feel like a big silly doofus for missing Fluttershy.”

“Oh, sweetie,” Rarity sighed and sat next to Pinkie Pie, Pinkie jumping up onto the counter so Rarity could have the stool, and pressed their foreheads together. “Having a crush can be tough, especially when you feel like you aren’t ‘worthy’ of that pony’s affections—”

“How did you know that I—”

“Because I know you, sweetheart,” Rarity brushed her hand tenderly through Pinkie’s mane. “I know you have a few issues where it comes to self-esteem, and I met Fluttershy just as you did—”

“You think she’s too good for me, right?” Pinkie moped.

“No,” Rarity gently chastised, cupping Pinkie’s face and raising it to meet Rarity’s eyes. “But Fluttershy is very unique, and I understand that you’re feeling a little… plain, in comparison. It’s how I felt about Twilight when I first met her.”

“But you and Twilight are super duper amazing!” Pinkie said, baffled that Rarity would feel plain next to anypony!

“And so are you, Pinkie Pie,” Rarity said, her nose gently touching Pinkie’s, “you just have a hard time seeing it yourself.”

“Yeah,” Pinkie grumbled, “I guess you’re right about that.”

Pinkie paused, and grit her teeth. She whimpered under her breath and Rarity rubbed her thumb across Pinkie’s cheek.

“Everything alright, dear?”

“Can I be totally honest with you?” Pinkie asked, too scared to look Rarity in the eye anymore.

“Of course.”

“And you won’t make fun of me?”

“Never.”

Pinkie groaned, cuz she still didn’t feel convinced, but it’d be rude not to trust Rarity since she was always so nice and supportive, so Pinkie forced herself to be honest like she said she was gonna.

“I’m really glad Twilight and Spike and everypony else is enjoying the party,” Pinkie said, “but there’s this little part of me—this dumb, stupid, really mean part of me—that keeps telling me that if I threw a party like this for me, nopony would come to it.”

“I would,” Rarity said without hesitation.

“Would you?” Pinkie asked, looking into Rarity’s eyes with eyes that stung with tears.

“Abso-tootly-lootly,” Rarity giggled, and Pinkie laughed in return as Rarity placed her forehead against Pinkie’s again. “You’re one of my best friends, and I would never miss a party in your honor. I daresay I would make sure it was the most fabulous party in Equestria’s history, because that’s exactly what a pony like you deserves.”

“You’re too much, Rarity,” Pinkie said, pushing Rarity’s face away as her already pink cheeks somehow felt even pinker and cheekier.

“And you’re too sweet,” Rarity gave Pinkie a little peck on the cheek, and Pinkie couldn’t stop giggling like a smitten kitten. “You’re far too sweet and kind to deserve to deal with the demons you have, and I’m sorry there isn’t more I can do to help. But you’ll always have my friendship, and I’ll always have your back.”

“I think that’s more than enough,” Pinkie said with a delicate smile. It’s more than I deserve, that’s for sure.

“Hey, you guys!” Twilight said as she walked into the kitchen. “You two totally missed Applejack practically snapping Rainbow’s entire arm off like a withered old tree branch!”

“See? I told you,” Rarity said smugly, Pinkie giggling in response.

“Pinkie Pie?” Twilight said concernedly. “Are you crying?”

“Huh?” Pinkie wiped a hand across her cheeks, and sure enough her fingers were met with tears she didn’t even realize were there. “Oh yeah, I guess I am.”

“What’s wrong?” Twilight asked as she approached Pinkie and Rarity, the latter putting her hand comfortingly on Pinkie’s shoulder. “Is there something I can do?”

“No, it’s okay,” Pinkie said calmly. “Sometimes my brain just likes to make me feel sad for no reason. It happens sometimes, been that way my whole life.” Pinkie paused for a second and gave another brief burst of giggles. “But thank you, Twilight. It means a lot that you’d wanna take care of me like that.”

“Of course,” Twilight replied immediately, “what are friends for?”

“My sentiments exactly,” Rarity said, rubbing Pinkie’s shoulder.

“I’m really glad that I have friends like you guys, then,” Pinkie said, reaching her arms out to offer hugs to everypony present, which were happily accepted by both Rarity and Twilight.

“Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said, her cheek smushed up against Rarity’s and Pinkie’s as Pinkie tried to hold the two as close to her as possible her with tiny little nubbin hands, “I know that you’re worried about your trip to the Everfree, what did you say, it was next week?”

“Yeah.”

“But trust me,” Twilight said with a giggle, “if Fluttershy likes you even half as much as I do, the day you go visit her will be the best day of her whole month!”

“T-Twilight!” Pinkie grabbed Twilight’s cheeks and started bawling, Twilight wrapping her arms around Pinkie and embracing her in a gentle, and very warm, hug. “That’s so sweet of you to say!”

“I mean it, Pinkie,” Twilight said, returning Pinkie’s hug with her own affectionate embrace.

Pinkie felt another set of arms wrapping around her and Twilight—Rarity’s, obviously—and then heard hoofsteps coming through the kitchen door.

“Hey, are we missing group hug time?” Rainbow said.

“Not if you’re quick about it,” Rarity said teasingly.

“Uh, nopony is quicker than me, thanks!” Rainbow bolted over to the group and wrapped not only her arms, but her wings too, around them and Pinkie purred with delight.

“Don’t think yer leavin’ me outta this,” Applejack scoffed. “Need a lift, Spike?”

“Yes please,” Spike said, lifting his little hands into the air as Applejack picked him up, getting him within hugging distance.

Pinkie suddenly found herself in the very center of a warm, happy, six-pony group hug, and everything felt okay in her world. She just hoped she’d be able to give Fluttershy that same feeling.

But no matter what, she felt safe and happy knowing that she had this feeling to come home to.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

51. Azure Edge

The library was quiet, and the only light inside came from a small set of candles placed delicately on the reception desk, behind which sat a very sleepy Rarity, and Twilight who was kindly placing a blanket across Rarity’s shoulders.

Spike, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie were all sound asleep on the blankets and pillows strewn about on the floor, the four ponies passed out together in one big pile.

“I hope Spike won’t be too upset with you or I,” Rarity said teasingly as Twilight took a seat next to her and poured herself and Rarity some tea, “if I steal you away to myself for one more night.”

“I don’t think Spike’s going to be awake in the morning either,” Twilight chuckled and looked up at the clock, which Rarity could barely see read two in the morning. “I think he’s officially in the realm of the sugar coma now.”

Rarity giggled and leaned her head against Twilight’s shoulder. “I think we can consider the very first party at the library a success, wouldn’t you say?”

“Absolutely,” Twilight said contentedly.

“Abso-tootly-lootly,” Rarity replied, Twilight nearly choking on her drink as she tried not to wake everypony up with her laughter.

“Right,” she grinned brightly, “that.”

Rarity sipped her tea and couldn’t help but let a giggle burst forth from within her as the warm drink touched her lips. She couldn’t remember the last time she felt so at ease, or content, or at peace, or just… happy.

She missed it, and she swore she wouldn’t lose it again.

“Rarity?”

“Yes, darling?”

“Can I ask you something?”

“Something important, I assume?” Rarity put her tea on the desk and gave Twilight her full attention, biting down on her thumbnail when she looked over and saw Twilight decorated in positively precious star and moon pajamas, with a little dangly nightcap resting on her head. “Otherwise, you wouldn’t have asked if you could ask.”

“Right,” Twilight chuckled nervously and took a sip of tea, “that’s true, I suppose.”

“So what is it, darling?” Rarity batted her eyelashes at Twilight and delighted in the glowing cheeks and widening smile her effort produced. “You can ask me anything.”

“Why haven’t you asked about those fashion books since you’ve been back?”

“Ah.”

Anything but THAT, Rarity wanted to say.

Rarity took a deep breath and steeled herself for what she could only assume was about to be a difficult and rather unpleasant conversation, but it wouldn’t do to not be honest with Twilight regarding her reasoning.

“May I be honest with you?”

“Of course,” Twilight said quickly, as though she were offended by the mere notion that Rarity couldn’t trust her; Rarity thought it was rather sweet.

“Have you ever had a dream,” Rarity spoke, every word feeling like it was being dragged through her throat via a meat hook, “something that you very secretly yearned for, but it was something you were absolutely certain was the dumbest, most pointless, just downright… frivolous nonsense in the entire world?”

“Azure Edge,” Twilight replied immediately.

Rarity blinked, and Twilight took a sip of tea and avoided eye contact.

“Pardon?”

“Azure Edge,” Twilight repeated, and she looked as uncomfortable speaking about whatever that was as Rarity had just felt. And while Rarity was usually remiss to see a conversation steer away from her, in this instance she couldn’t have been happier to see it go.

“What, pray tell, is that?” Rarity asked curiously. “I’ve never heard of it.”

“There’s a legend,” Twilight spoke with the proper cadence and dramatism that reciting an ancient legend deserved, and Rarity’s heart nearly burst with pride, “where I come from, that speaks of a paradise, a perfect place of pure joy and magic, where the sea meets the sky. Azure Edge.”

Twilight paused.

“And I know it’s not literally ‘where the sea meets the sky’,” Twilight rolled her eyes, and Rarity tried not to giggle as she imagined how many times Twilight had probably made the correction based on the saltiness of her tone. “Honestly, I know it doesn’t really exist, but— I want to find it anyway. It’s been my dream since I was a child.”

“Well,” Rarity yawned and a part of her whined that she wasn’t ready to go to sleep yet and lose out on her precious alone time with Twilight, “how about you help me with those fashion books, and I help you find your Azure Edge? That way I won’t feel quite so silly about all that… fashion… stuff.”

“It’s not silly,” Twilight brushed hair out of Rarity’s face, and Rarity couldn’t help but blush under Twilight’s fiery, yet serene gaze. “And I think you already have helped me find what I was looking for.”

“Oh?” Rarity chuckled and scooched her chair closer to Twilight, so the two were practically elbow to elbow. “You flatterer.”

“It’s not flattery,” Twilight said matter-of-factly, and Rarity followed Twilight’s gaze to the four ponies sleeping on the floor in the library, and she felt a warmth radiating in her chest. “All these ponies, my friends, came here today just to hang out with me and my son. I don’t think I can imagine a finer paradise than that.”

“Well then,” Rarity rested her head on Twilight’s shoulder once again, but quietly gasped in surprise as Twilight moved her arm and put it around Rarity’s shoulders, Rarity humming with delight as she pressed her body against Twilight’s and closed her eyes, “it looks like I already owe you. I suppose I have no choice but to let you help me with those fashion books, which you are so clearly desperate to do.”

“Yes,” Twilight snarked, “you’re really in quite the unenviable predicament. How will you ever manage to deal with having a hyper-intelligent and supremely knowledgeable librarian help you with your secret dream? The absolute horror.”

“Sass is a good fit for you, darling,” Rarity hummed, “you’re quite good at it.”

“Thank you,” Twilight said, and Rarity nearly fainted when Twilight rested her head on top of Rarity’s. “For everything.”

“Darling? Thank you.”

“For what?”

Rarity yawned; sleep was coming for her now and she couldn’t fight back. She would say one last thing to Twilight before falling asleep in the librarian’s arms.

“For helping me find Azure Edge.”

Author's Notes:

and that's a wrap on the party in the library arc! next chapter stuff actually starts Happening and i'm hyped tbh

also this chapter is 51 and not on a totally even number and that bugs the shit outta me but it's FINE!!

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

52. A Gentle Kiss

“I’m sorry that I have to go. I don’t expect I shall return.”

Rarity spoke gently as she held onto Twilight’s hands as they stood on either side of the open door to the library, the wind and snow caressing Rarity’s back as she whispered her heartfelt farewell.

“But I am a Slayer, and I must do what I must do,” Rarity said, gently rubbing her thumb across Twilight’s fingers. “There are just some missions that we Slayers take where we know we need to get our affairs in order before we can leave, for we know we might not return, and certainly won’t as the pony we were before we left.”

“Rarity, it’s just puckwudgies!” Rainbow screamed from inside the library. “Give it a rest!”

“Well,” Rarity harrumphed, and Twilight was very politely trying not to laugh at her reaction. “It appears some ponies just have no appreciation for the art of melodrama.”

“I appreciated it,” Twilight said with a dorky grin, and Rarity could not have been more endeared to her.

“I suppose that’s what counts,” Rarity smiled and placed her hand on Twilight’s cheek, rubbing Twilight’s face with her thumb while Twilight leaned into her hand and purred, smiling brightly.

Rarity smiled too, because she was proud of herself for so quickly defining what kinds of physical affection were appropriate and appreciated by Twilight, and nothing made Rarity feel closer to somepony than showing her affection through touch.

She even had some ideas for more displays of her affection that she could practice on Twilight once a bit more time had passed and they’d gotten a little closer—Rarity couldn’t wait to scritch behind those big floppy purple ears of hers, after all.

Twilight’s eyes were still closed as she rubbed her cheek against Rarity’s hand, and Rarity took a moment to appreciate her luck. She and Twilight weren’t an item, after all—not yet, at least—but Twilight loved to be touched as much as Rarity loved to touch her, and that was a blessing Rarity refused to take for granted.

“I wish you didn’t have to go,” Twilight hummed.

“So do I, darling,” Rarity sighed, letting her hand fall away from Twilight’s face and it felt like the cold air blowing through you when you first get out of the bath. “But I do have responsibilities. I’m a Slayer still.”

“I wish you weren’t,” Twilight muttered, and Rarity grit her teeth for a fraction of a second. She didn’t know how to respond to that, to what was a rather hurtful comment spoken without malice, but then she thought of the perfect response.

“If I wasn’t,” Rarity grabbed Twilight’s chin with her fingers and tilted her head up, “I would never have met you.”

Twilight blinked, and said nothing; but Rarity waited patiently for the inevitable response with a smile on her face.

“Huh,” Twilight said dorkily.

Exactly as planned.

Rarity giggled at Twilight’s reaction and gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder. “So don’t knock it too much, okay, my darling?”

“Uh, sure,” Twilight nodded and affected a rather sweet smile, and in appreciation of Twilight at least trying for Rarity’s sake, Rarity pretended not to notice how forced and awkward Twilight’s smile was.

“Rarity!” Rainbow called out and poked her head out the door from behind Twilight, Spike poking his head out behind Twilight’s legs. “Don’t you have a train to catch?”

“Why I never!” Rarity gasped and clutched her heart, before tilting her head back with a hand splayed across her forehead. “Being cast out by my own friends! The scandal! The utter shame of it all!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Rainbow pushed past Twilight and started shoving Rarity down the path away from the library. “Imagine the shame of being late to a puckwudgie mission, of all things! C’mon, Rarity! Get a move on already!”

“Honestly, I don’t know why you’re being so impatient,” Rarity huffed. “You’re not even going!”

“Yeah, but-” Rainbow cleared her throat “-I have important stuff to do. Stuff that I can’t get to until you leave.”

“Applejack?” Rarity asked with a devilish grin.

“Leave,” Rainbow stomped her hoof, her face turning blood red, much to Rarity’s delight and amusement.

“As you wish, darling!” Rarity cheered. “Wouldn’t want to keep you from your date, after all!” Rarity gave an amused giggle that almost covered up Rainbow’s very irritated groan.

Rarity headed on her way, but stopped cold when she heard a certain somepony calling her name.

“Rarity, wait!” Twilight yelled, and Rarity turned to see the librarian running after her.

“What’s the matter, Twilight?” Rarity fluttered her eyelashes. “Miss me too much already?”

“That’s definitely it,” Twilight said flatly, giving an amused smile. She bit her thumbnail and her brow furrowed; she looked rather pensive and Rarity was suddenly awash in the desire to caress her face and make her feel better, maybe draw her a hot bath.

Actually, that wouldn’t be such a bad—

Rarity, focus! Honestly!

Rarity cleared her throat, mostly for her own sake, but it also got Twilight’s attention and she stood up straight.

“Uh, I wanted to wish you good luck,” Twilight said.

“Okay,” Rarity said, trying not to sound too disappointed, “well thank you, Twilight, though I assure you, I won’t—”

“And, be careful,” Twilight said suddenly, her hands clenched into a ball in front of her body, “please.”

“Darling,” Rarity brushed her hand through Twilight’s bangs, “it’s only puckwudgies. If I get hurt on a D-Class mission like this, I never deserved to be a Slayer in the first place.”

“That may be,” Twilight didn’t look at all reassured by Rarity’s words, “but after what you told me happened during the cragadile mission, and the timberwolves mission, and that quarray eel mission—”

“I see your point,” Rarity interrupted, tightly clasping Twilight’s hand. She placed her hand on Twilight’s cheek and looked the pretty lady in the eyes. “I promise you, I will return safe and sound. You have my word on that.”

“Okay,” Twilight nodded, “I believe you, but—”

Twilight drifted off, biting her lip and averting her eyes.

“Yes?” Rarity arched her eyebrow.

“I still want to give you something,” Twilight stammered, “for luck.”

“Um, certainly,” Rarity was a little confused, but she wasn’t going to refuse a gift from one of her favorite ponies. “What is it?”

Without a word, and too quickly for Rarity to properly react, Twilight leaned in and blessed Rarity’s cheek with a tiny kiss, and Rarity’s entire face lit up in response.

“Well then,” Rarity said, perhaps a bit too loud, but she couldn’t properly focus with all the blood rushing to her head. “I, uh—” Rarity didn’t know what to say and just laughed nervously, and she could practically hear the wires in her brain frying into mush.

“Come back safe,” Twilight said bashfully, placing her own hand over her cheek where Rarity so commonly found her hand these days.

“I will,” Rarity took the hand from Twilight’s cheek and placed it against her lips, giving the knuckles a gentle kiss. “I promise.”

Author's Notes:

a new story arc begins, and things start slowly snowballing from here

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

53. Worrying About Every Little Thing in the World

Pinkie Pie stood still and tried not to giggle as Applejack very dotingly wrapped a pink and yellow striped scarf around Pinkie’s neck, which went super cute with her pale blue snowflake sweater and her fuzzy yellow mittens.

All that was left was to put on the purple and yellow polka-dotted cap, which Applejack gracefully applied, and then Pinkie was all set!

“How do I look?” Pinkie asked, examining herself in a mirror. “Do you think I look cute? Is it too much? Is it too little? Am I trying too hard? Am I not trying hard enough?”

“Relax, sugarcube,” Applejack took Pinkie’s cap off and gave her a kiss on the head through her fluffy mane. “I’m sure you and Fluttershy are gonna have a grand ol’ time.” Pinkie looked back at Applejack expectantly, biting down on her lip. Applejack laughed softly. “And yeah, you look super cute.”

“Oh thank goodness!” Pinkie launched herself at Applejack, wrapping the big mare up in a hug, and Applejack grabbed Pinkie and spun her around before plopping her onto the bed.

Pinkie took a look at the clock hanging on the wall and hummed, patting her legs as she rocked back and forth. She had to catch the train pretty soon, but she still wasn’t ready to leave.

She really wanted to go, she’d been planning this trip to the Everfree for nearly a month now, but it was dawning on her that she wouldn’t ever be ‘ready’ to leave Canterlot, especially all by herself.

“Are you sure you don’t wanna come with me?” Pinkie whined at Applejack, blinking her wide, innocent eyes at her.

“It’s not a matter of ‘want’, Pinkie,” Applejack sighed and straightened up her jacket in the mirror, “somepony’s gotta watch over the shop while yer gone, that’s all.”

“I know,” Pinkie huffed, crossing her arms and, for a moment, regretting her idea to even open up the silly shop in the first place, and she immediately felt super guilty for even thinking such a terrible thing!

“Now you better get a move on,” Applejack took Pinkie by the hands and gently guided her off the bed. “Yer train’s leavin’ in less than an hour, right?”

“Yup!”

“And is Rarity gonna be at the station with ya?”

“Nope!” Pinkie shook her head. “Rarity’s off on a mission, and her train’s leaving from the Sun District. She’s probably headed that way already.”

“Gotcha,” Applejack sighed, and she looked hesitantly into the mirror. She was dressed really nice, nicer than Pinkie was used to seeing her, and it didn’t take Pinkie long to figure out why. “Do you want me to go to the station with ya?”

“Nah,” Pinkie grinned, “I don’t wanna get between you and your hot date.”

“It’s not—” Applejack’s protests were quickly silenced by Pinkie’s giggling, and Applejack’s face turned all red as she puffed up her cheeks and crossed her arms, muttering “It’s not a date” under her breath.

“Still though,” Pinkie bounced into the living room, Applejack following behind, “I don’t wanna get between you and Rainbow, cuz I’m super-duper over the moon happy for you that you’re finally talking to her!”

“It’s not like a big deal or anything,” Applejack insisted, though even she didn’t sound too convinced, “we’re just grabbin’ coffee and a bite.”

“I know, I know,” Pinkie rolled her eyes, “but still. I want you to focus on that, and let me focus on me. Okay?”

“Okay,” Applejack sighed and gave Pinkie a soft smile.

“Kiss for good luck?” Pinkie beamed, and Applejack picked the small mare up, Pinkie kissing her on the cheek, and then Applejack giving Pinkie a kiss on the cheek for good measure. “Okay! Good luck!”

“You too, Pinkie Pie,” Applejack said with a salute as she put Pinkie back on the ground.

The second Pinkie was on the road to the train station, anxiety started flooding her mind. Her eyes darted this way and that, and she felt like the roads were much emptier than usual, even though it was still early in the morning and most ponies were asleep in their beds at this hour so it was just as empty as it always was.

But it felt emptier.

It was weird and disconcerting for Pinkie to only be greeted by snow-covered stone buildings everywhere she looked, instead of smiling ponies.

She took a deep breath and thought about Ponyville, and how lively the townsfolk were there; not like the Moon District—heck, not like Canterlot at all— where most ponies were just trying to go their own way.

Pinkie wondered why she thought opening up her dumb little blacksmithing shop in Canterlot instead of Ponyville was a good idea, but then she remembered it was because that’s where Rarity lived. Pinkie wondered if Rarity wouldn’t mind moving to Ponyville, but of course she would mind. Especially now that Canterlot had the Golden Oaks Library.

Rarity and Twilight sure got along really well. They got on great during the library party, and Pinkie swore every time she’d swung by the library in the last week—which was pretty much every chance she got—Rarity was there nine times outta ten.

Not that Pinkie could blame her, of course. Twilight was super nice and cool and fun; Pinkie really enjoyed spending time with her, and she didn’t even have a crush like Rarity did!

Well, not a crush on Twilight, anyway.

And that thought, of course, brought Pinkie’s thoughts to Fluttershy.

As much as Pinkie hated to admit it, it was pretty obvious to everypony that Pinkie had a huge crush on Fluttershy— except Rainbow Dash, who didn’t seem too quick to catch onto stuff like that.

Pinkie just hoped it wasn’t obvious to Fluttershy, cuz then Fluttershy would know Pinkie had a crush and she would think Pinkie’s a dumb stupid ugly pink earth pony who nopony could ever love because she’s unworthy—

Ahem.

Maybe now wasn’t the time for thoughts like that.

Pinkie pulled out her lyre and strummed a few notes, humming a tune to herself as she walked in order to keep her anxieties at bay. Kinda like whistling while you worked, but it was playing the lyre and humming to fight brain demons instead.

Before Pinkie knew it, the train station was in view, but it brought no relief to her; nopony was gonna be waiting for her there. She wasn’t ready to go to Ponyville, or wander into the Everfree Forest again, or see Fluttershy again, but most of all, she wasn’t ready to do it all by herself.

Pinkie put her instrument away, cuz while there probably weren’t gonna be a lot of ponies at the station this early, any ponies who were there would probably be annoyed by stupid Pinkie’s bad playing of her dumb instrument that no one liked.

Pinkie sighed and sat down on the first bench she saw, hands smushing up against her cheeks as her elbows rested on her legs. She usually didn’t like to look so visibly down in the dumps, but she’d been awake for like three hours and was already exhausted. Worrying about every little thing in the world took a whole lot of energy.

She didn’t even notice another pony was sitting next to where she’d sat until the pony cleared her throat, and Pinkie shrieked in shock at the sudden unexpected noise, but then did a double take when she saw just who it was that was sitting next to her.

“Hi!” Twilight said with a polite wave, and Pinkie was totally certain she was dreaming.

“Ow,” Pinkie whined after pinching herself.

“Um, are you okay?” Twilight asked concernedly, reaching her hand out to where Pinkie pinched herself.

“What are you doing here, Twilight?” Pinkie asked in shock. “You’re out of your library!”

“It’s not like I’m imprisoned in the library or anything,” Twilight scoffed.

“You’re at a train station!”

“I’m waiting for a train.”

Twilight chuckled and took a sip of the coffee that was floating next to her. Twilight offered Pinkie a second floating cup and Pinkie took it, feeling a lot more relaxed as she realized that it was definitely the really real Twilight and not like a scary ghost version of her or anything.

“How come?” Pinkie asked, sidling up next to Twilight and feeling really happy that, at least for now, she wouldn’t have to be alone.

“Where’re you headed?” Pinkie gasped suddenly and stood up, grabbing Twilight by the shoulders, Twilight catching the coffee cup Pinkie carelessly dropped in her magic before it could spill. “Maybe we’re taking the same train! Won’t that be exciting?!”

“It will,” Twilight nodded calmly, “because we are. I’m headed to the Everfree Forest, down in Ponyville.” Twilight grinned sharply. “I’m not sure if you’ve heard of it.”

“Uh, yeah I’ve heard of it!” Pinkie scoffed. “That’s where I’m headed! Wait, we’re headed to the same place? No way! What a cool coincidence!”

“Pinkie,” Twilight arched an eyebrow, “it’s not a coincidence. I wanted to go to the Everfree with you… if that’s okay.”

“Wh—why?” Pinkie took a step back and blinked at Twilight.

“I didn’t want you to have to go all by yourself,” Twilight said. “You seemed kinda nervous about going, and I know Applejack had to stay behind, so I figured ‘well I don’t have any plans, maybe I could go’, so here I am! And I didn’t tell you before cuz I thought it might be fun to surprise you—”

Twilight tapped her fingers together and wore an apologetic smile. “Is that okay?”

“Is—is it okay?” Pinkie repeated, tears pouring out of her eyes.

She tried to say something else, but she just kept blubbering and crying as more and more tears fell down her cheeks, until she was leaking like a broken faucet and bawling about how cool Twilight was and what a good friend she was and she hoped Twilight caught on to that being why Pinkie was crying and not cuz she was upset at Twilight or anything.

“Thank you so much, Twilight!” Pinkie launched herself at Twilight in one of her famed tackle hugs, attaching herself around Twilight’s shoulders.

“It’s my pleasure, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said, rubbing Pinkie’s back. “And I just know we’re gonna have a great trip.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

54. I Don't Mind

Rainbow took her coffee cup in her hands that she was trying to keep steady, but that wasn’t easy when she was sitting across a table from the hottest mare in probably all Equestria, maybe even the whole world.

Applejack took a sip of her coffee and sighed, her chin resting on her hand as her eyes lingered out the window toward the freshly fallen snow. Rainbow looked over her shoulder to see what Applejack was looking at, but quickly realized that while the snow was pretty, she saw that every day, and she’d much rather be looking at a hot girl.

“So hey,” Rainbow cleared her throat, tired of the loud silence between the two, and Applejack turned her gaze to Rainbow. “Twilight’s gonna be gone from the library today.”

“Yeah, she told me that yesterday,” Applejack said. “I told her I’d swing by the library after I close up the shop to make sure Spike’s doin’ alright by himself.”

“Oh yeah?” Rainbow chuckled. “Well he won’t be by himself, cuz I’m gonna be there! Promised Twilight I’d help him run the place while she’s gone, cuz this is gonna be his first time taking care of the library on his own.”

“That’s mighty decent of ya, Rainbow,” Applejack smiled, and Rainbow ran her hand through the hair behind her ear, trying not to blush.

“Thanks,” Rainbow beamed. “You should totally come over! I’m sure Spike would feel better, if like, we were both there.”

“Sorry, but I can’t,” Applejack shrugged and took another sip of coffee. “I gotta watch the shop, y’know?”

“Right, right,” Rainbow gulped down a lump of anxiety and tugged on her ear.

“But like I said,” Applejack continued after another sip of coffee and a contented sigh, “I’ll come by after I close up the shop for the night, make sure you and Spike haven’t burned the place down or nothin’.”

Rainbow wanted to make a snarky reply to that, but she couldn’t help but just sincerely laugh instead.

“We should probably get a move on though,” Applejack muttered. “I gotta open up the shop, and the library’s gotta be openin’ soon too, right?”

“Yeah,” Rainbow said wistfully, not wanting her time with Applejack to be over already.

Applejack got out her bitbag and rifled through it. “Let’s see… yeah, I think I got enough to cover us both today.”

Rainbow’s ears perked up at that. It’s not that she didn’t appreciate the gesture of Applejack offering to pay for both meals, more that she didn’t feel like she deserved that, and then when she thought of confronting the ludicrousness of that idea, a hundred other thoughts about how she was worthless and terrible took its place, like the world’s crappiest hydra.

“Uh, actually,” Rainbow said abruptly, slapping her hands on the table and making Applejack’s ears jump up, “why don’t we, um—” and now it occurred to Rainbow that she didn’t actually have anything to say, she just opened her mouth because she’s an idiot.

“Yeah?”

“I have an idea,” Rainbow grinned as the lightbulb flashed above her head, “why don’t we make this a little bit more interesting?”

“Interesting how?” Applejack arched a concerned eyebrow.

Rainbow propped her arm up on the table, waggling her fingers at Applejack. “Arm wrestle. Whoever loses has to pay for both meals.”

Applejack laughed and put her arm on the table. “Well if you insist, I ain’t gonna say no to a free breakfast.”

Applejack’s hand clasped Rainbow’s and a wave of electricity shot through her. She’d never admit it, but she got a rush from holding Applejack’s hand—how pathetic is that, right?

Rainbow took a deep breath and squeezed Applejack’s hand. She knew she couldn’t beat Applejack in a contest of brute strength—and also that she’d have to pay for their meals after this was over—but she didn’t care. The longer she could keep herself in the game, the longer she could hold onto Applejack’s hand.

Rainbow struggled against Applejack’s strength as the two wrestled, and Rainbow tried to concentrate on that electrical feeling to keep herself focused and strong. And it worked, for about two minutes.

But eventually her strength gave out, and Applejack slammed Rainbow’s hand down onto the table, Rainbow biting her lip to keep from gasping.

“Guess I win again,” Applejack said proudly, standing up and putting her hands on her hips, and Rainbow bit her lip even harder. “That’s two for two now, my favor.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow chuckled, rubbing her palm as she felt a bright heat coursing through her whole body, “guess I lost.”

“I hope yer not takin’ it too hard,” Applejack said softly reaching her hand out across the table, and when Rainbow instinctively reached her hand—the one that had just been crushed by Applejack’s a second before—back out, Applejack gently took it in hers. “I’m just real strong, y’know?”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Rainbow scoffed, looking at her fingers intertwined with Applejack’s, “I don’t mind losing to you that much.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

55. The Puckwudgie Mission

Rarity had decided to take the long route and merely walk to the Sun District, rather than taking a train there, figuring the slower pace and lonelier walk would be better for managing all of her sordid thoughts regarding Ms. Twilight Sparkle.

‘Sordid’ might not be the right word. It’s not as though Rarity were harboring any indecent thoughts about the librarian, of course. Sure, Twilight was very pretty and cute, and Rarity had certainly imagined the feeling of her lithe, slender body pressed up against Rarity’s—or underneath Rarity’s— and sure, did the idea of locking lips with the sweet mare warm Rarity’s cheeks and send a jolt of fire shooting through her body? Yes, but that was hardly indecent.

Rarity’s fantasizing—er, rather, her thoughts, about Twilight were interrupted once she reached the marvelous Sun District train station. While the Moon District’s station was a barely covered stone platform shielded from the elements by a meager stone canopy, the Sun District was much larger and grander, with a marble dome covering the entire station, and crisp and clean polished floors that were pleasant to the touch.

The most striking thing to Rarity as she walked into the station however, was the crowd of people all congregating on a single spot; a bench near the tracks. Was somepony important waiting for a train? Or had someone perhaps gotten injured? Or was a fight breaking out?

The more ideas and possibilities Rarity’s mind conjured, the more her curiosity grew, and she found herself walking toward the crowd, eager to see what all the fuss was about.

The noise of the crowd became obnoxiously loud as Rarity approached, and she could tell by the excited chatter that an unfortunate injury was not the cause. While she couldn’t make out what anypony was saying exactly, the energy and enthusiasm with which they were speaking made Rarity double down on her theory that somepony famous was present.

And then, like the morning sun, it dawned on her. Rarity thought for half a second that she couldn’t be right about her guess, but the more she considered it, the less any other option made sense.

Sure enough, once Rarity was able to push her way into the crowd, she saw the source of the commotion; a beautiful white alicorn with an aurora mane sat on a bench, offering stories and conversations to the station’s patrons.

Rarity almost laughed at the absurdity of Equestria’s Hunter Queen travelling via the train like a common peasant, and yet that seemed like exactly the sort of bizarre stunt Celestia would be fond of.

“Well, well,” Rarity said with her most dazzling smile as she approached her mentor, “fancy meeting you here, darling.”

“Rarity!” Celestia flashed a bright smile. She cleared her throat and stood to her hooves, spreading out her wings. “Excuse me, citizens of Canterlot! While I have had a lovely time entertaining you all today, I’m afraid I must speak with my student, alone.”

Not a single pony dared question the Queen. Once she made it known that their time with her was over, the crowd dispersed immediately, some grumbling in disappointment, others fawning over the majestic alicorn even as they walked away, until not a single pony stood around Rarity or Celestia for several feet.

“Wow,” Rarity said, fanning herself, “you certainly have a way with ponies.”

“I am the Queen, you know,” Celestia said proudly and sat back down on the bench, gesturing for Rarity to sit next to her.

“So what are you doing here?” Rarity asked as she sat down next to Celestia, the warmth radiating from the Queen of the Sun drawing a contented purr from Rarity’s lips.

“I was waiting for you,” Celestia said casually.

“Me?” Rarity balked. “Why me?”

“You’re setting off on a mission, correct?” Celestia asked, and though Rarity nodded, she knew Celestia already had the answer. “Puckwudgies, I believe. It’s a basic, D-Class mission. Nothing to be terribly concerned with.”

“That is correct, my Queen,” Rarity said, not entirely certain where Celestia was leading with this.

“I’m going with you.”

Rarity nearly fainted from shock at those words, but she managed to keep her cool and only faintly clutch her heart.

“I—I’m sorry?” Rarity stammered. “You’re what?”

“I’m going with you,” Celestia repeated, as if it were the most basic and casual thing in the world, and not the Queen of Equestria accompanying a Slayer on a mission of such inconsequential non-importance that most Slayers wouldn’t have even bothered with it, much less—and this couldn’t be stressed enough—the Queen of all Equestria. “I hope that’s okay with you!”

“I mean, I’m obviously not going to say no to such stellar company,” Rarity said flatteringly, and frankly she was rather impressed with herself for keeping her cool in this situation. “But I’m more than a little bit shocked, if I’m being honest. Why would you—you—be interested in a mission to hunt puckwudgies?”

“Many reasons,” Celestia said. “Yes, I am the Queen of Equestria and leader of the Celestial Slayers. Most would expect I would spend my time only on the biggest and most dangerous missions, but if I show up to help on missions that most deem ‘unimportant’, it reminds the ponies under my protection that I care about them. Where many would say ‘oh, it’s just puckwudgies, that’s not worth my time’, I, the Queen, say ‘this is important, my people are important, no matter how big or small their problems are’.”

“Wow,” Rarity said in awe, and what else could she say? “I never thought about it like that before.”

“There are other reasons as well,” Celestia hummed, finger tracing her lips, “though that is the primary one. But even I get tired of fighting dragons and ghouls from time to time, and if I can take a more relaxing mission and show my little ponies that I care about them, why wouldn’t I do that?”

“That’s a good point,” Rarity nodded. “You are very wise, Celestia.”

“Oh, stop flattering me, you,” Celestia chuckled and gave Rarity a playful shove.

“But I’m so good at it,” Rarity flicked a hand through her mane.

“Just the best,” Celestia rolled her eyes, and Rarity laughed. “I also must admit, I wanted to spend the time with you, as well.”

“Oh?” Rarity chirped, batting her eyelashes at the Queen. “Have I wormed my way into the Queen’s heart? Can you no longer stand to be away from me?”

“Something like that,” Celestia said with an unexpected amount of serious. “It seems like just yesterday that you left my nest, and I find myself missing the days we would spend training together in Hunter’s Haven. Call it nostalgia, or just empty nest syndrome, I suppose.”

“Celestia,” Rarity said confusedly, “I graduated from your tutorship over a decade ago.”

“And to you, that must seem like a lifetime,” Celestia sighed, “to me, one who has lived over one hundred decades, it’s barely a blink of an eye.”

“I didn’t realize,” Rarity said distantly.

“I’m sorry,” Celestia said awkwardly, rubbing the side of her neck, and it was surreal to Rarity to see her Queen and mentor affect a motion that was so… dorky, and casual. “I didn’t mean to concern you, I’ve just had my head in the clouds these last few weeks.”

“It’s no trouble,” Rarity smiled fondly. “It’s not as though I won’t enjoy the time with you. I do love you, after all.”

“And I love you too,” Celestia put her arm and wing around Rarity and drew her close, “my dearest student.”

Rarity sighed and closed her eyes, leaning her head against the side of her mentor’s body. It was something she hadn’t really considered before, but it was true that Rarity had changed so much in the last decade of her life, and yet Celestia remained the same.

There was something comforting about that, to know that no matter what changes or tribulations Rarity struggled through in her life, she would always have one constant; her Queen and mentor, her ever-smiling protector, Celestia.

“And can you imagine the looks on our clients faces when they see the Queen has come to help them fight off puckwudgies?” Celestia said with almost manic glee. “It’ll be to die for!”

Rarity giggled, for she was very glad to see that Celestia really hadn’t changed at all.

Author's Notes:

fun fact about puckwudgies that i did not know until after writing this chapter, apparently there is no "c" in puckwudgie. but i already wrote it this way, and "puckwudgie" is an officially recognized alternate spelling so whatever it's fine

also of note: I LOVE CELESTIA

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

56. Tell Me About Her

Rarity rested her head in her hand, her elbow on the armrest of her seat, as she stared out at the winter scenery rolling past the train window. Sitting across the cabin from her was Celestia, Hunter Queen of Equestria; one of Rarity’s very favorite ponies and her mentor.

And while normally, Rarity’s time spent with Celestia had her attention completely rapt by the alicorn Queen, on this day, a different pony held Rarity’s thoughts in her hands, and Rarity sighed contentedly as she idly stared out the window and daydreamed about her precious librarian, Twilight Sparkle.

“Why, Rarity,” Celestia said coyly, tapping a finger against her lips, “if I didn’t know better, I might think there was something on your mind. Or somepony, rather.”

Rarity laughed nervously. “Is it really that obvious?”

“I’d love to tell you it isn’t,” Celestia smirked devilishly, “but I can’t lie to you.”

“Alright,” Rarity rolled her eyes, sighing again as she thought about Twilight, “I admit it, I have a crush on a mare I met in Canterlot recently.”

“Oh?” Celestia gave a catlike smile. “Do tell.”

“She’s the local librarian,” Rarity said. “Did you know that? A library opened up in the Moon District very recently, about a couple months ago, I believe.”

“I had heard something to that effect,” Celestia pondered, “though I haven’t been able to visit myself quite yet. It’s good news though, libraries are wonderful places, and I’m certain the ponies of the Moon District will benefit greatly from its presence.”

“I certainly have,” Rarity giggled, stopping just short of snorting as memories of Twilight flooded her heart. “You should come by sometime. I think you and Twilight Sparkle would get along fiendishly well.”

“Ooh, I like the sound of that,” Celestia laughed softly. “Tell me about her?”

“Well,” Rarity beamed ear to ear, “if you insist.”

The next two hours were filled by Rarity’s nonstop gushing about Twilight Sparkle; about how smart she was, and beautiful, and adorable. How she seemed to know nearly everything, and if she didn’t know something, she knew how to learn it.

Rarity gushed about the way Twilight made everything seem so incredible and fascinating and interesting, and Rarity wished she had the same ability as she was certain that she was practically putting Celestia to sleep with all her nonstop rambling.

“Oh, don’t worry about me, Rarity,” Celestia scoffed, batting away Rarity’s concerns. “I enjoy listening to you ramble, and I’m very pleased that you’ve found a special somepony to share your affections with.”

“Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves quite yet,” Rarity said bashfully. “It’s just a little crush at the moment—”

“I’m not sure you could spend an entire train ride gushing about a ‘little’ crush, Rarity,” Celestia said teasingly.

“Have you met me, darling?” Rarity shot back, fluttering her eyelashes and getting a laugh out of the Queen.

“Fair enough,” Celestia smirked. “Still though, she sounds lovely, and I’m glad that you’re able to enjoy your ‘little’ crush.”

“So am I,” Rarity sighed. “Have you ever had a crush, darling?”

“No,” Celestia said somberly, “I’m afraid I haven’t. I’ve always been far too busy with the whole ‘monster hunting’ thing to worry about romance or the like.”

“That’s too bad,” Rarity said sadly. “You deserve to be happy just as anypony else.”

“I am happy, Rarity,” Celestia rolled her eyes teasingly. “I don’t need to be in a relationship with somepony for me to be happy. For me, just knowing that the ponies under my protection are safe, cared for, and happy— that’s enough.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Rarity said, “and I apologize, for jumping to conclusions.”

“Think nothing of it, Rarity,” Celestia smiled. “Now, we have maybe another half hour before we reach our destination; is there anything else you’d like to share about your Twilight Sparkle?”

“Well…” Rarity tapped her fingers together and prepared a round of gushing that would easily last much longer than a single half hour.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

57. We've Got Time

Twilight’s eyes glistened with admiration and joy as the cold iron steam train rolled into the station. So much was Twilight’s anticipation to see the train that she was nearly on the wrong side of the ‘do not pass’ line, and Pinkie Pie had to drag her back. But she couldn’t help it! This was big! Like, really big!

Twilight couldn’t wait to examine the inside once she’d handed her ticket to the ticket… handler person, and she ran through the nearly empty isles of the early morning train taking in all the sights and smells of the locomotive before it took off down the tracks.

“Wow, you sure are excited,” Pinkie chirped as Twilight smushed her face against the window. “You a big fan of trains, Twilight?”

“Oh absolutely!” Twilight gushed, clasping her hands together and beaming at Pinkie. “I haven’t ridden one since I was a kid, but I’ve always dreamed about being on one again! And this is my first train ride as an adult! I’m so excited!”

“That’s awesome!” Pinkie squealed, bouncing into the air.

“I know!” Twilight shouted in return, grabbing Pinkie out of the air and spinning her around in a tight hug.

With Twilight’s rushed examination of the aisles meeting her standards, she ran frantically to one of the private cabins, a spark of magic from her horn activating the built-in identification spell that would allow only herself and Pinkie, or the train staff, into the cabin for the duration of their trip.

Twilight ran to the window, then sat on both benches, then sprawled on the floor and hummed, Pinkie giggling at Twilight’s admittedly immature actions all the while.

Twilight finally finished her trainthusiastic trainventure by curling up on one of the benches and purring like a kitten.

“Getting comfy, Twi?” Pinkie smirked.

“Oh yes,” Twilight hummed, “this is heavenly. I love trains.”

“Well don’t get too comfy!” Pinkie’s words caused Twilight to jolt her head up in curiosity. “You haven’t seen my favorite part yet!”

“Oh! What’s that?” Twilight beamed ear to ear, eager to see even more of the train for herself, and especially the parts of it that her friend enjoyed.

Pinkie motioned for Twilight to follow her out of the cabin and Twilight did so without hesitation, following Pinkie through the aisles to one of the other cars, where she was instantly assaulted by a wave of smells and sounds, the sweet aroma of confections and freshly prepared meals coursing through her as the loud clatter of dozens of chattering ponies were drowned out into mere background noise.

“The food car!” Pinkie cheered, and Twilight barely heard her past the sound of her own rumbling stomach.

Twilight was overwhelmed by the crowd of people populating the food car, musing to herself that the rest of the train only seemed to be nearly empty because everyone aboard had already been gathered here.

She didn’t even know where to start to sate her rapidly growing hunger, and the swell of anxiety mixing with said hunger was only making things worse.

Twilight was certain she would have just laid down on the floor and starved right to death if Pinkie Pie hadn’t been there.

Pinkie guided Twilight through the car, helping her pick out plates and silverware and such, and plopping all sorts of delicious and inviting treats and sweets onto her plate that she probably wouldn’t have even considered without Pinkie’s help. Twilight probably would’ve settled for six hayburgers and a plate of mac and cheese… which she still got regardless, in addition to all of Pinkie’s suggestions.

“You feeling okay?” Pinkie asked as the two sat in a table nestled into the corner of the car, Twilight feeling shielded and safe from the rambunctious energy of the crowd as she prepared to enjoy her meal.

“I am now,” Twilight nodded with a soft smile, “thank you very much, Pinkie Pie. Don’t know what I’d do without you!”

“That’s really sweet of you to say,” Pinkie blushed and batted her hand at Twilight, but Twilight had the sneaking suspicion that Pinkie was just being polite.

“I mean it, Pinkie,” Twilight insisted. “I’m really glad you came back to my library and, I hope this isn’t too forward, but I’m really grateful for the friendship that we’re building together. Is that okay?”

“Twilight…” Pinkie’s eyes widened and they looked to be glistening with unshed tears, but then she erupted into giggles and threw a fistful of spaghetti right at Twilight’s face. “Of course it’s okay! You don’t have to ask permission to say something sweet like that!”

“I can never tell if I’m being sweet or— or weird,” Twilight admitted sheepishly, twiddling her indexes together.

“Big mood!” Pinkie laughed, and Twilight giggled alongside her because it felt nice to be with someone who she could relax around.

Twilight found herself thinking about Rarity, and while she didn’t necessarily wish that Rarity was there right now—though she certainly wouldn’t have minded—she did wish that Rarity was waiting for them at the end of their train ride.

Oh well, she would see Rarity again once they returned to Canterlot, and Twilight would have a great story about her adventures with Pinkie to share with Rarity.

“I’m glad,” Pinkie said uncharacteristically somberly all of a sudden, “I’m glad that you wanna be my friend, Twilight.”

“Why’s that?” Twilight asked in confusion, wiping her messy lips with her shirt. “Who wouldn’t want to be your friend?”

“I dunno,” Pinkie chuckled, but there was no joy or humor in it. “I just don’t have a lot of friends. Pretty much just Applejack and Rarity, actually. And my family, but that’s… complicated.”

“I know how that can be,” Twilight grumbled. She cleared her throat and said proudly, “Well, you can consider Spike and me to be your friends, and I’m sure you and Rainbow will get along great too!”

“Yeah,” Pinkie said wistfully, but then she shook her head furiously and banged her little fists on the table, the clattering of plates ringing in Twilight’s ears. “Yeah! You’re right, Twilight! I may not have a lot of friends, but I do have some really great ones!”

“That’s the spirit!” Twilight beamed, stretching out her hand to Pinkie and instinctively curling all her fingers except for the littlest one.

Pinkie giggled and wrapped her own little finger around Twilight’s, and the two smiled at each other for one blissful moment where they could just forget everything else but them and their joy at finding each other.

“So,” Twilight said as she resumed eating, “how’d you meet Applejack and Rarity anyway?”

“It’s, uh, kinda a long story,” Pinkie muttered.

“We’ve got time,” Twilight only noticed the anxiousness in Pinkie’s voice after she had already spoken, and she wondered if perhaps she shouldn’t have kept her mouth shut instead.

“Uh, I mean, I guess, if you really wanna hear it.”

“Um,” Twilight gulped and felt a shiver go up her neck, and yet her curiosity still managed to get the best of her. “If you’re comfortable with sharing, I’d really like to hear it.”

“When I was a kid,” Pinkie regaled, Twilight leaning into the table and sitting on the edge of her seat, “I lived with my Granny Pie. She took me in from my parents, cuz I didn’t really get along with them too well, they were always so serious and stuffy, and I’m always so… not that.

“Anyway,” Pinkie cleared her throat, “when I was in like my early teens, the little fishing hamlet we lived in got attacked by a dragon.”

Twilight’s blood ran cold.

This was not a story that was going to end well for anyone.

“She—it,” Pinkie continued, “it pretended to be a pony, and it got friendly with a lot of people in the village. I barely knew it, but my Granny was friendly enough with it. Anyway, long story short, it didn’t stay friendly for long.”

Twilight leaned back, a choking storm of rage and anxiety keeping her dead silent.

Twilight was born and raised in the country of Zebrica, where dragons and zebra lived hand and hand and helped each other to live happy, mutually beneficial lives and learn the magic of friendship and such.

She knew that’s not how it worked in Equestria. Ponies and dragons did not see eye to eye, and she knew that a confrontation between a dragon and Equestrian pony could only end with one party dead. It was one of many things that made Twilight constantly wonder why she left home in the first place.

“So,” Pinkie loudly and abrasively cleared her throat, slapping her hands on the table, “that’s the story of how I became the only survivor of my village!”

“Uh,” Twilight said nervously, not sure if she wanted to press the matter any further but she didn’t actually get the answers she was seeking, “where do Applejack and Rarity come in?”

“Oh, right,” Pinkie conked herself on the head. “They were the ones who killed the dragon. And I wasn’t the only survivor, there were maybe a dozen and a half who survived the initial attack, but if anypony else lasted the night, I never heard about it.

“Point is, Applejack and Rarity found me in the wreckage and nursed me back to health, and Applejack retired from being a Slayer shortly after that, so she decided to help take care of me.”

Applejack had been a Slayer? That was news to Twilight. She didn’t know too much about the Celestial Slayers, but she did know that early retirement was virtually nonexistent. How odd.

Twilight didn’t know what to say. She knew about the bad blood Equestrian ponies had with dragons, but she didn’t want to believe any of her newfound friends held that same hatred. Even though she had seen the dragon fang necklace that Rarity wore, she very intentionally had never asked Rarity about it.

It was a lot to take in for someone who owed her life to dragons and who cherished their friendship and culture.

“That’s—” Twilight struggled to say something to help break the tension in the air. “That’s a downer.”

“Yup,” Pinkie chuckled bitterly, which Twilight figured was as good a sign as any she could realistically hope for, “sure is.”

Author's Notes:

i love trains

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

58. Librarianing Is Actually Very Easy, Right? Right!

Rainbow’s neck fur stood on end the second she entered the library and saw the line of frustrated patrons standing in front of the reception desk, with Spike frantically trying to keep them calm and get everypony what they needed.

Rainbow didn’t talk to anyone in line as she made a beeline for the reception desk, but she did pay attention to their frustrated mutters and grumbles. Apparently Spike wasn’t quite the accomplished librarian his mom was, and librarian-ing was a lot harder than it looked.

Still though, Rainbow was sure it was nothing she couldn’t handle.

“Hey, Spike,” Rainbow leaned an elbow on the desk and looked over at Spike who was standing on a stool behind the desk, rifling through some books tucked into shelves inside it and throwing several on the ground in his search. “Spike? Y’there?”

“I’m trying to find a book!” Spike stated the obvious, though the desperate tone in his voice tipped even thickheaded Rainbow Dash off that this wasn’t the best time for jokes.

“No problem!” Rainbow scoffed and sat cross-legged on the desk in front of the line of increasingly frustrated ponies. “What kinda book are you lookin’ for, ma’am?”

The pony in front of the line, a pale pink unicorn with amethyst hair, rolled her eyes and groaned. “I was trying to get a more in-depth explanation on magic thermodynamics!”

She threw a trio of books on the desk in front of Rainbow, and as Rainbow glanced at the covers she already knew she wouldn’t be able to understand a single word of any of them.

“These ones are far too beginner for someone of my skill level!”

“Right,” Rainbow’s eye twitched. “You need something more… complex.”

“Exactly!”

“Right,” Rainbow repeated as the blood drained from her face. She cleared her throat and looked out at the other ponies in line. “Anypony have a simpler request?”

The chorus of groans that erupted from the line was not a great sign.

“Oh, how about this one!” Spike cheered proudly, presenting a book over his head that he dug from the inside of the desk.

“That’s literally the same as this one!” the disgruntled unicorn balked, pointing at one of the books she’d thrown on the desk.

“Uh,” Spike dropped the book and Rainbow caught it before it could land on top of his head or something, “could you excuse me for one sec?”

Spike darted into the nearby kitchen in a panicked frenzy, Rainbow watching him go with a knot in her stomach. Poor guy didn’t need all this stress.

“Well?” the pink unicorn tapped her hoof on the ground and glared at Rainbow, who quite frankly was getting real tired of her attitude! “Are you gonna get us our books?”

“Yeah, definitely,” Rainbow forced a smile and spread her wings before darting toward the kitchen door, “just give me one sec!”

Another chorus of groans erupted from the crowd and Rainbow grit her teeth. She flew into the air and screamed, “Hey! Our librarian is outta town today, so you’ll just have to cut us a little slack while we figure all our stuff out, alright?!”

The frustrated ponies looked less than impressed, and Rainbow just rolled her eyes with an irritated groan, before flying into the kitchen to find Spike.

Spike was curled into a ball, rocking back and forth underneath one of the kitchen chairs when Rainbow found him. She sat next to him and outstretched a wing, awkwardly fitting it under the chair, and wrapped it around him.

“You okay, kid?”

“Y-yeah,” Spike sniffled, clearly not okay.

“I didn’t know your mom had such a tough job!”

“I know, right?! I thought it would be super easy!”

“Yeah! Like, how hard is it to just be like ‘oh here’s a book for you!’ Really dang hard, I guess!”

Spike laughed and cozied up next to Rainbow, wrapping his little arms around her leg, her wing still carefully sheltering him.

“I really didn’t wanna mess things up,” Spike said, puffing up his cheeks and trying not to cry anymore. “I didn’t want Twilight to come back and see that I made a mess of everything and got all the ponies mad at her and then everyone would leave the library and never come back!”

“Well, I got bad news, Spike,” Rainbow said grimly, before smirking at him and ruffling his mane, “I’m not going anywhere, so you’re stuck with me!”

“That’s not bad news!” Spike gave Rainbow a playful shove, and Rainbow responded by getting him in a gentle headlock and ruffling his mane all up. “Still though, what do we do now?”

“Welp,” Rainbow stood up and stretched her arms over her head, banging her fingers into a couple of overhanging pans, “we can’t do what Twilight does, that’s for sure.” Rainbow flashed a gleaming grin at Spike, who just looked at her all confused. “So we’ll just have to do what we can do! C’mon, follow my lead!”

Rainbow poked her head into the lobby and scanned the line of ponies. Just one foal would be enough for Rainbow’s plan to go off, but if there weren’t any, she’d be kinda screwed. Lucky for her, she spotted no less than half a dozen parents with their kids, either standing grumpily in line or wandering through the aisles of bookcases.

Perfect!

“Hey, sorry for the delay, everypony!” Rainbow called out as she walked back into the library, Spike following tepidly behind her as she walked the length on the line of angry ponies staring at them.

Rainbow ignored the frustrated and bemused glances, and she kept walking until she reached a woman standing with crossed arms, standing next to a little girl with her nose in a Daring Do book.

“So what are you looking for?” Rainbow asked the woman, whose eyes briefly landed on her daughter before focusing on Rainbow.

“Honestly, I’m not sure,” the woman said nervously. “Aura, what did you say the book was called?”

The filly delayed a second, but when her mother called her name again she snapped to attention.

“Huh? The name of the—oh, uh—” Aura bit her lip, and Rainbow stifled a chuckle at the way her eyes crossed as she thought. “I don’t know!”

“You looking for a Daring Do book?” Rainbow asked.

“Yeah!” Aura exclaimed excitedly, drawing a chuckle from both her mother and Rainbow as she nearly shoved the book she was holding into Rainbow’s face, or at least as close as her tiny stature would allow. “Daring Do’s the coolest!”

“I totally agree!” Rainbow grinned. “And you’re in luck, cuz not only do we have an extensive collection of Daring Do, and other cool adventure books, but tonight we’re doing a super special book reading of Daring Do and the Razor of Dreams!”

The filly gasped in excitement and Rainbow flicked a hand across her bangs, trying to play it cool.

“A book reading?” one of the other patrons asked in a dry, humorless tone.

“Do you really think that’s gonna make up for being totally useless at the jobs you were supposed to do?” the pink unicorn, still standing futilely at the front of the line, cried out.

“I dunno,” Rainbow shrugged and glanced down at the child beside her who was quivering with excitement, “what do you think, Aura? You and your mom wanna come by tonight for a super exclusive live reading of the most awesomest, terrifyingest, dramaticest of all adventure stories?!”

“Yeah!” Aura cheered, jumping into the air several times, and to Rainbow’s relief, her mom looked tentatively enthused also.

Some of the other patrons were poking their heads out of the bookcase aisles to see what all the sudden fuss was about, and it did Rainbow’s heart good to see several kids looking excited at the prospect of story time, either staring with glittery eyes and cooing, or tugging on their parents’ sleeves and such to ask if they could come back tonight.

It was starting to look like today wouldn’t be such a disaster for the library after all, and Rainbow looked over at a visibly relieved Spike and gave him a wink.

“Daring Do?” Rainbow heard a dismissive scoff coming from the line of ponies, which was slowly starting to disperse, and she scanned the crowd to find the culprit, narrowing in on a black-haired, grey colt when he spoke up again. “That stuff’s for babies.”

“Oh yeah?” Rainbow scoffed and crossed her arms before flying into the air. “You don’t think it’s awesome when Daring Do uses a cragadile for a raft? Or when she uses the sparkling trail of adamantium to throw off the diamond dog hunting party?”

The colt yawned.

And that would’ve been bad enough, but the snickering from some of the other kids is what really got to Rainbow. This wasn’t just a heckling now, this was a challenge.

“What’s your name, kid?” Rainbow landed next to the kid, briefly exchanging pleasantries with the buff black pegasus dude he was with.

“Rumble,” the kid answered confidently, and Rainbow had to admit she liked the kid’s sass.

“So what do you like, Rumble?” Rainbow asked, trying to strike a balance between being kinda confrontational, but not being one of those weird adults that gets mad at kids’ taste in art. “If you think Daring Do is ‘for babies’?”

“Mystery and horror stuff,” Rumble scoffed, “duh.”

“Well joke’s on you, kid!” Rainbow pointed both indexes down at the kid. “Razor of Dreams has plenty of that stuff!”

“Oh yeah?” Rumble crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow.

“Of course!” Rainbow scoffed, like it was the most obvious thing in the world and this kid clearly didn’t know what was cool if he didn’t know something as simple as that.

Truth be told, the mystery aspect of Razor of Dreams—and Daring Do in a general sense—was pretty downplayed, and calling the intense action scenes ‘horror’ would’ve been a stretch, so no, it wasn’t really either of those things.

But there was no reason Rainbow couldn’t spin it like it was!

“I mean, think about this,” Rainbow flew up into the air again and outstretched her hands, getting everpony’s attention, “imagine the famed scientist Dr. Niflheim, who went missing over a decade ago, is suddenly spotted in her hometown, and when Daring Do goes to see how she suddenly, miraculously, returned, everypony in town acts like she’s been there all along, even when there’s clear evidence that isn’t the case!”

Rumble hummed and pursed his lips, and the smile from his black pegasus friend was a good sign that Rainbow was on the right track.

“And imagine,” Rainbow dashed to the other side of the room, forcing everypony to quickly turn around to keep their eyes on her, “you’re Daring Do, you’ve lost all your useful equipment, and you’re stranded in the jungle in the dead of night, no civilization for miles…”

Rainbow ducked behind a bookcase, loudly stomping her hooves on the wooden floor as she skulked behind the bookcase. “You think—you hope—you’re all alone in this dangerous jungle, cuz the venomous plants and ferocious animals you can deal with, but what if…”

Rainbow dashed behind another bookcase, a torrent of wind blowing through her wake and startling the crowd, gasps and coos coming from several patrons.

“What if you’re being hunted the whole time?” Rainbow said eerily, hiding behind yet another bookcase out of the crowd’s sight, darting back and forth between several until she was sure the crowd had lost sight of her.

“And then,” Spike chimed in, using his best spooky story-teller voice, and Rainbow poked her head out just enough to see everyony in the library was giving him their full attention, making her grin devilishly, “what if you hear something echoing through the jungle? A hum that definitely didn’t belong to any snake or cragadile?”

Rainbow hummed an eerie tune, and she could hear the concerned and enraptured murmurs of the crowd.

“So what is it?” Rumble asked, trying to sound tough even as his voice cracked.

“There’s no way to know,” Spike said dramatically, “until…”

He paused, and the air in the library became cold as everypony went silent, waiting for a continuation that never came.

“Until?” Rumble asked weakly.

“IT STRIKES!” Rainbow screamed as she jumped out from behind a bookcase into the crowd, the whole line of patrons screaming in fright in return for a moment, before several kids and adults alike started laughing and applauding Rainbow’s dramatics.

Rainbow basked in the praise for a sec, and she caught sight of Rumble clutching his heart, his friend rubbing his shoulders to comfort him, before Rumble caught Rainbow looking and cleared his throat.

“Okay,” he admitted, “that does sound kinda cool.”

“See you tonight, everypony?” Rainbow said to the crowd, grinning widely at them, and even wider still as the enthused reactions of the patrons clued her in that she nailed it.

And with another wink toward Spike, which he returned with a thumbs-up, Rainbow mused that maybe taking care of the library for the night wouldn’t be so bad after all.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

59. Welcome to the Forest

The Everfree Forest was… decidedly less enamoring to Twilight than the train was.

Within seconds of stepping into the wood, Twilight felt the presence of its Spirit watching her, and a knot twisted around in her stomach.

She didn’t have the heart to ask Pinkie to reconsider now, and she was sure she was just being paranoid, but she couldn’t quite erase the sinking feeling in her gut that only grew with each step into the snow-covered forest she took alongside Pinkie Pie.

Pinkie seemed to have no such reservations; the dour mood she had been put in by Twilight’s earlier questions involving her past had been completely wiped away as soon as she’d stepped off the train. While the pair didn’t dawdle in Ponyville, Pinkie made a point to say hello and wave to every pony she passed by, her cheer only growing as they approached the forest itself.

Twilight took a deep breath, and Pinkie turned back to smile at her. Pinkie was really happy; this is what she’d been waiting for, she planned this trip for weeks, and Twilight wasn’t going to ruin that for her with her silly worries.

Though she felt the urge to ruin it with her silly worries growing when she saw Pinkie had stopped holding her arms to shield herself from the cold. Twilight wasn’t generally bothered by the weather, cold or warm, but she wasn’t so dense to not notice it getting curiously warmer very quickly.

The Spirit was here. She was watching them as they walked.

Twilight cleared her throat and stopped, and Pinkie turned around, her smile giving way to a concerned frown as she saw Twilight’s pensive expression.

“You okay, Twilight?”

Twilight didn’t know what to say. This wasn’t about her silly worries anymore; Pinkie had no idea what she was walking into, and Twilight felt sick wondering if she should say something.

But did Pinkie really need to know? Wasn’t it enough that the Spirit made Pinkie happy? Twilight would protect her if anything happened, and the more Twilight thought about it, the less sense it made that the Spirit—Fluttershy—would be hostile.

“Yeah,” Twilight gave a genuine smile as she tried to flush away her worries. “That said,” Twilight giggled, “I have to admit, I expected your friend Fluttershy to be better at hiding herself.”

“What?! She’s here!?” Pinkie looked around expectantly, darting her head this way and that with a big grin on her face.

“She is,” Twilight said calmly, placing her hands in front of her. “So why don’t you come out, Fluttershy? We’re both quite anxious to see you!”

Right on cue, a woman taking the form of a skeletal-thin yellow pegasus walked out from the foliage into the small, snowy clearing Twilight and Pinkie stood in. Her pink hair cascaded down her back like a waterfall, and insects and birds of all kinds made it their home, crawling out from the tangles in her hair or the knots in her fur.

Squirrels, rabbits and other such critters hounded her hooves that melted the snow around them, and birds chirped and fluttered around her head, some making their perches on her wings and shoulders.

“You came,” her voice was soft as she locked eyes with Pinkie Pie. “You really came back.”

“Of course,” Pinkie said, wiping tears from her eyes as she gazed upon the friend that she was so certain was going to be mad at her for returning, or for taking too long, or some other such thing. “I’d never break a promise to a friend.”

Fluttershy smiled, and if Pinkie had any worries left in her, Twilight assumed they had been dispelled, given the squeal of glee she gave at Fluttershy’s smile, the Spirit herself indulging in a coy giggle at Pinkie’s enthusiasm.

“And you,” Fluttershy’s glittering teal eyes shone with ethereal light as they seemed to look right through Twilight, but Twilight returned Fluttershy’s gaze with equal intensity. Fluttershy smiled brightly, as if she had been looking at a long-lost sister. “Welcome to my forest.”

Author's Notes:

my girl is back

i mean, they're all my girls, but i feel bad for fluttershy not being in this fic very much yet

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

60. The Sound of Her Voice

Twilight Sparkle didn’t like Fluttershy.

At least, that was the impression that Fluttershy got as she sat down with Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie to enjoy a picnic that Pinkie had prepared.

Fluttershy was still reeling somewhat from the fact that Pinkie had actually returned at all, let alone that she had packed so much food for the three of them to enjoy; Fluttershy wasn’t sure when the last time she saw so much food even was, and her stomach sounded like a roaring bear as she tried to figure out what to dig into first.

Granted, it was also hard to decide on anything when she kept being distracted by Twilight Sparkle.

Fluttershy saw it in Twilight’s eyes; the same flame that burned in Fluttershy’s, the same ethereal light that shimmered in her eyes, was also in Twilight’s. They were one in the same, and though Fluttershy was no stranger to seeing their kin— they often did wander into her forest— Twilight must not have realized what Fluttershy was until it was too late to turn back.

“Try this one, Fluttershy!” Pinkie said, her wide eyes glowing like an innocent little puppy dog as she offered Fluttershy a delicious-looking cucumber sandwich.

“Oh, thank you, Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy said with a soft smile and took the sandwich, feeling very rude for constantly getting distracted by Twilight when Pinkie had travelled all this way just to see her, and now Fluttershy was ignoring her.

But Twilight just kept staring. She tried not to let Fluttershy see, but Fluttershy saw everything inside the forest, and Twilight couldn’t hide her curiosity—or her fear—from her.

“So, Pinkie Pie, you brought a new friend this time,” Fluttershy said, smiling first at Twilight and then at Pinkie Pie. She felt rather proud of herself for coming up with a way to satisfy her curiosity regarding Twilight Sparkle and keep Pinkie Pie involved in the conversation. “She seems a mite shy-“ Fluttershy giggled “-not that I’m one to throw stones, of course.”

“Sorry about that,” Twilight said awkwardly, rubbing the back of her neck and looking at anything but Fluttershy. “I guess I’m just a little… intimidated. I’ve never met a Spirit before, after all.”

“It’s okay, you guys!” Pinkie chimed in. “You’re both super sweet and cool and nice, and I’m sure you’re gonna get along great!”

“I’m sure we will too, Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy laughed softly, and stared down Twilight. “After all, I bet we have a lot in common.”

Twilight Sparkle grimaced, and Fluttershy’s eyes darted quickly over to Pinkie Pie to catch her reaction; she seemed confused. So Pinkie Pie was in the dark regarding Twilight Sparkle’s and Fluttershy’s commonality then.

“Well, I understand being nervous,” Fluttershy said, trying to sound sincere but she always felt like she just came off as patronizing instead, “but know that as long as you are within my forest—and you don’t bring it harm—I will not see any harm done to you. So make yourself comfortable, okay?”

“Yeah,” Twilight said, burying her face in a hayburger, “sure.”

And with that, Fluttershy elected to turn her full attention to Pinkie Pie and her aromatic picnic. Pinkie did seem rather excited to be back in the Everfree Forest for some reason, and Fluttershy didn’t want her to leave feeling disappointed, or that Fluttershy had snubbed her and her kind offering.

Twilight Sparkle didn’t talk much during the rest of the picnic, but Fluttershy didn’t mind; Twilight Sparkle would either come around in her own time, or perhaps she wouldn’t, and Fluttershy wasn’t interested in forcing the matter either way.

Fluttershy didn’t talk much either, and while that was primarily because she didn’t like trying to take control of a conversation, it was also because not a second went by where the chilly winter air wasn’t filled to bursting with Pinkie Pie’s chatter.

Pinkie Pie talked a lot; she regaled Fluttershy about her friend the blacksmith, told her how Rarity was doing back in Canterlot—apparently she’d taken a shine to the ‘cute librarian’, who Pinkie Pie insisted was definitely not Twilight Sparkle, though the blush on the lavender one’s cheeks told a different story—and she told Fluttershy the story of the party in the library.

“I wish you had been there,” Pinkie said somberly, but as soon as she said it, her hands clamped over her lips, as if she had accidentally revealed some horrible secret.

“It sounds lovely,” Fluttershy smiled.

Truthfully, a party with so many people—and to Fluttershy, six was indeed ‘so many’—sounded exhausting more than anything. But she couldn’t help feeling a little bit intrigued; Pinkie Pie had a way of spreading her enthusiasm when she talked about something she was passionate about, and Fluttershy was starting to wonder if Pinkie Pie was just passionate about everything.

When Pinkie Pie had last made Fluttershy’s acquaintance, Fluttershy had assumed that Pinkie Pie only saw her as a novelty; a mysterious person to be ‘friends’ with so she could tell cool stories to her real friends. She assumed Pinkie Pie’s talk of returning to visit Fluttershy again had been just that: talk.

Now she wasn’t sure what to think. She was certain that Pinkie Pie loved the sound of her own voice, practically more than any pony Fluttershy had met before, but she did have a lovely voice. And her passion and enthusiasm, for Fluttershy and her other matters, seemed genuine enough.

Perhaps Fluttershy had misjudged Pinkie Pie, and perhaps the little pink pony who couldn’t stop giggling, whose tail wagged and eyes shimmered like an overexcited puppy, who couldn’t help but gush about all the things she found beautiful about Fluttershy’s forest… perhaps her feelings for Fluttershy were genuine.

At the very least, Fluttershy decided that while Pinkie Pie was here in the forest, she would enjoy her company.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

61. Fear and Loathing In Las Pegasus

Though the dusk sky was a cool gray by the time Rarity and Queen Celestia had departed their train, it was still bright with the glaring lights of Las Pegasus; Equestria’s premier haven for all sorts of entertainment and debauchery.

Games, food, drink, pleasure, and the opportunity to make a king’s fortune—or lose it— all these things and more could be found within the golden gates to this sprawling, wondrous city. It was exhilarating, but perhaps more than a bit overwhelming.

“Have you ever been to Las Pegasus, Rarity?” Celestia asked as the pair entered the city proper, and Rarity barely heard her over the sounds of loud games being played and the people cursing and cheering at them.

“Uh, I can’t say that I have,” Rarity answered with what she hoped didn’t sound like a forced laugh. Despite all the glamor and drama on display, Rarity had a hard time imagining who would actually enjoy spending time in a place this loud, obnoxious, and practically barbaric. “Have you?”

“A time or two, yes,” Celestia nodded. “Usually only for official Slayer business. This place isn’t really my idea of a great time.”

Rarity nodded confidently at this. Of course Celestia, the Queen, wouldn’t be taken in by all the flashy glitz and smoke and mirrors and whatnot of such a shallow and boorish—

“Plus, whenever I start gambling, I can never seem to stop on my own!” Celestia laughed.

Rarity stopped in her tracks and shot her Queen with a glance of utter bafflement, and more than a bit of bemusement.

Celestia looked back at Rarity and, met with her glare, smiled sheepishly. “Everypony has their vices, right? Even me!”

“I have a hard time picturing that,” Rarity said as the two resumed their trek down the busy streets. It was only now that Rarity noticed that not a single pony had stopped the two as they walked past; even the guards at the city’s entrance didn’t bat an eye at the Queen of Equestria stopping by their city.

Rarity hoped it was because they were simply too intoxicated by the city’s atmosphere, and not because they were used to seeing her.

“I remember one time,” Celestia rambled, and Rarity shook away her previous thoughts to focus on her Queen, “Luna literally had to drag me out from one of these parlors!”

Celestia laughed, and Rarity arched an eyebrow at her, Celestia’s laughter turning a bit more nervous when met with Rarity’s skepticism.

“Okay,” Celestia grumbled, “it was hardly one time.” And now, Rarity was the one who was laughing.

“Celestia, darling?” Rarity asked, Celestia smiling at her and waiting for her to continue. “Do you mind if we sit down a moment? All these lights and noises are starting to make me feel a bit queasy.”

“Certainly,” Celestia said. “I can go meet with our client, hurry this mission along, or I can stay with you, if you prefer.”

“I would prefer, yes,” Rarity nodded.

The two took a seat at a nearby bench, and Rarity watched in awe and mild disgust at all the people running this way and that, completely oblivious to everything around them as they hurried to spend their fortunes, bemoan losing them, or beg shady back-alley dealers for another chance.

The longer she watched, the grosser she felt, but she couldn’t quite pin down why. She wasn’t looking down on anypony, it wasn’t her place to tell anyone how to spend their wealth, and if they chose to do so gambling, she had no issue with that.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized her disgust was not with the people, but the institution itself. She thought about how many nights she’d spent eating frozen meals, or leftovers, or how many times she thought about getting something that was broken or breaking replaced, but simply couldn’t afford to and had to make do.

And yet, here she was in a den of thieves, who made more money in a day than Rarity would see in her lifetime, all by having nothing and doing nothing, and stealing from people who couldn’t control themselves.

“I don’t like this place,” Rarity said coldly.

Celestia said nothing, but she put a comforting hand on Rarity’s shoulder, caressing the weary bone enough for Rarity to briefly forget the anger burning a hole in her stomach.

Rarity continued to scan the crowds of people coming into and out of various shops and parlors along the street, when something very curious caught her eye. She was certain she must have imagined it, but then the person she was staring at stared right back at her.

“Rarity!” the older woman called out, waving her hand in the air.

Rarity held her hand up to wave back, smiling tepidly—almost timidly—in return.

“Someone you know?” Celestia asked.

“My mother.”

Rarity’s mother was a pink, plus-sized unicorn with a striking purple mane, and Rarity cringed when she saw on closer inspection that said mane was sculpted into a beehive. She was a jovial woman, and she practically bounced toward Rarity upon seeing her, and embraced Rarity in a spine-crushing hug as soon as she came close.

“It’s so good to seeeee you!” her mother said as she squeezed Rarity and lifted her an inch off the ground, shaking her back and forth. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, I—”

“Magnum!” her mother screamed back at the parlor she came out of, and Rarity didn’t even know why she tried to answer her question in the first place. “Magnum, get over here! Look who it is!”

A portly white unicorn stallion, his muzzle graced by a dashing mustache that matched his long, unkempt brown hair, poked his head out of the parlor, his eyes lighting up as he saw Rarity and she waved to him.

He came galloping out of the parlor, and with him was a young silver unicorn filly, her hair an absolutely darling mixture of pale purple and pink, and Rarity’s heart nearly melted at the sight of her.

“Rarity!” Sweetie Belle was the first to speak up, rushing toward Rarity with her arms open wide and leaving her father in the dust. Rarity ran forward and picked her up, spinning around while holding her dear sister in the tightest, softest, warmest hug she could manage. “Wow, you look like shit.”

Rarity laughed and put her sister back on the ground, possessing half a mind to just drop her right on her rump.

“Being an incredible adventurer does tend to do a number on one’s self-care routine,” Rarity said confidently, flicking a hand through her mane, which was perfectly coiffed and curled despite somepony’s accusations.

“Uh-huh,” Sweetie nodded, “then why do you look so bad?” Rarity’s face twisted into a scowl of such powerful bitterness that Sweetie Belle’s laughter devolved into a quite undignified snort.

“How’re you doing, sugar plum?” Rarity’s father put his arm around her and dragged her into an embarrassing headlock, ruffling her mane roughly.

Before she could protest, or answer his question, his eyes landed on Celestia, who had been politely sitting on the bench in silence, watching Rarity’s impromptu reunion unfold.

“Is this your girlfriend, Rarity?” her father asked.

“Wh—no!” Rarity said, aghast. “Dad, this is Queen Celestia!” Rarity held her hands out to properly introduce the Queen, trying to ignore how baffled she was that none of her family seemed to recognize her, especially since her parents had worked for her!

“Oh, Rarity!” Rarity’s mother squealed, and Rarity bitterly dreaded the next words out of her mouth. “You didn’t tell us you were dating Queen Celestia!”

“Mom!” Rarity shouted, her voice cracking with embarrassment.

“Well, we did agree not to tell anypony,” Celestia stood up and put her hand on Rarity’s shoulder, and Rarity instantly spun around to glare at her.

“Celestia!” she shrieked, her face getting redder by the second, to the point where she practically felt like a perfectly ripened tomato.

“Oh come on,” Celestia giggled, “you couldn’t deny me that little bit of teasing, could you?”

“Everypony relax,” Sweetie Belle scoffed, “we all know Celestia’s nowhere near cool enough to get with Rarity.”

Rarity grinned smugly at Celestia, who merely rolled her eyes.

“She’s not wrong,” Celestia said, taking Rarity by surprise a little bit. She was just teasing Rarity still, right? “Anyhow,” Celestia cleared her throat, “Rarity, will you be alright if I leave you to your family reunion, and I’ll go check in on our client?”

“Absolutely, my Queen,” Rarity gave a salute and a wink, and Celestia took flight, disappearing before everypony’s eyes. She never was one for long goodbyes.

Rarity sighed and turned her attention back to her family, her parents still scanning the night sky for any trace of Celestia.

Rarity’s mother harrumphed. “Not very polite of your girlfriend to just up and leave like that, don’tcha know?”

“Ugh, she’s not my girlfriend,” Rarity rolled her eyes. “She’s not even my type.”

“That’s alright, darling,” Rarity’s father said teasingly, ruffling Rarity’s mane much more gently this time, “we were only teasin’ ya.”

“Hey!” Sweetie Belle chimed in. “Now that Rarity’s here, maybe we could all grab brunch together!” Sweetie winked at Rarity. “Don’t worry, Rarity. Mom and dad will pay for it.”

“Gee, that’s very kind of you,” Rarity replied coldly, giving her sister a wry smirk.

“I think that’s a lovely idea,” her mother said, “what do you think, dear?”

All three of her family members looked at Rarity with wide, expectant, puppy-dog eyes, and even if she had a heart to refuse them before, she couldn’t rightfully do it now.

“That sounds divine,” she said with a bright, if heavy, smile.

Author's Notes:

me, scripting this chapter: hm i should set this little mini-arc in las pegasus, for flavor!

me, writing this chapter: oh that's right! I HATE CASINOS!

also rarity's parents are named pearl and magnum cuz that's what earthsong always called them, and i think those names are neat

also also, i'm disappointed i didn't get to put this chapter out on halloween, cuz what's scarier than capitalism amirite ladies?? eat the rich

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

62. The Razor of Dreams

Applejack let out a long, slow, breath as she locked the door to the empty ApplePie Smithery. It had been empty basically all day, in fact!

Applejack never cared much for slow days— which was most days for her pitiful little business— but without Pinkie Pie around to lighten the mood and provide conversation, sitting in the empty smithery for far too many uninterrupted hours all alone was starting to do a number on Applejack’s sanity.

She tried not to wonder why she even bothered opening the shop up in the first place, if only because she’d wondered that same exact thing at least sixty times already today.

Honestly, all Applejack wanted to do now was go home, fall into her bed, and sleep for the rest of the night. She wasn’t even sleepy so much as she was just sorta tired of existing, but either way, her bed called to her like a Siren’s song.

But, she promised she would stop by the library first. She promised Twilight, and she promised Rainbow. She didn’t want to go; she didn’t want to be bothered by the extra trip, or to talk to anyone. All she wanted was for this day to be over.

But a promise is a promise, and Apples ain’t no liars.

Applejack slowly plodded along, hands in her pockets and slouching as she trudged through the heavy snow falling from the cloudy night sky, until she finally reached the Golden Oaks Library, and she couldn’t help but let the faintest smile cross her lips.

She’d only been in the library twice before, but those were both great nights—two of her best in recent memory—so she couldn’t help feeling a mite warm inside at the sight of the place.

The quiet atmosphere she expected is not what greeted her when she opened the door, even though almost all the lights were out. There was chattering and commotion, and Applejack was curious to see what the fuss was about as she carefully inched through the entryway and into the lobby where a crowd of patrons were gathered—and most of ‘em had kids, to boot.

Applejack wondered what was going on, until she saw the candles burning on the desk, illuminating the back wall of the library, and the pair of enthusiastic pegasi standing on the desk, each holding a cardboard sword in one hand and a book in the other as they read to a group of enraptured ponies, foal and parents alike.

Applejack leaned against a bookcase, just outside the glow of the candlelight, and watched Rainbow and Spike’s mock swordfight with curious enthusiasm.

“You’re pretty good, for a girl!” Spike sneered, and only after a moment of confusion did Applejack realize he was quoting from the book. “So you want to be the prince who saves the helpless princess? Don’t make me laugh!”

Rainbow grinned, knocking her cardboard sword against Spike’s several times as the smaller pegasus hovered in the air to match Rainbow’s height. “’Daring Do grit her teeth and forced a grin on her face’,” she said, affecting that very same motion herself, and Applejack was rather impressed by her acting prowess, “’she wasn’t about to let this chump see her sweat’!”

“’Unfortunately for you, Ms. Do,’” Spike grinned evilly and lunged forward, knocking Rainbow off balance and nearly swiping her sword out of her hand, a frightened gasp coming from the crowd, and even Applejack had to admit she was holding her breath, “’one who hasn’t been blessed by the Razor has no chance against the power of my Dream!’”

“’Daring jumped back’,” Rainbow said, affecting every motion and expression with one-thousand percent passion, “’and while she tried to keep her footing steady, the relentless assault of Atlas’ attacks forced her off her guard’,” Spike kept lunging forward, and Rainbow kept jumping back, “’until finally, she buckled under the pressure, and his sword sliced right through hers, knocking the blade out of her hand’!”

Spike knocked the cardboard sword away from Rainbow, careful to make sure it landed behind the desk and nowhere near the lit candles.

“’Really now’,” Spike laughed, and Applejack was really impressed by his evil villain voice, “’you thought you could challenge one who has been touched by the Razor of Dreams, with a mere bamboo practice sword? How pathetic.’”

“’I dunno what ‘razor’ you’re talking about’,” Rainbow scoffed, “’but this fight ain’t over yet!’”

“’If you’re so keen on staining this hallowed place with your blood,’” Spike chortled, running his cardboard sword through his mane, “’then I will gladly end your life with but a single strike!’”

Rainbow sneered, gritting her teeth and baring her fangs; Applejack hadn’t even realized Rainbow had such impressive looking fangs until just this moment, but Applejack sure couldn’t look away from them now.

“’Go ahead!’” Spike guffawed. “Risk your life and face me! If you have the courage!”

“’Daring glared daggers into the man’s pitch-black heart,’” Rainbow said, and Applejack found herself watching with bated breath, eager to see how this would all play out. “’She knew she was at a total loss here, but there was no way she could lose Mareian to a creep like this! She’d just have to summon some reservoir of inner strength, and bare her fangs against the heavens themselves!’”

Rainbow roared, pointing her finger to the ceiling and outstretching her incredible wings as far as they would go, the crowd cheering and hollering for Rainbow—er, for ‘Daring Do’ to triumph.

“But that’ll have to wait ‘til next time!” Rainbow said with a grin, eliciting disappointed groans, laughs, and even applause from the audience, and none of them were clapping harder than Applejack.

Applejack lingered in the aisles even as Spike illuminated the rest of the library again, cuz she didn’t want to interrupt Rainbow until she’d finished entertaining the crowd of ponies, many of whom—child and adult alike—wanted to talk to her after her performance and tell her how incredible she was.

And they should, Applejack thought, that was really somethin’!

Soon enough, Rainbow had drunken in all the praise she required and saw everypony out of the library, closing the door and leaving only herself and Spike as the only ponies left. Well, and Applejack, but Rainbow didn’t know she was there yet.

“That was pretty awesome, huh Spike?” Rainbow leaned her back against the door and slid down to the floor, running a hand through her mane.

“I’ll say,” Applejack said warmly as she stepped into the entryway, chuckling at Rainbow’s shriek of fright as she leapt up to the ceiling. “Howdy!”

“Hey, Applejack,” Rainbow said coyly as she floated down to the ground, her cheeks tinted an adorably bright red. “How long have you been here?”

“Long enough to see the end of that performance,” Applejack said. “You were amazin’!”

“Oh,” Rainbow chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of her neck, “so you saw all that, huh?”

“Saw the sword fight, at least,” Applejack said. She turned her head to see Spike approaching from the back, greeting Applejack with a smile. “Howdy, Spike. You put in a mighty fine performance yerself!”

“We were pretty amazing, huh?” Spike beamed, and Applejack nodded. “Putting on a big reading show was Rainbow’s idea, and it turned out to be the most brilliant idea ever!”

“I dunno if I’d say most brilliant,” Rainbow’s failed attempts at hiding her proud smile warmed Applejack’s heart. That girl was cute.

“Gotta tell ya though,” Applejack smirked at Rainbow, whose ears perked up in attention, “I really gotta know what happens next. I don’t suppose I could, I dunno, maybe stick around for a hot minute and maybe leaf through that book?”

“Uh, I mean,” Rainbow coughed and her face turned redder than an apple, and Applejack loved it, “if you want to.”

“Honestly, Rainbow,” Applejack let out an awkward laugh, affecting an endeared smile at the charming pegasus, “there’s no place I’d rather be right now than curled up with a good book right here in this here library.”

“We were gonna make cocoa!” Spike chimed in excitedly. “We could make you some, and maybe we could all read that book together!”

“Yeah!” Rainbow cheered, pumping her fist. “What d’ya say, Applejack? Just cuz Twilight’s not here doesn’t mean we can’t have book club!”

“Nothin’ would make me happier,” Applejack smiled softly.

Author's Notes:

does anypony recognize the anime that the daring do segment is homaging\ripping off?

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

63. Life Outside The Hunt

Rarity sat on her parents’ porch, her legs dangling off the edge as she watched Sweetie Belle playing in the moonlit yard, learning how to use a wooden practice sword with the help of Queen Celestia, who was delighted to meet Sweetie Belle and offered to play with her.

Sweetie had tried to play it cool, but every so often she would shoot Rarity a glance like ‘can you believe I’m sword fighting with the Queen of Equestria!?’ and that warmed Rarity’s heart.

Sweetie Belle’s endless enthusiasm was quite endearing to Rarity in general. In a way, Rarity was sort of jealous of her; Sweetie still had that passion and excitement that came from youth, and she discovered that she was a trans girl and was living as her best self far sooner than Rarity had— Rarity was still quite the hardened egg at Sweetie Belle’s age.

Rarity wished that Sweetie would never lose that enthusiasm of hers, even though she knew that was a hopeless wish.

Rarity’s father came up from behind Rarity and handed her some hot cocoa, before sitting beside her mother who sat on the nearby porch swing.

Apparently, Rarity’s father owned a second home in Las Pegasus, and the family holed up here during the winters, at least for the last two years since Magnum had bought the place. Rarity had no idea until he told her about it at dinner, after she had tried to apologize for not coming by to see them in the Sun District for so long, but apparently they weren’t even home when Rarity had stopped by.

It was a nice place, this little winter haven of Rarity’s parents’. The two of them had been Slayers themselves in the past, but had long since retired, and with some wise investments had managed to make enough money that they could afford a place in Las Pegasus, raise both their children, and live in comfortable retirement for the rest of their lives.

Between rising prices and stagnating wages, even for jobs like monster hunting, Rarity couldn’t even dream of a comfortable retirement, if she even lived long enough to see that age.

Rarity took a sip of her cocoa, and delighted in watching Sweetie Belle try and one-up the Queen of Equestria as they practiced their swords. Sweetie’s determination and optimism— that she thought she could, ever in her lifetime, let alone childhood, manage to score a victory against Queen Celestia—was quite enjoyable to watch as well.

“She’s quite somethin’, isn’t she?” Rarity’s mother, Pearl, spoke as she sat down next to Rarity.

“Hm? Who are we talking about?” Rarity asked.

“Your sister, silly,” Pearl’s tone was jovial enough, but she didn’t look at Rarity as she answered, and Rarity got the distinct impression that something was wrong.

“That’s a good thing, isn’t it?” Rarity asked, and a sip of cocoa later, she continued. “For her to be so talented at something she loves, and for her to be on her way to becoming a protector of Equestria, following in your hoofsteps. Could you ask for more?”

“Yeah,” Magnum chimed in bitterly, “we could ask for her not to become a Slayer.”

“Dear,” Pearl sighed and rubbed two fingers over her temples, “we talked about this.”

“Talked about what?” Rarity asked, a knot forming in her stomach.

“About how being Slayers left your mother and I with nothing but a lifetime of regrets.”

“Magnum!” Pearl slammed her hand against the porch and glared at her husband.

“Mother, please,” Rarity put her hand on her mother’s shoulder to comfort her. The two women both looked over and smiled at Sweetie Belle and Celestia, who must have heard the sudden increase in volume and were curious. Rarity said under her breath, just loud enough for her mother to hear “I want to hear this. Father, what are you talking about?”

“There’s no life outside the Hunt,” Magnum said, his words laced with a tangible bitterness. “That what they always tell you, right?”

“Sure,” Rarity said softly, uneasy about where this conversation was about to be headed and having immediate regrets about prying into it.

“The Hunt is no life at all,” Magnum shook his head, “and we didn’t realize that until after our Hunt was already over.”

“It’s true that we’re happier now than we’ve ever been,” Pearl added, twiddling her thumbs anxiously, “but we still worry about you almost every day.”

“I’m sorry, I had no—”

“Celestia sends us a letter every time you set out on, and return from, a mission,” Magnum explained. “And every time that letter comes in, there’s a moment where we both worry if it’s gonna be that one.”

“W-which one?” Rarity asked helplessly.

“The one that tells us that we’re going to have to bury our daughter,” Pearl finished, and Rarity felt the knot in her stomach tighten into a noose around her throat.

“I see,” Rarity said coldly, and she could practically feel her soul departing her body through her visible breath.

“But that’s not for you to worry about,” Pearl said, affecting a smile and placing her hand gently on Rarity’s shoulder. “Don’t let your somber old parents keep you from doing what you’ve wanted to do your whole life!”

“But this isn’t about the danger, is it?” Rarity smiled, but there was no joy in it; only venom. “You aren’t worry that I’ll succumb to the Hunt’s danger, but to my own ‘recklessness’. Isn’t that right? Isn’t that the bane of all Slayers?”

Pearl and Magnum were silent, and that was all the answer Rarity needed.

“We had each other,” Magnum said.

“But most Slayers aren’t so lucky to have a partner they can rely on outside of the job,” Pearl added.

Rarity briefly thought about Rainbow Dash; they were more than just partners, they were friends as well, but Rarity couldn’t deny that the two of them weren’t the best at supporting each other emotionally. They were both drowning together, and while that was certainly preferable to drowning alone, they were still both drowning.

“So what do you think I should do?” Rarity asked.

“Ask yourself what really makes you happy,” Magnum said. “What do you honestly want to do with your life? And if the Hunt doesn’t fit into that ideal, then you can always retire early.”

Retire early? Just the thought of it made Rarity sick. Right, and end up an utter laughingstock, just like App—

Well. That thought certainly wasn’t called for.

Though it did give Rarity pause. Why had Applejack retired? She knew it would be a disaster for her reputation, even moreso than for many Slayers, since Applejack’s family had been Slayers for countless generations.

When Applejack had announced her retirement, or at least when she told Rarity about it, she had said it was for Pinkie Pie’s sake. Applejack said she couldn’t bear to risk leaving Pinkie all alone in the world after what had happened to her, but Rarity could see the change in Applejack’s eyes after that fateful night.

Something happened to her then, something changed inside her that night, but Rarity had no idea what it was or why it convinced her to retire.

Still though, she supposed it didn’t matter now. It didn’t change her mind about her own retirement, which was simply out of the question. Even setting aside the reputation aspect, she would hate to let down her Queen, and even moreso, she honestly had no desire to stop being a Slayer. She wanted to continue protecting Equestria until her last days.

But was that all she wanted?

And suddenly, the image of a certain lavender librarian crossed her mind.

“And now, with Sweetie Belle,” Magnum’s words distracted Rarity from what was certainly about to be a very bittersweet train of thought, “it’ll still be quite a few years before she’ll be old enough to take the License Exam. But that time seems to be slipping away faster and faster, and then all our peace and quiet that we’ve built will come crashing down.”

“We’ll have nothing to show for our lives but an empty nest,” Pearl said somberly, “and if anything happens to the two of you…”

“Let’s not kid ourselves either,” Magnum scoffed. “Rarity, you didn’t wait until you were ‘old enough’ to become a Slayer, and we’d be utterly bonkers to think Sweetie Belle will wait either.”

“And we know better than to think we’d be able to stop her,” Pearl said, watching Sweetie vigorously attacking Celestia with her sword, and everypony present was stunned when Sweetie actually scraped Celestia’s hand with her sword—even Celestia’s eyes widened, “she’s a natural, after all.”

“But there must be more,” Rarity said desperately. “There must be more to the life of a Slayer than just— just misery and making people worry!”

“Rarity, take it from two ponies who spent their entire lives Hunting,” Magnum said sternly. “There isn’t.”

Rarity thought back to her time in the Everfree Forest, when she was so certain that she was going to die and that her body wouldn’t be found. She remembered the sinking feeling in her chest as she grappled with the legacy she would leave, with the knowledge that her life, by its end, was completely and utterly worthless.

She refused to let it go like that. She wouldn’t spend her retirement in worry for her loved ones, or making others worry. Perhaps her parents couldn’t find a life outside the Hunt, perhaps no one could— at least not before her, because she wasn’t going to abandon the ponies of Equestria to fearsome monsters and terrifying nightmares, but she wasn’t going to abandon her own desires either.

She would find a way to make it work; for her, and for everyone.

And she made a mental note; when she returned home—to her library—she would make sure to ask Twilight about those fashion books.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

64. Just the Way It Is

Tired.

That’s what Rarity was; just absolutely dead tired.

She sat on a rock half-buried in the desert sand as she watched Celestia round up the last of the puckwudgies. She wondered if perhaps she was getting a bit lax, allowing Celestia to do all the actual work for this mission, but the more she pondered it the more she realized she was simply too tired to care.

It had been Rarity’s idea to confront the puckwudgies that evening, instead of dealing with them in the morning as Celestia suggested, because of course Celestia would want to do everything in the morning! She probably managed to get out of bed every day just fine!

Ahem.

But Rarity wanted this mission to be over with as soon as possible. She suddenly had more important matters on her mind than puckwudgies, and she wished to give them her focus sooner rather than later.

“Where did they come from?” Rarity asked as Celestia rounded up the last puckwudgie and put it in the makeshift caravan Celestia had made, which Celestia would later teleport away and release the beasts inside once she’d found a safe habitat for them where they wouldn’t be a threat to ponies.

“Up north, I presume,” Celestia said. “With the winters getting longer, and harsher, many creatures have been wandering further south in search of new places to find food and comfort.”

“I see,” Rarity said. She had said something before, about the winters getting longer… what was all that about?

Ugh, another time, Rarity. It’s not important right now.

“What’s on your mind, Rarity?” Celestia asked, Rarity scooching over on her rock to make room for the Queen to sit beside her. “I get the impression that it’s not a cute librarian this time.”

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Rarity said coyly, looking suspiciously away from Celestia.

“Come now, Rarity,” Celestia gave Rarity a little teasing push, “when we arrived at the Las Pegasus station, you were all kinds of gung-ho about securing these little puckwudgie guys, now you’re so morose I’m worried you’ll melt into a sad little puddle!”

“Oh, I’m sure you won’t have to worry about me melting,” Rarity rubbed her forearms, hoping to dispel some of the cold, but to no avail.

“Rarity.”

Well, that was the voice. The ‘I’m not going to ask you again’ voice that meant that Rarity’s coy dodging of the conversation at hand needed to end, and it needed to end now with no more games.

Rarity had known Celestia most of her life, and one of the constants of their relationship was that Rarity did not keep secrets from her Queen, or rather, she couldn’t keep them. Celestia always knew when something was amiss, and when it needed to be talked over and confronted.

“I’m just concerned,” Rarity said, bringing her legs up onto the rock and pulling them close to her, “after talking with my parents.”

“About what?” Celestia asked softly, wrapping a warm, gentle wing around Rarity’s back.

“About my life,” Rarity said, “and how to balance my own dreams, aspirations and-” Rarity swallowed the anxiety that threatened to silence her “-and relationships, with my life as a Slayer and my duty to protect Equestria. It all seems to be so much.”

Celestia laughed, and Rarity would be lying if she said that was the reaction she was expecting or hoping for.

“Excuse me?” Rarity balked.

“I’m sorry,” Celestia said sheepishly, softly rubbing Rarity’s shoulder, “I promise I’m not trying to make fun. It’s just, you had me worried for a moment, and it turns out you’re just going through something that all Slayers go through.”

“Yes, so I’ve heard,” Rarity sighed and buried her head in her arms. “I don’t suppose you have any sage-like wisdom to help me with this?”

“Nope!” Celestia said with a bright smile and far too much glee, considering the rather somber situation. “I’ve been struggling with the same conundrum for over a thousand years, so if you find an answer, you be sure to let me know, okay?”

Celestia laughed, like it was no big deal. Like it didn’t even bother her that everypony who worked for her, and even herself as it turned out, were so consumed by the Hunt that it was destroying their lives, and whatever opportunities they had for happiness.

“Who do you think came up with the phrase ‘there’s no life outside the Hunt’?” Celestia beamed, like she was proud of herself. “It wasn’t Luna, I can tell you that!”

“How can you act so pleased with yourself?” Rarity stood up and shouted, a little nagging feeling in the back of her mind reminding her that she was raising her voice to the Queen of Equestria, but she reminded that voice of how little she cared by shouting again. “Does it not bother you?! That everypony is so miserable?!”

“Of course it bothers me,” Celestia said completely flatly, and Rarity felt a tingling sensation on the back of her neck warning her not to push her Queen. “But some things in life are hard, and you can either wallow in the misery they bring, or just let them be.

“I’ve had a thousand years to come to peace with this fact of life, and I have no doubt that you’ll come to peace with it as well, in time.”

“So that’s just the way it is, then,” Rarity said bitterly.

“That’s just the way that it is, yes,” Celestia replied firmly.

Well that wasn’t going to be how it was for Rarity. She wouldn’t end up like her parents, or like old Granny Smith. She would find a way to live a happy life, and she would find it not merely for herself, but for her friends and family too.

She would find a way to break the chains that smothered the Slayers; for her sake, for Rainbow Dash’s, for Applejack’s, for her parents and sister, and for Celestia herself.

Because everyone deserves to live their best life, and to be happy.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

65. It Is What It Is

Night had fallen over the Everfree Forest, and as Twilight laid on her back and looked up at the sky, she remembered how much she enjoyed seeing the stars. They weren’t quite so visible in Canterlot, and even if they were, there was no way to stargaze from inside the library.

“It’s a lovely night out tonight,” Fluttershy’s voice caused Twilight to leap to attention, barely getting to her feet without toppling over, “isn’t it?”

“Um, yeah,” Twilight said, watching warily as the Spirit of the Everfree stepped closer to her. “What are you doing here? I thought you were talking to Pinkie Pie?”

Fluttershy giggled. “She fell asleep in the middle of her own sentence.”

“Ah,” Twilight snickered. That definitely sounded like Pinkie Pie. “I hope you’re prepared for a thousand apologies, because she’s definitely going to give you them once she wakes up.”

“Oh no,” Fluttershy said with a coy smile. “I’ll be sure to tell her there’s no reason to apologize.”

“It won’t matter,” Twilight shook her head, “not to Pinkie anyway, she’ll apologize no matter what you say.”

“I suppose I know how that goes,” Fluttershy muttered.

“So,” Twilight said, awkwardly swaying back and forth, “is there something I can do for you? Do you need me to take Pinkie back to Ponyville?”

Twilight suddenly realized that she and Pinkie hadn’t, in fact, made reservations or any sort of sleeping arrangements, and Twilight wondered if it had been Pinkie’s plan all along to sleep in the forest.

“Actually,” Fluttershy’s tone was timid, but the gaze she fixed on Twilight was anything but, “I wanted to ask you something.”

“Me something,” Twilight said, forcing a smile despite the cold sweat beading down her forehead. “Is that right?”

“It’s nothing that requires quite so much dread, Twilight Sparkle,” Fluttershy laughed, and Twilight gave a short, polite laugh as well. “I merely wanted to ask how long you’ve been hiding in Equestria?”

“Wh—I’m not hiding!” Twilight barked, taking a step toward Fluttershy, who Twilight noted did not even flinch.

“Is that right?” Fluttershy tilted her head. “Do you think you’re the first of our kind to stumble into my forest, Twilight Sparkle? I can see right through you, and I know that you’re hiding.”

“Well how can you judge me for hiding,” Twilight snapped, “when you’re hiding in this huge forest?”

“I never judged or criticized you, Twilight Sparkle,” Fluttershy shook her head, an unpleasant frown marring her face. “To be honest, I was only curious, because I could tell that you’re aren’t from around here.”

“How could you tell?” Twilight took a step back and felt her face burning up. “And, I’m— uh, sorry, for snapping at you. I guess I’m just a little on edge. I don’t want Pinkie or anyone else to find out. They wouldn’t— I’m not— ready for that, I guess.”

“My lips are sealed, Twilight Sparkle,” Fluttershy narrowed her eyes and looked around, and Twilight looked around as well and neither saw nor felt anything out of the ordinary. “I had no plans to reveal you anyway. After all, you never know who could be listening.”

What is that supposed to mean?

“So tell me, Twilight Sparkle,” Fluttershy smiled warmly, “how long have you been in our fine little country of Equestria?”

“Almost a year,” Twilight said, “but I only just settled down about three months ago. What about you? Are you Equestrian-born?”

“No,” Fluttershy shook her head, “my origin is someplace far away, but that doesn’t really matter to me. The forest is my home.”

“Is that by choice?” Twilight asked, her tone coming out colder than perhaps it should have.

Fluttershy took a deep breath and sighed before answering. “Does anyone really choose their home? It is my choice to stay, if that’s what you mean. To be the ‘spirit of the Everfree’ instead of risking my safety by leaving the bounds of my Domain.”

“Is this enough for you?” Twilight asked. “To live here in the darkness of the forest for the rest of your days? All by yourself?”

“I understand why you hide in the city,” Fluttershy replied sharply, “but for me-” Fluttershy shook her head and grit her teeth “-for me, it’s a matter of safety. The forest is where I belong, it’s the only place where I belong. And that’s just how it is.”

“But are you happy?”

Fluttershy shrugged. “Are you?”

“I am,” Twilight replied without a moment’s hesitation, as her mind was filled with memories of Spike, and Rarity, and Rainbow Dash and the others. Thinking about her home and her family in the library, it brought a smile to her face. “You could come back with us, you know. There’s space in my library for one more.”

“I appreciate the offer, but no,” Fluttershy said firmly.

“It’s not right,” Twilight crossed her arms, “that you have to hide in this forest and can’t be who you really are.”

“And you’re not also hiding, Twilight Sparkle?” Fluttershy put a hand on her hip and cocked her head.

“Not from my friends—”

“What would your friends say if they knew the truth?” Fluttershy remarked coldly, and Twilight stood in silence, unable to answer. “You can’t hide forever, Twilight Sparkle. Eventually, the truth will find you; it always does to those who run from it.

“As for me, I can live my truth in the comfort of my forest, and I never have to worry about letting anyone down or anyone discovering what I really am. If loneliness is the price I must pay to live without fear, I do so gladly.”

“It isn’t right,” Twilight clenched her fists and grinded her teeth against each other.

“But it is what it is,” Fluttershy shrugged, “and there isn’t anything that can change that.”

“I’ll change it,” Twilight said fiercely, looking straight into Fluttershy’s eyes even as the spirit arched an unconvinced eyebrow. “I’ll find a way that we can live freely, a way that we can live in harmony with Equestria!”

“I hope you do,” Fluttershy turned and walked away, into the darkness of her forest. “But until then, you’re welcome to stay in my forest for as long as you need to.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

66. Rarity and Sweetie Belle's Up Too Late Sisterly Confab

When Rarity returned to her parents’ home, walking drearily into the unlit living room, she expected everypony to be asleep at this late hour, and was rather surprised when she turned on the light to see a drowsy, but very much awake, Sweetie Belle sitting on the couch.

“Sweetie Belle?” Rarity yawned. “What are you still doing up?”

“Waiting for you,” Sweetie replied, giving a sweet smile as she rested her head on the arm of the chair, her arms dangling off the side.

“Were you worried about me, darling?” Rarity softly giggled as she sat down next to Sweetie, who scooched over to make room for her sister.

“Nope,” Sweetie shook her head and affected a bright grin, “just wanted to see you when you came back. Thought it’d be nice for you to see a friendly face when you got home, instead of just an empty house like you’re probably used to back in Canterlot.”

“Oh,” Rarity put a hand over her melting heart, “that’s very sweet of you! Thank you, I truly appreciate it.”

“No problem,” Sweetie chirped as Rarity pulled her in for a side hug.

“Why were you sitting in the dark though?” Rarity asked.

“Uh, cuz if you came back and the light was on, it wouldn’t be dramatic,” Sweetie scoffed, “duh.”

“Ah, of course,” Rarity rolled her eyes at Sweetie’s ‘logic’, and she refused to admit how frightfully similar it could be to her own.

“Where’s Queen Celestia?” Sweetie asked, leaning her weary head against Rarity’s side.

“She checked into a hotel,” Rarity answered and, seeing Sweetie Belle’s pout, continued before her sister could butt in. “She often likes time alone after a mission, to reflect. She also has to write a report.”

“To herself?”

“Yep,” Rarity giggled, imagining Celestia in her hotel room all alone, writing by dim candlelight a letter to ‘dear Queen Celestia’. “Even when she takes missions by her lonesome, she always files reports. I guess she just likes to have them handy, who knows.”

“Hmm,” Sweetie hummed, nestling closer to Rarity’s body and closing her eyes.

“Did you enjoy sparring with her this evening?”

“Yeah!” Sweetie jolted away from Rarity, pumping her fists, with a sparkle in her eye, now appearing to be wide awake. “Did you see us? I totally caught her off-guard one time! Nicked her hand and everything!”

She’s a natural.

The voice of her mother echoed in Rarity’s mind as she answered. “I did see that. You were quite impressive.”

“Yep,” Sweetie nodded, arms crossed and eyes closed in total confidence, “Celestia’s gonna make me her next super special student, now that you’ve graduated or whatever. She’s probably got empty nest syndrome, the poor dear.”

“Oh, is that right?” Rarity said teasingly, booping her sister on the nose. “You’re going to be Celestia’s student?”

“Uh, that’s what I said,” Sweetie scoffed and jerked her head back, “c’mon Rarity, try and keep up.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll be an excellent student,” Rarity yawned and leaned her back against the couch, Sweetie flumphing against the couch’s back as well.

“And an excellent Slayer, right?” Sweetie asked cheerfully.

“Ri—” Rarity paused. She looked at Sweetie Belle, her bright, youthful eyes and her charming little smile, and pondered their father’s words.

Being a Slayer left your mother and I with nothing but a lifetime of regrets.

“Sweetie Belle?” Rarity asked, keeping her tone measured and gentle to be sure she didn’t alarm her sister. “Why do you want to be a Slayer?”

“Don’t ask dumb questions, Rarity,” Sweetie said mockingly, and Rarity wasn’t sure whether to be offended or impressed by her sass. “Slayers get to go on adventures, and fight monsters, and protect innocent ponies! And you get adoration and respect from everypony you meet, too!”

She’s just like Pinkie Pie, Rarity thought, and she didn’t have the heart to correct Sweetie’s misconceptions about what being a Slayer was like.

But she had to.

“Sweetie,” Rarity sighed, “are you prepared to give up everything in order to protect Equestria? I don’t know what our parents have told you about being a Slayer, but it is a life of constant work, of constant exhaustion. It’s worth it, of course, but you need to be prepared to lose everything else if it’s the road you truly want to travel down, because there is no life outside the Hunt.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Sweetie batted her hand dismissively. “I’ve heard that before, and just cuz you’ve turned into a bitter old lady, doesn’t mean I’m gonna. I’m gonna save ponies with a smile on my face, and help everyone I meet, and make everypony’s lives better just by being there!”

“Like Queen Celestia?” Rarity asked with a wry smile, smiling even brighter at the lovely shade of red that Sweetie’s cheeks suddenly became.

“Well,” Sweetie cleared her throat, “something like that, I guess. She is kinda cool, I suppose. And I kinda— I mean, I guess I kinda wanna be like her. And like you.”

“You’re a sweetheart,” Rarity pulled her sister into a hug and kissed her on the head.

She was about to let her go, but then she thought about her battle with the timberwolves, and with the cragadile, and with the quarray eels, and whether it was for her own sake or her sister’s, she couldn’t bring herself to let Sweetie Belle go.

“Rarity?” Sweetie’s muffled voice chimed in. “Kinda smothering me?”

“Oh,” Rarity let out a nervous giggle, “sorry about that, darling. Got lost in a thought.”

“About the librarian, right?” Sweetie said with a devilish grin.

“How do you—” Rarity cleared her throat and stood up. “Well, look at the time! I believe somepony needs to go to sleep!”

“I get it, I get it,” Sweetie hopped off the couch and rolled her eyes as she headed to the bedroom.

Just shy of the hallway, her hand resting on the corner of the wall, Sweetie stopped and turned back to look at Rarity, who gave her a smile and waved.

“It’s really good to see you, Rarity,” Sweetie Belle said. “We’ve missed you.”

“Me too, darling,” Rarity said, trying to hold back her tears until Sweetie was away. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Rarity,” Sweetie Belle yawned, continuing her trek to her bedroom. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Sweetie Belle.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

67. Useful Lesbians

Rainbow helped Spike pull the blanket over him as he laid down to go to sleep for the night, ruffling the kid’s hair one last time before saying goodnight to him.

“And you’ll stay the night?” Spike asked, trying to hide his worry behind a brave face.

“Yeah, no problem,” Rainbow flashed a charming grin.

“Not cuz I’m scared or anything!” Spike insisted, puffing up his cheeks.

“Of course not!” Rainbow scoffed, happy to play along with Spike’s lie. “But somepony’s gotta watch over the library while you’re up here, right?”

“Right!” Spike nodded, giving a big smile.

“Goodnight, kiddo! Sweet dreams!”

Rainbow waved to Spike and headed down the stairs, but didn’t get two steps down before being stopped by Spike’s voice.

“Rainbow, wait!”

“Yeah, what’s up?” Rainbow poked her head up into the attic.

Spike pointed toward a nightstand over by Twilight’s bed, on the other side of the room from Spike’s. “My doll, I need it.”

“Oh, sure,” Rainbow said and hopped back into the room. She didn’t realize exactly what doll Spike was talking about, what with the darkness in the room, until she reached the nightstand and saw a little doll of a very realistic purple dragon, with a starry galaxy etched into its wingspan.

Looking at the thing gave Rainbow pause, and she felt a droplet of sweat come down her brow before she reminded herself it’s just a doll, and grabbed it, tossing it to Spike.

“You actually like that thing?” Rainbow said, instantly realizing she’d stuck her hoof in her mouth the moment she heard herself speak.

“Y-yeah,” Spike said defensively, clutching the doll to his chest.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like a jerk,” Rainbow ruffled her own hair. “I just can’t stand dragons.”

“R-right,” Spike said, and Rainbow could swear it sounded like all the emotion had drained from his voice. “W-well, I like this one, cuz it reminds me of mom.”

“Oh yeah, I guess it kinda looks like her,” Rainbow said to humor Spike, not seeing any real resemblance between that monster and her friend. “Anyhoo, sleep tight, buddy! See you tomorrow!”

“Wait, Rainbow!”

“Yeah?” Rainbow asked, a slight irritation in her tone. She promised herself that she’d take care of Spike no matter how many times he had to call her, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t be a little annoyed by it. “What’s up, kid?”

“You’ll be here in the morning, right?”

“Probably asleep, but yeah, I’ll be here.”

“And tomorrow, we’ll pick Twilight up at the train station? Together?”

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Rainbow flashed a grin. “She’s my buddy, and I’d never leave a friend hanging like that. Pinkie’s gonna be coming back too, so we’ll probably have a party or something when she gets back!”

“Okay,” Spike said, and breathed what sounded like a sigh of relief before lying down on the bed, his little arms clutching the dragon doll super close to him. “Goodnight, Rainbow. Thanks for always coming by the library, and for being friends with us.”

“No problem,” Rainbow chuckled, “I should be thanking you guys.”

When Spike only responded with a snore, Rainbow let out a relaxed sigh and headed down the stairs, where Applejack was sitting in a chair, muzzle buried deep inside Daring Do and the Razor of Dreams.

Rainbow cracked a smile seeing Applejack looked so enthralled by that book. Rainbow had wanted to give AJ some recommendations forever, especially after they started dati—er, uh, they went out those one or two times, but she was always too scared Applejack would think her taste was dumb and bad.

Seeing Applejack staring at the book, mouth half open and eyes glued to the pages, it made Rainbow’s heart feel all warm and fuzzy inside, like a geyser of steam at one of those lookit-the-geyser places.

Applejack closed the book and whistled, and Rainbow bit down on her lip to keep herself from laughing. AJ put the book on the desk and looked up at Rainbow, smiling at her and giving her a wave.

“Enjoying that book?” Rainbow asked cockily.

“Barely been able to put the damn thing down,” Applejack laughed. “It’s real good!”

“I think it’s probably my fave of the series, honestly,” Rainbow yawned, stretching her arms above her head.

“Hittin’ the hay?”

“Almost,” Rainbow arched her back. “I’m staying here for the night, so you probably gotta be heading home now, yeah? You can take the book with you, if you want to.”

“So yer gonna be here?” Applejack propped her elbow on the desk, leaning her cheek against her hand.

“Yep,” Rainbow sat cross legged on the blankets covering the floor. “Told Spike, and I promised Twilight, that I’d watch over the library for the night.”

“All night?” Applejack asked. “In the dark, with nopony else around, all by yourself?”

“Don’t rub it in,” Rainbow laughed, and lied down on the blankets. “At least I’ve got books!”

“I wasn’t tryin’ to rub it in, sugarcube,” Applejack got up and stood over Rainbow, “I was tryin’ to subtly ask ya if I could stay over with ya.”

“Oh! Yeah, I don’t do subtle,” Rainbow laughed nervously, feeling her cheeks heat up cuz she was a dumb stupid idiot who couldn’t read a room.

“Duly noted,” Applejack smiled warmly, and Rainbow—who had been expecting a joke at her expense—started to let her guard down a little. “Still though, would you mind the company too terribly? If I stayed the night here with you?”

“I mean,” Rainbow’s breath got heavy and she could swear it was nearly a million degrees in the room all of a sudden, “if that’s something you wanna do, you don’t need my permission.”

“Then it’s settled,” Applejack said with a gleaming smile.

“Yeah,” Rainbow bit her lip again, “so uh, what do you wanna do then?”

“Uh, I dunno,” Applejack said coyly, “maybe we could—oops!”

Applejack suddenly ‘tripped’—more like awkwardly stumbled and then jumped to the ground, and boy was she a bad actor—but for half a second Rainbow thought she was really falling and moved to catch her, grabbing the earth pony’s chest in her hands before realizing what had happened.

“Oh geez, I fell over,” Applejack said flatly, grinning at Rainbow as Rainbow held her up.

“It’s—” Rainbow said through heavy breaths as she laid back down and gently removed her hands from Applejack's chest, Applejack putting her own hands on the ground at either side of Rainbow's head. “—a good thing I caught you then.”

“Yeah,” Applejack whispered as Rainbow leaned up, her and Applejack's lips inches apart— agonizingly close to each other now— and Applejack put her hand on Rainbow's cheek and stared right into her eyes, “good thing.”

Rainbow leaned in closer— it was now or never and she knew it. And as Rainbow inched closer to Applejack, Applejack pressed her lips against Rainbow’s, sending a jolt of fire and electricity rocketing through Rainbow’s body.

“Uh, w-wow?” Rainbow pulled herself away for just a sec, feeling just a little overwhelmed, but Applejack just smiled at her before pulling Rainbow in close and planting another kiss onto her lips.

It was gonna be a good night.

Author's Notes:

set sail

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

68. Good Morning

Rainbow Dash groaned groggily as she realized she was kinda sore upon waking up in the morning, but she figured that’s just what she gets for sleeping on the floor of the library. She hadn’t quite gotten her eyes open as she adjusted her body a little bit, bumping into some firm resistance really quickly.

She only wondered what it was for half a second before remembering the night before and that it was Applejack.

Rainbow’s entire body tensed up. Applejack was sleeping right next to her! She didn’t dare open her eyes to see the position of Applejack’s body relative to hers, but she was thankful that both of them still had clothes on at least—they didn’t go that far last night.

Rainbow let her eyes flutter open just a tiny bit, but as she saw Spike indulging in a bowl of ice cream on top of the reception desk, she shut her eyes super tight just as quick. And thankfully, Spike wasn’t looking at them so he still didn’t know that Rainbow was awake, but him being there did mean he saw Rainbow and Applejack sleeping together, and that was mortifying.

Rainbow had to move before she somehow got embarrassed even more… right? That is, did she even want to move? Sure, being seen sleeping next to Applejack was super embarrassing—being seen sleeping at all was pretty embarrassing, to be honest—but like… who cares?

Was Rainbow honestly embarrassed about the night she spent making out with Applejack? It was a great night, and once they’d finally stopped making out and settled down to go to sleep, they both decided to sleep next to each other on purpose, because they wanted to be near each other.

What was so embarrassing about that?

Because Rainbow put a lot of investment and effort into building this shell of coolness and confident detachment, and she couldn’t just let the whole thing fall apart by letting everyone see what a lovestruck idiot she was, sleeping next to her crush.

Rainbow’s wings fidgeted as she prepared to move, cuz she just couldn’t let anyone think that she was like, really into Applejack, could she? Sure, she had a crush, and Applejack was super cool and super hot and whatever else, but Rainbow didn’t have feelings for her!

As Rainbow’s wings brushed against Applejack’s chest, Applejack groaned quietly. Rainbow bit her lip, worried that she woke AJ up, but Applejack just moved her body a little bit to make herself more comfortable.

Unfortunately for Rainbow, this meant wrapping her arms around the nearest, softest thing in the room—Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow nearly gasped as she felt Applejack’s sleepy arms tugging her a little closer to Applejack’s chest, but then she took a sec to really feel Applejack’s arms around her, and… it was nice. It was… safe, and comfortable. And cool, and like, hot… and nice.

Rainbow’s fang was still pressed against her lip, and as she instinctively scraped it across, she felt a little bit of blood streaming down her face. As she moved to wipe it away, she remembered when she bit herself in front of Applejack, and AJ took a cloth and wiped the blood away from her lip. That was really sweet of her, especially since it had happened right after Rainbow had totally flaked on—

Wait.

Had Applejack been crushing on Rainbow all this time? When Rainbow said she’d show up but then didn’t that night, was Applejack mad at her the next morning not cuz Rainbow was a loser and a flake, but because Applejack had really been looking forward to spending the time together?

Oh.

OH.

Rainbow sighed, and let her body ease up in Applejack’s arms, squirming a little bit further into Applejack’s embrace with a smile on her face, a smile that only widened as she heard Applejack’s sleepy sigh of contentment.

Rainbow suddenly didn’t care about the embarrassment or her ‘cool guy’ shtick anymore; all that mattered was Applejack’s embrace, and how warm and safe she felt in it.

Today was a good morning.

Author's Notes:

i'm gay

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

69. I'll Miss You

The trek to the edge of the Everfree Forest was filled by the noisy chatter of Pinkie Pie—and her many apologies, as Twilight Sparkle predicted—but Fluttershy mused that she wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

While Twilight Sparkle left to procure train tickets for her and Pinkie Pie to return home, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie lingered in the snowy clearing where the forest met the village, and Fluttershy found that she was actually rather reluctant to see Pinkie Pie go.

“Welp, I guess I gotta bounce,” Pinkie Pie said, chewing on her thumb as she very, very slowly walked away from the forest, looking back at Fluttershy with every step.

The words ‘I’ll miss you’ were caught on Fluttershy’s lips, but she dared not to say them.

“It was a pleasure having you in my forest, Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy said instead, bowing politely.

“Hey, just so you know, I’m definitely gonna come back!” Pinkie exclaimed, spinning around and pointing her finger at a surprised Fluttershy. “I dunno, maybe in two or three weeks or something! I can’t stand a whole month this time, but I also got a shop back home, and I don’t wanna let Applejack down—”

“Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy walked up to Pinkie Pie, knelt, and grasped her shoulders, “whenever you wish to return, you may do so. But don’t run yourself in circles over it. I enjoy my solitude, after all. I’ve been alone in my forest for a long time, it won’t kill me to be away from your presence.”

Fluttershy pondered a moment, and with a relenting sigh she decided to follow her instinct, even if she did feel very silly and childish doing so.

She gave Pinkie Pie a kiss on the cheek.

“I’ll miss you.”

Fluttershy felt her entire stomach revolting against those three words, and she shut her eyes to make sure she missed Pinkie Pie’s immediate reaction. It was silly—it was stupid—of her to say that she would ‘miss’ Pinkie Pie. She had barely known her for, what, a day and a half?

But it was true. She enjoyed Pinkie Pie’s company, and she would miss it once she was gone.

Fluttershy opened her eyes to see the goofiest grin on Pinkie’s brightly blushing face, the short mare looking on the verge of tears almost.

“Are you alright?” Fluttershy asked concernedly.

Pinkie Pie flung her arms around Fluttershy, and when Fluttershy rose to her feet to recoil from the touch, she found Pinkie Pie was still latching onto her, and that just made Fluttershy laugh as she wrapped her arms around Pinkie Pie.

“I’ll miss you too!” Pinkie Pie blubbered, nuzzling against Fluttershy with tears streaming down her cheeks. “And I promise I won’t fall asleep next time!”

“Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy sighed and, after a moment’s hesitation, picked Pinkie Pie up in her arms to return the friendly nuzzle Pinkie Pie had graced her with. “You’ll only be gone a couple of weeks, right?”

“That’s right!” Pinkie Pie looked into Fluttershy’s eyes and smiled brightly, wiping tears from her face. “Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye! I Pinkie Promise I’ll come back for you in three weeks, and I never break a Pinkie Promise!”

“I remember,” Fluttershy said, “you said the same thing the last time before you left.”

“Then you know I mean it!”

“I know,” Fluttershy gently tapped her nose against Pinkie Pie’s before placing her back on the ground. “And just like last time, I’ll wait for you to return. I look forward to seeing you again, Pinkie Pie.”

Pinkie Pie tried to say something, but it came out as very cute, inelegant blubbers, and before she could try and correct herself, she was interrupted by the voice of Twilight Sparkle.

“Pinkie Pie!” Twilight Sparkle called out as she joined Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie in the clearing. “Are you ready to go? Said your goodbyes and everything?”

Pinkie Pie nodded, wiping her eyes.

“What’s wrong, Pinkie?” Twilight Sparkle asked as she bent down on one knee to check on Pinkie. “Are you just sad about leaving Fluttershy?”

“Mm-hmm,” Pinkie Pie nodded, latching onto Twilight Sparkle and hugging her.

“It’ll be okay, Pinkie,” Twilight Sparkle said as she embraced Pinkie Pie, “you’ll be back to visit Fluttershy before you know it, right?”

“That’s right!” Pinkie Pie jumped up and nodded, pointing at Fluttershy. “Before you know it!”

“I can’t wait,” Fluttershy giggled, and Pinkie Pie pumped her fists and smiled.

Pinkie Pie rushed off toward the train station, turning back only one more time to wave to Fluttershy—who happily waved back at her— though Twilight Sparkle stayed behind for a moment.

“I like her,” Fluttershy said idly, and the embarrassment she felt at that statement was quickly soothed by the smile on Twilight Sparkle’s lips.

“She’s a really good friend,” Twilight Sparkle said, then she turned to Fluttershy and smiled right at her, “and if nothing else, I can promise you that she is completely genuine. If you’re at all worried that her enthusiasm or affection are an act, I can tell you that I’ve never met another pony as unashamedly herself as Pinkie Pie.”

“That’s… actually very nice to hear.”

Truthfully, Fluttershy had begun to pick up on that herself, despite her initial reservations. But hearing it from one of Pinkie Pie’s friends was still something of a relief.

“And also,” Twilight Sparkle said hesitantly, chewing on her thumbnail, “my offer to come to my library remains open.”

“And my offer to remain in my forest is open as well,” Fluttershy replied immediately.

“Well,” Twilight Sparkle said, visibly uncomfortable, “maybe I’ll see you around sometime? Here in the forest, or in my library? Either way, thank you for having us.”

Twilight Sparkle bowed politely, and Fluttershy reached out her hand, Twilight Sparkle looking at it hesitantly for a moment before affecting a warm smile and shaking it.

“I’ll see you around, Twilight Sparkle.”

As Twilight Sparkle ran off to catch up with Pinkie Pie and head home, Fluttershy returned to her home in the forest.

She found herself reluctant to transform back into her true form and elected to remain small for a time, if only to reflect on the day she’d had… or something.

It was an odd feeling, to not be relieved when guests left her forest. While she never begrudged having someone in her forest— unless they meant to do the forest harm, of course— she always felt a profound weight lifted off her shoulders whenever she was left alone again.

Not this time. This time she felt only sadness.

And while it was easy to chalk that up to her abnormal, bizarre, growing attachment to Pinkie Pie, which was an issue she would have to deal with at some point because it simply wouldn’t do for the spirit of the forest to become attached to a pony so pathetically easily, there was something else going on.

I’ll find a way that we can live freely!

Twilight Sparkle’s words echoed in Fluttershy’s mind.

A way that we can live in harmony with Equestria!

Fluttershy took a deep breath as she laid down on the grass of her forest, her many animal friends crowding around her to comfort her and make sure she was okay.

Perhaps, at the end of the day, she was simply tired of hiding. And she didn’t even realize until someone else reminded her that there was indeed a world outside her forest.

Author's Notes:

it's rly too bad the chapter where rainbow and applejack are sleeping together wasn't chapter 69. missed opportunity tbh

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

70. The Letter

Twilight was eagerly scratching away at a piece of parchment as she and Pinkie settled down in their train cabin. Her conversation with Fluttershy had given her a lot to think about, and a lot she wanted to talk to Rarity about, so she wanted to send Rarity a letter that she could read in case Twilight returned to the library before Rarity.

At first, Twilight wanted to put all the stuff she wanted to talk about in the letter, but she realized she only had so much parchment and even besides that, it would be better to talk to Rarity in person about the serious stuff. Twilight was just glad she knew a spell that could erase the words off the parchment, so she could keep re-using the same piece of paper over and over after every failed attempt at making the letter.

So Twilight contented herself with merely regaling Rarity with the details of her trip. She talked about how she met Fluttershy, how interesting it was to meet the spirit of the forest, but also it was a little scary. How Pinkie Pie had been an absolute delight to travel with, and the ‘Sugarcube Corner’ that the pair stopped by on the way back to the train station sold the most delectable confectionaries.

She also wrote that she missed Rarity, and bit down on her lip as she wondered how appropriate it would be to write down that she couldn’t wait to see her again. She didn’t even notice her cheeks blushing until she heard Pinkie Pie’s stifled chortling.

“What?” Twilight asked innocently.

“Is that letter for Rarity?” Pinkie asked with a wry smirk.

“Wh—no!” Twilight denied, clutching the letter to her chest, though after only a second or two, hung her head and muttered “Yeah, it is.”

Pinkie giggled again, her legs kicking into the air, and she had a way of making her laughter spread to others, so Twilight couldn’t help but join in.

“You’ve been in mighty good spirits this morning, Twilight Sparkle!” Pinkie pointed out with a grand smile.

“I guess so,” Twilight said, tapping the tip of her pen against her muzzle. “Your friend Fluttershy is really interesting. I talked to her last night and… she gave me a lot to think about.”

“Oh yeah?” Pinkie smirked and leaned in closer. “What kinda thinking are you thinking?”

“Well, um,” Twilight hesitated, and she let her thumb rub across the old parchment in her hands. “It’s kinda— I dunno how to explain exactly.”

Twilight wasn’t sure how exactly to explain the nuances of her conversation with Fluttershy to Pinkie, or where to even begin. She knew the details of what they talked about were a little outside the scope of the average Equestrian pony.

“It’s a work in progress, let’s just leave it at that.”

“Fine, fine,” Pinkie waved dismissively, but she perked right back up again and leaned over the space between the two cabin benches with her hands on her knees. “So what’s in the letter? What are you telling Rarity about?”

“Wh—you can’t read my letter! It’s private!” Twilight said, aghast as she pulled the note away from Pinkie Pie, her cheeks blazing a furious red.

“Pfft, you’re no fun,” Pinkie scoffed and leaned back onto her bench, crossing her arms and puffing up her cheeks.

“Well you are fun,” Twilight said petulantly, “and I had a really good time with you today! So there!” Twilight harrumphed and turned her head away from Pinkie for good measure, momentarily musing that she probably looked just like Rarity for a second.

“Y’know, the way you were putting so much sass into that,” Pinkie giggled, “I kinda expected something a little more, uh, not super kind and nice? That was really sweet though!”

“You’re really sweet,” Twilight crossed her arms and turned her nose up at Pinkie, but it was when Twilight stuck her tongue out that both women lost it and erupted into a fit of giggles.

“So, wait,” Pinkie said confusedly, “how are you gonna send Rarity that letter? I mean, by the time it reaches her, won’t she already be back in Canterlot?”

“Oh, I have a spell for that,” Twilight said confidently. “In fact, I’m almost finished writing it, so just give me a second, okay?”

Pinkie nodded and hummed quietly to herself, the perfect accompaniment for Twilight’s scratching pen as she put the finishing touches on the letter to Rarity, closing the letter off by signing it “Your faithful librarian, Twilight Sparkle,” and something about looking at that part made Twilight smile fondly.

Twilight folded the parchment and sealed it inside a lavender envelope. She had several of them that Rarity had given her, “in case we ever want to send each other letters, darling!” Twilight hadn’t even told Rarity of her letter-sending spell, so it was just good fortune that Rarity had such a peculiar sense for what gifts to give.

Twilight opened the train window, then held the envelope in front of her eyes and breathed a deep violet flame that burned the envelope to ash, the remains being swept up and carried out the window and off into the wind by her flames, where it would eventually locate Rarity and reform into the letter for her to read.

Twilight was smiling and feeling rather proud of herself as she shut the window and watched the letter take flight, but her stomach dropped when she looked at Pinkie Pie staring at her in stunned silence, a decidedly shaken expression on her face.

“Are you—Pinkie, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked concernedly, her heart starting to race.

“Uh, nothing,” Pinkie shook her head and slapped herself on the cheeks a few times, “nothing, nothing. Don’t worry about it! Just had a bad memory is all!”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Twilight said dourly. If she had known Pinkie Pie had an aversion to flame, she would have gone someplace else to cast the spell.

“It’s totally okay,” Pinkie said, though Twilight wasn’t entirely convinced, “you couldn’t have know that—uh, hm…”

“Pinkie?” Twilight’s heart started to race once more. “Everything okay?”

“Can I ask you something?” Pinkie said seriously, her head turned downward, almost as if she were avoiding Twilight’s gaze.

“Uh, okay. Go for it.”

“What were you and Fluttershy talking about last night?” Pinkie said coldly.

Oh.

Oh.

OH.

Oh no.

“Uhm, I’m sorry?” Twilight asked, and she wondered how quickly her fur could be completely soaked in sweat, because she felt like she was already there.

“I know I shouldn’t have,” Pinkie muttered, “but I was listening to you guys last night. I kinda woke up in the middle of the night, and Fluttershy was gone so I went looking for her, and I stumbled onto you guys talking, and I kinda… eavesdropped.” Pinkie threw herself on the ground and bowed. “I’m super duper sorry! I know I shouldn’t have, I just didn’t know what was going on and then some things you guys said had me really worried and I—”

“Pinkie Pie.”

Twilight’s voice brought Pinkie back to her feet, and Twilight put her hands on Pinkie’s shoulders.

“Don’t worry about it,” Twilight said. “Sometimes you stumble onto a situation and you’ve made a choice before you realize it. It happens all the time, and we all make mistakes. I’m not mad at you for listening in.”

You never know who could be listening.

Was that what Fluttershy meant?

“Thank you, Twilight,” Pinkie said, breathing a sigh of relief as she wiped half-formed tears from her eyes. “But, if it’s okay, if you don’t mind, could you answer my question? What were you guys talking about last night?”

“Um, I would answer it,” Twilight thought about recoiling her hands, but she kept them tightly gripped to Pinkie Pie’s shoulders, and she wasn’t sure if that was for her own sake or for Pinkie’s, “if I could, but I’m really not sure what Fluttershy was talking about.”

“Really?” Pinkie asked, shooting Twilight a very skeptical glance.

“It’s obvious that neither Fluttershy or myself are average ponies,” Twilight said, “but we are still just ponies. But I think our, um, strangeness—her connection to the forest and my supernatural talent at magic—keep us a little bit isolated, and we feel the need to hide ourselves, because we worry people won’t understand us.”

“Oh,” Pinkie said, her voice as hollow as a carved-out tree trunk.

“Is everything okay?” Twilight asked nervously. This kind of conversation is exactly the reason why Twilight kept her business to herself; she didn’t want Pinkie to worry unnecessarily, and more than that she didn’t want to lose Pinkie’s friendship.

“I think I get it,” Pinkie said ponderously, taking a step back and away from Twilight’s hands, and putting her own hand to her chin. Pinkie looked at Twilight, and for half a second Twilight felt like she was being interrogated, like Pinkie could see right through her and her disguise. “Are you scared?”

The softness in Pinkie’s voice deteriorated some of Twilight’s guard, but she still didn’t feel out of the woods yet.

“I am,” Twilight had no idea what compelled her to answer honestly, but she felt strongly that no other answer would do.

Pinkie Pie climbed onto Twilight’s bench and, without a word, gave Twilight a tender hug. Twilight hugged her back and felt tears stinging at her eyes.

“You’re safe with me, Twilight,” Pinkie whispered, “cuz we’re friends. And I’m not gonna let anything bad happen to my friends.”

“Thank you, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said softly. “You’re a good friend.”

“You too, Twilight.”

Pinkie hopped back to her bench and hummed a little song, and while the two didn’t talk much on the ride back to Canterlot, Pinkie smiled at Twilight several times, and Twilight didn’t get the sense that anything was wrong between them.

But one question did claw at Twilight’s mind.

How much did Pinkie Pie know?

Twilight had covered all her bases, right? She didn’t say anything to Fluttershy that would have been taken in a negative light, did she? Neither she nor Fluttershy had said even one word specifically about their… similarity. So what did Pinkie know?

Oh well, Twilight supposed that it didn’t really matter. They were friends, and that was that. it wouldn’t do to be suspicious of Pinkie, because there was nothing that she had done that would have caused such a reaction. She was a little weirded out by the out of context conversation she heard between Twilight and Fluttershy.

That was all.

That was all.

…

Right?

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

71. What We're Missing

Rarity gave her parents and her sister one last hug as they saw her off at the train station. She promised them she would visit them again soon, and then promised herself that she wouldn’t make such empty promises in the future.

Celestia actually took more time saying goodbye to Rarity’s family than Rarity herself did, and by the time she was finished Rarity had already settled into their private cabin and was staring into space out the window.

“Not a fan of long goodbyes, I take it?” Celestia asked as she sat across from Rarity.

“No,” Rarity muttered, “just don’t have much to say, I suppose.”

Rarity was still tired from last night, still tired from the day before, from the week before, from—well, it goes on. She was tired, is the point. And spending an hour as her family gushes on her while the train driver glares at her and the Queen to get on because they can’t leave without them, it wasn’t Rarity’s idea of a pleasant way to spend her morning.

Besides which, Rarity just needed some time to think.

Celestia handed Rarity a coffee, and only after she took it did Rarity realize Celestia had left the car and come back without Rarity even noticing. She took a sip and sighed in frustration, even the delightful aroma and taste of vanilla and hazelnut didn’t do much to soothe Rarity’s aching nerves.

“What’s on your mind, Rarity?”

“I swear you’ve asked me that at least six times during this trip,” Rarity griped. “And I thank you for your concern, I just wish I didn’t have so much on my mind these days.”

“I know how you feel,” Celestia sighed, taking a sip of her own coffee, which was black either because she hated herself or because she was Queen of Equestria and didn’t feel pain. At least, those were the only reasons Rarity could think that someone would enjoy black coffee.

“I just-” Rarity groaned “-I wish it were simple again. When I first became a Slayer, everything seemed so black and white. You slayed monsters, protected ponies, people showered you with praise and everything seemed so… clear.”

“I often find myself yearning for days gone by,” Celestia hummed, “but you have to remember that the simplicity you crave is only attached to those days in hindsight. Back then, everything felt so complicated and overwhelming, and it’s only now—now that you’ve completed those tasks and you understand those days in a greater context—that they seem to be so simple.”

“You’re not wrong,” Rarity grumbled, “I suppose.” She took another sip of her coffee and tried to relax, but it was like a needle of bone was piercing into her brain. “Does it ever get easier? Does it ever become simple, or— or manageable?”

“No,” the Queen said sternly, before taking another sip of her coffee.

“Well,” Rarity said flatly, “that’s a shame.”

“Life is complicated, Rarity,” Celestia said, her tone still carrying a noticeable hint of that sternness from before, but with a softer edge to it. “It has its good days, and bad ones, but it will never be ‘simple’ or ‘easy’.”

“I just want to be happy,” Rarity sighed, and if she hadn't been sitting in front of her Queen, she may well have just burst into tears right then and there.

“So say we all,” Celestia hummed as she placed her coffee cup to her lips before electing not to take a sip after all.

“I’m going to figure it out, you know,” Rarity said confidently, glancing at Celestia from the corner of her eye.

“Excuse me?” Celestia cocked her head and smiled. “What are you going to figure out?”

“How to make everyone happy,” Rarity said, staring Celestia down. “There must be some better way to protect Equestria that doesn’t drain the life and joy out of its protectors! There has to be! And I’m going to find it!”

Celestia was silent, and she wasn’t smiling.

Rarity blinked, and swallowed some anxiety at this unexpected reaction.

Celestia took a sip of her coffee, her eyes never breaking contact with Rarity’s.

“Um, Celestia?” Rarity asked nervously. “Is everything alright?” Rarity let out a nervous laugh. “Should I ask what’s on your mind?”

“Interesting,” Celestia said flatly. “It’s interesting to me, that you think you can just up and solve a problem that I haven’t been able to figure out in a thousand years.”

“I didn’t mean to imply—”

“No, Rarity,” Celestia scoffed, and everything around Rarity seemed to slow down because she had never seen Celestia become genuinely angry before now, “please. Tell me— ME— how you’re going to just fix everything! Please enlighten me to what crucial element I’m missing, that I haven’t seen in a thousand years, that will make everyone be able to be happy! Because goodness, I’m sure I must have missed something!

“Or perhaps,” Celestia stood up, throwing her half-full coffee cup to the ground, “you just think I haven’t been trying! Maybe you think I’ve been resting on my laurels this last millennium, that the Queen of Equestria doesn’t really care, that she thinks everything’s just FINE the way it is! Is THAT it?!”

Rarity’s entire body was curled up into a cowering ball on her seat, and no matter how desperately she wanted to respond or apologize, nothing could pass her lips but a mere whimper.

Celestia fell back down onto her seat, eyes staring a thousand yards into the distance.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “You didn’t deserve that at all.”

“Where did that even come from?” Rarity asked, still holding her legs as close to her body as she was able. “I’ve never seen that side of you before!”

“Very few have,” Celestia said, rubbing her temples wither her forefingers. “It’s not something I’m proud of, but even I can lose my temper sometimes. I didn’t mean to imply that you thought—” Celestia shook her head and groaned. “It doesn’t matter what I thought or didn’t think, what I meant or didn’t mean. You didn’t deserve to be the target of such hostility, and I apologize.”

“Do you mind telling me what caused it?” Rarity asked, letting her hooves slowly descend back to the floor of the cabin. “I had no idea you were under such an enormous burden.”

“Because I’m very good at keeping my problems to myself,” Celestia said, and Rarity caught the hint. “You aren’t the first pony to think they’ve figured out something that I haven’t. But I do hope that you become the first pony to be right.”

“I honestly believe—” Rarity choked out, fighting a storm of anxiety because this needed to be said, and she refused to be afraid of Celestia, of all ponies. “I honestly believe that there must be some piece we’re missing. Something that we’ve all been overlooking. I don’t know how to find it, but I promise you that I will.”

Celestia stared straight into Rarity’s eyes with a frown and an ice cold sheen echoing in her eyes, and Rarity, despite the sweat beating down her forehead, simply stared back into Celestia’s eyes, trying to affect some measure of confidence.

Then Celestia smiled, and all was right in the world.

“I look forward to hearing all about it,” she said, “as soon as you find it, my dearest student.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

72. Your Faithful Librarian

Rarity took a sip of cold cider and placed the cup on the stone bar in the nearly empty Hunter’s Haven. Her train had dropped her and Celestia off in the Sun District little over an hour ago, and as Celestia flew off to deal with whatever it was she did after every mission, Rarity decided to stop by Hunter’s Haven for a drink before returning to the library.

Even putting aside Celestia’s outburst—which Rarity was desperate to do; she’d rather think about quite literally anything else—Rarity had a lot to think about. And, as it always seemed to be these days, whenever Rarity was having a hard time figuring out what to do, she thought of Twilight.

Twilight was very smart, and Rarity wondered what she would do, were she a Slayer. She always seemed so organized too, though then again, Rarity also remembered the time she tried to schedule every second of every day so that she could see all of her friends an exactly equal amount of time, so perhaps she wasn’t always the best role model.

Still, Rarity missed her, and she was stuck between wanting to rush back to the library and wanting to hide from it. She almost felt like she didn’t deserve to go back, like if she didn’t figure out the answer to this millennium old conundrum tonight, then she deserved to be alone and miserable until she did. But that wasn’t a terribly productive way to live her life.

“Wow,” a familiar voice interrupted Rarity’s thoughts, though Rarity was more than happy to have them interrupted, “you look exactly like I’d expect someone to look after a mission with my sister.”

“Princess Luna,” Rarity said with a warm smile as she turned around to see the beautiful blue alicorn standing behind her, “it’s lovely to see you, darling!”

Rarity got up from her stool and immediately embraced the Princess in a warm hug, Luna patting her on the back for good measure as she laughed.

While not as much of a mountain as her sister, and even in her more casual wear and not her armor, Luna was still an imposing presence. She was only a head taller than Rarity, and she had a much thinner frame than Celestia, though no less muscular.

But what the Princess lacked in comparative size, she made of for in intensity and passion.

“It’s been far too long, Princess!” Rarity said, holding Luna’s hands and smiling at her former mentor. While Rarity was always Celestia’s student first and foremost, she also trained under Luna during her childhood, and the two had become frightfully good friends. “Fancy a drink with me?”

“Certainly,” Luna said with a grand smile, “I’ve got time. Though you seemed lost in thought when I saw you, I almost didn’t want to bother you.”

“Oh, it’s no bother,” Rarity groaned as the two sat down and Luna ordered her drink. “Honestly, I was just running myself in circles anyway.”

“You?” Luna scoffed and took a sip of her beer. “You would never!”

“Harhar,” Rarity playfully rolled her eyes.

“So what exactly are you running from?” Luna asked. “Perhaps I can assist.”

Rarity took another sip of her cider and wished it was coffee as she considered Luna’s offer. Couldn’t hurt to ask one of her other favorite ponies about her conundrum. She had a much more casual relationship with Princess Luna, and she didn’t constantly fear losing the Princess’ respect the way she sort of did with Queen Celestia.

And besides all that, Luna was a friend, and if she wanted to help, then Rarity wasn’t about to turn her down.

“Luna,” Rarity took another sip of cider as she considered her thoughts, “do you have any idea how to balance your own life and personal aspirations with the duties of the Hunt?”

“What life?” Luna laughed, and Rarity grimaced at her. That wasn’t exactly the answer she was looking for. “You know what they say, Rarity.”

Rarity sighed and the two women said dully in unison, “There is no life outside the Hunt.”

“But doesn’t that bother you?” Rarity griped. “It’s draining the life out of all of the Slayers, and it only seems to get worse with each generation!”

“Of course it bothers me,” Luna said dryly, shooting Rarity a less friendly look of frustration, “it’s the worst. But there isn’t anything I can do about it. As long as my sister leads the Slayers the way that she does, the way that—as she’ll be quick to remind you—has served Equestria well for over a thousand years, then things will remain as they are.

“Celestia controls the Slayers,” Luna continued. “She controls how they act, what they do, how they think, and what they believe. The Celestia Slayers will follow her into the mountains of decay and even death itself, and until she finds some recourse or purpose to course correct, the slow withering of Equestria’s protectors will only continue.”

“It all starts and ends with her,” Rarity said.

“That’s just the way that it is,” Luna said bitterly, taking another sip of beer. “The way it’s always been.” Luna took a deep breath and sighed that bitterness and irritation away. “So why do you ask, anyway? What is it that is splitting your attention from the Hunt?”

“I have a crush,” Rarity admitted with mixed embarrassment and giddiness. Luna wasn’t going to judge her for having a silly crush, and it felt good to tell somepony, instead of them just figuring out because she was sighing and blushing a lot.

“Do tell,” Luna said with a wry smirk, resting her chin on intertwined fingers.

“She’s a librarian,” Rarity explained, “she just moved to Canterlot with her son about two months ago. I’ve been at her library nearly every day for the past few weeks, and the more time I spend with her, the more I simply want to spend all my time with her!

“But I also know I have a duty and responsibility to the Slayers and to Equestria, and I honestly want to keep being a Slayer and protecting the ponies of our country! It’s just… I don’t know how to do that without burning myself out until there’s nothing left, and I fear I’m almost there already.”

“I think the most important thing for you to do,” Luna said seriously, “is to listen to yourself and what your heart wants, not to what my sister says.”

“Pardon?” Rarity asked confusedly. “What does Celestia have to do with all this?”

“Everypony thinks that Celestia is oh-so wise and enlightened,” Luna said bitterly, as she tended to do when her sister was brought up in conversation, “that she’s infallible and can’t make any mistakes, but that simply is not the case. Nopony knows you like you know you, and you can’t let anyone else decide what is right for you.”

Luna ended her rant with another sip of beer, finishing the can in one final chug before crushing the remains against her forehead, which left Rarity simultaneously aghast and impressed.

Rarity wondered if Luna was right; if what she really needed to do was trust her own instincts, even when they conflicted with what Queen Celestia said, but that just didn’t seem right to her. Celestia was always right, and of course Luna would find fault in her sister’s words, she found fault in everything Celestia did!

Still, Rarity couldn’t simply discard the words of her friend out of hand, so she elected to keep Luna’s concerns under advisement.

Without warning, a violet flame erupted in front of Rarity, startling her and forcing her to jump back off her stool. Luna also watched the flame warily, but she didn’t seem terribly alarmed, which made Rarity feel a little bit safer about approaching the envelope that the flame transformed into.

“A letter?” Luna asked. “Who’s it from?”

“I don’t—” Rarity was about to say she had no idea, but after a second glance she recognized the lavender stationary as belonging to a certain librarian, and the warmth in her heart spread throughout her entire body as she took the envelope in her hands. “It’s from a very dear friend.”

Rarity had learned not to question Twilight’s incredible feats of magic, so how she was sending Rarity a letter from wherever she was wasn’t on Rarity’s mind.

She was more curious as to why Twilight was sending her a letter, and the thought briefly crossed her mind that something was horribly wrong or that Twilight was going to tell her to stay away from her and the library, but Rarity pushed those thoughts aside because she knew she was just playing tricks on herself now.

Rarity took the folded parchment out of the envelope with trembling hands. She looked over to Luna, who nodded silently, and unfolded the letter, taking a deep breath to steady herself before she read it.

“Dear Rarity, uhm… hi!”

Rarity snorted and clutched the letter to her heart, and she took a moment to collect herself—letting her affection for her dear Twilight Sparkle wash over her like a tidal wave— before reading again.

“I’m on the train back to Canterlot, and hopefully I’ll see you there? I know you’re busy with your mission and everything, but everyone assures me that puckwudgies won’t take you more than a day or two to deal with. You know I’ve never seen a puckwudgie before? I don’t suppose you took any notes did you? I could add them to my bestiary! Uh, anyway. It’s okay if you didn’t, I was just… thinking out loud? I guess?”

Rarity rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face lit up the entire room. She almost wished she had taken notes on the puckwudgies now, but she knew she had neither the time nor the energy to have done so when she was there.

“I met the spirit of the Everfree Forest. She seems nice? I don’t know. She’s weird, and she’s really intimidating, but she’s also very sweet. Honestly, she scares me more than anything, but… I do sort of feel a connection to her. I think we’re similar in a lot of ways. Uh, I’m not really sure how to explain it. I’ll try if you want, but I dunno.”

The more Rarity read Twilight’s letter, the more endeared she was to the fact that Twilight seemed so fond of ‘uh’ and ellipses in her writing. It was quite adorable, honestly.

“Pinkie Pie’s been an absolute treasure during this trip, by the way. We stopped at this place called Sugarcube Corner on the way back to the train station; did you visit there during your trip to Ponyville? The couple that runs it were almost as sweet as their confectionaries, huehe!”

Rarity giggled and held the letter close to her again, and she could practically hear the undignified snort Twilight must have made when she wrote that part.

“But anyway, Pinkie Pie. She’s really fun, and nice! I’m glad I met her, and I’m glad I took this trip with her. Does she seem sad to you though? I always get this feeling that she’s trying to be happy, maybe happier than she is? I dunno, maybe I’m projecting? What do you think? I guess I’ll ask you when I see you, so hopefully one of us will remember!”

Rarity smiled and made a mental note to remind Twilight about Pinkie Pie. Rarity understood where Pinkie was coming from; she knew Pinkie’s cheerful attitude wasn’t an act, it was her genuine self, but Twilight also wasn’t wrong about her being sad. Depression can really do a number on you, and sometimes it’s easier than not just to hide it.

“I do want to talk to you when we see each other again, about some important stuff. I haven’t totally wrapped my head around it yet, hopefully I will by the time I see you, but I want your opinion. You’re smart, and I trust you. It’s nothing like, HUGE huge! I don’t want you to worry or anything! Just some things I’ve sort of been thinking about for a while, and Fluttershy really brought them to the forefront.

“I miss you. I, uhm, I hope that’s okay to say? Because I do. Miss you, I mean. Uh, yeah. That’s dumb, I should probably take that part out, but I uh, I don’t, uh, really want to? I hope you… miss me too? It’s okay if you don’t! yikes, this is becoming a real mess, uh… I’ll take this part out. just give me a”

Rarity tilted her head and wondered what happened that made Twilight forget to take that part out, or what caused her to stop writing so suddenly. There was a little bit more to the letter, so it’s not like anything dreadful happened to Twilight, but it still struck Rarity as very odd.

“I really need to finish this up, otherwise you’ll be reading it for a million years, haha! Uhm, so is there anything else? Yeah, I guess there is.

“Thank you, Rarity. For coming to the library, and for being my friend. I love your company, and it means the world to me that you value my friendship as well (geez, that’s not too sappy, is it?)”

Rarity giggled at her poor librarian’s lack of self-confidence. If only she knew just how much Rarity valued their friendship.

“Your faithful librarian, Twilight Sparkle.”

Rarity held the letter close to her heart and smile so wide her cheeks almost got sore. Her faithful librarian indeed. She felt a pang in her heart and she simply couldn’t wait to see Twilight again and tell her how much Twilight meant to her, and how much she enjoyed Twilight’s letter.

“Rarity,” Luna said, oddly seriously, and Rarity gave Luna her full attention. “Remember, you need to listen to your heart, and what it wants you to do. Not what you think you’re ‘supposed’ to do. Okay? Your first priority should be making sure that the life you’re living is worth living, and if you’re being drained into nothing by your every day, that isn’t much of a life at all, is it?”

Rarity took a deep breath. Luna’s words were like being splashed with cold water right after departing a hot shower. She wasn’t wrong, but…

“By the way,” Luna cracked a wry smirk, “how long is that letter?”

“She’s verbose,” Rarity laughed, and felt her cheeks heat up immensely.

Rarity would take Luna’s words into consideration, but some other time. Right now, all she wanted to think about was Twilight. Perhaps, when Twilight asked her important things that she needed to talk about, Rarity could convince Twilight to listen to her rambles as well.

Rarity’s ears perked up and she intently scanned the letter in her hands, affecting a frantic expression as she read a certain line over again.

“She’s on the train back home!” Rarity shouted.

“And?”

“I have to—I want to be at the train station!” Rarity said desperately. “I want to be there for her when she arrives, but I’ll never make it in time!”

“If only you had a friend who could fly,” Luna said, outstretching her wings.

“You would… carry me?” Rarity asked. “Back to the Moon District?”

“You don’t have any time to waste, correct?” Luna smirked. “Besides,” Luna stood up and stretched her arms over her head, “it will be good exercise.”

Rarity mulled it over for a moment; of course she would accept the offer, she wasn’t going to turn down Luna’s generosity, but she also thought about how jealous Rainbow Dash would be if Rarity made a grand entrance on the back of a Princess.

“Luna?” Rarity grinned. “Will you take me back to the Moon District, please?”

Luna bowed graciously. “It would be my pleasure.”

Author's Notes:

i always forget how much i love luna until i start writing her

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

73. The Friendly Alicorn

Twilight and Pinkie stepped off the train onto the Canterlot Moon District station platform, where Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Spike were all waiting with bright smiles and open arms.

Twilight didn’t even waste a second before running to them, Spike running for her and jumping into her arms, Twilight spinning around and nuzzling him. It may have been a little silly, but this was maybe the longest they’d been apart, at least without Zecora around, since they met.

“I missed you!” Spike said, bumping his nose against Twilight’s.

“I missed you too, my number one assistant!” Twilight giggled, nuzzling Spike again for good measure.

Twilight considered putting Spike on the ground, but decided to keep him in her arms for a little bit longer while she said her greetings to the others. Applejack was in the midst of untangling herself from Pinkie Pie’s all-encompassing hug, and Rainbow was just kind of standing around watching them, so Twilight headed for Rainbow first.

“Hey, stranger,” Twilight said, holding out a hand to shake Rainbow’s and holding Spike in the other. “Did you guys do a good job watching over our library while I was gone?”

“Heck yeah we did!” Rainbow exclaimed, pumping her fist. Spike held out his fist and Rainbow bashed hers against it, getting an enamored giggle out of Twilight.

“Yeah, Rainbow was amazing!” Spike cheered, and Rainbow tried to play it cool, so Twilight pretended not to notice the blush on her face. “By the way, we’re gonna have a bunch of people in the library again next week.”

“Uh, how many is ‘a bunch’?” Twilight asked concernedly.

“I think like half the town was there,” Applejack chuckled, “right, Rainbow?”

“I’m sure it wasn’t half,” Rainbow scoffed, but then bit on her lip, “I think?”

“Welp,” Twilight gave a nervous grin, not entirely sure what had happened or if she even wanted to ask, but then she took a deep breath and gave a charmed smile, “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Once Spike and the others explained what went on while she was gone, with Rainbow’s dramatic reading of Daring Do and how much the Canterlot foals enjoyed it, Twilight felt like a shining star was twinkling in her heart.

“That’s amazing, Rainbow!” she said proudly, half a mind to pull the pegasus into a hug right then and there. “What a great idea!”

“Th-thanks,” Rainbow said bashfully, rubbing the back of her neck.

“I wanna be there for the next one!” Pinkie chimed in, bouncing up and down.

“It honestly was somethin’ to see,” Applejack added, “and Spike deserves a lot of the credit too, you made a real good villain!”

“I sure did!” Spike beamed, and Twilight laughed and nuzzled his cheek.

“Honestly, Rainbow,” Twilight said teasingly, “I leave you with my son for one day and you turn him into a villain.”

“I guess I’m just a really good influence,” Rainbow grinned, and Twilight laughed again.

But then something very unexpected happened; Applejack pulled Rainbow close to her and kissed her on the head, eliciting two very fascinated and confused stares from Pinkie and Twilight.

Rainbow, noticing the two staring, chuckled. “Oh, we’re dating now.”

“WHAT!?” Pinkie screamed, practically levitating off the ground. “That’s amazing!!!”

“I’m really happy for you guys!” Twilight said. “And I’m really happy for me that I don’t have to pretend that I don’t know you two are crushing on each other!”

“Wait, what?” Rainbow said confusedly.

“Well,” Twilight cleared her throat, “Applejack told me that she was crushing on you, and you told me you were crushing on her—”

“And you didn’t think to tell either of us?” Applejack arched an eyebrow.

“Now how would that be fair?” Twilight balked. “I couldn’t tell one of you and not the other, that would be a complete betrayal of the trust you put in me not to tell anyone. And I couldn’t exactly tell you both at the same time, could you imagine how awkward that would be?”

“I guess,” Applejack sighed. “I still kinda wish you had said somethin’ though…”

“Yeah,” Rainbow grumbled, “or like, helped nudge us in the right direction, since you knew we were both into each other and never gonna say anything about it.”

“You’re right, Rainbow,” Twilight said flatly, “what was I thinking. What I should have done was subtly convince the two of you to meet each other in a safe space where you could be alone and not be disturbed by anyone else, like maybe a library in the middle of the night. That should’ve been my move. OH WAIT.”

“Wait, so,” Applejack’s face turned red as she pointed a limp finger at Twilight, who wore the smuggest grin she could muster, Pinkie Pie and Spike both trying to hold in their laughter, “you planned for us to get talkin’ while we were at the library?”

“I didn’t exactly plan for you to do anything,” Twilight said casually, taking a look at her nails as she spoke, “I just figured that if you two had an opportunity to be alone together, without any expectations or demands or distractions, you two would talk things out. And I was right!”

“Twilight Sparkle, ultimate matchmaker!” Pinkie exclaimed with applause, Twilight taking a bow and putting Spike on the ground, the little pegasus also clapping for Twilight’s incredible matchmaking skills.

“Thanks, Twi,” Applejack said sheepishly, “that was really swell of ya. Sorry for givin’ you that grief just a second ago.”

“Yep,” Rainbow cleared her throat awkwardly, “what she said.”

Twilight just smiled at the pair’s flustered responses, though she did feel a little bad for them. If only some other distracting thing could suddenly come out of the blue to snatch everyone’s attention away.

Like perhaps a loud thud clanging on top of the canopy above the Moon District station.

“What was—”

Before Applejack could finish her statement, a night blue alicorn dropped from the canopy and walked into the station, her ethereal mane glittering around her like a starry sky. She looked Twilight dead in the eye and Twilight froze.

Time stood still as Twilight stared down the mysterious alicorn and a thousand questions ran through Twilight’s mind all at once, though the most pertinent of them were “Who is she?” and “Where did she come from?”

But all those questions could wait once a familiar face also dropped down from the canopy; Rarity.

“Excuse me, everypony!” Rarity said charmingly, and Twilight felt her heart speeding up as she approached, Twilight completely forgetting about the alicorn for just a moment. “I’m sorry I’m late, but you know a lady does have an obligation to make a dramatic entrance.” Rarity looked toward her alicorn friend with a smile. “And I’d say we did just that, wouldn’t you, darling?”

“Princess Luna!?” Rainbow exclaimed in shock before the alicorn had a chance to speak, Rainbow’s wings spreading out. Meanwhile Applejack just took a few steps back, with Spike cowering behind her leg; alicorns were bad news for him and Twilight, after all. Pinkie Pie, in the midst of all of this, just seemed mostly confused.

“What are you doing here?” Rainbow asked, approaching Luna and bowing her head.

“Please, Rainbow Dash,” Luna sighed, “there’s no need for such formality.” Luna took a look around the empty station and grunted. “Though I must admit, I expected more ponies here to bask in my glorious presence.”

“The downside to making a surprise appearance, I suppose,” Rarity shrugged, walking past Luna and toward Twilight. “Hello, darling,” Rarity said softly, grabbing Twilight’s hands, and everything else in the area disappeared while Twilight focused only on Rarity, “hope I didn’t keep you waiting long.”

“No,” Twilight shook her head with a smile. “Did you get my letter?”

“I did,” Rarity giggled, “and it was precious. Thank you for sending it to me, though you must teach me how you did it! I assume it was with some spell, but I would love to learn it if I could!”

“I’ll, um, see what I can do.”

“Rarity,” the all-too-serious voice of the alicorn chimed in, shattering Twilight’s perfect little illusion of it just being her and Rarity in the train station, “is this your friend, the librarian?”

Twilight was vaguely familiar with Princess Luna; while not nearly as famous as her royal sister, the infamous Hunter Queen of Equestria, Luna’s exploits and skill as a Slayer were nothing short of horrifying for someone like Twilight. And she was an alicorn on top of it all, which meant she could see right through Twilight.

Twilight locked eyes with the alicorn as she approached, and Twilight wondered if this was going to be the moment where everything collapsed, where the life she had been building for herself and Spike would be completely shattered and fall apart around her.

She wondered what she would do if the alicorn became hostile; would she run? Could she run? What would Rarity say or think? She’d probably hate Twilight forever.

The alicorn took a step closer. Rarity said something to her, but Twilight didn’t hear it. An introduction, maybe? It didn’t matter. If Twilight didn’t take Spike and get the hell out of here now, then—

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Luna affected a dazzling smile and held her hand out to Twilight.

Twilight looked at the hand, then at woman’s smile, and she was certain that her mind was playing tricks on her somehow.

“Twilight,” Rarity muttered irritably, “don’t be rude to the Princess, please!”

“Uh, right,” Twilight cleared her throat and swallowed some of her anxiety, taking the Princess’ hand and shaking it heartily, her eyes glancing over to Spike as he continued to shrink behind Applejack’s legs. “Pleasure to meet you, Princess.”

“Please, call me Luna,” Luna said softly. “Rarity’s told me a little about you, she said you were a very fine pony, and I can definitely see it.”

“Right,” Twilight smiled, and she hoped it didn’t look as forced and nervous as it felt.

She knows.

Why isn’t she doing anything?

“Unfortunately, I need to go,” Luna said. “I have a meeting I need to attend, and I’ve been really draggin’ my feet on it.” Luna glanced over at Twilight, her smile faltering for merely half a second. “I hope to see you again, Twilight Sparkle. Perhaps I could come by your library sometime?”

“Oh, that would be divine!” Rarity cheered, though Twilight was… less enthusiastic.

“My library’s always open to anypony,” Twilight said, her tone polite and measured despite how ghoulish Twilight felt in her heart and stomach.

Luna’s smile returned as Rarity and Rainbow Dash said their goodbyes to her, and she outstretched her massive, starry wings, taking flight and disappearing into the evening’s sunset-tinted sky.

“Twilight?” Rarity asked concernedly. “Are you alright?”

“I don’t, I’m, uh,” Twilight knew she needed to think of something to say to explain why she looked and felt like such a hot mess, “I’m alright.” Wow. Good save, Twilight.

“Um, if you say so,” Rarity said, not even pretending to sound convinced.

“So!” Pinkie Pie suddenly clamored. “Is everypony ready to party?! We should totally have another library party since we’re all together!”

“Um,” Rarity mumbled, “I don’t know if—”

“I think that’s a great idea, Pinkie,” Twilight said. “If everyone is up for it.” Twilight looked around at the others, and Rainbow gave a thumbs-up and bright grin, Applejack gave a soft nod, and Spike a much more effusive nod.

Rarity though, seemed a bit hesitant. Which was fine, because Twilight had another idea anyway.

“But maybe,” Twilight said, not-so-subtly taking hold of Rarity’s hand and delighting in the tiny gasp Rarity made, “me and Rarity could catch up to the rest of you later tonight? Meet you in the library in an hour or two?”

“You lovebirds need some time alone?” Applejack mused with a wry grin.

“Applejack!” Rarity balked, her face turning bright red. “Honestly! Where are your manners?”

“Notice she didn’t say ‘no’,” Rainbow snickered, needling a chuckling Applejack in the side.

“Well!” Rarity harrumphed, crossing her arms and turning her head away from the others, like she always did when she was flustered.

“It’s been a long day for me,” Twilight said, and she could practically feel bags forming under her eyes even as she spoke, “and I was hoping I could talk to Rarity for a bit, alone, to sort of clear my head. If that’s fine with you, of course.”

Twilight smiled at Rarity, and it took every ounce of willpower not to melt into a puddle when Rarity smiled back.

“Of course, darling. You wanted to talk to me about your trip, didn’t you?”

“I did,” Twilight said hesitantly, “but tonight, maybe we could talk about something else? Just… have a nice time. No worries, no important serious talks, just you and me, chatting over a meal and some drinks, like friends?”

If that alicorn could really see through Twilight, then it was entirely possible her days in Canterlot were already numbered. She refused to start living in fear, or to drop everything and run based on one anxious hunch, but just in case, she wanted to have one more nice night with Rarity.

“Sweetheart,” Rarity sighed and put her hand on Twilight’s cheek, Twilight purring in delight as she nuzzled Rarity’s hand, “nothing could please me more.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

74. Trust

“It’s cold out tonight,” Rarity said idly as she and Twilight walked away from the train station, rubbing her bare arms. “I just got back from Las Pegasus, where I barely needed my jacket, and I fear I must have left it on the train.”

“You can have mine,” Twilight said without hesitation, starting to remove her dusty brown jacket.

“Oh, darling,” Rarity said with a coy smile, “I don’t need you to do that. I’m a Slayer! I’m used to tough conditions!”

“The cold doesn’t bother me,” Twilight insisted, “in fact, I barely even feel it! So please, take it.”

“Well,” Rarity bit her lip and gently touched the sleeve of the jacket, “if you insist. It is quite noble of you to offer, I wouldn’t want to turn you down.”

“It’s settled then,” Twilight smiled and took the jacket off, gently placing it on Rarity’s shoulders, Rarity sighing with relief as she put her arms through the sleeves.

“Thank you, darling,” Rarity hummed, and though the jacket was about one size too big for Rarity, it looked perfect on her.

“No problem,” Twilight said, gushing internally about how that totally went off without a hitch, just like in all her romance books! “Happy to do it!”

Twilight let her hands dangle at her side as the two walked, Twilight not really sure where the pair were going so she let Rarity lead the way. There was a lot on Twilight’s mind—between Fluttershy and what she said, Pinkie Pie and the weird way she was acting, and now that alicorn who saw right through her—but she promised herself that for tonight, all that mattered was Rarity.

And she felt doubly committed to that decision when she felt Rarity’s fingers delicately wrapping around her own.

So the two walked, holding hands all the way until they reached the little café where Rarity wanted to sit down for food and drinks, and they chatted about things like Twilight pointing out the linguistic origins of some of the menu items, or Rarity telling Twilight about some of the more exotic foods she’d eaten at some of the stranger places she’d been in her travels, and somewhere along the conversation Twilight corrected Rarity that she wasn’t afraid of quesadillas, she just thought they were too cheesy.

It had been a perfect evening, and it all led to Rarity and Twilight sitting on a bench on a snowy bridge, over a frozen river, gazing at the stars. And while the starry sky Twilight was looking at wasn’t quite as beautiful as the one she saw in the Everfree, it didn’t matter because Rarity was more beautiful than any star.

Everything was perfect.

“Twilight?” Rarity said softly, leaning her head against Twilight’s shoulder.

“Yes, Rarity?” Twilight chirped, daring not to look at Rarity as she smoothly put her arm around Rarity’s shoulder.

“Can I ask—rather, can I share something with you? Something… that’s very personal to me?” the tender, vulnerable tone in Rarity’s voice drew Twilight’s eye to her, and she saw Rarity biting her lip.

“Of course,” Twilight smiled softly, and the way Rarity’s eyes gleamed when she smiled back may have been the most beautiful thing Twilight had ever witnessed.

Rarity nuzzled her cheek against Twilight’s neck and purred, and Twilight bit down a smitten giggle as the blazing heat in her cheeks cut through the icy cold of the nighttime air. She swore if she dipped her face into the snow it would’ve melted at least a meter radius around her.

“It’s not something pleasant, I’m afraid,” Rarity sighed, “but it’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you about, and that I keep putting off because I’m scared. But I don’t want to run anymore, least of all from you. So will you allow me to tell you?”

How could Twilight refuse, when she was so determined herself not to hide anymore? Or at least, she wanted to be. And maybe not hiding from Rarity, and the unpleasant things they would have to deal with eventually, was a good way to start.

“Of course, Rarity,” Twilight said, trying to drown her worry with a pleasant tone. “What is it?”

“I want to tell you,” Rarity caressed the dragon fang attached to the collar around her neck, “about how I came into possession of this horrid thing.”

“Oh.”

This was the conversation Twilight had been dreading. Of course she noticed the dragon fang, of course it was the first thing about Rarity that caught her attention, and she had very, very specifically never asked about it.

She didn’t want to know. She didn’t want to hear this story. She didn’t want to know Rarity’s depth of hatred for…

Hm.

So Rarity told her story, told Twilight about the dragon she slayed, the one who begged for mercy but then destroyed an entire village in a single night. She told Twilight how she hung onto the dragon fang not out of pride, but out of deep shame and regret, and as a promise to never let what happened that night transpire again.

Twilight was horrified. She was horrified by the destruction and bloodshed the dragon caused, by the way it betrayed Rarity’s trust, by what Rarity was forced to do, and by the bitterness that laced every word of Rarity’s tale.

She was at a loss for words, but as Rarity wiped tears from her eyes, Twilight took hold of one of her hands and gently caressed her fingers. Rarity needed to know that Twilight was there for her, even if her voice was failing her.

“I’m sorry for ruining our evening,” Rarity said with a wry chuckle.

“You didn’t ruin anything,” Twilight said, pulling Rarity close. “I’m glad you shared your story with me. I’m glad that you—” Twilight choked on her words. “That you trust me with something that personal.”

“You’re important to me,” Rarity said, resting her head against Twilight’s chest, “and it was important that you know why I take my responsibilities so seriously, and what happens when I don’t.”

Twilight didn’t know what to say, so she contented herself with stroking Rarity’s mane softly and gently, almost rhythmically, as she tried to fight the squall of anxiety that was threatening to cascade inside her.

“You have a lot of weight on your shoulders,” Twilight said, and she felt Rarity nodding. “I want to help you carry it.”

“Twilight, you—”

Rarity straightened herself up and stared into Twilight’s eyes, though it took tremendous concentration for Twilight to keep from looking away from Rarity’s gaze. Rarity leaned her face closer to Twilight’s, her lip quivering in anticipation.

Twilight lowered her head and gently placed the tip of her nose against Rarity’s, who nuzzled her in return.

“Thank you, Twilight,” Rarity said with a smile.

“Whatever happens next,” Twilight said, her eyes closed as she let herself melt into Rarity’s embrace one last time, “I want to face it head-on. Together.”

“I will help you carry your burdens, Twilight Sparkle,” Rarity said softly, “if you will help me carry mine.”

Twilight sighed, knowing that neither one of them could fully wrap their minds around the entire scope of each other’s burdens. There was so much that Twilight was afraid of, and she knew that she couldn’t run forever.

“Rarity,” but for now, Twilight would allow herself to feel what she knew in her heart she truly wanted; to trust Rarity, “nothing could please me more.”

Author's Notes:

i'm GAY

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

75. More Than Friends, Not Quite Marefriends

Rarity took a sip of tea as she admired the cute décor of Applejack and Pinkie Pie’s home. Pinkie Pie was already at the train station, since she was very excited for her and Applejack’s little journey today. Applejack was less excited, and Rarity was here to offer emotional support, should she need it.

That is, if Applejack ever came out of her room.

“Darling, how long does it take to get dressed?” Rarity shouted into the bedroom.

“Like yer one to talk!” Applejack shouted back, and Rarity snorted because she really did walk right into that.

“Right! And if even I’m getting impatient!” Rarity said smugly, delighting in the frustrated groan she could hear from behind the door.

Applejack finally came out of her room, and while she didn’t look nearly as nice as she often did for the dates with Rainbow Dash she’d been on throughout the last few weeks, she still looked mighty dapper in her gray jacket, black dress pants, and burgundy shirt.

Rarity adjusted Applejack’s clothing a little bit, mostly out of habit. Applejack grumbled, but Rarity knew that her fussing helped Applejack to keep calm, and that was what Applejack needed now more than anything.

“How are you feeling?” Rarity asked, keeping her concentration fixated on Applejack’s clothing, buttoning up Applejack’s jacket, which was easier said than done considering the behemoth of a woman she was dealing with.

“Could be better,” Applejack griped.

“Going to see family is always hard,” Rarity said, dusting off Applejack’s jacket and admiring her for a moment. “You’ll feel better once it’s done though.”

“I agree,” Applejack sighed, “but it’s easier for you. Your family’s proud of ya.”

“I wouldn’t say ‘proud’,” Rarity muttered, the ominous words of her father still ringing in her mind, “but I know what you mean. I wish that I could be there to offer support, but—”

“But we both know that’d be a disaster,” Applejack groaned. “Granny’s gonna be comparin’ me to my pa, and ma, and grandpa, and herself, and darn near every Apple this side of Neighagra Falls, last thing I need is for her to be comparin’ me to you too.”

“Ugh,” Rarity stuck out her tongue as her stomach turned from just thinking about it, “that’s a stress I don’t need in my life either, because you know she’d try to get me to agree with her.”

Applejack meandered toward the door, but she stopped in her tracks. Rarity assumed she was just dragging her feet until she spoke.

“Do you agree with her?” Applejack asked, not daring to look at Rarity. “Do you think that I’m—”

Before Applejack could finish that sentence, Rarity cut in.

“I don’t,” she harrumphed. “I don’t think you’re a ‘disgrace’ or a ‘failure’ or any such thing. You chose your own path and you did so for noble reasons, I can’t think of anything more graceful than that.”

Applejack sighed desperately and ran her hands through her mane, before turning around to Rarity and bowing her head.

“Thanks, Rares.”

“My pleasure, darling,” Rarity said, giving Applejack a warm hug. “But we mustn’t be late, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash are already at the station waiting for us.”

“Aw, Twilight not wanna come out to see me off?” Applejack said, her tone only half-joking.

“She’s feeling a bit under the weather today, I’m afraid,” Rarity said sadly. “Spike’s with her right now, and I’m going to go check up on her after you leave, and I’m sure between the two of us we can nurse her back to perfect health! But she’s in no place to leave the library at the moment.”

“What’s wrong with her?” Applejack asked as the two walked out of Applejack’s house and into the snowy, windy streets of Canterlot.

“She assures me it’s just ‘exhaustion’,” Rarity said, rolling her eyes, “and while Spike insists that sometimes she just gets like this and all she really needs is some rest, I still can’t help but be concerned.”

“Well, sure,” Applejack said, “I’d be concerned too, and I’m not even in lo—”

“Don’t say it,” Rarity griped, getting a smug little chuckle from Applejack.

“You have a way of makin’ ponies feel good, Rarity,” Applejack said cheerfully. “I’m sure with you by her side, she’ll be back on her hooves in no time.”

Rarity put a hand on her heated cheek and tried to stifle a smitten giggle, though Applejack’s satisfied smile made her feel a little less embarrassed about the praise.

Truth be told, Rarity felt a little guilty for Twilight’s weakened position. While she was, logically speaking, certainly not responsible for Twilight’s illness, she was sure the stress of her constantly saying they would definitely read those fashion books, only for Rarity to change her mind at the last second, wasn’t doing Twilight any favors.

It had been several weeks since the puckwudgie mission, and things had been rather uneventful in the Moon District since, even with the several missions Rarity had taken on in that time. She was slowly starting to find some kind of balance between her responsibilities as a Slayer and her time in the library. It was only a first step, but she was proud of herself nonetheless.

Still though, adding her secret and shameful fashion desires to that mix could only ruin everything, or at least that was the excuse Rarity gave herself to continue avoiding it.

She couldn’t get too involved in her thoughts of guilt and Twilight though, for before she knew it they were already at the train station, with Pinkie Pie vivaciously waving and cheering at them.

“Applejack! Applejack!” Pinkie clamored as the two approached, Rainbow sitting patiently on the bench nearby and waiting for her opportunity to say hi. “Are you excited, huh, huh, huh?!”

“Uhhhh,” Applejack replied gracefully, rubbing the back of her neck.

“We’re gonna go see Apple Bloom and Big Mac!” Pinkie beamed, throwing her hands in the air.

“And to a much lesser degree, Granny Smith,” Rarity chuckled.

“Aww, come on,” Pinkie pouted, “don’t be mean. Granny Smith is really nice! She’s just a little, uh, intense!”

“She is family,” Applejack hummed, “for better or worse. Anyway, yeah, Pinkie, I’m lookin’ forward to seein’ my family.”

As far as Pinkie— or the Apples for that matter— was concerned, the Apples were Pinkie’s family as well, and she got along with them much better than she did with her own family, whose visits plagued Pinkie with the exact kind of trepidation Applejack was feeling right now.

“You gonna be okay, AJ?” Rainbow chimed in, looking at Applejack but not getting up from her spot on the bench.

“I think so,” Applejack said softly, smiling very earnestly at Rainbow, whose bright smile back at her would have lit up a pitch-dark cave, “but just to be sure, I could use a little extra affection.”

“Well if you’re that desperate,” Rainbow said teasingly, rising from her bench and planting a kiss on Applejack’s lips, keeping herself at eye-level with her very large marefriend thanks to her wings, “I guess I could show you some love.”

“Aw, c’mon, Rainbow,” Applejack held Rainbow in her arms, Rainbow placing her hands behind Applejack’s neck, and Applejack leaned in to give Rainbow another kiss, “you don’t wanna get all mushy at the train station, do ya?”

“Please,” Rainbow scoffed, before planting yet another fiery kiss on Applejack’s lips, and Rarity found herself feeling somewhat jealous watching the two of them, “you know you can’t leave without getting some smooches.”

“Caught me red-handed, hon,” Applejack leaned into Rainbow again, but instead of a kiss she just nuzzled against Rainbow, letting out a soft sigh as Rainbow placed a gentle kiss on the bridge of her nose. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Rainbow whispered, and her eyes suddenly darted over to Pinkie and Rarity just for a fraction of a second, but long enough for both observant mares to awkwardly look away, Pinkie even whistling innocently for good measure. “Um, yeah. I love you too.”

“Still workin’ on the nickname?” Applejack snickered, and Rainbow’s face turned red as she shoved Applejack away.

“Unless you want your affectionate nickname to be ‘big dorky loser’,” Rainbow harrumphed, crossing her arms and turning her back on Applejack, “you’d better not be giving me a hard time!”

“C’mon, I’m only teasin’,” Applejack said tenderly, putting her arms around Rainbow’s stomach and planting a kiss on Rainbow’s neck, who didn’t seem to mind.

“I know,” Rainbow sighed, running her hand across Applejack’s cheek. “But right now, you got a train to catch.”

“Yeah,” Applejack sighed and released Rainbow, the sound of the train bells almost drowning out her soft voice. “See ya when I get back, honey.”

“You too, uh,” Rainbow bit her lip, trying to think of something affectionate to call her marefriend.

“Floofy wumpkins?” Pinkie helpfully suggested.

“Darling light of my vacant skies?” Rarity added teasingly.

“Girl who I like much more than either Pinkie Pie or Rarity,” Rainbow said flatly, Applejack chuckling and getting one last passionate kiss from Rainbow, before Applejack and Pinkie Pie waved goodbye and headed for the train.

Watching Rainbow Dash and Applejack, seeing how comfortable they were with each other now after dating for several weeks— a far cry from when they first started, and Rainbow could barely handle Applejack putting her arm around her— Rarity found herself feeling jealous again.

Which was odd to her; her relationship with Twilight was more than she could have ever hoped for. They snuggled, and cuddled, and talked about their feelings for one another and how much they enjoyed each other’s company.

But they hadn’t kissed, and Rarity realized that was what was bothering her. She realized she very much wanted to kiss Twilight, but she wasn’t certain if that was appropriate for their relationship. They didn’t really have a label for what Rarity and Twilight were; they weren’t exactly marefriends, not officially anyway, but Rarity believed that they were more than just friends.

She just hoped Twilight felt the same way.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

76. Disappointment

Applejack took a deep, steady breath as she looked out the train window and saw the town of Appleloosa, the southernmost village within Equestria’s borders and the ancestral home of the Apple family.

On the one hand, being in her family’s home— the place where her ancestors, forebears, and heroes were born, raised, and trained— left Applejack with a heady feeling, an overwhelming sense of pride and honor. On the other hand, she knew she could never live up to the legacy of this place, or to any of the Apples that she idolized.

And of course, Applejack could spy among the ponies waiting at the station a wrinkly green mare who would be all too happy to remind Applejack about how she was disgracing the Apple name.

“Are you ready?” Pinkie Pie asked, and Applejack smiled, though she felt it was a really silly question.

“As I’ll ever be.”

As Applejack and honorary Apple Pinkie Pie departed the train and stepped into the dusty, sand swept station of Appleloosa, the smiles on the two waiting ponies were totally priceless.

Granny Smith was there, of course, and she looked happier than a worm in an apple convention to see Pinkie Pie, but a bit more hesitant when her gaze fell on Applejack. Big Mac was decidedly less hesitant, and he grabbed Applejack and pulled her into a bonecrushing hug before she was even fully off the train.

Instead of complaining, Applejack wrapped her arms around the giant red stallion, who was just a tiny bit smaller and stockier than Applejack herself, and lifted him up off his feet.

“Doin’ well for yerself, big guy?” Applejack clapped Big Mac on the shoulders and beamed at him; her little brother who was so much more respectable than she was.

“Eeyup,” Big Mac replied with a hearty grin and even heartier slap to Applejack’s shoulder.

“Hey, where’s Apple Bloom?” Pinkie Pie asked, and Applejack agreed it was curious that she wasn’t there to greet Applejack and Pinkie Pie alongside the rest of the family.

“She’s at home, preparin’ the banquet for y’all,” Granny Smith explained. “She’s a big girl now, she’s old ‘nuff to watch the place by herself, and quite proud of it too!”

“Yeah, I bet,” Applejack said fondly. “She’s really growin’ fast, huh? Won’t be much longer ‘fore she’s bigger’n me I bet!”

“Yep,” Granny nodded and gave a delighted chuckle. “She’s quite the firebrand already too, just like you when you were that age.”

“Heh, wonder what happened to me then?” Applejack scoffed and rolled her eyes.

“You gave up,” Granny said coldly, giving Applejack the stank eye with the one good eye she had left. “Decided you’d rather be a quitter than a Slayer.”

“Granny,” Big Mac huffed and crossed his arms, glaring at Granny Smith.

“It’s alright, Big Mac—” Applejack sighed and waved off her brother’s attempted defenses.

“No it isn’t!” Pinkie chimed in, interrupting Applejack with a stomp of her hoof. “Granny, Applejack is not a quitter!”

“Not sayin’ it’s a bad thing, Pinkie Pie,” Granny said, “but the truth is what it is. Every able-bodied pony in the Apple family, ever since Celestia founded the Slayers, has been one. And Applejack’s the first one, in our entire family, to quit.”

“Better’n dyin’ early,” Applejack spat, “like most of the family.”

“If you were so worried about dyin’ early,” Granny shot Applejack a nasty glare, “you should’ve just trained harder!”

“Oh, is that your advice?!” Applejack shouted, stomping her hoof.

“Don’t you be stompin’ at me, Appleja—”

“Enough!” Pinkie screamed, jumping in between the two, as Big Mac stepped back. “Granny, you promised me in your letter that you wouldn’t fight with Applejack, and Applejack, you promised on the train! So no more fighting! Got it?!”

Applejack and Granny Smith were silent. Both crossing their arms and refusing to look at the other, or at Pinkie Pie.

“Got it?” Pinkie growled.

“Yeah, Pinkie,” Applejack sighed. “Yeah, you’re right. I promised.”

“Me too, child,” Granny shook her head slowly, “and an Apple doesn’t go back on their word. I’m sorry, Applejack. I was actin’ like a right fool.”

“I’m sorry too, Granny,” Applejack said, the words weighing heavily on her heart because why was she having to apologize, again?

“So where’s Rarity, anyway?” Granny Smith asked, and Applejack grit her teeth and managed to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Rarity was always Granny’s favorite, after all.

“She’s at the library, I think,” Pinkie said. “One of our friends got sick, and she had to stay behind to take care of her.”

“A very important friend, I hope,” Granny said, “if she’s missing out on seein’ her family!”

“She is an important friend,” Applejack said sternly. “She’s family too.”

“Well,” Granny exhaled sharply and affected a warm smile, “more pie for the rest of us, I suppose!”

“Yeah! Pie!” Pinkie cheered. “Big Mac, are you ready for pie!?”

“Eeyup!” Big Mac said, pumping his fist.

“I’ll race you to the house!” Pinkie beamed, and before saying even another word, both her and Big Mac were rushing into Appleloosa.

“I’m sorry about what I said before,” Granny Smith said as she walked slowly alongside Applejack. “I may be disappointed in you, but you’re still family, and this is your home. I don’t wanna make you feel like you ain’t welcome here.”

Applejack didn’t reply with anything other than a smile, because it was already a little bit late for that.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

77. Housewife Dreams

Pinkie Pie giggled as she watched Applejack playing with Apple Bloom in the backyard, carrying her around on her big ol’ shoulders and such. Dinner had been a little awkward, but so far— since they left the train station at least— Applejack and Granny Smith hadn’t gotten into a fight. Granted, that was because they hardly talked at all, but that was at least… something.

“Applejack!” Granny called out from inside, making Pinkie flinch cuz what if this was the thing that started a fight? “Would you help me clean up, please!”

“Yeah, no problem, Granny!” Applejack shouted back. “Be right there!”

“Aww,” Apple Bloom whined as Applejack put her on the ground, “can’t you just get Big Mac to help Granny?”

“Big Mac’s gotta get some rest, sugarcube,” Applejack said. “He’s a Slayer, after all. He doesn’t get a lot of downtime. Needs all the rest he can get.”

“Sounds to me like we’re just spoilin’ him,” Apple Bloom huffed, and Applejack laughed and ruffled her mane.

“C’mon, be nice to your big brother,” Applejack said.

“I am nice!” Apple Bloom replied, sticking her tongue out. “I’m just sayin’, is all.”

“Honestly,” Applejack scoffed and rolled her eyes playfully as she headed back into the house, “no respect in this family, I tell ya.”

“I respect you, Applejack!” Pinkie said with her tongue hanging out as Applejack passed her, Applejack laughing and giving her a quick ruffle of her mane.

Once Applejack was gone, Apple Bloom sat beside Pinkie on the deck, stretching her arms above her head and dangling her feet off the edge.

“Hey Apple Bloom!” Pinkie said giddily, Apple Bloom giving her a sweet smile. “You wanna hear about the Spirit of the Everfree?”

“The magical pony you kept goin’ on about in yer letters?” Apple Bloom said excitedly. “Heck yeah I wanna hear about her!”

“Good! Cuz I really wanna tell you about her!” Pinkie beamed. Any excuse to gush about Fluttershy was one that she’d take.

And gush she did, but not just about Fluttershy; Pinkie regaled Apple Bloom with tales of the Everfree Spirit, yes, but she also talked about her trip with Twilight, the amazing foods of Sugarcube Corner, how awesome Twilight’s library was, and that party she had there with all her friends.

“Man, you sure are lucky, Pinkie,” Apple Bloom sighed and pouted, putting her fists against her cheeks. Pinkie felt real bad, cuz making Apple Bloom sad was like the opposite of what she was trying to do!

“What do you mean?” Pinkie asked, putting an arm around Apple Bloom. “Cuz I got to meet a forest spirit?”

“Well yeah,” Apple Bloom laughed, “that part’s pretty cool! But I’m talking about… uhm,” Apple Bloom paused and looked back toward the house, then looked side to side. “Can I share a secret with you, Pinkie?”

“Of course!” Pinkie squeaked. “And I won’t tell anypony, Pinkie Promise! Cross my heart and hope to etc. you know the rest!”

“I really don’t wanna be a Slayer!” Apple Bloom admitted sheepishly. “I wanna be a blacksmith or an enchantress, like you and Applejack!”

“Woah, seriously?” Pinkie said incredulously; never once did she picture her or Applejack’s career choice as being glamorous, especially not more than being a Slayer, though Applejack’s shame over retiring and Pinkie’s aspirations to become a Slayer did muddy the waters a bit.

“Yeah,” Apple Bloom said, pulling her legs up and holding them close to her, “bein’ a Slayer sounds super dangerous and scary, and plus Big Mac’s exhausted like a thousand percent of the time. I don’t wanna be exhausted all the time!”

“Hey, Apple Bloom,” Pinkie put her hand on Apple Bloom’s shoulder and gave an encouraging smile, “don’t let anypony, not even Granny, tell you that you can’t be a blacksmith if that’s what you wanna do. I’m sure you’ll make an incredible blacksmith.”

“Honestly, what I really wanna do,” Apple Bloom said excitedly, “is fall in love with a super cool Slayer girl or somethin’, and then be the pony that like, fixes up their gear and gets ‘em ready for battle and stuff! And whenever they come home after a long day of monster huntin’, I wanna be there to take care of ‘em! Nurse her wounds, make her some hot food, and make her feel okay!”

“Apple Bloom,” Pinkie said, her heart swelling from Apple Bloom’s adorable housewife dreams, “that’s an awesome dream.”

Author's Notes:

i am told by media that many young girls daydream about married life. which is wild to me, cuz when i was a kid all i wanted was to hit monsters with swords

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

78. Old Sparring Buddy

“How’s it going, space cadet?” Rainbow tapped Rarity on the arm, rolling her eyes at the girl staring vacantly off into space after AJ and Pinkie left. Plus, teasing Rarity helped Rainbow ignore the feeling of loneliness that she definitely wasn’t feeling, and even if she was, it definitely wasn’t because Applejack was gone!

Rainbow wasn’t like some puppy with separation anxiety who gets nervous and sad the moment her mast—uh, girlfriend is gone.

“Rarity?” Rainbow tapped Rarity again, and only this time did Rarity respond with a blink and confused muttering. “Earth to Rarity? You in there?”

“Uh, yes,” Rarity cleared her throat. “Sorry, darling! Got a little sidetracked!”

“It’s fine,” Rainbow shrugged, but soon found that she was the one staring into space now, or at least at the empty train tracks that Applejack’s train had departed down.

“Everything alright, darling?”

“What? Yeah,” Rainbow sputtered, shaking off Rarity’s concern with a nervous laugh. “Everything’s—” Rainbow bit her lip, but she stopped herself before she drew blood this time. “Do you think she’ll be alright? With her family, I mean?”

“I think so,” Rarity said firmly, and for a sec Rarity’s confidence made Rainbow feel like things were gonna be okay, “but even if she has a dreadful trip, she knows that she has a wonderful family waiting for her when she comes home.”

Rainbow looked at Rarity, who was smiling brightly, but had to quickly turn her back on Rarity to hide the tears welling up in her eyes. Did Applejack consider Rainbow to be… family? That was a nice thought, but they hadn’t been doing stuff together for that long, had they?

“You really think—” Rainbow said, trying not to let her voice crack. “You really think Applejack— thinks of— us, as family?”

“Knowing that girl,” Rarity chuckled, “yes. She definitely thinks of you as her family.”

Agh, now why’d you have to go and say that?

Rainbow’s face twisted up as she tried her absolute best not to get all misty-eyed, and she was really glad that the Moon District station was as empty as ever. She wiped her eyes and, with a loud sniffle, managed to get herself under control.

“Alright, I gotta go,” Rainbow said as she spun around to face Rarity.

“Right now?” Rarity cocked her head. “That was awfully sudden.”

“Yeah I know,” Rainbow grumbled, “but I gotta go to Hunter’s Haven. You’ve been doing pretty great at keeping up with your missions and everything, but ever since me and Applejack, uh, started… doing things together—”

“You can say ‘dating’, sweetheart,” Rarity giggled.

“Right, like I said,” Rainbow cleared her throat, her cheeks feeling like someone had left the oven on inside them for like a year, “doing things together. Uh, ever since that, I’m pretty sure I’ve only been on that fruit bat mission with you, and like no others.”

“That was a fun one though,” Rarity chuckled.

“It was pretty great,” Rainbow rolled her eyes as she fondly recalled that absolute mess of a mission. “Anyway, I also gotta think up a nickname for Applejack.”

“Do you need help?”

“Nah,” Rainbow held up her hand and shook her head. “I think it should be something I come up with on my own. I just don’t wanna come up with something dumb, y’know?”

“Whatever you decide on,” Rarity said, putting her hands on Rainbow’s shoulders, “it will be marvelous, because it will be something that comes from your heart. And Applejack will be sure to love it, because she loves you.”

“Right,” Rainbow felt her face heating up again and she brushed off Rarity’s hands, “you say that, but—”

Rainbow cleared her throat which spun into a hacking cough, and then she shook herself awake a little bit. It was pretty early for her to be up, but she wasn’t going to miss Applejack before she left.

“Anyway,” Rainbow said, “I’m gonna bounce.”

“I’ll see you later,” Rarity said. “I’ll probably be at the library for a while, if you need me.”

“’kay,” Rainbow nodded and clapped Rarity’s hand, “see ya around.”

Rainbow didn’t need to wait for the train to get to the Sun District since she could just fly there, so after saying goodbye to Rarity, she let loose her wings and headed straight there. It only took a couple minutes to reach her destination, but every second of those minutes was spent thinking about Applejack.

It’d already been like a few weeks, and Rainbow still couldn’t believe she was actually dating Applejack.

It was super surreal, this girl she’d been crushing on for months, which felt like an eternity, was now saying that she loved Rainbow and kissing her, and damn could she kiss. It was a lot to process, and Rainbow didn’t feel like she’d ever get used to it, but for now she could just be happy that it was real.

She at least had one thing in her life that was really worth looking forward to. A reason not to be so reckless, at least for now.

The lively atmosphere of Hunter’s Haven was a welcome distraction to Rainbow’s racing thoughts. The foyer was absolutely full to bursting with Slayers accepting missions or bragging about their latest kills or just shooting the breeze. It was almost nice, if not for the constant reminder that Rainbow didn’t fit in here.

Ever since Rainbow’s first day as a Slayer, even since her days in the academy, the other hunters had given her grief; she was too short, she was too noisy, she was too brash, she was too stubborn, and on and on.

And maybe it hurt Rainbow at first, that nopony liked her or wanted to be friends with her, but nowadays it was just more motivation for her to become the greatest Slayer in the world, to show all these clowns just who they’d been messing with this whole time.

Rainbow trotted confidently through the room to the reception desk to assign herself a mission, simultaneously annoyed and relieved that nopony was paying attention to her, but then she stopped in her tracks when she heard a familiar raspy voice call out her name.

“Hey, Rainbow Dash! Long time no see!”

Rainbow turned around and, sure enough, saw a golden yellow pegasus with a fiery orange mane walking toward her, clad in an azure blue uniform with a clashing red scarf.

“Spitfire,” Rainbow muttered to herself, more than a little caught off-guard that she was even here.

“Hey, how’s my favorite old sparring buddy?” Spitfire said jovially, putting her arm around Rainbow and ruffling her mane.

“That’s a funny way to say ‘girl I’ve barely seen in like a bazillion years’,” Rainbow shot back teasingly, giving Spitfire a playful shove.

“Hey! I’ve seen you plenty of times since I started working under Celestia,” Spitfire harrumphed, “not my fault you turned her down,” and the coldness in Spitfire’s tone took Rainbow by surprise, but she didn’t want to question it.

“Yeah, I guess I was at your graduation,” Rainbow smirked, “though I was kinda out of it that day. While you were getting pampered by Celestia’s maids or whatever, I was single-handedly dealing with a pack of timberwolves.”

“That’s funny,” Spitfire teased back, “I wouldn’t call ‘helping defend Luna Bay from an onslaught of ghouls’ being ‘pampered’.”

“Oh pfft,” Rainbow scoffed, “you’re just trying to one-up me!”

“Don’t make it so easy for me then.”

Spitfire grinned, and Rainbow growled at her, a jolt of electricity charging through the air between the two. Though it was quickly discharged when Spitfire laughed, and Rainbow found herself softening up as well. She still had a long way to go to catch up to Spitfire, but she was glad her rival was someone so kind and easy to look up to.

“It’s honestly great to see you, Rainbow Dash,” Spitfire held out her hand, and Rainbow shook it gladly. “And I hope you’re not feeling too overshadowed.”

“By you?” Rainbow scoffed. “You may have a lead now, but I promised you when you became Celestia’s student that I wouldn’t let you beat me, and I keep my promises. I’m gonna leave you in the dust, Spitfire.”

“I like your confidence!” Spitfire beamed. “But that wasn’t what I was talking about. I mean, your new partner is Celestia’s star pupil. You gotta feel weird about that, right?”

“Why?” Rainbow shrugged. “Celestia and Rarity aren’t the same pony, and just cuz I didn’t want Celestia’s help, doesn’t mean I can’t accept Rarity’s.”

“Still though,” Spitfire said seriously, “you turned Celestia down cuz you said you wanted to become the strongest Slayer in the world on your own, with your own power. Do you honestly think anyone’s gonna take your power seriously when you’re with her?

“Do you honestly think those people you saved from those quarray eels, or that cragadile, or even those fruit bats, do you think they saw you? Or do you think they tell their friends about how Celestia’s student saved them and their town?”

Rainbow was silent.

She didn’t know what to say.

Celestia offered to train Rainbow Dash when she was just a kid, and not a day went by after turning her down that Rainbow didn’t wonder if she made a horrible mistake that day. At least not until…

“You’re the girl who turned Celestia down, right?” Rarity had said, slamming her hands on Rainbow’s table.

“Yeah?” Rainbow scoffed irritably. “What of it?”

“You must be so strong!” Rarity said with a gleaming smile. “I want you to be my partner!”

It was because of that decision that she met Rarity, and meeting Rarity was the only thing in her life that had ever gone right. How could she regret it?

But still…

“What are your long-term goals, Rainbow?” Spitfire said, snapping Rainbow out of her thoughts. “Do you have any?”

“I wanna be the strongest Slayer in the world,” Rainbow replied confidently, clenching her fists. “I wanna show everypony how strong I am, so that no one has to be afraid anymore!”

“And how are you going to do that?” Spitfire asked skeptically. “You can’t be a symbol of hope and peace if nopony knows who you are. And as long as people view you as the right-hand gal of Celestia’s star student, how can you hope to be anything more than that?”

Rainbow didn’t have time to answer that question, or even really process it, before a frantic looking pegasus interrupted their conversation.

“Captain Spitfire! Lady Rainbow Dash!”

If a grunt worker was referring to Rainbow Dash with an honorific, then whatever news she had must be serious, and it probably also meant that she’d have to get Rarity.

“An urgent mission has appeared and you two have been summoned to Haven’s Hold!” the desperate pegasus said, Rainbow and Spitfire’s ears both shooting up in alarm. “And Lady Rainbow Dash, you need to col—”

“Get Rarity?” Rainbow asked gruffly, and rolled her eyes at the pegasus’ shaky nod.

“Of course, get Rarity,” Spitfire muttered, “she is Celestia’s star pupil, after all.”

“Right,” Rainbow sighed. Why would they just need me¸ after all? When I’m a nopony.

“So what’s the mission, soldier?” Spitfire asked the shaky pegasus. “If we’re being summoned to Haven’s Hold, it must be A-Class.”

The pegasus took a deep breath to steady her nerves, and Rainbow figured she must not have been working for the Slayers for very long. This was probably the first time she’d been asked to summon anypony for an A-Class mission, and Rainbow couldn’t really fault her for being nervous.

But nothing could’ve prepared Rainbow for what actually came out of the woman’s mouth.

“Captain,” she said, “it’s a dragon.”

Author's Notes:

shit is about to start getting very real

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

79. Because I Love You

Rarity sat at the Golden Oaks reception desk, resting her chin on intertwined fingers as she watched Twilight reorganizing books in the library. It was banal and ordinary, but Rarity was enchanted.

Just watching Twilight go about her day, doing something she cared about— even something as monotonous as picking up books and putting them on shelves— was enthralling to Rarity, because this was the pony she loved, in her natural element.

Granted, it would have been much more enchanting had Twilight not stopped every five minutes or less to clutch her chest and wince in pain.

“Twilight, are you alright?” Rarity asked for what must have been the seven thousandth time.

“I’m fine,” Twilight said sheepishly. “It’s just magic exhaustion, it’s basically just like continuous heartburn.”

“That still sounds very uncomfortable,” Rarity said, biting her thumbnail and wishing there was some way she could relieve Twilight’s stress or discomfort.

“It is!” Twilight laughed, and while her crush being in pain was not a chipper topic to Rarity, she laughed too. “But I’ll be fine. Tonight, I’ll be, uh, resting. As it were.”

“I presume it takes more than just rest to recover from magical exhaustion,” Rarity said, “otherwise you should have done that already.”

“It is a little bit more complicated, yeah,” Twilight said, taking a deep breath and returning to her reorganization.

Rarity was familiar with the concept of magic exhaustion, all the prospective Slayers who were trained in the academy learned about it, and of course Celestia gave vigorous lectures about its dangers and how to prevent it, and those lectures were nothing compared to the ones Luna gave.

But Rarity’s magic wasn’t very powerful, and magic exhaustion generally only came after prolonged use of magic, like casting a continuous powerful spell, or casting a great many spells in a short period without resting.

She wasn’t sure how or why Twilight was coming down with it now, but she didn’t concern herself with the why at the moment; what mattered to her now was making Twilight as comfortable as possible.

“Do you ever take time to relax, darling?” Rarity asked idly.

Twilight chuckled. “Do you?”

“Point taken, I suppose,” Rarity sighed and glanced over her hands, fixating on her fingers for a moment. “Dearest? Would you mind taking a short break?”

“Hmm? How come?” Twilight asked, looking curiously at Rarity from behind a bookcase.

“I simply don’t want you to overexert yourself any more than you already have,” Rarity said.

“I’m not—”

“You’re using magic to reorganize those books, dear,” Rarity sighed, rolling her eyes, “don’t tell me that you’re not overexerting yourself.”

Twilight grumbled, and Rarity giggled. Twilight could be so immature sometimes, yet it was always so adorable even when it should have been frustrating.

“Come over here, darling,” Rarity patted the cushion on the chair beside her. “Just sit with me for one moment, okay? Then you can go back to your precious books, which we all know are far more important to you than silly lovestruck unicorns.”

“Right,” Twilight said flatly, rolling her eyes, and Rarity found herself relieved that Twilight hadn’t picked up on the ‘lovestruck’ thing that slipped into Rarity’s sentence.

Twilight pulled up a chair and sat beside Rarity behind the reception desk, letting out a bereaved sigh. Rarity wasn’t sure if it was because of the exhaustion or because she was being pulled away from her task.

“I hope you aren’t too perturbed with me,” Rarity said, gently taking Twilight’s hand and running her thumb across her crush’s fingers.

“No, it’s fine,” Twilight said closing her eyes and resting her head on the desk, leaving her hand in Rarity’s. “You’re right, I don’t relax as much as I should. I don’t take very good care of myself.”

“How can you,” Rarity hummed, squeezing Twilight’s palm with one hand and playing idly with Twilight’s fingers with the other, “when you’re so busy taking care of everyone else?”

“Like you don’t do the same thing,” Twilight huffed defensively, but it only made Rarity laugh.

“That is sort of the point that I’m getting at,” Rarity said, taking Twilight’s fingers up to her lips and giving her a soft kiss on her knuckles. “Perhaps, we could take care of each other, and maybe even learn from one another how to take better care of ourselves.”

“I wouldn’t—” Twilight raised her head, meeting Rarity’s eyes. “I wouldn’t mind that.”

“Then perhaps,” Rarity bit her lip, then gave Twilight another soft kiss on her fingertips, “since I know how much you love labels and organization, we should make what we have… something more official?”

“M-marefriends?” Twilight squeaked nervously, her cheeks turning bright red.

“That was,” Rarity leaned her muzzle closer to Twilight’s, “what I was thinking.”

Rarity’s lips gently grazed against Twilight’s before pulling back, Twilight biting on her lip and then leaning into Rarity’s, but not close enough to touch. Rarity gently placed her nose against Twilight’s, breathing in Twilight’s curious yet delightful scent, and moved in to kiss her.

And she would have too, had the library door not suddenly been slammed open with the force of a damned battering ram!

“Rarity!” Rainbow shouted, and Rarity was about to scream some choice words about privacy and interruption before looking at Rainbow and seeing the ghostly pallor on her face.

“What’s wrong?” was all Rarity thought to say as Rainbow barged into the library, slamming her hands on the reception desk.

“We’ve been summoned,” Rainbow said grimly, Rarity holding tightly to Twilight’s hands because while Rarity had a hunch where this was going, she knew poor Twilight was completely in the dark, “to Haven’s Hold. There’s a dragon in Equestria.”

“Shit,” Rarity hissed, her hunch right on the money.

She wasted no time and stood to her hooves immediately, Twilight’s hands grasping hers desperately.

“Rarity,” Twilight uttered anxiously.

“Darling,” Rarity brushed her hand across Twilight’s cheek, delighted to see that Twilight’s exhaustion didn’t get in the way of her habitually leaning her cheek into Rarity’s touch, “I have to go.”

“I know,” Twilight said bleakly. “I wish you didn’t.”

“So do I,” Rarity said, “but I must.”

Rarity gave Twilight one last kiss on the hand before following Rainbow to the door, and Twilight followed behind them.

“Rarity, wait!” Twilight said urgently, and Rarity stopped in her tracks and turned to look at Twilight. Twilight kissed Rarity lightly on the cheek. “For luck, just like always.”

“Because I love you,” Rarity gave Twilight a kiss on the cheek. They stared at each other for a brief moment, and Twilight leaned in to kiss Rarity’s lips, only to be stopped by Rarity’s finger. “When I return. I’ll have something to look forward to that way.”

“Okay by me,” Twilight said fondly. “I know you’ll come back safely.”

“I promise I will,” Rarity said confidently.

“I love you,” Twilight said.

“I love you too,” Rarity kissed Twilight on the cheek once more for good measure, and she wished she had more time to properly appreciate the first time Twilight admitted that she loved her, but such was life.

“And Rainbow,” Twilight said, and Rarity turned to see the pegasus, after almost forgetting that she was present, “I love you too, but in a different way, so you be sure to come back home safely too, alright?”

“Please, Twilight,” Rainbow scoffed. “There’s no way I’d abandon you, Spike, or the library. I’ll be back for sure.”

“Okay,” Twilight bowed, “then have a safe journey, you two.”

Rarity smiled fondly, before turning her back on the pony and the place that she loved so much, certain in her heart that she would return with her head held high.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

80. The Students of Celestia

Haven’s Hold.

Rarity remembered it well; an underground cavern etched from floor to ceiling in faintly glowing yellow runes, the walls lined with weapons and armor and other magical items, decorated with nothing but dreary gray slab as far as the eye could see.

Rarity had only seen it once before, the night that changed her life forever, and she hated it then too.

She stood at the top of the stairs leading into the place, grimacing at the prospect of going down there again. Not only would it mean that she would need to once more fight against a dragon, but she would have to suffer the dreadful décor as well, and she wasn’t sure which was worse.

Rainbow Dash had no such hesitation, and by the time Rarity was done steeling her nerves, her partner was already halfway down the steps.

Rarity followed suit, and at the foot of the steps, standing right in the entrance to the dim and narrow hallway that led into the Hold proper, was a familiar fiery-tinted pegasus.

“Spitfire!” Rarity said with delight, affecting a charmed smile for her old friend.

“Glad you could finally make it, Rarity,” Spitfire grinned. “Was almost afraid you were gonna miss the reunion.”

“Reunion,” Rarity whispered, biting her lip even as it curled into a cautious smile. “We’re all together again, I take it?”

“Yep,” Spitfire nodded, “just waiting on you. And the Queen, obviously, but she’s always late to stuff like this.”

“Last minute preparations, I would assume,” Rarity said idly, though a groan from Rainbow Dash soon distracted her.

“Come on, you guys!” Rainbow grumbled. “We’re wasting time!”

“Let’s see if you’re so eager once we get to Baltimare, Rainbow Dash,” Spitfire chuckled, and Rainbow gave some teasing reply in return, but Rarity had checked out, biting on her thumbnail.

She was glad that Rainbow and Spitfire were excited, although it was too bad their enthusiasm didn’t rub off on her. Spitfire always was one to look forward to dangerous situations, though she was exceptionally cautious, and her confidence was not unearned.

Spitfire would be a boon to any mission, but Rarity was especially glad to have her around because she knew with Spitfire on board, Rarity wouldn’t have to feel so ‘in charge’ of everypony.

Rainbow and Spitfire exchanged idle banter and boasts of confidence, and Rarity followed them into the darkened hall until another voice interrupted them.

“This isn’t a competition, you two,” a beleaguered sounding woman said, and Rarity smiled at the familiar voice.

A pale earth mare dressed in gaudy purple leather, with a mane of raven hair tied into a loose ponytail, greeted the trio at the end of the hallway. Rarity recognized her instantly; the third of Celestia’s four prized students, Countess Coloratura.

“Well if it was,” Rainbow snickered, needling Spitfire with her elbow, “I’d definitely win.”

“Yeah, we’ll just see about that, Crash,” Spitfire playfully punched Rainbow in the arm, and Coloratura, her chiding being ignored as usual, let out a long-suffering sigh.

“Rarity, Rainbow Dash,” Coloratura said, her sternness enough to even get Rainbow’s attention, “do you two need to arm yourselves?”

“Nah, I got everything I need already,” Rainbow shrugged, and Rarity cracked a smirk at Rainbow’s commitment to doing everything with her own tools.

“You don’t want to peruse Celestia’s armory?” Coloratura had never met Rainbow Dash before, so from her perspective her question was quite reasonable, but Rarity knew Rainbow’s answer before she even spoke it.

“No,” Rainbow replied firmly, walking past Coloratura without another word, and Spitfire gave a halfhearted shrug and a smirk at the earth mare as Spitfire followed behind Rainbow.

“I would like to use the armory,” Rarity said, realizing she had left is such a rush that she didn’t have most of her own weapons on hand. “Would you mind showing me to it?”

“Not at all,” Coloratura said cheerfully, affecting a warm smile toward Rarity, who felt even more relaxed in the company of yet another of Celestia’s students. “Follow me, Rarity.”

Rarity wanted to make small talk with Coloratura, catch up on how she was doing and all that, but she was too distracted by mentally going through her process, making sure she knew what her role was to be in the upcoming battle and that she had everything she needed to be as effective and useful as possible.

“Going through the old routine, Rarity?” Coloratura smirked; she knew Rarity too well.

“Never hurts to be prepared,” Rarity smiled back, admittedly a bit bashful that she was read so easily, even if Coloratura always did have a knack for figuring out how others were feeling.

“Not at all,” Coloratura said with a sly grin, “unless you wind yourself up into a tizzy trying to cover every minute detail before the battle even begins.”

“What an intriguing hypothetical,” Rarity said innocently, and Coloratura let out a giggle as they reached the armory.

“Have you ever been in here before?” Coloratura asked as she closed Rarity’s gaping jaw. Celestia’s armory was far more expansive than Rarity was prepared for; a golden-lined room absolutely smothered in weapons, and Rarity scarcely knew where to begin.

“No, I haven’t,” Rarity said casually as she quickly took stock of the items in front of her.

She knew she would need a bow, and though she was certain the arrows available in Celestia’s armory would be powerful, she still lamented the absence of Pinkie Pie’s enchanted arrows.

Rarity found a longsword and a short-axe that were to her liking, and her own transforming shield was already fastened to her arm, that particular item never leaving Rarity’s side unless absolutely necessary.

“Truth be told,” Rarity said as she swung her newfound blade a few times, “while getting to use Celestia’s personal armory is a delight, I honestly prefer using the weapons my dear friend Applejack makes for me.”

“Applejack,” Coloratura said distantly, and Rarity suddenly blanched as she recalled the two’s connection. “How is she doing?” Coloratura asked, clasping her hands in front of her, though before Rarity could answer, Coloratura turned away and shook her head. “No, never mind. This isn’t the time for reminiscing.

“If you’ve got everything you need,” Coloratura took a deep breath and exited the armory, “then we should join the others as soon as possible.”

Rarity followed Coloratura back to the main room of Haven’s Hold, and she steeled herself because she knew there was only one more of Celestia’s students for her to run into.

Sure enough, the final student was standing, arms crossed, in the center of the room, dutifully waiting for Queen Celestia to arrive and ignoring the noisy chatter of Spitfire and Rainbow Dash.

Rarity’s stomach turned when she saw her. While Rarity had her arguments with Spitfire, the two worked together painlessly, and she enjoyed the pegasus’ company enough. Meanwhile, she and Coloratura were fast friends, and Rarity felt completely comfortable around her.

She couldn’t say any of those things about the burgundy giantess who she could never see eye to eye with. A mountain of a unicorn mare, towering above everypony but the Queen herself, with her plum-colored mane styled into a mohawk; she was quite a sight to behold, though even with her impressive manestyle and stature, it was hard for the eye not to be drawn to the unicorn’s shattered horn.

Rarity didn’t dare say anything to the unicorn as she and Coloratura approached, though she didn’t miss her contemptuous glance either.

“Rarity,” she said coldly.

“Tempest Shadow,” Rarity replied curtly.

When Celestia originally took her little quartet under her wing, she was originally supposed to only take three students from the academy; an earth pony, a pegasus, and a unicorn. Tempest was selected as the unicorn, but when Rarity made her, ahem, ‘stunning’ entrance into Celestia’s class, and Celestia took her as a fourth student, Tempest must have believed Rarity stole attention away that Tempest believed was hers.

Or something. Truth be told, Tempest’s disdain for Rarity was something Rarity could never figure out; all she knew was that while Tempest was a powerful, respectful, and responsible soldier, and proud student of Celestia—all things Rarity liked to believe they had in common—she was also quite unpleasant.

But Rarity wouldn’t have to dwell on Tempest for long, because just as Rarity was settling in, a bright yellow flash tore through the space in the center of the room as a shining white alicorn teleported into Haven’s Hold.

“You’re finally here!” Rainbow cheered, throwing her fist in the air, although Rarity noted that Celestia looked much less enthused.

“I am,” she said sternly, and Rainbow’s fist fell to her side. “Is everypony ready to defend Equestria? The situation in Baltimare is already dire, and we need to leave right away.”

“My Queen!” Coloratura said proudly, banging a fist against her chest. “We have all come prepared! We await your orders!”

“Yeah, what she said,” Spitfire added casually, arms behind her head.

“As long as Rarity doesn’t choke this time,” Tempest grumbled, and Rarity was about to offer a sharp retort, but Celestia beat her to it.

“Tempest Shadow!” Celestia glared at Tempest, gleaning a shocked expression from the normally unflappable mare for a fraction of a second. “Rarity is here because I summoned her, and I will not have my choice of comrades questioned. Understand?”

“Yes, my Queen,” Tempest bowed her head. “I apologize.”

“Now, before we depart,” Celestia said, her gaze falling on Rarity, who stood at attention, “there is one last order of business. Rarity?”

“Y-yes, my Queen?” Rarity saluted instinctively, though she should have known better than to treat Celestia differently than usual, as the Queen only chuckled at Rarity’s over-seriousness.

“This is for you,” Celestia’s horn flashed and after a crack of her yellow magic, a sword appeared in her hand that she held out to Rarity. “This onyx blade has a powerful enchantment on it. If the blade pierces the skin of an enemy, and you activate the enchantment, that enemy will die without fail.”

“W-what?!” Rarity balked stepping away from Celestia and her horrifying weapon.

“Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that,” Celestia scratched her cheek, but she didn’t lower her hand that held the sword. “But we are on a strict time limit, so I need you to take this.”

“Okay, I will,” Rarity swallowed her nerves and gently took the deadly weapon from Celestia’s hand and fastened it to her belt. “But why give me something like this?”

“Because I trust you with it,” Celestia smiled warmly, and Rarity took a deep breath, feeling a faint comfort from Celestia’s smile and her praise… and also from Tempest’s snort and Rainbow’s accompanying snicker. “You will need it in the coming battles.”

“I understand,” Rarity said, her resolve shining through as she stood proudly in front of Celestia; no longer a student of the Queen, but a comrade.

“Now,” Celestia said urgently, “is everypony ready?”

The five ponies on Celestia’s squad gave firm confirmations in reply, and Celestia nodded in return. With a crack of her horn and a flash of yellow energy, the cave was left empty as the party was teleported halfway across Equestria, to the port town of Baltimare.

Author's Notes:

be glad i didn't call this chapter "the dragon euthanization specialty unit" cuz i almost did

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

81. The Dragon Mission

The smell of smoke filled Rarity’s nose and made it hard for her to breath the moment her party appeared in Baltimare’s harbor.

Her eyes widened in horror as she saw the humble port city set ablaze by dragon flame, burning houses and rising black columns of smoke stretching almost as far as her eye could see, but there was a small silver lining in that the beast had yet to reach the city proper as it focused its reign of fury on the harbor.

“Rainbow Dash! Spitfire!” Celestia’s voice rung inside Rarity’s head, and she realized the Queen had set up a telepathic link between the party. “We need rain, now! Once you’ve gotten it, Rainbow, you need to get people out of their homes and to safety, and Spitfire, you’re with us, understand?!”

“Yes ma’am!” Spitfire and Rainbow replied in unison, flying off to gather clouds.

“Countess,” Celestia spoke, “you need to tend to the injured.”

“I’m on it, my Queen,” Coloratura said proudly, taking off toward the city.

Celestia, Rarity, and Tempest met with a very shaky looking soldier—a member of Baltimare’s volunteer defense force, most likely—and Celestia grabbed him gently by the shoulder.

“Tell me what’s happened here,” she said softly.

“Th-the dragon came out of nowhere!” the man said frantically. “We shot at it with our arrows, but they did nothing, and it breathed a stream of flame and just, it just—”

“It’s okay,” Celestia pulled the man into a hug and wrapped her wings around him, “everything is going to be okay. We’re here now.”

And right on cue, Rarity felt the rain beginning to pour down. She wondered if it would make it difficult to see and fight the dragon, but she didn’t doubt that Celestia had a plan.

“What happened to the dragon?” Celestia asked.

“After it flew over,” the man said, still shaky but noticeably calmer, “it attacked the port once and then retreated, but it didn’t go far. We think it will be back in only a few minutes.”

“Whoever sounded the beacon to notify us did an excellent job then,” Celestia said. “This could have been much worse if we had arrived later.”

“What are your orders, ma’am?” Tempest asked.

“We take this to the docks,” Celestia replied. “The less the city proper gets involved in the battle, the better. If it’s only property that gets damaged, I can easily mend it with my magic.” Celestia turned toward the shaky soldier. “Have the docks been evacuated, soldier?”

“Y-yes, ma’am.”

“Excellent work,” Celestia said firmly. “We haven’t a moment to lose then, so let’s go.”

Celestia sparked up her horn and in an instant, Rarity found herself, her Queen, and Tempest standing on the docks, staring out over the water of Horseshoe Bay. And in the distance, just barely visible through the setting sun and the heavy rainfall, Rarity could see the glimmering scales of a green dragon.

“Are you ready for this, Rarity?” Celestia asked, putting a comforting hand on Rarity’s shoulder.

“My Queen,” Rarity replied with a bloodthirsty smirk, “this is what I was born to do.”

“Then allow me one final precaution,” Celestia glanced at Rarity, and her eyes glistened with affection and pride, but mostly with steeled resolve.

“Anything, Celestia,” Rarity replied, taking hold of Celestia’s hand.

Celestia turned toward Rarity and got on one knee to reach Rarity’s eye level, her fingers gently yet firmly entwining with Rarity’s.

Rarity took a deep breath and braced herself, though it was impossible to stop her legs from shaking or from allowing a quivering smile to grace her lips.

She knew what was coming; it had been something she had discussed with the Queen many, many times before— a secret technique that Celestia and Rarity could do only if a dragon tore through Equestria that would allow Rarity to share in Celestia’s seemingly infinite well of magic and fight as an equal with her Queen.

Celestia put her hand gently on Rarity’s shoulder, and Rarity leaned forward, closing her eyes as Celestia’s lips touched hers and the two shared a brief, tender kiss.

Immediately, Rarity could feel her body welling with magic that wasn’t there before—Celestia’s magic— and she couldn’t help letting out a giggle.

“This is no laughing matter,” Tempest Shadow clicked her tongue.

“Perhaps not,” Celestia said with a smile as she stood to her full mountainous height, her hand still entwined with Rarity’s. “But I’m glad to see my secret weapon as it were worked. How do you feel, Rarity?”

“Celestia,” Rarity said, biting her lip and grinning ear to ear, “I feel ready.”

Author's Notes:

the ability for two lesbians to share magical energy thru a smooch is definitely gonna come back up again later :3c

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

82. The Battle of Baltimare

The dragon soaring through the thundering rain clouds over Baltimare was massive. Rarity knew in her heart that if it couldn’t use the Golden Oaks Library as a damn toothpick, it could certainly use it as nothing more than a backscratcher.

The beast opened fire on Rarity and Celestia’s team, launching a swollen orb of flame from its maw. Celestia looked unfazed, and with a mental command, ordered Rarity to conjure a shield to protect the four ponies and Baltimare.

Rarity did as commanded, a solid wall of pale blue energy meeting the flame and dispersing it on impact, though the burden on Rarity to tank that attack with her magic was greater than she expected, knocking the wind right out of her.

Rarity was impressed by herself—or rather, she was impressed by Celestia’s magic that flowed through her body thanks to their kiss before the battle that allowed her to pull off such a technique. But even the Queen’s energy could only do so much when contained within a body as delicate as Rarity’s.

“We need to ground it,” Celestia said firmly as her four swords flew into the air to attack the dragon as if by their own will, but in reality being meticulously manipulated by Celestia’s magic.

Rarity watched in awe as Celestia commanded the four blades, teleporting them to and fro to disorient her enemy, watching the dragon swat at one blade, only to have to deflect another coming for its eye in the time it took to breathe.

The dragon seemed to be doing well enough at defending itself, keeping the four weapons at bay with its claws, snapping them up with its fangs sometimes, only for the sword to teleport out of its jaws and careen toward its head, only to then be deflected by a thin green aura around the dragon’s scales.

“As I thought,” Celestia said, biting down on her thumbnail, “this dragon uses magic. This won’t be a simple exercise, but it’s nothing out of our reach.” Celestia turned her glance to the team, though her attention never wavered from her airborne weaponry. “Spitfire, Tempest Shadow; can I count on you both to bring this beast to the ground?”

“You got it, boss!” Spitfire gave a proud salute, and Tempest merely nodded confidently.

Celestia didn’t have to tell the pair twice, and as Tempest’s horn crackled with fraying magic and Spitfire took off into the air, Rarity felt a tad underdressed; though she quickly changed her tune when her magical barrier was the only thing that kept Spitfire from being torn to shreds by a mighty buffet of wind from the dragon’s wings.

The dragon seemed to be faring well against Celestia’s arsenal, learning the pattern of her attacks and adjusting its own moves accordingly, though Rarity suspected her Queen had something else in mind than simply slaying the dragon in a mere swordfight.

Rarity was proven right when a loud burst erupted from Tempest’s horn, and a ray of black and red energy shot through the sky and ripped a hole in one of the dragon’s wings, eliciting an ear-splitting howl from the beast as nearly half of its wing decayed from the blast.

The dragon charged toward the ground, eager to outrun Celestia’s weapons as it rushed to eliminate the bane of its wing, but it couldn’t get away from blades that could simply teleport right in front of it.

To Rarity’s shock and disgust, the dragon didn’t slow down when met with the newfound wall of blades, instead charging right into them and getting all four blades stuck between the scales on its face; though the thin green aura that surrounded it seemed to reduce the damage, blood still poured from each wound, covering the dragon’s face in a sickly red sheen.

The dragon opened its maw again to shoot flame, and Rarity prepared her shield, though Celestia held her back. Like a bolt of lightning, a fiery pegasus tore through the dragon’s remaining wing, burning an enormous hole right in the leathery flap.

The dragon roared in pain and flapped its decayed, useless wings, but it somehow managed to remain airborne and retreated into the storm clouds while the party was left behind, Rarity wondering how it managed to stay in the sky, or even alive, with those injuries.

“Of course,” Celestia hissed. “It’s using magic to keep itself airborne, not its wings.

“So what’s plan B?” Rarity asked.

“The same as plan A,” Celestia reaffirmed, clenching her fists, “we ground it. But if it won’t come down, we’ll simply have to meet it up there.”

Before Rarity could ask, she felt her body surging with energy, then a pair of gossamer butterfly wings shone from her back, and she knew she could fly.

“Spitfire followed it into the clouds,” Celestia said through gritted teeth, “she’s going to get herself killed that way. Let’s go, Rarity. We haven’t a moment to lose.”

“My Queen!” Tempest, no wings in sight, stepped toward a distinctly irritated-looking Celestia. “What do I do from the ground?”

“I don’t need to explain your orders, Tempest,” Celestia growled. “You know what needs to be done, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.”

With that, Celestia and Rarity took off into the downpouring night sky, Celestia parting the sea of thunderclouds just long enough to unveil the dragon and pull it out of its cloudy shield with her magic.

Sure enough, Spitfire was engaged with it, having pulled one of Celestia’s swords from the dragon’s face—an absolutely dreadful fountain of blood pouring from the dragon’s cheek in the weapon’s place—and fending off the dragon’s attacks, though Spitfire herself was bleeding from the face and arm.

The dragon wasted no time swatting Spitfire out of the sky and refocusing its attention on Celestia, firing a bolt of flame that was blocked by Rarity and her barrier’s timely intervention, at the cost of much of Rarity’s stamina.

As Rarity tried to catch her haggard breath, Celestia asked her “How many more can you block?”

“One?” Rarity replied shamefully. “Perhaps two, but I don’t think would survive the second.”

“Then save your one for my command, no matter what happens,” Celestia said, her swords snapping into her hands with a crack of yellow light, “and leave this to me.”

The dragon tried to smash Celestia in its claws, but she blocked by stabbing her swords between the fingers of both hands, yellow barriers around the swords keeping the monster’s claws at bay. Celestia’s other two swords, including the one reclaimed from the retreating Spitfire, hovered above the dragon’s eyes, the demon watching them warily for the perfect moment to deflect them.

Rarity could see Celestia sweating from trying to keep the dragon’s crushing claws from coming closer to her, and Rarity knew the dragon could certainly see it as well. Celestia was a bastion of physical strength, but she wasn’t a dragon, and she couldn’t hope to contest it in a physical contest for long.

Celestia grit her teeth and grunted, and the swords in her hands zapped away, allowing the dragon to crush her in its claws, its nails digging through her armor and into her flesh as she screamed in agony, leaving a gasping Rarity to watch in horror.

But the dragon’s momentary victory came with a price, and the swords that disappeared from Celestia’s hands had to reappear somewhere; and the place she chose was inside the dragon’s eyes.

Celestia’s immediate proximity to the monster allowed her to perfectly transport her weapons right through the demon’s eyes, the hilts of her swords sticking out from giant glassy spheres that instantly started pouring blood.

The dragon opened its mouth to breathe fire, and Celestia struggled to escape its grasp; the claws embedded into her skin making it impossible for her to concentrate enough for a teleportation spell… so Rarity would just have to do it for her.

Rarity shut her eyes tight and pooled as much of her magic as she could into her horn, directing it at Celestia and praying that her studies had paid off. And after a satisfying CRACK, Rarity opened her eyes to see a relieved yet bloody Celestia flying in the air beside her, as the dragon’s flame uselessly engulfed nothing but empty air.

The dragon roared at Rarity and Celestia, the latter’s jaw dropping as she exclaimed “That wasn’t enough?”

Suddenly, Rarity understood Celestia’s plan; just as Celestia had been unable to focus through the pain from the dragon’s claws, the party would have to cause the demon enough pain for it to lose its flight spell.

“Celestia, darling,” Rarity gave a dazzling smile as she drew her sword, “let me take the lead.”

Celestia snapped one of her swords in front of Rarity, who took it in her hand and let her own sword hover in her aura around her head. “Make me proud, Rarity.”

Rarity grinned as she flew toward the dragon, and even as the beast swiped in the air at her—its sight likely also enhanced with magic, so its lack of eyes was only a minor inconvenience to it—Rarity remained vigilant.

It dawned on Rarity that this dragon was quite the accomplished magus, if it had so many spells cast on it before it even entered the fray. It wouldn’t be a stretch to assume it had a spell that would allow it to endure past its normal pain threshold.

Rarity bemoaned that dragons must have had a much larger well of magic to draw from than even alicorns, otherwise Celestia would have been able to cast such spells on the party before they arrived, and that would have put this battle on a much more level playing field. No such luck though.

Rarity dodged the grasping claws of the dragon and slashed Celestia’s sword through several of its fangs, slicing her own blade through a second layer of the demon’s fangs and severing half its damn teeth in the process.

While the dragon tried to bite down on Rarity, the holes left in its teeth were easy enough to glide through, and Rarity did so with style and grace, effortlessly escaping the dragon’s bite, only to be covered in the shadow of its hand instead, as it reached to grab Rarity in its giant fist.

Rarity closed her eyes and prepared her shield, but before she knew it, she was hit by a thud and was careening upward. She suddenly found herself being carried to safety by an injured— though still very much alive and grinning cheerfully— Spitfire.

The dragon breathed flame up at the two, and Rarity deflected it with her barrier, feeling a gross pang in her chest as magic exhaustion started to creep up on her. It wasn’t often she felt it, but repeatedly defending against a dragon’s flame will wipe out any reserves a pony may have.

“Do we have a plan?!” Spitfire yelled, and Rarity didn’t know how to answer at first, but the solution quickly dawned on her.

“Yes! Go down! Toward the ground!” Rarity answered, and while Spitfire gave her a momentarily hesitant glance, she followed Rarity’s orders without question.

During Rarity’s little bout with the dragon, it never once tried to go after Celestia, and Rarity surmised that it could only focus on one target at a time using its sight spell. So if Rarity and Spitfire, still kiting the dragon’s attention, were to pass by Celestia…

Sure enough, the dragon followed as Spitfire raced toward the ground with Rarity in her arms, and though the dragon was weakened, it was still able to keep pace with Spitfire, at least until the ground was in sight, when it reared up and roared, knowing what fate awaited it if it came too close to the earth.

Unfortunately for the dragon, it was already too close to the sun.

Celestia grabbed the dragon’s neck in her magic and yanked it downward, and though she could only hold the beast for a mere second before being forced to let go, that was more than enough time for a roar of black and red energy to tear through the sky and rend the dragon asunder, piercing right through its stomach and causing the edges of its chest and pelvis to decay as well as its limp carcass fell into the sea with a monstrous splash.

“I knew we could count on you, Tempest!” Celestia cheered as she hovered above the water, and Tempest gave a salute from the dock, her horn still crackling with barely restrained magic. Celestia smiled at Rarity and Spitfire. “You two both did phenomenally as w—”

The dragon should have been dead, but its roar revealed it was quite alive, as did its remaining fangs digging into Celestia’s leg and eliciting a frenzied howl of pain from her. She teleported a few inches away from the beast’s maw, and as it rose from the ocean, everypony could see its injuries were still present.

How the hell is this beast still alive?!

It didn’t stay behind to engage the party again, and instead took flight over the ocean, disappearing behind the horizon before the party could even think to give chase.

Author's Notes:

i remember why i have that violence tag now

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

83. Celestia's Limit

Celestia cursed under her breath as she stood on the dock of Baltimare’s harbor and watched a dragon flee across the ocean where she could not follow. Rarity, for one, was at least glad for the reprieve, and to have Coloratura treating her injuries.

“We can’t let it flee,” Celestia said firmly. “We can’t let it live after what it’s done here.”

“I agree, my Queen,” Tempest responded eagerly. “Please, allow me to lead the strike team to chase it down.”

“Wait,” Rainbow chimed in agitatedly, “Celestia, why can’t you just teleport over to it and strike it down right now?”

“If I thought that I could end it in a single blow, I might do just that,” Celestia responded, and Rarity admired her patience for explaining what Rarity felt was obvious, “but that dragon still has quite a bit of fight left in it, and I know that it only tried to flee because it knew it could reach Equestria’s border.”

“So?” Rainbow shrugged. “We just chase it down and beat it up, right?”

“If only it were that simple,” Celestia gave a beleaguered sigh.

“Celestia can’t leave Equestria, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity explained.

“Wait, seriously?” Rainbow asked, baffled.

“Yes,” Celestia said. “If I were to cross the border out of Equestria, I would be leaving this country vulnerable. The magic that I cast to protect it would disappear if I left it behind, and it would take too many days to recast it. So I cannot leave.”

“And unfortunately,” Spitfire groaned and cricked her neck, “that’s pretty common knowledge, so that dragon probably attacked a border town for that exact reason.”

“I believe so, yes,” Celestia said, though there was a slight devilish smirk on her face. “Though it didn’t count on the rest of this squad to be as powerful as it is.”

“So we are chasing it down!” Rainbow grinned, and Rarity admired how well Rainbow was able to stow her fear in order to focus on what needed to be done. “Then let’s get going!”

“No, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia said, “we are not going to be chasing it. You and I will stay behind, to tend to the citizens of Baltimare, while the rest of the squad chases the dragon down and executes it.” Celestia smiled at Rarity. “And Rarity will lead them.”

“What?!” Rarity and Tempest balked in unison.

“My Queen,” Tempest fumed, “with all due respe—”

“Tempest, I don’t want to hear it,” Celestia said coldly, shutting Tempest’s protest down. “I chose Rarity to lead because she understands the importance of co-operation and harmony, and knows all of your skills and abilities by heart, isn’t that right, Rarity?”

“Um, yes, it is, Queen Celestia,” Rarity was nervous about being put on the spot, but Celestia wasn’t wrong. After all, she never was.

“Tempest, you will follow Rarity’s orders as if they were coming from me,” Celestia scolded, “and you will put aside your little rivalry with her in order to focus on what’s important, am I correct?”

“Yes, my Queen,” Tempest said firmly, masking her embarrassment at being chided with an icy glower.

“Celestia,” Rarity stood to her hooves, trembling as they were, and tried to look Celestia in the eye, “are you certain about this? Wouldn’t Spitfire be a better choice for leader?”

“I’m with the Queen on this one,” Spitfire said. “If she trusts you to be the leader, I’m not gonna question her.”

Rarity bit her lip. That wasn’t the answer she was hoping for. Of course Rarity was happy to be commended by Celestia, but this whole night it had been hard to keep her mind from wandering to the last time she encountered a dragon, and the disaster that she caused that night.

“Rarity,” Celestia put her hands on Rarity’s shoulders. “I have no doubt that you will be an excellent leader, and that you will help bring your team to victory and slay the beast who attacked this place. You can do it, can’t you? For Baltimare? For Equestria?” Celestia smiled and got on one knee, looking Rarity in the eye. “For me?”

“Of course,” Rarity replied, and the words came out of her mouth effortlessly. Yes, she was worried. Yes, she was scared. But the people of Baltimare were having the worst nights of their lives, and she had no intention of returning to them with anything less than stellar news.

Rarity turned to Coloratura and Spitfire, flashing a dazzling smile at them.

“Are you both ready to slay a dragon?” she asked excitedly, pumping her fist.

“Hell yeah!” Spitfire cheered.

“Lead the way, Lady Rarity!” Coloratura added with a salute.

“Tempest?” Rarity asked hesitantly.

“I’ll follow your orders,” Tempest replied coldly, “as if they were Celestia’s.”

“Have you got this, Rarity?” Rainbow asked, needling Rarity with her elbow.

“Oh darling,” Rarity scoffed and flicked her mane, “have a little faith in me!”

“’course I have faith in you, Rarity!” Rainbow balked, giving Rarity a friendly shove.

“We all do,” Celestia added.

And with that, Rarity led her team to the dock and boarded a ship, ready to chase the dragon back to its cave and begin the execution.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

84. Failure

As Apple Bloom and Granny Smith headed off to their beds, and Pinkie Pie got herself packed and ready to leave for the train station, Applejack stood in the backyard of the Apple Family home, looking up at the stars.

She thought about home, and how this place—even though her family was here—wasn’t it. Her home was back in Canterlot, which felt like such an alien thing to say considering how much she loathed that horrid city ever since she set foot in it.

But then she realized; her home wasn’t in Canterlot, her home was in the library.

Not that she considered the library a home in the literal sense—it belonged to Twilight, not her, after all—but the library is where so many of her best memories came from, either from experiences inside it or thanks to the friends she’d made because of it.

Her home was with her family, and though she loathed to admit it, and despite how her heart swelled with affection for Big Mac and Apple Bloom, her family wasn’t the ponies that shared the Apple name—her family was with Pinkie Pie, and Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle and Spike, and of course Rainbow Dash.

Applejack felt a laugh leaving her lips as she thought about Rainbow, and she wondered what her firecracker of a marefriend was up to right now. Applejack heard that Rainbow was going to be on a mission while Applejack was in Appleloosa, and Applejack prayed that it went well and that Rainbow could return home safe.

Applejack made a little promise to herself that she’d smother that beautiful pegasus in kisses the next time she saw her.

“Leaving already?” Big Mac said as he came out of the house and into the yard, giving Applejack a pat on the shoulder that distracted her from her girlfriend thoughts.

“Yeah,” Applejack sighed, running a hand through her mane, “gotta open up shop tomorrow.”

“Sorry about Granny, by the way,” Big Mac said bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck, but Applejack just shrugged in response.

“Not your fault,” she said, trying to affect a cheerful tone as she playfully tapped Big Mac’s gut. “I ain’t got no one to blame but myself for the way she treats me. Cuz she ain’t wrong, y’know? Ever since the foundin’ of the Slayers, darn near every child of the Apple family’s become a Slayer, and in all that time, there’s been maybe half a dozen that’ve retired early. Can you blame her for bein’ disappointed in me? I can’t.

“So you ain’t got nothin’ to apologize for, Big Mac. You ain’t a failure like I am.”

“You’re not—”

“I know, I know,” Applejack chuckled awkwardly, and giving Big Mac a gentle shove. “I’m just jokin’… mostly.”

“You’re not a failure,” Big Mac huffed, crossing his arms.

“Thanks,” if nothing else, Applejack appreciated her brother’s support.

“Honestly, you’re pretty lucky,” Big Mac said, and Applejack arched an eyebrow at him. “You got out.”

Applejack winced. She was sure Big Mac was trying to make her feel better or something, but reminding her that she’s the reason why he had to become a Slayer at all, despite how much he hated it, didn’t do anything but make her stomach pang with guilt.

Big Mac was supposed to be a baker. And yeah, if he had become that instead of a Slayer, he’d have to deal with all the grief that Applejack gets, but he’d always have the support of his sisters, and that includes Pinkie and Rarity.

But if he had taken that path after Applejack left the Slayers, it wouldn’t have brought shame just to him, but to the entire Apple family. Applejack could bear the shame of being the ‘failure’ Apple, and Big Mac could’ve done it too, but neither of them could bear the responsibility of dragging their entire family, their entire lineage, through the mud like that.

And that’s before even getting into the money aspect. Granny Smith was retired, but she didn’t have many bits to fall back on; the retirement plan of most Slayers was pretty much non-existent, especially since almost none make it to retirement age anyway.

So if the family was gonna have a roof over their heads, somepony had to make money, and it wasn’t gonna be Applejack and her nothing little blacksmithing job. And bakers don’t make enough to live on, but Slayers do. Barely.

So Big Mac had to become a Slayer, because of Applejack’s failure.

Author's Notes:

today, a little interlude with applejack. tomorrow, we check up on twilight and see what she's been up to during all this

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

85. You Need You

Twilight took deep breaths as she watched the Rarity and Rainbow Dash leave for their mission, and she shut the library door once they were out of sight.

Deep, deep breaths.

She wished she could just stop the overwhelming pain in her chest, but there was nothing to be done about it right now, and worrying only made it worse.

It was her own fault anyway; she knew she had to take a day each month to rest and recover her magic outside of the city where no one could see her, but because she’d been spending nearly every day either with Rarity or making plans to see Rarity, or one of the others, she never found the time for herself.

How fitting, Twilight thought, for friendship to be the thing that ends up killing me.

“Twilight?” Spike’s voice chimed in from the stairwell he descended, and Twilight looked up at him and waved, affecting a smile that was meant to be endearing but was probably as painful to look at as it was to make. “Twilight, Rarity just left, didn’t she?”

“Yeah,” Twilight sighed, sitting down on a chair because standing was painful and exhausting, “she left to fight a—”

“A dragon,” Spike gulped, “I heard. Applejack and Pinkie Pie left on the train this morning, right?”

“Yeah,” Twilight nodded, trying to focus on her breathing, “and?”

“’And’? What do you mean ‘and’?” Spike balked. “Twilight you gotta go to the mountains! Look at yourself!”

“I can’t just go galivanting up into the mountains while Rarity’s in danger!” Twilight said, aghast at Spike’s total lack of concern for Rarity’s safety, although a little voice chimed in from the back of her head that she wasn’t being fair to Spike and that’s definitely not how he meant it. “What if she gets hurt? What if she comes back? What if she needs me for something?”

“Twilight, right now you need you,” Spike pleaded, and Twilight could see tears wetting his eyes and she realized just how selfish she was being. “And I need you to be okay! You told me that magical exhaustion could kill you, Twilight! I don’t want you to—”

“Spike,” Twilight said sternly, Spike immediately shutting his mouth and listening to his mother speak. “I apologize. You’re completely right, of course, and I can’t believe I didn’t take into consideration how my exhaustion was making you feel. I’m sorry.”

“Twilight, this isn’t about m—”

“I’ll go tonight,” Twilight took a deep, pained breath. “I can’t hide in the mountains under the daylight, but come nightfall, when the Canterlot ponies retreat to their beds, I’ll go into the mountains and recover my magic.”

“You promise?” Spike trotted down the staircase and flew up onto Twilight’s lap, giving her a trembling hug.

“I promise,” Twilight said, petting Spike’s mane. Seeing the distress on the little pegasus’ face hurt her far more than any magic ailment ever could, and she was kicking herself now for not taking his feelings into consideration sooner.

Twilight giggled to force herself to cheer up a bit, and just like whenever she needed to think happy thoughts, her mind went to one place: Pinkie Pie.

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” Twilight said, mirroring Pinkie’s eccentric gestures as well as she could from memory. “Pinkie Promise. Now you know for sure I’ll do it, because I would never break a Pinkie Promise.”

Twilight held out her littlest finger, and Spike intertwined his with it, the two smiling at each other before erupting into a fit of giggles, Twilight holding her precious son close to her chest.

“I love you, Spike,” Twilight said, smiling brightly as her heart filled with affection for her favorite boy.

“I love you too, Twilight,” Spike giggled, and Twilight could feel the love and affection he had for her in his voice and his nose as she nuzzled her nose against his.

A knock at the door.

Twilight’s ears perked up. The sign said they were closed, didn’t it?

Another knock. A chill up Twilight’s spine.

“Spike,” Twilight said, her tone measured and calm, “go to your room, okay?”

“Uh, is everything okay, Twilight?” Spike asked hesitantly, though he was slowly following Twilight’s order.

“Everything is fine, Spike,” Twilight smiled at him, careful to make absolutely sure he didn’t see the fear that she felt.

As Spike did as he was asked, Twilight approached the door, and a knock rapped at it for a third time. Twilight knew who was behind that door; she had magic around the perimeter of her library, much like the magic Fluttershy must have used to survey her entire forest, though hers wasn’t quite so automatic like Fluttershy’s seemed to be.

Twilight was certain this day was going to come much sooner, and when it hadn’t, she allowed herself some relief, fooling herself into thinking that she had somehow avoided the inevitable.

But she knew she couldn’t hide forever.

Twilight opened the door and smiled innocently at the woman standing on the other side.

“How can I help you,” she said politely to the pitch-black alicorn staring sternly down at her, “Princess Luna?”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

86. What Are You Doing Here

“Princess Luna,” Twilight said, careful to keep her tone polite and perky so as not to bely her anxiety, “how can I help you?”

“May I come in?” Luna asked with a serene smile, almost as if there was nothing wrong at all.

No. You cannot come into my library, is what Twilight wanted to say more than anything.

“I’m sorry,” and she wanted it so badly that she had to at least try, “we’re closed today. Can you come back tomorrow?”

“I’m afraid I cannot,” Luna’s tone was cheerful enough, but Twilight couldn’t help but hear an underlying ice in her words. “I won’t take up much of your time, I just wanted to ask you a few questions about your library. It recently sprung up here in Canterlot, and I’m afraid I don’t know much about it.”

“I’d be happy to answer your questions,” Twilight winced, and she managed to keep her hand firmly on the doorframe, even when it instinctively wanted to clutch her heart as it burned from her magic exhaustion, “tomorrow, when we’re open.”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Luna’s smile dimmed, and Twilight swallowed anxiety, “the Moon District of Canterlot is under my jurisdiction, it’s even named after me. How do you think I would look to my colleagues if I told them I didn’t know a single thing about the town’s famous library?”

Luna’s smile returned, but Twilight saw no cheer in it; only a stern warning not to refuse her again.

Twilight wondered why she even tried, but she knew she would wonder what would happen if she didn’t, so she supposed it didn’t matter either way.

“Well,” Twilight said painfully, forcing herself to keep a brave smile on her face, “when you put it like that, I suppose it would be my honor to answer whatever questions you have!”

Twilight headed into the library, and she could feel the ironclad presence of the alicorn princess following behind her, even without looking. Every step the woman took into Twilight’s library was like a cold iron horseshoe pressing against Twilight’s already frail heart.

“Can I get you some tea?” Twilight asked, turning around to look at her guest.

“No thanks,” Luna waved, then tapped at her chin, “though if you have coffee, I wouldn’t mind a cup.”

“Freshly brewed this morning,” Twilight assured, “wait right here?”

“Certainly,” Luna sat down at the lobby’s large rectangular table, folding her arms atop it and glancing around the library.

Twilight headed to the kitchen, but stopped just short of the door. She wondered how much she should tip her hand; Luna seemed keen to reaffirm the plausible deniability she had going, even though it was as obvious to Twilight as it was to Luna herself that Luna could see right through Twilight.

Still, if that were the case, what was she doing here? Why ask to come into the library? Why all the smiles? Why not bring an army or something, or chase Twilight down with torches and pitchforks, like Twilight expected?

What did Luna want?

“Twilight Sparkle?” Luna asked, and Twilight grit her teeth and smiled as she spun around, thankful she didn’t jump ten feet in the air from shock. “Is everything alright?”

“Wha— oh, yeah,” Twilight chuckled nervously. “I got distracted for a minute.”

Twilight paused, and Luna nodded knowingly, politely.

Everything about Luna was ‘polite’, and it was starting to eat away at Twilight. Why? Why be so ‘nice’? Why try to act friendly?

Unless…

Unless Twilight had read the situation wrong this entire time.

What if Luna hadn’t seen through her? What if Luna was genuinely interested in asking about the library, like she claimed? And, more importantly in this moment, what if she really wanted that coffee that Twilight still hadn’t brought her?

“Please wait here,” Twilight said with a bow, her first act of genuine courtesy to her alicorn guest, though she then looked Luna right in the eye to deliver her own warning. “Please don’t leave the lobby. This may be my place of business, but it is also my home, and I do value my privacy, if you don’t mind.”

“Perish the thought,” Luna said firmly. “I would never venture into someone’s home without their permission.”

You’ll just push them until you get that permission? Twilight grumbled in her head, though if Luna really was who she presented herself to be, and not just playing some kind of long game, then that kind of comment would be very rude.

Twilight hopped into the kitchen and procured the coveted coffee, and poured herself a glass of chamomile tea while she was at it. She took the time alone in the kitchen to process some of her thoughts, and to calm her nerves; though the consistent throbbing pain in her heart from the magic exhaustion was not helping.

She briefly wondered if she could take Princess Luna in a fight if it came down to that, but quickly decided the answer was absolutely not— exhaustion or no— and then wondered if she needed to, would she be able to get herself and Spike away from the library and to safety if Luna became hostile?

Again, she surmised the answer was no. She could get Spike to safety with a pre-prepared contingency spell, but her and the library would likely be destroyed if a fight broke out inside it.

And Twilight wasn’t about to let the library burn down when Rarity was looking forward to coming back to it, when it was the most steady home that Spike had ever known, when it was the place where Twilight had met Rainbow Dash, partied with Applejack and Pinkie Pie and the others, and made so many incredible memories.

For now, so long as Luna was interested in staying polite, Twilight would play along.

“I’m back!” Twilight said cheerily, putting the coffee in front of Luna and sitting across the table from her. Luna took a sip of the coffee, and Twilight tried to relax her shoulders. “So, what did you want to ask about?”

Luna tapped her chin, pretending to—or rather, likely thinking of what it was she wanted to ask.

“I suppose my first question is,” Luna said, “when did you arrive here?”

“In Canterlot? About three months ago now.”

“Hm, interesting,” Luna nodded, and gave a faint chuckle. “But what I meant was, when did you arrive in Equestria? I asked around about you, just a little bit, and I hear that you’re from… Zebrica? Is that right?”

“That’s right,” Twilight said flatly.

That was a red flag, but it didn’t necessarily mean anything. Twilight had been rather open about her history with the library’s patrons, so it wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for someone to share that knowledge, especially if Princess Luna asked them for it.

Twilight took a deep breath and tried to recall the answer to Luna’s question; she hadn’t realized just how long she’d been in Equestria until the answer left her lips.

“I’ve been here, just over a year now,” Twilight let out a sincere chuckle. “Wow, time sure flies.”

“What made you decide to settle down in Canterlot?” Luna asked abruptly, taking a sip of her coffee.

“When I arrived in Canterlot’s Moon District for the first time,” Twilight recalled, “I pegged it for a rather sleepy town where not very much happened. I’m happy to say that I was right! Besides,” Twilight giggled, “you didn’t have a library before I moved in, and how could I stand by and not correct such a horrible mistake?”

“These books all belonged to you already?” Luna asked, her tone taking on a surprised note that made Twilight smirk proudly. “This is quite a collection to just be carrying around.” Luna smiled at Twilight, resting her cheek against one hand. “Are you something of a hoarder?”

“I’m an avid collector,” Twilight replied immediately, trying to ignore Luna’s shift in tone that felt like a cat about to pounce on a mouse. “I use magic to carry all these books around with me, though I must admit I prefer just leaving them in the library.”

“You’re quite an accomplished magician, I hear,” Luna looked down at her coffee and tapped her fingernails against the porcelain cup. “And I could sense the powerful protective spells placed around the library as soon as I walked in. You’re no amateur, that’s for certain.”

“I’m naturally gifted,” Twilight moved to take a sip of tea but found her stomach was too knotted to enjoy it. “And I’ve had excellent tutorship.”

“I see,” Luna glanced over at the stairwell leading to the attic, and Twilight’s already frantic heartbeat quickened its pace even more. “As I said, I can feel the protective magics you’ve cast over this place, though the magic on the second floor seems even more powerful. Why is that?”

“That’s where my son is,” Twilight answered, her voice momentarily losing its cheerful tone and gaining a cold edge in its place.

“Your son?”

“Yes,” Twilight said firmly, locking eyes with Luna. “A pegasus named Spike.”

“Oh, would it be alright if I said hel—”

“No.”

Twilight stared Luna right in the eyes with no smile on her face. She was fine with playing the plausible deniability game all the way until Spike became involved, and she needed to make it clear to the Princess that the only way she was going to engage her son was if Luna walked over Twilight’s dead body to do it.

“Uh, right then,” Luna cleared her throat and tapped a nail against the wooden table. “I suppose I only have one more question.”

Now Twilight smiled genuinely, feeling a breath of relief coming on as she could see the finish line just ahead.

“And what is that?” Twilight asked.

“Why are you here?”

Twilight wrinkled her nose. She understood perfectly well that Luna was no longer speaking of the library, or even Canterlot; she was asking what Twilight was doing in Equestria. And it didn’t matter to Twilight whether Luna was being genuine or trying to bait her, Twilight’s honest answer would remain the same.

“I came here to raise my son,” Twilight said without hesitation. “This is where he was born, and it’s where I was born and raised too. Zebrica is home, yes, but Equestria is our home too, and I wanted him to experience it before he got older. I want him to know the magic that I see in this place, the peace and the harmony that I knew as a child.”

If Luna was dissatisfied with Twilight’s answer, she didn’t show it. She merely took one last sip of her coffee, and let out a long, arduous sigh.

“You’re truly a queer woman, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna let her cheek rest against her hand and gave Twilight a crooked smile

“I do like girls,” Twilight answered smugly, and Luna just rolled her eyes, and in that moment she reminded Twilight of Rarity, and Twilight wondered how Rarity was doing right now, and if she was safe.

“Let me give you this word of advice, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said as she rose from her seat, and Twilight bolted to her feet, eager to see Luna on her way.

“Yes?” Twilight asked, trying not to look as desperate for Luna to go away as she felt.

“Equestria is a land of harmony, but it has its shadows just like anyplace else. There will be ponies who want to do you harm, and not all of them can be so easily pacified by a good cup of coffee.”

Translation: ‘don’t push your luck, because not everypony is going to look the other way like I’m doing’, Twilight thought nervously.

“Thank you, Princess Luna,” Twilight bowed her head, and Luna bowed in return.

Luna went on her way without another word, and Twilight leaned her body against the library door and breathed an enormous sigh of relief once Luna was gone and Twilight was certain she was safe.

Twilight looked out the window, and saw that the sun was getting ready to set. Ponies would be asleep in their beds soon, and Twilight would be safely resting in the mountains. She just hoped that Rarity wouldn’t need her company too terribly when she returned.

Twilight sat down and looked at her tea. It was probably cold now, but that wasn’t beyond her power to fix, and now that she could relax a little, perhaps a sip of tea would be just what she needed to—

A loud knock at the door disturbed her thoughts and she wondered if anypony in this town could even read or knew what the word ‘closed’ meant.

Twilight’s protection spells didn’t allow her recognize whoever was knocking, but the feel of their magic brushing against Twilight’s did seem nostalgic to her somehow.

There was no way that could be Princess Luna again, so it must have been some customer, too eager to arm themselves with knowledge and the power of books to read the closed sign. Twilight respected that kind of enthusiasm for reading, but she wished whoever it was could be experiencing it on a day when Twilight’s heart didn’t feel like it was about to explode.

Another loud knock, more eager than the last.

Twilight sighed and supposed that it wouldn’t ruin her day to talk to one customer, at least to tell them to come back tomorrow.

Though when she opened the door, she realized how wrong she was.

“Heeeey, Twilight,” a pale blue ‘unicorn’ grinned proudly at Twilight from the other side of the door, “long time no see, huh?”

Twilight slammed the door in Trixie’s face. She didn’t have time for this garbage today.

How did she even find me?

A loud CRACK resonated behind Twilight, who didn’t even flinch; she merely turned around and glared at the intruder who teleported into her library, only briefly recognizing that her protections spells did nothing to stop Trixie from barging in.

Twilight supposed she would just have to make time for this garbage today.

Author's Notes:

well that could've gone worse

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

87. Unexpected Visitor

Twilight stood with her back to the door of the library, staring down the intruder Trixie, who somehow managed to teleport inside, even despite Twilight’s protective spells.

How did she get in? Her magic shouldn’t nearly be strong enough to get through mine! This is Trixie we’re talking about!

“So what do you want, Trixie?” Twilight asked, having zero patience for Trixie’s nonsense and wanting to get her out of Twilight’s library as soon as possible; an ache in Twilight’s chest serving as a reminder that she was already on a ticking clock without this added stress.

“Is it so wrong for me to want to pay a visit to my good buddy Twilight Sparkle?” Trixie flashed a manic grin, and Twilight just crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow; she didn’t even bother to point out how wrong that sentence was.

“Why are you here?” Twilight repeated sternly. Getting clear information out of Trixie always proved a torturous ordeal even on the best of days, and Twilight was not having one of her best days.

“Oh come on, Twilight,” Trixie groaned and rolled her eyes, placing a hand on her hip and cocking her head lazily to the side as she shot Twilight a bemused glare, “don’t be dense. You and I both know there’s only one reason I would be searching you out.”

“Historically,” Twilight pondered, tapping a finger against her chin, “it’s been to show me some new magic trick you’ve thought up, only to blow yourself up in the process. I’d prefer if you didn’t explode inside my library, but if it will get you to leave faster, then by all means self-destruct away!”

“The old man sent me,” Trixie said, her tone draining of its wittiness and turning icy cold.

“Oh,” Twilight felt a heave in her heart and she grasped it as she fell short of breath. “Why?”

“Why do you think, Twilight?” it didn’t take long for Trixie’s jovial façade to fall away entirely, which wasn’t much surprise to Twilight; their dislike of each other had always been mutual, and Trixie likely didn’t want to be here anymore than Twilight wanted her here. “How do you think he felt, when his prized student turned her back on him?”

Twilight didn’t have to ponder the question to know the answer; the old bastard’s pride must have been devastated by Twilight’s betrayal, and his pride was dwarfed by his possessiveness. It didn’t matter to Twilight though; she knew she couldn’t have stood even one more day under his thumb.

“I don’t care,” Twilight shrugged, and she opened the door to the library, gesturing outside. “You can tell him I won’t be coming back.”

“He was so humiliated, Twilight!” Trixie laughed eerily. “Don’t you feel a little bit bad?”

Ah. There’s the sarcasm again.

“Leave, Trixie.”

Trixie sighed in frustration, slapping her palm against a bookcase.

“You know I can’t do that, Twilight,” Trixie groaned. “You may have turned away from the old man, but I’m still a loyal student! I promised I would bring you back, or at least flush you out of hiding!”

“How did you know where I was?” Twilight asked. The last thing she wanted was Trixie, or some other serf of the old bastard, to track down Spike or Rarity or one of the others.

“It was no secret that you fled to Equestria,” Trixie said, “and the rest was just divination magic. I’m a lot more talented than you think, Twilight Sparkle.”

“So what, then?” Twilight hissed, taking a bold stride toward Trixie that was cut short by another pang in her chest, but she didn’t let that shake her confident posture. “Are you going to try and drag me back to Zebrica?”

“Absolutely not,” Trixie grinned wickedly. “Like I said, just as long as I flush you out of hiding, I can return home with my head held high, and to be frank I’d rather do that than have you back anyway. Who do you think’s getting all the attention from the old man without you around?”

“Sunset?” Twilight answered drolly, and the furious twitching of Trixie’s eye was a more satisfying answer than Twilight could’ve hoped for.

“Anyway,” Trixie grumbled, “I honestly don’t know what you see in this bloody country. I’ve only been here for a few weeks and already I feel like tearing off this fake skin. I mean, why pretend to be a miserable little pony, when you could be a dragon?”

“I am where I want to be,” Twilight replied sternly, “and I won’t be going back.”

“Good,” Trixie smirked, brandishing a set of glistening, pale blue claws on one hand, “I was hoping you would say that, anyway. Less trouble for me, since I was never planning on bringing you back in the first place.”

“This is your last chance, Trixie,” Twilight said, her eyes glimmering with violet flame. “Leave this library now, or you might not be able to leave at all. I won’t have you, or that old bastard, threatening the life or the relationships I’ve built here!”

“Face it, Twilight,” Trixie purred, her own eyes shimmering with pale pink flame, “your life was over the moment I stepped inside.”

“You didn’t step in, you teleported,” Twilight said flatly.

“Would you just let me have my moment!?” Trixie stomped her foot on the ground.

“No,” Twilight said as the wooden floorboards of her domain sprung to life, transforming into thick roots that wrapped around Trixie’s neck. “I don’t take kindly to unexpected visitors in my home.”

Trixie’s horn flashed and she teleported out of Twilight’s attack with a wheezy cackle.

“If you really weren’t expecting me,” Trixie flashed a grin, showing off her razor-sharp fangs, “you’re an even bigger fool than I remember.”

Twilight took a deep breath. She wasn’t about to lose her home, or the life and relationships she’d built here for herself and Spike.

And if she had to tear through Trixie to protect that life, then so be it.

Author's Notes:

in the next chapter, twilight and trixie engage in a game of magic the gathering

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

88. The Conflux

Twilight and Trixie stared each other down as the two mages prepared for battle. Twilight knew Trixie’s dragon form wouldn’t fit inside the library, and if she was given even the tiniest opportunity to transform, she would destroy the library in the process, and Twilight swore that she was not about to lose her home to Trixie.

Unfortunately, Twilight’s magic exhaustion had risen from ‘stinging pain in heart’ to ‘ceaseless agony coursing through her whole body’. She would need to end this fast and then hurry to the mountains to rest, before something horrible happened.

But Twilight was in her domain, and here she was at an advantage.

Effortlessly, Twilight commanded the books from the shelves lining the walls and from the bookcases that dotted the library to throw themselves at Trixie; a few even hit her before Trixie caught on, defending herself with little wisps of fire and lightning that surrounded her and deflected Twilight’s assault.

The true intent of Twilight’s book attack was merely distraction however, as Twilight could control more of her home than simply the books, and proved it by transforming a bookcase near Trixie into a wooden fist that slammed into her ribs, Trixie releasing a gurgling cough as she was forced to her knees, the fist then slamming her spine and crushing her into the ground for good measure.

“I don’t want to kill you, Trixie,” Twilight sighed, her wooden fist keeping Trixie pinned to the ground with a big finger, threatening to crush her spine if Trixie so much as sneezed in a way Twilight didn’t approve of. “Please just surrender and go home.”

“Surrender?” Trixie guffawed. “Twilight, you’ve met me, you know the Grrrreat and POWERFUL TRRRRRIXIE!! NEVER surrenders!”

“Then I guess you’ll have to go home on a stretcher,” Twilight bemoaned and commanded the finger to press down on Trixie’s spine, though the pinned magician’s body evaporated into mist once pressure was applied.

Twilight gasped, but before she could look around for Trixie, she felt Trixie’s finger tapping against Twilight’s shoulder and she flinched.

“Pretty great spell, right?” Trixie said proudly, pointing two fingers that crackled with pale lavender electricity directly between Twilight’s eyes. “I’ve gotten a lot better since the old days, you know.”

“So have I,” Twilight smiled, and Trixie suddenly fell as the floor beneath her feet opened up and grabbed her, dragging her down into a freshly made pit. “And I was already better than you.”

“I could do this all day, Twilight!” Trixie sneered and teleported out of the pit, appearing in the air behind Twilight, fingers still sparking with lightning.

Twilight tried to shield herself with one of the bookcases, but the sudden stress tugged at her heart and made her flinch, and that instant of pause was enough opening for Trixie’s spell to fire, zapping Twilight right on her collarbone and knocking her off her feet, Twilight landing on her back against the wooden floor, letting out a pained hiss.

“And it looks like you’re running out of time,” Trixie said mockingly, standing over Twilight and threatening her with her electrical fingers.

“I won’t let you take my home away!” Twilight screamed.

Twilight slapped her palm against the floor of the library and a warm glow shone from underneath her hand. Trixie grit her teeth as the wooden floor fused to Twilight’s hand, and Twilight raised it and struck Trixie with elongated wooden tendrils, slamming her against the ceiling and wrapping the tendrils around Trixie’s limbs.

“I won’t kill you,” Twilight growled, “but I would love to see how you intend to cast spells without any arms!”

Trixie’s eyes glowed with intense pink flame and she snarled, baring her fangs. Twilight knew she would have to move quickly, but there was still hesitation in her heart. Could she justify brutalizing Trixie like she was planning, just to save her home?

Yes. She had to.

And she would have, if—

“Twilight?”

Spike’s voice distracted Twilight, and if stress was burning a hole in her heart before, it suddenly gored her chest like a javelin thrown directly into her breast.

“Spike,” Twilight said desperately, a warm liquid dripping from her mouth, “go to your room.”

“Twilight, what’s—”

Spike had never seen Trixie before, so as far as he knew, Twilight was fighting against a stranger. But he knew danger when he saw it, and he knew better than to stay around where he could get hurt, so without another word he hurried up the stairs and back into his room, Twilight breathing a sigh of relief and wiping the rainbow-colored fluid from her chin.

“Was that your son?” Trixie flashed a manic grin, and Twilight grit her teeth.

Twilight tried to twist her tendrils around Trixie’s arms to crush them, figuring that would at least disable her without permanently disfiguring her, but she was too late. Trixie’s arms were growing in size as they became covered in shining blue scales, her fingers being replaced by claws.

Within seconds, Trixie’s transformation was complete, and a giant dragon now tore through Twilight’s library. While Trixie’s stature was just barely larger in height than the first floor of the library, the legendarily powerful protective spells Twilight cast on the second floor kept Trixie’s head, wings, or tail from poking through the ceiling, forcing the dragon to hunch over while inside the library.

And it didn’t hurt either that Trixie was miniscule by dragon standards. Always was.

“I guess I can’t tear my way through,” Trixie chuckled, and the venom in her voice was palpable. “I guess I’ll just—”

With an ear-splitting CRACK and a flash of pink light, Trixie was gone, but another crack sounded nearby, and the thud from above the ceiling signaled where Trixie had teleported to—the attic, where Spike was.

Twilight forced herself to teleport despite the pain that wracked her body, and arrived standing in front of Spike, staring down a giant sapphire dragon with a snarling, hideous grin on its face.

“Spike, stay behind me,” Twilight commanded, and while Spike did so, Twilight turned to see he was visibly terrified, and rightfully so, and Twilight affected a gentle smile to ease his nerves. “It’s okay, Spike. Everything’s going to be okay. Mama’s not gonna let anything happen to you.”

“That’s right, Spike,” Trixie hissed. “Everything’s fine. I don’t wanna hurt you. Just c’mere for a sec.”

“This is your last warning, Trixie,” Twilight said coldly, Spike clutching to her leg. “Leave.”

Trixie’s shrill laughter tore through the empty space of the attic. “Or what, Twilight Sparkle?! What can you, a mediocre little mage pretending to be a little pony, possibly do to me!?”

“Twilight,” Spike whispered, “your magic is—”

“I know, Spike.”

Twilight sighed and looked at her hand that was caked in the residue of that rainbow liquid, basically magical essence given physical form. If her body was rejecting it, that meant she had reached her absolute limit of magical exhaustion; she couldn’t cast new spells, and the ones she was already using were rapidly running out.

But there was still one spell left that she could use.

“The Conflux.”

Twilight uttered those two words and felt a crack in her horn as her ultimate contingency spell was cast. She saw rainbow fluid leaking from beneath her fingernails, and felt it dripping down her chin.

But then everything stopped. For just one instant, as the magic of the Golden Oak converged inside Twilight’s body and she suddenly felt everything. She already had a vague sense of the library as long as she was inside it, but now she could feel everything inside and around it like it was touching her own body.

She could sense the presence of every living being in Canterlot’s Moon District, from the ponies preparing for dinner or bedtime, to the mice in their homes, and everything in between. Her body coursed with magic and her eyes were lit with rainbow colored flame, and they practically bore holes in Trixie’s façade of bravery as soon as eye contact was made.

Trixie could see the sudden gulf in power, but Twilight wasn’t about to let Trixie—who had thrown away every opportunity Twilight had given her to end this non-violently— leave to threaten her home again. Trixie flapped her wings, and while it tore the attic asunder, Twilight was unfazed and Spike, still clinging to Twilight’s leg for dear life, was unmoved.

Trixie looked up and breathed a stream of flame into the ceiling, but her attack did nothing against the protective magic still shining brightly around Twilight’s home.

“You’re trapped, Trixie,” Twilight’s voice echoed in the empty attic, like it was coming from everywhere at once. “Unless you revert to pony form, you cannot leave this place.”

“Never!”

Trixie snarled, but Twilight unflinchingly pointed a finger at one of Trixie’s wings and fired a red and black beam that turned the appendage to dust. Trixie screamed in agony and cast a spell on herself, and Twilight could read Trixie’s magic as if they were pages in the librarian’s precious books.

Trixie’s first spell was a flight spell. Twilight surmised she was going to try escaping. Twilight shot a sphere of green and white light at Trixie’s other wing, and it disappeared in a flash of energy, Trixie grunting and wincing in pain from the attack.

Trixie roared and her mouth filled with violet flame. An ‘alchemist fire’ spell; it would burn through Twilight even despite her defenses, but not if Trixie’s mouth was frozen from the inside out, preventing her from casting it. Funny how Twilight had a spell prepared that would allow her to do just that.

Trixie’s eyes darted around in a panicked frenzy as she lost control of her mouth, looking for any kind of way she could escape with her life, and Twilight took a step forward.

Trixie backed herself all the way against the wall; her pride not allowing her to return to pony form, and all of her magic failing to do anything against the goddess in pony’s skin that slowly approached.

Trixie swiped a claw at Twilight, but the goddess merely grabbed it with her tiny hand, twisting the skin and scales into a barely recognizable mush of gnarled roots and twisting vines. Trixie may have screamed again, but Twilight had long since stopped caring to listen.

Twilight put her hand flat on Trixie’s nose, the dragon looking at her with tearstained, bloodshot eyes full of panic and desperation. Twilight sighed, and her hand lit up with blue energy that quickly covered Trixie like a sheet, before the dragon disappeared in the blink of an eye.

A long-range teleportation spell; one of Twilight’s pride and joys, that allowed her to send Trixie back to their hometown in Zebrica.

It was over. The dragon had been evicted from the library.

Twilight fell to her knees, rainbow fluid pouring from her mouth and eyes.

It was over. And now Twilight was dying. But at least her home and her son were safe.

Author's Notes:

wow that cliffhanger ending huh?? it'd be a real shame if we checked up on how rainbow and rarity are doing tomorrow instead of continuing twilight's arc :3c

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

89. Safe

Rainbow took a deep breath underneath her shirt, careful not to breathe in the smell of burnt and rotting wood as she crawled underneath the collapsed ruins of a Baltimare house. She was just small enough to squeeze through, though it took some effort and a couple of cuts across her wings, but she managed to lock hands with a terrified pony trapped underneath the rubble.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Rainbow said softly, the other pony nodding with tears in their eyes. Rainbow tapped a gem attached to the collar on her neck, and in the blink of an eye and a flash of yellow light, Rainbow and the pony were teleported by Celestia’s magic outside the ruins.

“Is there anyone else inside there?” Celestia asked the frightened pony as they sat on the ground, sobbing as Celestia washed a healing wing over them. They shook their head.

“Next house, then,” Rainbow said, pounding her fists together.

The fire that tore through the town when Rainbow’s team arrived had been finally extinguished by the rain, and the downpour had settled into a mere drizzle by now, but there were still several houses and buildings that had been completely collapsed in the attack, and dozens of ponies reported missing, injured, or were simply unaccounted for.

So there was no time to lose.

“Rainbow Dash,” Celestia said firmly as she guided the fragile pony under her care toward the nearby safe zone, where professional medics and the like were waiting to take care of the injured and terrified.

“Yeah? What is it?” Rainbow said agitatedly, chomping at the bit to get back to saving more ponies; if she let herself stop focusing on the task at hand for even like two seconds she’d remember how terrified and sick she felt, and she couldn’t bear to be that pathetic in front of the Queen.

“It’s time you and I took a short break,” Celestia put her hand on Rainbow’s shoulder, and while Rainbow flinched at first, she then sighed and tried to loosen up a little. “We don’t need to do everything ourselves. There’s plenty of professional rescue and relief specialists working all over the city to take care of everypony as much as we’re all able, and we all need to do our parts, and that includes taking rest when we require it.”

“Okay,” Rainbow wanted to argue, but it’s not like she could talk back to Queen Celestia. Especially when she knew Celestia was right and she just didn’t want to admit it. “But,” Rainbow bit her lip and stood completely still, even as Celestia tried to guide her away from the ruined buildings behind her, “maybe I should just save a few more—”

“Rainbow Dash,” Celestia’s tone was soft, but firm, “if you can’t be trusted to take care of yourself, how can anypony trust you to take care of them?”

Rainbow had heard the old adage of taking care of yourself first, but she hadn’t really thought of it in that way before. The idea that she couldn’t be trusted to take care of others… that hit her pretty hard.

“Okay, yeah,” Rainbow sighed, hanging her head and walking alongside Celestia away from the disaster zone, “I know, you’re right.”

“I’ve had a long time to consider how to properly take care of my ponies,” Celestia chuckled. “So, is this your first time seeing a dragon in person?”

Rainbow stopped in her tracks, fists clenched, head hung, wings fidgeting. Celestia simply waited for Rainbow’s response, which only got harder and harder to make the more Rainbow’s stomach felt like it was under attack by a violent storm.

“Yeah,” she finally said, barely choking the word out.

Rainbow had been terrified of dragons her entire life, but that was one of her biggest secrets. Some Slayer she would be if she choked from fear in the face of Equestria’s greatest threat, but she couldn’t deny the panic that tore through her entire body as soon as the massive emerald demon had flown over Rainbow’s party.

“Is that why you didn’t want me taking part in the fight?” Rainbow asked shamefully, and gasped when Celestia responded by pulling her into a hug and wrapping her wings around Rainbow.

“In part,” Celestia said, softly petting Rainbow’s mane, “but mostly it was because I knew your speed would be an enormous asset to the relief efforts, and I trusted that you and Coloratura would work well together to save as many ponies as possible. And it seems I was correct.”

“You… you trusted me?” Rainbow said hesitantly, looking up into Celestia’s eyes even as her own were bit by tears. “Even though you knew I was gonna freak out?”

“Of course,” Celestia giggled and wiped some tears from Rainbow’s cheeks. “You’re my star student’s partner, and so long as you have her trust, then you have mine as well. And after seeing your bravery and determination today, I’d say that I couldn’t ask for a better partner for my student.”

“But, but I was terrified!” Rainbow said, pushing Celestia away. “I-I panicked, and I was totally gonna choke!”

“And yet you didn’t run,” Celestia said firmly, a serene smile on her face. “You stayed, you followed my orders to the letter, and you went above and beyond to rescue ponies in need, even though the dragon was still so close to the town. You’re everything I could ever ask for in a Slayer, Rainbow Dash.”

Rainbow felt choked up, and her face twisted into a grotesque frown to try and stop the tears pouring out her eyes.

“Thanks,” she said weakly.

“Just breathe, darling,” Celestia hummed, embracing Rainbow in a safe, comforting hug. “Just breathe, and know that everything will be okay.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

90. The Execution

Rarity sat at the helm of the small boat being guided by Celestia’s magic to the nearby island where Celestia had detected the dragon. There was apparently a cave on said island where the beast was recovering from its dire wounds, and Rarity was to lead her fellow students and slay the demon before it could return to Equestria.

She felt oddly melancholy about the whole situation. When her little dinghy departed from Baltimare, the town was no longer on fire, but it was still in very bad shape, and it was hard for Rarity to not think about the screams and panicked cries of families and innocent ponies as their lives were torn away from them, sounds that echoed in Rarity’s mind every time she placed her fingertips across the dragon fang hanging from her neck.

“Spitfire!” Tempest shouted agitatedly, breaking Rarity out of her thoughts. “Get down here already!”

The pegasus in question was flying through the air, while Rarity and her other two comrades sat in the boat, and while Rarity could sympathize with Spitfire’s desire to stretch her wings, she was flying far faster than the boat could move, and was almost out of their sight at this point.

“Just let her be, Tempest,” Coloratura said, her tone attempting for ‘gentle scolding’ but Rarity could tell she was at the end of her rope just like Tempest. “You know she isn’t going to leave us behind or anything, and Spitfire always takes these things seriously. You don’t need to babysit her.”

Tempest merely glared at Coloratura before stomping up to the helm, nearly shoving Rarity aside. She leaned out to shout again but Rarity put her hand on Tempest’s chest and cleared her throat.

Rarity’s horn lit up and she sent a mental note to Spitfire, asking her to please return to the ship. While Rarity generally agreed with Coloratura, that the team all dealt with pre-battle stress in their own ways and should be allowed to operate by their own devices, Rarity would prefer the team stick together, just in case anything happened.

“Geez, you guys are too uptight,” Spitfire groaned as she sat down in the boat.

“It’s really a matter of caution, Spitfire,” Rarity said, being sure to speak quickly before Tempest could. “We just saw what should have been a dead dragon come back to life. I don’t want to take any chances.”

Spitfire wrinkled her nose and crossed her arms, and the way she puffed up her cheeks made Rarity smile; Spitfire knew when she was bested, even if she didn’t want to admit it.

The rest of the trip was spent in near silence. Rarity watched the sea and tried to remain calm, Tempest held a ball of electrical energy in her hands and focused on it, Spitfire pulled out a pair of small dumbbells and lifted them, and Coloratura hummed a somber tune.

But soon enough, the island was within view, and it rapt everypony’s attention.

Coloratura was the first off the boat, using her connection to the earth—and a small disk that she placed on the ground, etched with lines that glowed a soft teal—to scope out the location.

“Is it here?” Spitfire whispered excitedly, perched on the rim of the dry-docked boat.

“It is,” Coloratura nodded and pointed to the large mound of gray sand and rock in the center of the small island. “It’s in that cave, just as Celestia predicted. No other living creatures to speak of.”

“Living creatures?” Rarity hummed. “So the dragon is definitely still alive, then?”

“Yes,” Coloratura nodded.

“What, did you think it was gonna be some undead dragon?” Spitfire asked teasingly, hopping onto the sand.

“I’m not willing to discount anything right now,” Rarity said urgently, stepping cautiously onto the beach, with Tempest following behind her. “But at the moment, all that matters is that the dragon is still alive, and we need to rectify that problem.”

The four ponies slowly— and carefully— approached the mouth of the cave; even Spitfire hovered very cautiously in lockstep with the rest of her team, unwilling to break ranks with them when the battle was at hand.

But then Coloratura stopped, and each party member stopped in turn, watching her.

“Do we need information from it?” Coloratura asked, and Rarity was baffled by the question, but no moreso than Spitfire or Tempest.

“Information?” Tempest said in disgust. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t we want to know why it attacked,” Coloratura said weakly, clearly intimidated by Tempest’s resistance to her suggestion, “or something?”

“Uh, I dunno, Rara,” Spitfire snickered and dropped to the ground next to Coloratura, putting an arm around her shoulder, “cuz it’s a vicious, bloodthirsty dragon, maybe?”

“It doesn’t seem a little fishy to you though?” Coloratura huffed. “That this dragon would suddenly attack, right out of nowhere? It seemed pretty prepared for a serious fight, what with all those defensive spells it cast. Why would it do that if it were just trying to eat villagers or whatever?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Tempest grumbled. “Even if I thought for one second that it was worth interrogating it instead of simply executing it, any information we could get from it would be useless.”

“I agree with the grump,” Spitfire said, holding her arms behind her head. “Let’s just get in there and end this thing.”

“I know you’re both right,” Coloratura muttered, “but something still feels off to me.”

“Rarity,” Tempest said firmly, shoving Rarity’s forearm and breaking the concentrated thinking that Rarity had engaged in while listening to her companions’ conversation. “Are you coming?”

“It didn’t cast any magic,” Rarity replied, much to the frustration and further confusion of her fellow students.

“It didn’t?” Coloratura asked inquisitively, and Rarity remembered that Coloratura wasn’t actually present for the battle itself, just the preamble.

“What about all those protection spells?” Spitfire asked, arms crossed and hoof anxiously tapping against the sand.

Tempest’s eyes widened in realization.

“Shit.”

“You’re right, Spitfire,” Rarity said dourly, “it had those protection spells. Many, many, protection spells. But during the fight, it didn’t cast any magic.”

Spitfire cocked her head, but Coloratura gasped.

“It didn’t cast those protective spells either,” she said.

“It has a partner,” Rarity concluded.

“Or a lackey,” Tempest grunted, and she turned on her hooves to stomp toward the cave’s mouth. “Like I said, we can’t trust any information we get from this thing. We’ll just have to tell Queen Celestia what we figured out, and let her figure out the best way to deal with it.”

“Rarity’s the one in charge, chief,” Spitfire said drolly, causing Tempest to stop in her tracks. Now all eyes were on Rarity as Spitfire asked, “So what’s it gonna be, Rarity?”

Rarity took a deep breath, knowing she would have to decide her answer in an instant, and so just going with her gut instinct.

“I want to at least see what it says when we ask it,” Rarity said, trying to project confidence she didn’t entirely feel. “We don’t have all the information at play here, and perhaps something it says will mean something to Celestia. Maybe it won’t, but that can be for her to decide. I at least want to know.”

“And if it becomes hostile immediately?” Tempest asked.

“Well,” Rarity scoffed, “then we simply revert to plan A. As soon as it becomes hostile, or even threatens it, then we execute it.”

“Sounds good, boss,” Spitfire said, clapping Rarity’s shoulder as she walked past.

“Let’s get to it then,” Coloratura said with an assured nod, and a comforting smile sent Rarity’s way. Coloratura followed behind Rarity as she joined Spitfire and Tempest at the cave mouth.

When the four ponies entered the cave, the sight that greeted them was gruesome— a dragon, obviously, but its teeth, hands, eyes, and wings were all butchered beyond recognition, coating not only the sand in its blood, but also the cave walls that it was frantically scratching against. The hole in its chest was mended, but it was an exposed sore of flesh and muscle, with no protective scales covering it.

It was scratching against the walls and making a horrible noise, like the groaning of an opening steel gate that hasn’t been touched in ages.

“Its protections have disappeared,” Coloratura whispered.

“I guess without all its buffs,” Spitfire spat, “it’s just a big coward.”

“Perhaps,” Rarity said hesitantly, feeling as though something was horribly amiss about this situation. “But I think there might be something else going on here.”

Animals backed into a corner generally became more vicious in a desperate bid to survive, but Rarity had the distinct sense that the hideous noise the dragon was making wasn’t a groan or a growl, but a miserable whimper.

“Dragon,” Rarity said coldly as she walked into the cave, her three comrades taking a defensive stance behind her.

The dragon’s ears twitched, and it turned its head toward Rarity, giving her a good look at the grisly fate that had befallen it; glazed eyes that oozed with caked blood, several large puncture wounds decorating its face that were also covered in combined blood and saltwater, and some kind of noxious grey ooze was coating its wounds as well.

It was almost pitiful.

“Pony,” the beast’s voice was haggard and dry.

“Why did you attack Baltimare?” Rarity asked, not wanting to waste time or spend even one second longer in this cave that reeked of blood and filth. “The pony port town you descended upon this evening, why did you attack it?”

“What are you talking about?” the dragon groaned. “I don’t know anything about any pony towns.”

“Then how do you account for your injuries?” Rarity scoffed, unimpressed by the beast’s tales.

“I don’t know.”

That was the worst lie Rarity had heard yet, and she turned to her comrades to check how they were faring. Tempest was as stone-faced as ever, simply waiting for her opportunity to perform the execution. Spitfire just looked bored.

But Coloratura, she looked concerned.

“What’s the matter?” Rarity whispered, trusting Tempest and Spitfire to keep their eyes on the dragon when she turned her back on it.

“I don’t think it’s lying,” Coloratura said, everything in her face and tone indicating confusion but no hint of hesitation in her statement.

“How could it ‘not know’ how it got injured?” Spitfire growled under her breath, her eyes locked on the dragon.

“Ask it,” Coloratura suggested, and despite the eye roll from Spitfire, Rarity intended to do just that.

“You don’t honestly expect me to believe you,” Rarity said incredulously, “that you ‘don’t know’ how you got injured?”

“Believe whatever you want,” the dragon sneered. “I know you ponies have no interest in diplomacy with dragons.”

“I want to know what happened to that town,” Rarity said firmly.

“I don’t know what happened,” the dragon replied.

“Why not?”

“I can’t remember.”

“Your life is on the line!” Rarity screamed. “You pathetic, piteous, wretched creature! Don’t you even care about your own life!?”

“Of course I care,” the dragon hissed. “I have a family waiting for me back home.”

“That old cliché?” Spitfire groaned, and Rarity tried to ignore the smart remark and the gagging sound Spitfire made to accompany it.

“Yet you can’t recall anything?” Rarity spat, her voice being strangled by impatience and rage with each new word. “Something doesn’t add up here, it would seem.”

“If I give you the information you want,” the dragon leaned its head down to Rarity’s level, and Rarity could clearly see its creased brow, almost like it were concerned, or… pleading, “will you let me go back to my family?”

Rarity took a deep breath. She knew what she should say, what was the ‘right’ thing to say, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She needed to be honest instead.

“No.”

And without another word, without waiting for the dragon’s reply, Rarity raised the onyx blade granted to her by her Queen, and with her magic, plunged it into the dragon’s head, right between its eyes.

Tempest fired off a bolt of energy at one of the dragon’s hands, disintegrating it, and Spitfire flew into the air, tossing Coloratura down toward its other hand while she flew through the gaps in the dragon’s teeth, burning the inside of its mouth with red-hot flame. Coloratura touched her hand to the dragon’s, twisting the bones inside the creature’s body into a mangled, unrecognizable shape.

But all that was just theater; the dragon was dead as soon as Rarity landed her blow, the curse enchanting Celestia’s onyx blade killing the dragon as soon as Rarity activated it, just as Celestia had said it would.

“It’s done, Rarity,” Coloratura confirmed.

“Good,” Rarity grabbed her weapon and turned away to walk out of the cave, her hands shaking as they caressed the deadly blade with her fingers. “Coloratura, come with me. Spitfire, Tempest?”

“Yeah, boss?” Spitfire asked with a sadistic grin, and even Tempest cracked a slight smirk as the two women were all too aware of the order Rarity was about to bestow.

“Destroy the body.”

Author's Notes:

everything is fine and normal about this situation

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

91. There's a Hole in the Roof

Pinkie moped with her cheek pressed up against the cold train window, watching the starlit plains of Equestria going by or whatever.

“What’s up, Pinkie?” Applejack asked. “You don’t seem like your usual chipper self.”

“I’m just grumpy,” Pinkie huffed, crossing her arms. “I don’t like that Granny is always so mean to you.”

“Eh, it’s not so bad,” Applejack shrugged. “She’s not wrong to be disappointed in me.”

“Yes she is!” Pinkie puffed up her cheeks. “She’s totally wrong, cuz you’re awesome and amazing and stuff!”

“Thanks, Pinkie,” Applejack chuckled sweetly, “I appreciate that.”

“It makes me mad too cuz my parents are,” Pinkie groaned, “y’know, like that.”

“I know,” Applejack sighed. “But some stuff just is how it is, and even when it’s shitty, we kinda just gotta accept it for what it is.”

“That sucks,” Pinkie said flatly.

“Yup,” Applejack laughed, and Pinkie felt a giggle bubbling up inside her too.

Pinkie jumped off her bench and sat next to Applejack, leaning up against her while Applejack put her arm around Pinkie, who sighed in mixed relief and frustration.

“And look on the bright side,” Applejack said, “we still got Apple Bloom, and Big Mac, and your sisters. And even more’n that, we got a great family waitin’ for us back home.”

“Yeah,” Pinkie yawned, closing her tired eyes and deciding to catch a few winks. “When we get back to Canterlot, let’s go to the library, okay?”

“Sure,” Applejack said, stroking Pinkie’s shoulder, “I’d like that.”

Pinkie yawned again and whispered as she fell asleep, “I wonder what Twilight’s doing right now.”

****

A putrid smelling rainbow fluid came out of Twilight’s mouth and spilled over the attic floor as Twilight tried in vain to grab ahold of something to keep her steady. Instead she fell to her knees, vomiting more of that colorful liquid all over her knees and hands.

Everything hurt. What had started as an ache in her chest, and evolved into a scorching pain throughout her body, was now full-on torturous agony the likes of which she’d never felt before. She felt like some other creature had made its home inside her body but was much, much larger than her and was trying to stretch Twilight’s skin and muscles out to fit its body.

Almost like she had a dragon inside her, trying to break free of a pony-sized body it was trapped in.

Twilight didn’t register that she had screamed until she felt two little hands desperately clutching her hand.

“Spike,” Twilight let out a mangled cry that vaguely sounded like her son’s name, “please, get out of here. It’s not safe.”

“No!” Spike said, still clutching Twilight even as tears blurred his eyes. “I’m not gonna leave you like this, Twilight!”

“Spike, please,” it was only as Twilight put her hands on Spike’s shoulders that she saw the rainbow fluid leaking steadily from her fingertips, “the library, I’m going to—“ Twilight retched and expelled more of that magical liquid, letting out a brief, pained whimper before screaming yet again.

Spike didn’t budge, and while Twilight respected his bravery and was endeared by his loyalty, the last thing she wanted was for him to see Twilight forced to transform, or for him to be caught in the ugly aftermath of the Conflux spell, which was quickly turning the library into a withered husk of its formal self.

And then it hit Twilight. The Conflux would have disabled most, if not all, of the library’s protections. And Twilight couldn’t hold onto her pony-transformation spell, plus was in horrendous pain. She wasn’t going to be able to control her fiery breath, and she and her son were inside of a rapidly withering and completely unprotected tree.

“I need to get out of the library,” Twilight gasped desperately, but as she tried to stand, merely fell flat on her side onto the hardwood floor, helplessly reaching a limp hand toward the stairwell to the bottom floor. “I need to get out of the library!”

Spike’s fingers wrapped around Twilight’s hand and he struggled to pull her toward the stairwell. Twilight whimpered as tears stung her eyes, a mix of pride at her son’s consideration for her and agony at the thought of what might happen to him if he’s caught in her transformation.

“Spike!” Twilight hacked and coughed, spilling magic fluid all over her chin and chest. “Get out! Get out of the library! I’m gonna burn it down!”

“What?!” Spike gasped in horror. “Why would y—oh no, you’re transforming?! I thought the Conflux just wiped you out! Oh no, no no no no no no no, Twilight we gotta get you out of here!”

Spike grabbed Twilight’s forearm and tugged as hard as he could, but his tiny body just couldn’t move an adult-sized unicorn, much less one that was about to start turning into a gigantic beast of volatile flame and magic.

“Spike!” Twilight shrieked. “I’m ordering you to get out of the library! NOW!” a pang of guilt ripped through Twilight’s heart upon seeing Spike’s stricken, mortified expression, and she affected a gentle smile. “Please. I can’t bear to lose both of you.”

Spike pursed his lips as the tears started rolling down his eyes. He tried to say something, but it just came out as blubbers, so he nodded his head and ran for the stairs, leaving an agonized but relieved Twilight alone in the attic.

Twilight still tried to crawl her way to the stairs, desperate to save the home where she’d made so many memories, but every inch she managed was accompanied by screams of pain, and now there was rainbow fluid pouring from her eyes as well.

She screamed in horror as the flesh tore on her fingers and scales took their place, the bones increasing in size even as they tore through muscles that regenerated and were torn apart again just as quickly.

Her fingernails became talons that she dug into the hardwood floor and tried to pull herself on, but her back was seizing up, and soon two spikes pierced through it and tore slits in her skin where massive, leathery wings stretched out from, ripping the flesh and tendon from her body on their way out, spraying blood all over the attic as Twilight whimpered helplessly.

Her hooves were the next thing to be torn to shreds, as her feet were stretched, torn, and finally split into large, clawed feet, but Twilight could barely focus on that pain through the agony in her tailbone as it extended and tore out through her body to form that massive lizard tail.

Next thing Twilight felt was her teeth throbbing with ache, growing in size and cutting her lips as she tried to bite down as if that would stop her transformation somehow. Twilight tried to scream as her horn split in two down its center and curled behind her head, but her scream came out as a roar instead.

A roar, and flame.

Twilight breathed a stream of violet flame at the ceiling of her tree, burning a hole in the ceiling through which she could just barely see the starry night sky above, and the rest of the ceiling quickly started to burn, branches and beams falling from it and crashing into the attic floor.

Another roar of flame came unwelcomed from Twilight’s mouth, spreading across the floor and leaking into the lower level. Twilight wanted to weep for the books that she had spent her life collecting, and for the memories she had just started building, but most of all for the life she wanted to give Spike, which was now quite literally going up in flames.

But she couldn’t focus on anything but the pain.

Even with her body fully transformed and her disguise spell ripped away, the magic exhaustion didn’t leave her. She still felt like her heart was primed to explode, like all of her organs and internal systems had been ripped out her body through her mouth and then re-implanted through her eyes, but everything was in the wrong place now.

But as she writhed on the floor of her precious home, breathing streams of fire that destroyed every item and piece of property that she cared for, one clear thought rang through her head.

What if Rarity finds me like this?

Twilight dug her claws into the hardwood and stretched her wings as far as they would go, before leaping into the air and crashing through the hole in the ceiling, obliterating anything that was left of her library’s roof.

What would happen to Spike if anyone found out who—or what—his mother really was? How betrayed and heartbroken would Rarity feel if she found out? Her friends, they all despised and were terrified of dragons. What would they think of Twilight if they found out that she was a dragon?

It was a thought that plagued Twilight daily, and it was never more present on her mind then when she forced herself to fly through the ceiling of her home, forced herself to charge through the pain and carry her restless and broken body in the skies over Canterlot’s Moon District, praying that she could reach the mountains nearby even as she continued to vomit that rainbow fluid.

The ponies of Canterlot were sleeping in their beds; it was entirely possible that Twilight could still make it to the mountains before anyone knew what had happened with her.

If the others came back and found her library, what would they think?

It didn’t matter. Twilight would rather them think that she died than for them to learn the truth, and if she could just make it to the mountains, then maybe, just maybe, she could recover her strength and go back to her home, and all that she would lose would be a tree and some old books.

She just prayed that nobody saw her egress.

Author's Notes:

*robo-popuko voice* CAT'S OUTTA THE BAG BABEY!!
so yea it's finally This chapter. the one that confirms that twilight is indeed a dragon in this fic... but y'all already knew that, right? ;3

it was alot of fun reading different theories in the comments.. i've never had anyone rly get invested in my writing like that, so it was super neat, and i gotta say i extremely appreciate all y'all's comments and theories!!

one last thing; i just wanna mention that since dragons disguising themselves as ponies is kinda a Big Deal(tm) in this fic, changelings don't exist in this universe. that'd make things way more complicated than they need to be. some of ur favorite changeling characters may or may not show up later in different forms, but changelings as a species are a no-go for this fic

With all that outta the way, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

92. Forty

Rainbow Dash’s hands were still trembling as they gripped the mug of cider sitting on the Hunter’s Haven bar in front of her. The bar was dark and empty, except for her, with most of the Slayers in the Haven hounding Tempest Shadow, Spitfire, and Coloratura to give them details of the dragon fight.

It almost made Rainbow want to laugh; that all these ponies were begging to know more about what dragons were like in person, or how it felt to fight them, like it was some grand heroic thing to go up against those monsters.

Because most ponies in Hunter’s Haven hadn’t seen one up close. They hadn’t spent the night digging bodies out from ruined homes, or watching families weep as their children, parents, siblings, and lovers were snatched by fire, or collapsing stone and wood, right before their eyes. These ponies hadn’t seen an entire community experience the worst night of their lives.

They had no idea.

Rainbow was hoping to try and forget some of the things that went on in the last hour or so by drowning herself in cider, but every time she went to take a sip, her stomach just turned; really uncool of her stomach, to be honest.

“How are you holding up?” the weary voice of Captain Spitfire chimed in behind Rainbow.

“If I never have to touch another dead body in my life,” Rainbow answered flatly, “it’ll be too soon.”

“Yeah, that’s fair,” Spitfire sighed, her trademark humor completely absent from her voice; she just sounded like what she was—tired. “Mind if I join you?”

Rainbow shrugged, and so Spitfire sat down at the stool next to her and ordered a drink.

“Y’know, it’s funny,” Spitfire gave a single chuckle, but it was colder than the stone of the bar, “the mission was technically a success, we should be celebrating right now.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow scoffed, “congratulations, you only had to dig up three dead children today. Mission accomplished!”

“I hate to say this,” Spitfire groaned, and a painful smile stretched across her lips as she ran a shaky hand through her mane, “but only three dead kids is a success, when dragons are involved.”

Rainbow bowed her head against the bar, digging her nails into her scalp like she was trying to claw the horrid images out of her brain.

“I can’t believe this,” Rainbow whispered. “I can’t believe how gruesome this whole night was.”

“You get used to it,” Spitfire said drolly, taking a sip of her beer.

“Yeah?” Rainbow scoffed. “You still remember the first time you saw a dragon?”

“Like it was yesterday,” Spitfire replied firmly. “Me and my squad were doing a pretty banal routine flight, happened to run across a dragon who’d been hiding out in the woods. I’m the only one who went back home that day, and only cuz Celestia found me cowering in the woods and killed the dragon.

“She just swung her sword and sliced the damn lizard’s face in two with a single stroke. It was amazing, but…”

“But that’s not the memory that sticks with you,” Rainbow said coldly, feeling the urge to vomit welling up inside her.

“Nah,” Spitfire gave a pitiful chuckle, “nah, what sticks is the memory of Fire Streak getting ripped in half, of Wave Chill having his chest torn open by the dragon’s fangs, of Rapidfire being burned to goddamn cinders right in front of me.

“And I remember running away before seeing what happened to Blaze and Lightning Streak, but I got a good look at Blaze’s charred corpse. I don’t think Lightning left one. I remember cowering—weeping—underneath a tree, torn between praying the dragon didn’t find me and praying that it did and I could just die with the rest of my friends.

“When Celestia found me, all I could do was apologize. Over and over and over again, that’s all I could think to say, ‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry’. And y’know what she had the gall to say? ‘It wasn’t your fault’. Like, she’s right, but… but I bailed on my team.”

“You would’ve died if you hadn’t,” Rainbow said helplessly. She’d never seen Spitfire be anything less than excited and brave, and seeing her stony expression as tears rolled down her cheeks was excruciating.

“Maybe that would’ve been better,” Spitfire shrugged. “I definitely know that’s when the traditional ‘Slayer’s recklessness’ kicked in for me. Speaking of the recklessness, I hear you’ve got it now. How’re you holding up?”

Rainbow let out a shrill, high-pitch laugh that echoed in the empty bar.

“Not great!” Rainbow flashed a manic grin and slapped her palm on the bar, and even she couldn’t tell if she was trying to suppress her feelings or was genuinely cracking up.

“Don’t do anything reckless, okay?” Spitfire said, gently putting her hand on top of Rainbow’s. “We need you here. I know it’s selfish, but I need you.”

“I need you too,” Rainbow said, putting her other hand on Spitfire’s. “So right back at’cha, okay?”

“Okay,” Spitfire nodded with a little half-smile. “How ‘bout we make a deal; when we’re like eighty or something, we challenge each other to an honorable, life or death duel, and neither of us are allowed to die until then. Got it?”

“I don’t know if I’ll make it to eighty,” Rainbow sighed, and she thought about how she was only in her twenties, but she already felt like she was eighty. “How ‘bout— if we’re still feeling really reckless by then— forty?”

Spitfire bit her lip, but she put on a smile and pulled back her hand, clapping Rainbow’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” she said with a weary smile, “forty sounds good to me. Let’s do our best to not have that duel, okay?”

“It’s a promise,” Rainbow said with a smile, the first genuine one she’d had all night.

Author's Notes:

gotta say, as someone who is easily invested in all of the mlp background characters, getting a grab bag of them to be Characters Who Were Gruesomely Murdered feels bad!

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

93. The Dragon Over Canterlot

The train ride back from Baltimare wasn’t as long as Rarity had been expecting, and she could almost see her city of Canterlot in the distance out the window.

Truthfully, the ride hadn’t been as long as Rarity had wanted, either. While the rest of her party had simply teleported back with Celestia to Canterlot, Rarity insisted on taking the train. And while Rainbow was an absolute darling and offered to travel with her the slower way— which was quite a gesture, coming from Rainbow Dash—Rarity also insisted that she go alone.

She needed the time to think, yet she found that more difficult than she expected. She had just slain the second dragon in her life, had just saved countless innocent ponies from torment and death, and yet she felt nothing short of utterly miserable.

Why?

It wasn’t the dragon’s words that stuck in Rarity’s mind, but Coloratura’s.

I don’t think it’s lying.

She said that about the dragon ‘not knowing’ what had happened to Baltimare, or how it got its injuries. Rarity didn’t ask if it was lying or not about having a family, because why would she care to know? A family of vicious, bloodthirsty dragons are still evil, so what did it matter?

But did Rarity not ask because she didn’t care, or because she didn’t want to know the answer?

And why had the dragon not fought back? The last time Rarity had a dragon cornered, it begged for its life; this one didn’t even try that. Why was it so… docile? It seemed frightened also, and if it truly didn’t know how it became injured, if it just suddenly awoke as if from a trance and was blind and half-dead, then who wouldn’t be fri—

No. No, that’s ridiculous—it’s insane, is what it is! How can some creature simply ‘not know’ how it became injured?

Yet if it was all so ridiculous and insane as Rarity insisted, why was she stuck on it? What about this situation didn’t add up to her?

Rarity would have to ask Celestia some questions about the dragon’s peculiar behavior later. She let Tempest report their team’s success to the Queen because Rarity was already too deep in her confused web of thoughts to be focused enough for a coherent report.

Even after Celestia sought Rarity out to talk to her, Rarity politely turned down the Queen’s request for more information, because Rarity simply didn’t know what to say; another reason why she wanted to take the train home.

Home.

She was almost there now; Canterlot station could be seen in the distance, and Rarity smiled fondly as she pressed her cheek up to the window. She had returned from many trips back to Canterlot, but she never considered it to be her ‘home’. She always considered the road, the Hunt, and Hunter’s Haven to be her ‘homes’.

Until she met Twilight. Now the library was her home, and she wouldn’t want it any other way.

She wondered briefly what Twilight was doing, thinking fondly about her adorable crush and about how the cute little dork was probably still organizing those old books, even though she was ill. Silly pony.

Rarity hoped Spike would at least look out for her and try his best to make sure she didn’t overwork too much, but she knew Twilight couldn’t be deterred once she’d set her mind to something. Rarity respected that about her, honestly.

Rarity also thought about the last thing she said to Twilight before she left, about how they would save their kiss for when she got back, and that thought put Rarity in a brighter mood than she’d been in all night.

She was almost home. Almost at the library. Almost with Twilight.

Almost kissing Twilight.

Rarity tried not to be giddy, because that would be rather unladylike, but she couldn’t help but let a few smitten giggles escape her lips. She rested her cheek against the window again, smiling fondly at the Canterlot station as it drew closer and closer, until she could practically smell the—

—smoke?

What is that?

Rarity saw something in the night sky, almost too far away to tell, but the storm suddenly raging in her gut gave her a clue.

No. No, it couldn’t… it couldn’t possibly be—

It was.

Rarity’s eyes widened and her mouth hung open as desperate, gasping breaths filled her lungs. That was no ‘thing’ flying against the night sky, it was a creature. A dragon.

Rarity could hardly see the beast in the darkness, but she saw it exhume some kind of colorful fluid from its mouth that poured into the sky, and thankfully evaporated in the air. But what truly made Rarity’s stomach turn was the color of the creature’s scales—lavender, just like her Twilight.

And now, worry and concern gave way to panic, as Rarity had no way of knowing why that creature was near her home, and she had no way to contact Twilight to know if she was okay.

Rarity ran to the front of the train, and thanked her luck that she was able to disembark safely as soon as she made it. She jumped onto the platform and raced as fast as she could through the sleepy, empty streets of the Moon District, until she reached…

A tree. A tree burning in violet flame, almost withered and burnt to its very roots until there was nothing left but ash, columns of pitch dark smoke rising into the air and filling Rarity nose with a nauseating scent.

Rarity’s breath became even more frantic and desperate as she ran into the ruins of the library, regardless of the danger.

Her barriers could protect her from mere fire, though she remembered upon getting close to the tree, and feeling an overwhelming heat coming from the flames, that dragonfire was nothing like normal fire, and with her weak magic—and no longer tapped into Celestia’s magic— it could still burn her easily.

She couldn’t bear the heat coming from the library, so instead she called out to Twilight and to Spike, then to Rainbow Dash, and Applejack and Pinkie Pie, then to goddamn anyone who could hear her.

But none of her cries were met with any response.

Rarity fell to her knees in the snow, no recourse left but to watch her home burn in front of her eyes.

There was nothing she could do but accept that the thing she loved most had been taken from her.

That her Twilight was most likely—

Rarity sat there for only a moment before forcing herself to her hooves. She still had her equipment from Celestia’s armory, she still had Celestia’s onyx blade.

She was a Slayer still, was she not? And there was a dragon that needed slaying.

Author's Notes:

welp

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

94. Blood in the Snow

Rarity left the burning library behind and raced toward the foothills surrounding Canterlot. The dragon she had seen flying away from her home looked as though it was having trouble keeping itself airborne; it was likely injured, or exhausted, and those foothills were uninhabited and made a good place to rest. She learned that from talking with Tw—

…

Rarity wondered if running into the mountains in the middle of the night all by herself was perhaps too foolish, but she couldn’t contact Rainbow Dash or Celestia for help. Or anyone else for that matter; this was her dragon, and she needed to kill it. Or die trying, at the very least.

Honestly, she wasn’t sure which outcome she preferred.

But the thought of Twilight motivated her onward, and Rarity knew that Twilight wouldn’t want Rarity to die for her sake. Though thinking of Twilight instantly brought to mind the horrifying idea of what must have happened to her in that library when the dragon attacked, and what happened to Spike for that matter.

Rarity had seen families—children and parent alike—screaming in agony and despair as their homes burned around them and they couldn’t escape, and Rarity was having a great deal of trouble not picturing Twilight and Spike in that manner.

It was curious though, wasn’t it? Rarity hadn’t thought to question it when she saw the burning library, but as she drew near the foothills she started to wonder, had anything else been destroyed? Rarity saw the dragon flying over the city, yet other than excreting some kind of seemingly harmless rainbow fluid, it didn’t do anything but fly over.

Why destroy the library?

Unless Twilight engaged the dragon before it could attack the town, and injured it badly enough for it to flee. Rarity wasn’t sure she liked the idea of Twilight dying a hero’s death, because she was certain the librarian she met those months ago would never have been so brave; and the idea that Rarity’s influence led to Twilight’s—

It didn’t matter now. Thinking about Twilight wouldn’t bring Rarity anything other than pain. She needed to focus on the task at hand.

Which became all too easy once she found it.

There it was, the dragon who had killed Rarity’s darling, lying in the snow at the foot of the mountains, clawing at the snow-covered rocky face, desperately scratching at it in an attempt to climb, or perhaps use it as leverage to become airborne again.

It didn’t matter. When Rarity got close enough to see the violet monstrosity, she could tell it was indeed injured— or at least weary, for despite its apparent lack of energy, and the ragged, coarse breathing she could hear from the beast, there were no visible wounds on its body.

Either way, it was weakened, and would be far easier to kill in this state. Perhaps Rarity wouldn’t have to die for her revenge after all.

Though she had no use for the thing during the Baltimare battle, Rarity was still armed with a bow and several arrows from Celestia’s armory, and she notched an arrow and took aim. The dragon may have been weakened, but it wasn’t harmless, and Rarity wasn’t about to rush into a battle against a dragon without caution.

Rarity fired the arrow, and it pierced straight through the scales on the dragon’s shoulder, tearing through the beast until it ripped a clean hole right through to its other side, Rarity letting out an unladylike cackle at the enchantment’s effectiveness.

The dragon didn’t roar or hiss as Rarity anticipated; it merely threw its claws on the ground and glared in the direction the arrow was fired. It stared right at Rarity with the conviction of a beast cornered, prepared to defend itself to the death, but Rarity was not intimidated and notched another arrow.

As Rarity prepared to fire, or to dodge the dragon’s counterattack, the dragon’s gaze softened. It suddenly looked less like a cornered animal and more like it was… pleading?

Perhaps it wants to beg for its life, Rarity thought with disgust and fired the arrow right the creature’s shimmering, violet eye.

The dragon caught the arrow in its claw and crushed it, though when it opened up its claw, Rarity could see the arrow’s enchantment had still torn apart the scales on the beast’s hand, leaving a bloody gash in their place.

The dragon looked at the wound for a moment before slamming its hand on the ground, and while Rarity at first presumed this to be a fighting stance, the dragon retching rainbow fluid with a horrid groan quelled that notion quickly.

Rarity fired another arrow, and as it soared through the sky—only to be swatted away by the dragon—Rarity tossed the bow aside and charged. She still had some defensive spells she could cast if things went south, but the dragon’s wounds—whatever they were—looked bad enough that Rarity could end this quickly, and she saw no reason not to do so.

She drew Celestia’s onyx blade and screamed an enraged battle cry, and as she moved to plunge the weapon into the demon’s forehead, she saw its eye leaking with what looked like tears. At the last second, Rarity instinctively flicked her hand, thrusting her sword deep into the back of the dragon’s hand, but something prevented her from activating the sword’s enchantment.

The dragon gave no roar or scream or shriek; it gave nothing more than a pitiful whimper as Rarity’s blade penetrated its soft flesh. The creature’s face was drawn into a frown, and its pleading violet eyes—each nearly half the size of Rarity’s body—locked onto her.

Rarity felt a twisting in her gut. Something wasn’t right here.

The dragon opened its mouth—just barely, not enough to breathe fire but enough to try and speak—but all that came out was more of that putrid-smelling liquid.

Of course it’s sad, Rarity argued in her mind, it’s about to die! That doesn’t mean I show this demon who destroyed my home any mercy!

The dragon blinked, and tears fell down its face. Rarity found herself staring directly into the dragon’s eyes, and now with the moonlight shining down on them, without the haze of bloodlust and vengeance clouding Rarity’s vision, she was able to get a good look at the wounded beast for everything it was.

It looked familiar.

The lavender scales, the indigo mane, the violet eyes; they were all too familiar.

“No,” Rarity whispered to herself, retracting her sword and stumbling away from the creature.

She froze for half a second, stunned by the farcical scenario her mind was beginning to conjure, and once she realized she had paused, she jumped away from the monster, counting herself lucky that it didn’t kill her as soon as she was vulnerable.

But then she noticed; the dragon wasn’t fighting back.

Rarity shot it with two arrows, fired a third, and stabbed it with a sword. Yet it just sat there, staring at her. She wondered what it was thinking, then considered herself crazy for even entertaining such a ridiculous notion; it was a dragon, it was thinking about how to kill her… right?

Then why wasn’t it doing anything?

Rarity pooled magic in her horn—enough for a makeshift teleportation spell if this plan went awry—and slowly walked toward the dragon, sword drawn. She raised her weapon to the beast’s face and stabbed it right in the crease below its eye, blood spurting from the injury.

The dragon winced, gritted its teeth, and whimpered. It tried to open its mouth again, but only colorful vomit came out yet again.

And a faint, guttural noise, that Rarity almost swore sounded like the dragon was saying her name.

“NO!” Rarity shrieked, pulling the onyx blade from Tw—the dragon’s eye and stabbing it through the bridge of its nose, and again in the cheek, and again just below its eye, then just above.

She kept stabbing the sword into the damn creature’s face, over and over, until blood covered nearly every inch of the right side of its face, and not once—not a single goddamn time—did the dragon react with anything more threatening than a pained, pitiful, tearful whimper.

Rarity threw her bloodied sword onto the ground and backed away. Perhaps she was getting ahead of herself to let her guard down, but what did it matter? She would be dense to not realize what was going on here, to think that this dragon would attack her now.

“Why aren’t you fighting back?” Rarity said coldly, not expecting any answer.

She already knew the answer. She knew why the dragon looked so miserable, so beat up and drained. It had magic exhaustion.

Rarity put her hand across her face. She still couldn’t accept what was rapidly becoming clear. How could she? How could she face the idea that everything she had done for the last several months— everything she thought she knew about the best thing to ever happen to her— was a complete lie?

“Stop!”

Rarity nearly felt like throwing up when she heard Spike’s hoarse, desperate voice. She turned her head to see him running through the snow toward Rarity, but he passed right by her and, before Rarity could stop him, ran to the dragon and put his hands on its muzzle.

“Rarity! Please, stop!” Spike said, fighting through tears to string together strained sentences. “It’s Twilight! You’re hurting Twilight! See?!”

Spike held out a tiny doll, one that Rarity had seen countless times. It was a dragon doll, Spike slept with the thing and claimed it to be his protector. Rarity always found it odd, even a little morbid, that Spike thought a dragon would protect him, but now she was seeing the doll in a much different light.

Because it was exactly identical to the bloodied dragon lying before her.

Rarity said nothing; did nothing. She simply stood and stared in complete silence, her face an icy mask that betrayed nothing that she was feeling. How could it, when she couldn’t feel anything?

“Please, Twilight,” Spike begged, pushing his hands into his mo—into the dragon’s bloody wounds, “you’ve gotta get up! You’ve gotta tell Rarity that it’s just you, that she doesn’t have to be afraid of you!”

“Afraid?” Rarity wanted to laugh, but there was certainly no humor to be found in Spike’s terrified face. “Why would I fear a dragon that can’t even defend itself?”

Rarity grabbed the onyx blade from the ground in her magic, gripping it tightly in her hand as she slowly marched toward the injured dragon.

“Rarity, no!” Spike said, trying to cover the dragon with his tiny body. “You can’t do this! It’s Twilight! Why would you wanna hurt Twilight!?”

“Move out of the way,” Rarity said flatly, slinging the sword across her shoulder, “I have to complete my mission, and slay this dragon.”

“No! I won’t let you!” Spike yelled, and he put up his tiny fists.

Rarity looked down at the bloodied face of a half-dead dragon and the tiny pegasus child who was willing to fight a Slayer to the death in order to defend her.

She couldn’t look at Spike without thinking about the times she spent eating ice cream with him, or when she first comforted him after he got jealous, or how he always wanted to impress her but got too embarrassed every time, or the book readings he put on with Rainbow in the library.

And she couldn’t look at the dragon without thinking… of how everything she thought she knew was wrong, and how she wished that her life really had been burned away with that damn library, because what the hell was she supposed to do NOW!?

The dragon grabbed Spike in its clutches, but he didn’t appear worried. Rarity flinched and readied her sword, but a gust of wind from the dragon’s wings disoriented her, and once she had gotten back her bearings, the dragon was airborne.

Rarity grabbed her bow with her magic and pulled it over to her, firing an arrow into the night sky at the dragon, but only managing to graze its tail. By the time she fired a second arrow, the beast and Spike had disappeared behind the mountains.

Rarity fell to her knees, Celestia’s sword falling out of her hand into the snow. She stared blankly into the mountain’s face, unable to move or to think or to do… anything.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

95. Why

As she sat on her knees in the snowy foothills surrounding Canterlot, Rarity didn’t hear the pony frantically calling out to her until she was right in front of Rarity’s face, kneeling before Rarity’s with her hands on Rarity’s shoulders.

“Rarity! Rarity, answer me!” Rainbow Dash yelled, and Rarity forced herself to snap to attention.

“Rainbow Dash?” she said weakly. “What are you doing here?”

“I saw smoke coming from the Moon District,” Rainbow said, looking and sounding incredibly frazzled, “I had a bad feeling and went to check up on the library, and it was—”

“Gone,” Rarity said coldly. “Yes, I know. I saw it.”

“What the hell happened?!” Rainbow screamed, roughly helping Rarity get back to her hooves.

Rarity walked away from Rainbow, barely processing her question. What had happened, indeed.

“Rarity?” Rainbow’s voice softened, but not out of concern or gentleness; Rarity could hear a simmering panic in her partner’s whisper. “What happened to the library?” Rainbow’s voice cracked, and Rarity blinked away the stinging tears forming in her eyes. “Did Twilight—”

“She’s alive,” Rarity said distantly, and she had no idea why. When Rarity had found out the truth, the first thing that crossed her mind was that she wished Twilight really had been killed in that library, yet here she was giving Rainbow a glimmer of false hope.

“That’s—that’s great!” Rainbow ran up to Rarity and clapped her on Rarity’s shoulders from behind. “That’s awesome!” Rainbow gasped. “But wait, she’s probably in danger, right? We gotta help her!”

“No.”

That was Rarity’s only response; a cold, bitter, no.

“What?” Rainbow hissed.

Rarity said nothing. She didn’t turn back to look at her friend, see the anger that she knew was in Rainbow’s eyes.

“What do you mean ‘no’?” Rainbow asked, her tone a mix of incredulity and fury. “Where is she, Rarity? What happened to her?”

Rarity said nothing.

“She needs our help,” Rainbow insisted, “doesn’t she? What about Spike? Where is he?”

…

“Rarity!” Rainbow Dash shoved Rarity, and now Rarity reacted, turning on her hooves and stomping up to Rainbow’s face, giving her a glare that would put a dragon’s to shame, but Rainbow didn’t budge. “Why the hell are you keeping this from me!? Twilight and Spike are my friends, and you’re supposed to be my partner! What the hell gives?!”

Rarity glared, still unable to conjure a single word to respond with, and Rainbow glared back, unwilling to take Rarity’s silence as an answer any longer.

Rarity took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. She took a few steps away from Rainbow Dash, holding up a finger to signal that she would speak to Rainbow in just one moment, once she had collected her thoughts.

“You’re right, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity said weakly. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry, you’re right. I’m being a mite selfish, aren’t I?”

This time Rainbow was the one that was silent, and Rarity looked back to see her crossing her arms and puffing up her cheeks, which brought a smile to Rarity’s face; that gesture meant that Rarity was correct, and Rainbow didn’t want to say it. Rarity appreciated her friend’s rare moment of tact.

“Did you see the dragon?” Rarity asked the first question, the most important one that needed answering. “The one that burned down the library?”

“Y-yeah,” Rainbow said hesitantly. “I saw it flying away from here,” Rainbow pointed to the mountains the dragon disappeared behind, “but I couldn’t see it too well, and I was kinda hoping it wasn’t what I thought. It really was another dragon, huh?”

“I caught it, as it was flying away from the library,” Rarity explained, painfully dragging the memories of everything that had just transpired out and into the open; if she was going to tell Rainbow the story, Rainbow deserved to know everything. “I tracked it here, though it was a simple matter since the dragon was badly ill.”

“Ill?” Rainbow cocked her head. “What do you mean? I didn’t even know dragons could get sick.”

Rarity shook her head and let out a bitter laugh.

“It had magic exhaustion,” she explained, “it was in no position to fight when I approached it.”

“Funny,” Rainbow scoffed, “I don’t see its body anywhere.”

“It didn’t fight back,” Rarity ignored Rainbow’s comment, and she grabbed the onyx blade—still coated in the dragon’s blood—with her magic, hovering it in front of her, “even as I stabbed it, over and over again, it didn’t fight back. It didn’t even try.”

“Because it was sick?” Rainbow put her hands on her hips and frowned, creasing her brow. “That doesn’t make any sense. I tell ya, if it was my life on the line, doesn’t matter how sick or shitty I felt, I’d fight tooth and nail no matter what!”

“It’s funny, isn’t it?” Rarity threw her sword to the ground, and she could see the pensive glare in Rainbow’s eyes that told her she needed to reach her point quickly. “It doesn’t make any sense, that it didn’t fight back.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow said curtly, “and it makes even less sense that you couldn’t kill it. What happened? You didn’t let it go just cuz it begged, did you?”

Rarity wanted to be angry at that comment, to make some smart remark about Rainbow’s own shortcomings in reply, but she buried that urge. It wouldn’t be right to throw her vitriol at Rainbow, and what did it matter anyway?

“It couldn’t beg,” Rarity shrugged, “it couldn’t speak. Every time it tried, it—” Rarity recalled the groan it made that sounded distinctly like her own name, and she shuddered at the implications. She cleared her throat. “Someone stopped me, from killing the dragon.”

“Who?”

“Spike,” Rarity said, and she couldn’t bear the look of confusion on Rainbow’s face that quickly turned to horror.

“That little idiot!” Rainbow said desperately. “Doesn’t he know dragons are dangerous!? I know he has that doll and everything—”

“Funny how much that doll looks like Twilight,” Rarity interjected, “isn’t it?”

“What?” Rainbow balked. “What does that have to—”

Rarity stared at Rainbow—stared through her—and let the realization slowly dawn on her.

The dragon’s magic exhaustion, its unwillingness to fight back, Spike trying to save it, and Twilight’s similarity to Spike’s doll; enough clues for anyone to put them together and realize the grisly truth.

Rainbow said nothing as her face changed from confusion, to recognition, flickered briefly with horror and then rage, before finally settling on an icy, bitter expression.

Rarity paced back and forth, more than willing to allow Rainbow all the time she needed to process this. Rarity hadn’t gotten any time at all to process any of it, and oh how she wished she did. But then, what would have changed? All the time in the world couldn’t have eased this ache in her heart.

As Rainbow processed and Rarity paced, Rarity went over everything in her mind once more.

Where had she gone wrong? Could she have slayed the dragon if she was quicker, stronger, sturdier? Or did she simply not want to?

Of course she wanted to, it was her mission to slay dragons, and dear stars, she certainly hated them enough. Yet, when a weakened and bloodied one was sitting right in front of her, she did nothing. She couldn’t bring herself to deal a killing blow.

She stabbed it with the onyx blade, a weapon she had seen was quite proficient at killing dragons earlier that same evening, yet she chose not to activate its enchantment.

Had she done the right thing?

She thought about the first dragon she’d slain, remembered the horrified townsfolk; she thought about Baltimare, and how she didn’t hesitate to slay that dragon.

So why was her gut turning inside out? Why now?

Why did that damned monster still hold onto a piece of her heart?

Rainbow let out a quivering sigh, after what felt like days of waiting. Rarity was eager to hear what she had to say, and for the blessed reprieve from her own internal torture session.

“What the fuck.”

Rarity wanted to laugh at that, and even cracked a slight smirk, but Rainbow’s face held no humor. She was angry; furious even.

“I can’t believe this,” Rainbow whispered, and even though she knew Rainbow was no dragon, Rarity could swear fire was ready to pour from her mouth. “Can’t believe there’s been a damn dragon in Canterlot this whole time. Right under our damn noses.

“She hates Slayers, her son looooves dragons,” Rainbow hissed, “why didn’t we ever put it together!? What is wrong with us!? What the hell’s her problem!? Thinking she can just waltz into our damn city like it’s no big deal, just hide out wherever she damn well pleases!?

“And what about her son, anyway!? I guess he’s not in any goddamn danger, is he!? He’s probably totally safe with that goddamn monster, RIGHT!?”

“Yeah,” Rarity shrugged. Nothing else to say.

Rainbow screamed—shrieked—into the night sky, picking up Rarity’s bow and throwing it at the mountainside. If there were loose rocks or bricks laying around, Rarity was sure Rainbow would be throwing them too.

“You raise an interesting point though,” Rarity said, Rainbow turning around and staring through Rarity with utterly exhausted, almost lifeless, eyes. “Why didn’t it ever do anything? It didn’t interact with the other people of Canterlot unless they came into the library, never once acted anything less than friendly toward you or me or the others. Why?”

“Who cares?” Rainbow spat. “What does it matter now?” Rainbow sighed bitterly and walked slowly back toward Canterlot. “All we need to do now is tell Queen Celestia about this garbage, and hope she doesn’t have us expelled from the Slayers for being so damn incompetent.”

“No,” Rarity said bluntly, and Rainbow stopped in her tracks. The two mares looked at each other cautiously, and Rarity spoke first. “We’re not telling her anything.”

Rainbow blinked. Her eyes narrowed, and her scowl hardened.

“Why.”

It wasn’t phrased as a question, and Rarity had no idea how to respond.

“You can’t—” Rainbow cut herself off with a bitter chuckle, affecting a dangerously frantic half-smile at Rarity. “You’re not gonna cover for that thing, are you? You can’t honestly think that it’s good—”

“I still have nightmares, Rainbow Dash!” Rarity snarled, stomping toward Rainbow and forcing her to step back and recoil. “What the hell do you think this thing is for-” Rarity clawed at her dragon fang necklace “-if not to remind me, every damn day, what those things are capable of!? What happens when we screw up—when I screw up!?”

“Then WHY!?” Rainbow shouted frantically. “Why the hell aren’t you gonna tell Celestia!?”

“I don’t know!” Rarity screamed, tears falling down her face.

“You don’t know!?” Rainbow scoffed. “That’s it?!”

“I don’t know,” Rarity walked away from Rainbow again, pacing back and forth and desperately running her hands through her mane in a vain effort to calm herself, or collect her thoughts, or do anything other than panic.

“Rainbow, Rainbow,” Rarity muttered frantically, “it didn’t do anything. Not once, not once did it ever try to— to do anything, to hurt anyone!”

“And?” Rainbow sneered.

“Why?” Rarity asked desperately, her hands falling at her sides.

And again, it was Rainbow’s turn to go silent. Her lip quivered, like she was thinking to say something, but couldn’t bring herself to. Rarity could see the gears turning in Rainbow’s eyes, and she knew her partner could come up with no answer.

Rainbow’s sigh was heavier than all the weapons in Celestia’s armory as she looked up to the night sky, maybe begging the stars to give her some answer. But there were no answers, because there was no information.

“So where do we go from here?” Rainbow asked, her gaze still fixed toward the sky. Rarity allowed herself a slight smirk, seeing through Rainbow’s posturing to the real purpose of her gesture; Rainbow still trusted her partner’s judgment, and Rarity was determined not to betray that trust.

“Honestly?” Rarity gave a strained chuckle, releasing the tension that had been building in her body for hours until she was about ready to collapse. “We need to track down that dragon. Whether we kill it, or talk to it, that can come later. But we can’t just let it go.”

“I wanna know why,” Rainbow grumbled.

“So do I,” Rarity whimpered.

Rarity gathered her equipment with her magic and walked past Rainbow, giving her partner a firm clap on the shoulder.

“But first thing’s first, darling. You and I need to get some damn sleep.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

96. Ugly Pause

Applejack and Pinkie Pie got off their train at the Canterlot station in the wee hours of the morning—well, calling it ‘morning’ was being charitable since you could only see the first glimmer of dawn on the horizon if you really squinted and looked for it, but still.

Pinkie Pie jumped onto the platform with open arms, only to cross them and puff up her cheeks, and Applejack looked around in confusion when they saw the station was completely empty.

“What gives?” Pinkie huffed. “Where’re all our friends?”

“It’s pretty dang early, Pinkie,” Applejack said, giving Pinkie’s ear a gentle scratch. “Or maybe it’s late? I kinda can’t tell myself anymore. Either way, I bet everypony’s still in bed.”

Pinkie sighed in acceptance, and while Applejack’s theory was sound enough, something still didn’t feel right to her.

“But hey,” Applejack said, “you wanna go swing by the library anyway? See if they’re open already?”

“Yeah!” Pinkie cheered and ran off toward the library, Applejack chuckling as she tried to keep up with Pinkie’s frantic pace.

Pinkie’s excited chatter as she recounted all the things she wanted to do with and tell Twilight and Spike and the others filled Applejack’s ears even as Pinkie raced ahead of her and left Applejack in the dust, only to suddenly go conspicuously quiet.

Applejack quickened her pace, knowing that a suddenly silent Pinkie never meant good news, and her breath caught in her throat at the sight of the withered, burnt out tree that used to house the Golden Oaks Library.

Pinkie stared in horror, her hands over her mouth, and Applejack didn’t even know what to say or do, or even how to feel. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.

And then something else caught her eye; a white pony kneeling in the snow in front of the library.

“Rarity!” Pinkie screamed, and Rarity listlessly turned her head toward the two ponies as Pinkie rushed toward her, embracing her in a scared hug.

“What happened here?” Applejack asked tensely, looking around to watch for any other signs of danger. It looked to her like the library had been burned for a while, so whatever caused it probably happened yesterday or last night, but everything about this situation was fishy and Applejack wasn’t taking chances with her friends’ safety.

“The library burned down,” Rarity replied unhelpfully.

“Where’re Twilight and Spike?!” Pinkie asked desperately, shaking Rarity by the shoulders. “C’mon, Rarity! Tell us what happened!”

“Are they dead?” Applejack asked bluntly, and Pinkie gasped.

“Applejack!” Pinkie scolded, standing up in front of Rarity and pointing an accusing finger at Applejack, tears wetting her eyes. “You can’t just—how can you even say that!?”

“They’re alive,” Rarity said flatly.

Pinkie fell to the ground, hand on her heart, and breathed a sigh of relief, but Rarity’s tone only made Applejack more suspicious.

“Where are they?” Applejack asked, eyeing Rarity skeptically.

“I don’t know,” Rarity gave a listless shrug, staring off into space.

“Then how do you know they’re alive?” Applejack crossed her arms and arched an eyebrow, wishing Rarity would start making sense already.

“Because I saw them fly off.”

Pinkie Pie inhaled sharply and backed up toward the library, looking pale as a sheet, but Applejack couldn’t really pay her any mind right now.

“They ‘flew off’?” Applejack asked, reaching the end of her rope with Rarity’s vague and unhelpful answers. “What the hell does that mean, Rarity?”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Applejack,” Rarity threw up her arms and affected a bitter half-smile, “other than that our friendly librarian has been a dragon hiding in pony’s skin this entire time.”

Ugly pause.

Applejack put a hand over her brow, inhaling deeply. She let go of her breath and simply asked, “What?”

Rarity explained what happened; how she saw the dragon on the train, chased it into the mountains, how she fought it and it refused to fight back, and how Spike stopped Rarity from killing it, all while holding a doll that was a perfect likeness of the dragon.

Rarity’s story was utterly crazy, but there wasn’t a hint of irony or humor or dishonesty in Rarity’s telling of it. Applejack had no choice but to confront, and accept, the truth; her friend wasn’t real, it was a monster pretending to be a pony.

Except, nothing about that story made any sense.

“I have… so many questions,” Applejack groaned, rubbing her temples.

“Join the club,” Rarity chuckled bitterly, struggling to her hooves.

“Look,” Applejack put her hand firmly on Rarity’s shoulder, “first thing’s first; does Rainbow know about all this?”

“She does,” Rarity nodded slowly. “She found me right after Twil—er, the dragon left, and I told her everything that happened.”

“Okay,” Applejack took a deep breath. “Then first we gotta go get her, then the four of us can work together to figure out a plan to find her.”

“And do what?” Rarity sneered.

“Dunno,” Applejack shrugged and put her hands in her pockets. “We’ll figure it out one step at a time. I know that’s not ideal, but one step’s better’n none, right?”

“I guess,” Rarity sighed, “but I have no idea where she— or it— or whatever— would have gone.”

“Um,” Pinkie Pie gulped, “I think I know.”

There was another ugly pause as Rarity and Applejack slowly turned toward Pinkie, and Applejack got a bad feeling in her gut. How in the hell would Pinkie—

Welp, only way to find out was to just ask.

“Pinkie,” Applejack said cautiously, “how would you know where Twilight’s goin’?”

“Please promise you won’t get mad at me,” Pinkie backed up, arms held defensively in front of her, and it killed Applejack that Pinkie thought that either her or Rarity would turn on her.

“Pinkie Pie, darling,” Rarity said sweetly and approached Pinkie, who took another step back, so Rarity stopped.

Rarity got on one knee in front of Pinkie and bowed her head. “Nopony has any reason to be mad at you, sweetheart, and at the end of the day, we are friends, and we love you, no matter what. Right, Applejack?”

Applejack nodded and forced a delicate smile.

“I already knew what Twilight was,” Pinkie said, and her breathing got faster and faster as tears rolled down her eyes, “and I didn’t tell anypony.”

“For how long?” Rarity asked, biting her lip.

“Since we came back from the Everfree Forest,” Pinkie admitted, running her hands repetitively through a big knot of her hair.

“Okay,” Rarity breathed deeply and stood up, and she started pacing back and forth.

“How come you never told anypony?” Applejack was ashamed to admit it, but her first instinct was to get mad.

But after a second’s thought, Applejack realized she was being ridiculous. Pinkie was a sweetheart, but more than that, she had a good head on her shoulders. Applejack would be a darn fool to think that Pinkie would hide something this huge and dangerous without a good reason.

“I-I—I dunno,” Pinkie was trembling, and Applejack slowly approached her and gave her a hug, letting Pinkie wrap her arms around Applejack’s gut. “I dunno, I just didn’t wanna believe it was real. I wanted to just keep on thinking she was just Twilight Sparkle, the cute librarian, and my friend. I didn’t wanna think she was a monster.”

“Well she is,” Rarity hissed, and Applejack held Pinkie tighter as Pinkie pressed her muzzle into Applejack’s gut and wept. “And we need to find her.”

“You’re not gonna kill her,” Pinkie pleaded at Rarity as her tears gushed down her face like an exploded faucet, “are you?”

“What else can I do?” Rarity snapped.

“We need to talk to her,” Applejack said flatly.

Rarity choked and let out a bitter cackle. “Are you serious, Applejack?!”

“Yeah, I’m serious,” Applejack walked toward Rarity, but then paused. She held her hand out to Pinkie, who clutched it gently. “Pinkie Pie? Can you go grab Rainbow Dash for us? Knowin’ her, she’s probably awake at this hour, but if she ain’t, just come get me and I’ll get her up, okay?”

“Okay,” Pinkie said weakly and nodded. Applejack knelt and kissed Pinkie’s hand, getting a giggle out of her, and Pinkie ran off.

With Pinkie headed to Rainbow’s place, Applejack could focus all her attention on Rarity, and it was only now that Applejack could see the state Rarity was in. Bags under her eyes, which were red from crying, her mane was frazzled and her clothes looked awful; if Rarity had even slept at all since last Applejack saw her, it didn’t help any.

“Have you slept?” Applejack asked concernedly, and Rarity just gave a hissing cackle. Applejack wanted to put her hand on Rarity’s shoulder, but was half-convinced Rarity would bite her if she got too close.

“Three hours?” Rarity rolled her eyes, a manic half-smile on her face. “I think? Honestly, I feel like I’ve been awake for at least thirty-six hours, but that definitely isn’t right.”

Rarity paced away from Applejack, and while Applejack didn’t try to walk with her, she was prepared to chase Rarity down and keep her from doing anything stupid, should it come to that.

“It’s funny, isn’t it?” Rarity spat, and Applejack braced herself as venom dripped from Rarity’s every word. “’There’s no life outside the Hunt’,” Rarity said in a mocking impression of Celestia’s voice, “that’s what they always say, isn’t it?

“I suppose I just brought this on myself! This is what I get, for trying to have a life outside it all! This is what becomes me, for trying to be happy!”

“Rarity—”

“Applejack!” Rarity barked, and Applejack took a flinching step back, her eyes going wide. Rarity let out another cackle, that soon turned into a hacking, laughing fit.

“Applejack! I had one thing going for me in my life! One thing I got out of bed for in the morning, and now it’s been ripped away from—hell, it wasn’t even real in the first place!” Rarity shrieked, and clutched her face, digging her nails so deep into her brow that Applejack was afraid she might claw her own eyes out.

“We won’t know for sure,” Applejack said cautiously, taking a few measured steps toward Rarity, “’til we talk to Twilight.”

“Are you serious right now?” Rarity said, her tone laced with incredulity and disgust. “Since when did you become the goddamn dragon apologist?”

“Since I met Twilight,” Applejack answered firmly, crossing her arms. “Now I ain’t about to trust a damn dragon— not on my life—but you gotta admit there’s way too many things about this story that just don’t add up, Rarity!”

Now it was Applejack’s turn to pace as the gears in her head spun and she tried to unravel all the nonsense articles of this entire tale.

“Why didn’t it fight back?” Applejack asked, and Rarity didn’t respond, which was fine; Applejack wasn’t expecting her to. “Why did it just let you stab it half to death? And don’t try and tell me it was cuz of that magic exhaustion! It had enough steam left to fly away, and you said yourself that you left yourself open! It could’ve killed you, but it didn’t even try! And why the hay is that, Rarity?!”

“I don’t know,” Rarity uttered monotonously, and Applejack rolled her eyes with a frustrated groan.

“And what about Spike?” Applejack went on. “He knew all along, slept with a damn doll in his ma’s likeness! What, are you gonna tell me he’s a dragon too?”

“No, he can’t be,” Rarity shook her head. “If he was also in disguise, he’d have to be an even better mage than Twilight to pull off such a convincing facsimile of a child. Age-reducing spells are virtually non-existent, and you know how much magic a semi-permanent transformation spell uses.

“Obviously it’s possible that he could be some kind of prodigy, but I sincerely doubt it, because—”

“Cuz if he was a dragon,” Applejack sighed, “whether he really was a child or not, he would’ve transformed when you threatened his ma—”

“—instead of just raising his tiny little fists at me, yes.”

“So why’d Twilight wait this long before transformin’?” Applejack groaned, her brain coming apart at the seams trying to make sense of this nightmare.

“I don’t think she transformed on purpose,” Rarity said.

“Well that makes even less sense!” Applejack shouted, kicking the snow in frustration. “Why go through all the trouble of infiltratin’ a city—right next to Hunter’s Haven, no less—without doin’ anything to cause trouble! She never even interacted with the townsfolk, never tried to make friends with anypony but us, the ones who went out of our way to make friends with her! Why?!”

Rarity just shrugged.

Applejack put her hand over her face and took a deep breath. There was one more thing clawing at her mind, but she was hesitant to mention it, because it somehow made less sense than everything else.

“And what about Princess Luna?”

“I’m sorry?” Rarity asked, jolting her head up and staring Applejack down. “What do you mean?”

“You remember after Twi came back from the Everfree?” Applejack asked, and Rarity nodded slowly. “Remember, you came to the station with Princess Luna.”

“She shook Twilight’s hand!” Rarity gasped, her hand going over her mouth. “She’s an alicorn! Why didn’t she see through Twilight’s disguise?”

“That’s what I’m wonderin’,” Applejack said. “And I ain’t sure what makes more sense; that she couldn’t see through Twilight, or that she did see through her, and didn’t do nothin’. Unless…” Applejack turned to the ashen remains of the library. “Do you think Luna came here? Got into a fight with Twi, and that’s what forced her to transform?”

“No,” Rarity shook her head. “When I found that dragon, it was completely uninjured. I don’t believe she could have gotten out of a fight with Luna alive, much less without being wounded, especially with her magic exhaustion.”

“Right,” Applejack nodded, still looking at the library. She didn’t know Luna well, but she’d seen the Princess in action and she had to agree with Rarity on this one. “So why didn’t Luna say nothin’? Why didn’t she say anything right then, let alone not do a single thing in the weeks afterward?”

“I don’t know,” Rarity shrugged again. Applejack opened her mouth to speak, but Rarity cut her off with a pointed glare. “And don’t you suggest that Luna’s a dragon too! You and I both know damn well that Celestia would never let a dragon survive under her watch!”

Applejack shut her mouth and shrugged.

“Yeah, I know,” Applejack mumbled. “Luna’s a good gal.”

“It is a puzzle,” Rarity sighed.

“Which is why I think we oughta find out the truth,” Applejack finally felt comfortable walking up to Rarity, and offered her hand, “together. I ain’t abandonin’ my friends when they need me, and right now that means you, but honestly, it might even mean Twilight too.”

“Do you genuinely think,” Rarity lifted her hand but didn’t bring it quite up to Applejack’s, “that we could still be friends with that monster? Even after everything that’s happened?”

“I dunno,” Applejack half-shrugged, “but I ain’t gonna give up ‘til I know for damn sure either way. So you with me?”

“Yes, darling,” Rarity grasped Applejack’s hand, and Applejack pulled her in for a hug that, judging by Rarity’s quiet sobbing, Applejack figured she sorely needed. “Absolutely.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

97. Lift With Your Legs

Pinkie slammed her fist into Rainbow Dash’s door, knocking frantically even as no answer came. She kept knocking, harder and faster, until she fell to her knees, her fist sliding down the door as she banged her head against it, before collapsing onto Rainbow’s porch and just all-out weeping.

Between running to the library, then everything that happened with Rarity, then running to Rainbow’s house, there were plenty of things to distract Pinkie from the reality of her situation. But as she stood there, with nothing to do but wait and see if Rainbow would respond, the thoughts crept up on her.

Twilight really was a dragon.

Pinkie knew that, she already knew it, but she didn’t believe it. She didn’t want to believe it. She couldn’t possibly bring herself to believe that one of her best friends was a monster, was like that horrible beast that haunted Pinkie’s nightmares, the one that killed her granny and destroyed her village.

But there was no escaping it now. Pinkie couldn’t hide from the truth anymore, and now she just had a big ol’ dollop of shame to go on top of it, wondering all the ways that maybe this horribleness could’ve been prevented if Pinkie had told sompony sooner.

Then again, who would she have told? Who could she have told that wouldn’t immediately try and take Twilight’s head? And for as long as Pinkie didn’t know for absolute sure that Twilight was what Pinkie thought she was, there was always a chance Pinkie could be wrong.

But she wasn’t. Twilight was a dragon, and there was nothing Pinkie could do about that.

Pinkie’s head jolted up as the door opened, and her cheeks burned up as Rainbow looked down at her, looking groggy. Pinkie felt sick in her stomach, thinking she had woken Rainbow up even though she knew how hard it was for Rainbow to get to sleep.

“I’m sorry,” Pinkie croaked. It was the only thing she could think to say.

Rainbow dropped to her knees and just gave Pinkie a hug, and that set off the waterworks real fast. Pinkie grabbed onto Rainbow for dear life, just apologizing over and over, and Rainbow pet Pinkie’s mane.

“You don’t need to apologize, Pinkie Pie,” Rainbow said softly. “Everything’s gonna be okay, somehow.”

“I saw the library,” Pinkie sniffled, “Rarity told us everything.”

“Yeah, I figured,” Rainbow sighed. “Sorry it took so long to answer the door, I had to get dressed and stuff.”

“It’s okay,” Pinkie said weakly. “It’s okay.” Pinkie took a deep breath and tore herself away from Rainbow, letting out an awkward, high-pitched giggle. “Sorry, I shouldn’t be blubbering all over you!”

“Nah, it’s cool,” Rainbow shrugged and gave a little half-smirk. “What’re friends for, right? Blubber all you need to, Pinkie Pie!”

“No, it’s fine,” Pinkie said, wiping her eyes. “We all have enough going on, y’know, without me putting all my gunk onto you too.”

“We do all have a lot going on,” Rainbow grumbled, “with all the hunting crap, and trying to make ends meet, and the dragon attack in Baltimare yesterday-” Pinkie hadn’t actually heard about that, and the mere mention sent such a chill up her spine that she was sure she was gonna throw up for a sec, but she made the mental note to ask someone for the details much, much later “-and now all this bullshit with Twilight, it’s like, enough already!”

“Yeah,” Pinkie said weakly, “so I don’t wanna burde—”

“You’re not a burden, Pinkie,” Rainbow said firmly, booping Pinkie’s nose, which got a little giggle out of her. “You’re my friend, and it’s when we all have a ton of shit to swim through that we need to help each other, to help carry the burdens for each other.

“Like, when you’re carrying something heavy, you don’t put all the weight on your back, that’ll kill ya! You gotta distribute it between your back, your legs, yours arms and shoulders. Wherever you can, just not all in one place!

“And I think emotional stuff is like that too. If you try to hold onto everything on your own, instead of letting your friends help you—I guess your friends are like the legs, and you’re like the back in this metaphor? Anyway—if you try to do everything on your own, it’ll kill ya. That’s the long and short of it, you get me?”

“I think so,” Pinkie gave a little laugh, and just knowing that Rainbow cared enough to say all those nice things made her feel really happy inside, which was a huge relief after this morning.

“Now then,” Rainbow groaned and got up to her hooves, “we gotta go find a dragon, yeah?”

“Yeah, but we’re not killing her!” Pinkie huffed.

“Honestly, Pinkie?” Rainbow said. “I dunno how I feel about that. I dunno what I wanna do about— about the dragon. But I do know that at the end of the day, I’m gonna follow Rarity’s gut. She’s my partner, and she was Twilight’s—” Rainbow took a deep breath and sighed. “I just think it’d be best to let Rarity decide.”

“We’re not killing her,” Pinkie repeated, puffing up her cheeks.

“I thought you were super scared of dragons?”

“I am!” Pinkie insisted, feeling her breath hitch just at the thought of Twilight turning into an awful monster like that. “But she’s our friend! Spike’s our friend! And I don’t wanna lose her!”

“Pinkie,” Rainbow groaned and rubbed the back of her neck, “I don’t think she was ever really—”

“Don’t say that!” Pinkie screamed, tears wetting her eyes even though she’d just gotten rid of them! “Do you really believe that?! Please, Rainbow, tell me honestly! Do you really believe that everything we had with Twilight was all just— all just some big lie?!”

Rainbow closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“I dunno.”

Not the answer Pinkie was looking for, and she felt herself deflate a little bit.

“But,” Rainbow added, giving Pinkie a little spark of hope that she was too scared to reach for, “I wanna find out the truth, the real truth, no matter what.

“There’s a buncha stuff that doesn’t add up, and I wanna know what’s going on.” Rainbow flashed a daring grin at Pinkie and held out her hand. “So what d’ya say? You wanna go with me? See if there’s still something left in the ashes of the library? Not literally, obviously, but y’know what I mean?”

“I do,” Pinkie beamed, happily taking Rainbow’s hand.

“Great!” Rainbow grinned ear to ear and nodded her head confidently, though her smile quickly turned nervous. “Granted, I got no idea where to start. Rarity says she doesn’t know where Twilight might’ve gone.”

“I know where she went,” Pinkie said seriously.

“You do?” Rainbow cocked her head. “How?”

“Cuz there’s only one place a dragon like her could go, if she needed to go into hiding,” Pinkie took a deep breath, forcing herself to face the ugly truth one more time. “She’d go to another dragon.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

98. Safe Inside the Forest

In a sheltered, snowy cave, hidden deep within the Everfree Forest, there rested… a noodle.

That’s what Fluttershy liked to think of herself as; the term ‘dragon’ didn’t feel right to her, since none of her kind liked her any more than the ponies did.

Well, at least until the queer little visitors to her wood came along, and now she almost felt like she could consider herself ‘friends’ with both a pony and a dragon. It was a surreal feeling to her, and one she wasn’t quite ready to accept.

The serpentine yellow dragon slithered out of her cave, her four paws digging into the snow and melting it with their touch. Once she was out of her cave and into the sun, she arched her back and spread her wings to their full glory, giving a contented sigh as she said ‘good morning’ to another beautiful day in her forest.

And yet, something didn’t feel quite right.

While there were a litany of small creatures around—birds, squirrels, spiders, raccoons, all sorts of things—none of them were basking in her morning reverence as they so often did. Fluttershy didn’t mind this, she always felt rather embarrassed when all the animals gave her their undivided attention, but she noticed them all looking in the same direction.

She felt it too, of course. There was someone in her forest, someone uninvited; or at least, that was her first assumption, but she chastised herself once she recognized the presence, for hadn’t she learned yet not to assume?

No, this presence had been invited, just not specifically. But Fluttershy did promise that Twilight Sparkle was welcome to return to her forest anytime. Fluttershy just hadn’t expected her so soon.

Though, while Fluttershy was not averse to having Twilight Sparkle return to her forest, she also saw no reason to greet the dragon either. She didn’t want to impose herself onto Twilight Sparkle, and while Fluttershy could admit—in her very deepest heart of hearts—that she wanted to be friends with Twilight Sparkle, she also didn’t entirely trust a dragon who hid amongst ponies like she was one of them.

So, Fluttershy elected to ignore Twilight Sparkle’s presence, and not concern herself either with the unknown presence who had come with her. If Twilight Sparkle wanted to talk to Fluttershy, she was certain that Twilight could find her.

That is, until she noticed something was off. First by the chattering of her animals friends, who spoke amongst each other, and even to Fluttershy, of a great bloodied beast falling into the forest. And then she smelled it, the putrid odor of fresh blood.

Fluttershy’s first instinct was to become angry, gritting her teeth and snarling at the rancid stench. If Twilight Sparkle had brought a battle to Fluttershy’s forest, then Twilight would wish whoever wounded her had finished the job.

But no, that wasn’t quite it, was it? Fluttershy sniffed at the air, and she felt the leaves, the snow, and the air inside her forest. The blood was only Twilight’s, and Fluttershy could tell that she was badly injured, and in great pain.

It didn’t matter then who Twilight Sparkle was or what relationship Fluttershy did or didn’t have with her; Fluttershy would never abandon an injured person in her forest.

She slunk through the trees, her elongated form making traversal through them— both on the ground and in their branches— a simple matter. It took no time at all to find the bloodied dragon lying in the red snow on a hill overlooking the forest.

What was curious however, was a tiny purple pegasus, no bigger than one of Fluttershy’s toes, pushing his little hands into the bloody gashes on the dragon’s face, as if he were prompting her to get up.

The little pegasus was screaming, but no creature was around to hear except for Fluttershy and her animals, and she wondered how he would react once he saw her approach.

It didn’t matter; Twilight Sparkle needed her help, and Fluttershy wasn’t about to turn her back.

Fluttershy jumped from a tree, and though her wings made for a gentle descent to the ground, as soon as she touched it the pegasus felt her presence, turning around with a shocked gasp and covering as much of his protectorate’s body as his tiny form was able to.

“Don’t come any closer!” the little creature shouted. “I’m warning you! I-I’ve got super powerful magic! I won’t hesit-t-tate to, t-to—”

“Don’t be afraid, little one,” Fluttershy said softly, kneeling to look the pony in the eye, forgoing the formality of transforming into one of his kind; he was not an enemy of Twilight Sparkle’s, Fluttershy knew that for certain, and he did not seem bothered by Twilight’s dragon form, so why should he be by Fluttershy’s? “I’m here to help. I’m a friend, of Twilight Sparkle.”

“Y-you are?” the little boy’s eyes, still shining with tears, held a glimmer of hope in them now. What had this poor child been through to look at Fluttershy with such a gaze? Fluttershy nodded, and the boy fell to his hands and knees, bowing his head into the cold snow. “Please help her! I don’t want her to die! Please!”

Fluttershy took another look at the bloodied dragon before her, lavender scales torn from her face, which was covered in a sea of blood, noxious rainbow fluid dripping from the poor girl’s mouth. But what struck Fluttershy the most was her size.

Fluttershy had an idea of what Twilight’s dragon form might be like, but seeing it for herself was another matter. While Fluttershy might have been taller if the two were standing on two legs next to each other, her tiny frame was dwarfed by Twilight Sparkle’s, and the magic aura, faint as it was due to what Fluttershy presumed to be exhaustion, made Fluttershy tremble.

She hadn’t seen it behind Twilight’s disguise, but Fluttershy got the distinct impression that Twilight could easily kill her if she wanted to, and Fluttershy wasn’t sure she wanted to know or deal with whatever could have hurt her like this.

But Twilight Sparkle came to the forest for help, and the forest would not deny her.

Fluttershy put her paw on Twilight’s brow, and instantly grimaced. Twilight was cold, and that was not good for a dragon. Fluttershy took a deep breath, and allowed the breath of the forest to flow through her, into her nose, and out through her paw as a pale green light that bathed the injuries of Twilight Sparkle.

“Is she gonna be okay?” the boy said hopefully, gently placing his hands onto Twilight Sparkle’s newly regenerated scales.

“I think so,” Fluttershy took another look at Twilight and frowned. Her injuries were still very bad, and while Fluttershy’s healing could probably patch her up, it couldn’t fix her. “But I need to take her back to my den,” before the boy could protest, Fluttershy smiled at him, “do you want to come?”

“Y-yes, please,” he said, bowing his head. “M-my name’s S-S-Spike, what’s y-yours?”

Fluttershy put her gentle wing around Spike, bathing him in her warmth that, judging from his trembling, he sorely needed.

“My name is Fluttershy,” she said calmly, “and I want you to know, that you are safe in my forest.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

99. Emotional Baggage Car

The train headed from Canterlot to Ponyville brought with it four very frazzled ponies, and while none of whom were excited for the trip; especially not Rainbow Dash, who huddled in the baggage car, using bundled up bushels of hay as a fortress against the outside world.

When Pinkie Pie had told Rarity where they needed to go, that Twilight almost definitely was hiding out with Fluttershy—because the Spirit of the Everfree was also a dragon—Rarity was pissed.

“How many more goddamn dragons have I met, that have just been hiding under my nose this entire time!?”

Rarity’s scream of frustration and heartache echoed in Rainbow’s ears, even as she hid in the cargo car of the train, trying to be alone.

Cuz she didn’t wanna cry in front of anyone else.

She sat in a ball, in the corner, surrounded by boxes and crates and bags and a bunch of other crap, and as much as she didn’t want to, as hard as she tried not to, she couldn’t stop the tears from coming. She sniffled and bit her lip, cuz if she was gonna cry, she was gonna do it as quietly as possible so nopony would hear it.

She wanted to scream. She wanted to just cry and scream and dig her nails into her head, because this whole thing was just so messed up. She couldn’t stop thinking of the first time she met Twilight, that first night she wandered into the library and how she felt when she left, having made the coolest new friend.

Twilight was never anything but kind to her, but she was a dragon. Rainbow couldn’t wrap her head around it; dragons weren’t nice to ponies, they freaking ate them! But Twilight was never anything but nice, and Spike was never anything but cool.

Rainbow loved both of them so much, and it sucked to wonder if all that had been for nothing, cuz Twilight was dangerous. She wondered if it was even possible to just ignore all her training as a Slayer, to just pretend like everything was still the way she wanted it to be, but she knew it was impossible.

She couldn’t trust Twilight now, not after this.

So she cried. Head cradled in her hands, snot running down her nose and drool falling out of her mouth cuz she just couldn’t hold anything back.

“Rainbow Dash?”

And with the delightful sound of Applejack’s voice, Rainbow remembered that things could always find a way to get worse.

“Hey, Applejack,” Rainbow looked up at Applejack and smiled weakly, “I was just tryna, like, get some space. Y’know what I mean? Clear my head a little bit.” She tried playing it cool, like her face wasn’t covered in snot, tears and spit.

“I hear ya,” Applejack smiled softly. “Mind if I sit next to ya? I could honestly use some space too, if you wouldn’t mind the company.”

Rainbow blinked away some tears and felt herself choke up. Rainbow looked and felt like wet garbage, yet Applejack didn’t mind—didn’t even seem to notice, or at least pretended not to. Rainbow nodded, and Applejack sat down beside her, and when Applejack put her arm around Rainbow’s shoulder, that’s when she started crying again.

She sniffed and choke and SNRRKed, trying not to look like such a loser in front of Applejack, but all Applejack did was pull Rainbow in closer and rub her arm. Rainbow had half a mind to ask Applejack what gave her the right to try and act so cool, but she couldn’t bring herself to say anything, cuz she just couldn’t stop crying.

Applejack leaned her head against Rainbow’s, and Rainbow took the opportunity to bury herself in Applejack’s chest, Applejack putting both arms around her and holding her tight while Rainbow cried, Applejack never saying anything about Rainbow being a loser, or a wimp, or any of that stuff.

She just held her.

“I don’t know what to do,” Rainbow said between sobs. “I hate dragons—no, I’m freaking terrified of them, Applejack!” Rainbow grabbed onto Applejack’s shirt, and Applejack kissed Rainbow gently on the head, reminding her that Applejack was there, and that she was safe.

“I don’t wanna lose one of my best friends,” Rainbow said. “Everything sucks and I don’t know what to do!”

Applejack didn’t say anything, but she hummed. She had a nice melody, and listening to her made Rainbow feel warm. She held Rainbow tight in her big, buff arms, rocking her gently, and it made Rainbow feel safe.

“Why are you being so nice to me?” Rainbow asked, and even she didn’t know why she did.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Applejack chuckled, tilting Rainbow’s chin up with her thumb and looking into Rainbow’s eyes with the brightest smile. “It’s cuz I love ya, sugarcube.”

Rainbow’s face twisted up as she tried to hold back more tears, but they came despite her efforts, and as her lip quivered she just nodded as much as she could, hoping that Applejack knew somehow that it meant Rainbow loved her too.

Judging from the tender kiss Applejack placed on Rainbow’s lips, she had a pretty good feeling that Applejack got the hint.

Author's Notes:

i always think writing angst is a good idea cuz i luv that Pathos(tm), but actually writing it is rly hard.. i just want everypony to be happy!!

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

100. Periwinkle Poundcake

Applejack stayed with Rainbow for a while—couple of hours, she reckoned—as Rainbow wore herself out and fell asleep in Applejack’s arms. Applejack was kinda starting to get sore, and her legs were falling asleep, but she wasn’t gonna budge and risk disturbing Rainbow for anything less than a dang hurricane.

Rainbow’s face was a mess of fluids, ruffled fur, dirt, and even some blood. But Applejack just thought she was beautiful all the same, and the peaceful smile on Rainbow’s face when she finally fell asleep, after god knows how many hours of being awake, was like heaven to Applejack.

Legs asleep and all, there was no place Applejack’d rather be than right there, taking care of her girl.

Something caught Applejack’s attention out the corner of her eye, and she almost laughed out loud when she saw Pinkie Pie’s tiny little face poking out from behind a crate, and she put her finger to her lips to signal Pinkie to be quiet.

“Hey, Applejack,” Pinkie whispered, cozying up next to Applejack, “how’s everything going?”

“Could be worse,” Applejack said, idly stroking Rainbow’s mane and delighting in her happy, sleepy purr. “What’re you up to, Pinkie? Where’s Rarity?”

“She wanted to be alone,” Pinkie said somberly, “I didn’t, so I came to find you.”

“I feel ya,” Applejack put her spare arm around Pinkie, who hummed contentedly as she got comfy right up next to Applejack. “If there’s anything you need, Pinkie, just tell me, okay?”

“I could say the same thing to you, Applejack,” Pinkie said, her head resting against Applejack’s side and making the whole train feel warmer and cozier just by being around. “You’re always trying to be strong for everpony, and take care of everypony, and that’s great! But you already took care of Rainbow, and Rarity. Let me take care of you, okay?”

“Um,” Applejack bit her lip. It didn’t quite feel right burdening anyone else with her troubles, but if Pinkie or Rarity or anypony else told her that, she’d tell ‘em off right quick, and it wasn’t even a wee bit fair to hold herself to a lower standard than she holds her friends.

“Alright, Pinkie,” Applejack sighed, “what’d you have in mind?”

“Hmmmmm,” Pinkie hummed thoughtfully, grinning like a cat and tapping her chin, and Applejack couldn’t help but laugh, “how ‘bout… I tell you a story?”

“Oh yeah?” Applejack smiled. “What kinda story?”

“Story of a super brave and amazing pony!” Pinkie whispered, so as not to wake Rainbow with her enthusiasm. “Her name is… Lemon… john. Lemonjohn!”

Applejack grinned ear to ear and chuckled. “Tell me ‘bout Lemonjohn, Pinkie Pie.”

“Okay, I’m gonna,” Pinkie bit her lip to hold back an excited giggle. “Once upon a time, there was a super cute and precious pony.”

“Is that Lemonjohn?” Applejack asked curiously, Pinkie’s story already taking a much different turn than Applejack expected.

“No, silly,” Pinkie scoffed. “This pony was an innocent damsel in distress type, not like super cool Lemonjohn at all. Her name was… Periwinkle Poundcake.”

“I like her already,” Applejack smiled, rubbing Pinkie’s arm, “she sounds sweet.”

“Cuz her name is a sweet thing, I get it,” Pinkie winked, and Applejack nodded with a big grin; definitely not what she meant, but she wasn’t gonna say no to Pinkie’s smile. “Anyhoo, Periwinkle Poundcake lived in a little village with her grand… aunt, but a vicious dra—uh, a monster of some kind, it’s ambiguous, attacked her village!”

Pinkie gasped dramatically and tried to do her best impression of scared villagers, “Oh no, not an ambiguous monster! Oh dear!

“Anyhoo again, the monster was going berserk and ransacking the town, but Lemonjohn didn’t hesitate to jump into the fray, fighting the beast off with her partner, uh, Diamondbutt, and saving villagers left and right!”

That wasn’t how Applejack remembered it; she recalled a lot more screams of terror and pleas for help that went unanswered, and she was starting to wonder if Pinkie’s quote-unquote ‘fictional’ story was such a good idea.

“Periwinkle Poundcake’s house was attacked by the monster,” Pinkie continued, “and it collapsed on top of her. She thought for sure the end was coming, and that her frantic pleas wouldn’t be heard by anypony, but she still cried for help until her voice was sore. And then—”

Pinkie bit her thumbnail and tears welled up in her eyes. She looked up at Applejack and smiled so brightly and so sweetly, and Applejack smiled back and rubbed her arm, delighting in Pinkie nuzzling her head against Applejack’s side.

“Somepony came to help Periwinkle,” Pinkie said, “moved the burning logs and crushed beams that fell on top of her, pushed all the rubble and ruin aside, and finally stood over her, the moonlight pouring down on her like heaven’s light, and she offered Periwinkle her hand.

“’I’m Lemonjohn’, the pony said, ‘and I’m gonna take care of you. Everything’s gonna be okay.’ Periwinkle took Lemonjohn’s hand, and even though she was still super hurt from the attack and from the house collapsing on her, as Lemonjohn picked her up and carried her to safety, Periwinkle knew right away that Lemonjohn was totally right, and that everything would be okay.”

“And how does the story end?” Applejack asked.

“Well, I dunno,” Pinkie giggled and put her hand on Applejack’s thigh. “But I do know this,” she looked up at Applejack with sparkling eyes, “it’s gonna have a happy ending.”

Applejack smiled and took Pinkie’s hand, and as Pinkie hummed in delight, and Rainbow purred as she sleepily nudged Applejack’s side, Applejack knew Pinkie was right. She always was, after all.

Author's Notes:

100 chapters?? heck!!

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

101. The Librarian's Family

The first thing Twilight noticed was the smell of a burning fire, and she panicked because she thought the library was burning. She bolted up and instantly regretted it as her vision blurred and the world spun around her, her stomach reacting violently to the sudden movement.

As her head fell back down onto the ground with a massive thud, she remembered she wasn’t in her pony disguise anymore, nor was she in the library, and everything started to come back to her.

Rarity.

The last thing that Twilight wanted to spend her time thinking about now was Rarity. It was almost funny, how Twilight spent her whole painful flight into the mountains thanking her luck that Rarity wasn’t in the library, that she was halfway across Equestria instead, and there was no way she could have seen Twilight’s transformation.

Twilight remembered falling to the ground at the foot of the mountains, and though she wasn’t safe yet, she let herself believe that everything would be okay, that she’d somehow make it to the mountains to recover her strength, and all she would have to lose would be the library.

But of course that’s not how it went. Of course Rarity would find her, and of course she would attack. Twilight didn’t begrudge Rarity attacking her, she knew that there was no other recourse Rarity could have realistically taken. But the mental image of Rarity charging at her, sword drawn and screaming with anger… it wasn’t something that would be easily shaken.

Twilight tried to focus on what was in front of her though. Even though she wasn’t in the library, if there was a fire nearby, that couldn’t have been good, right?

She opened her eyes and found the source of the smell; a cooking fire, where Spike was roasting some fresh vegetables, a little menagerie of animals like rabbits and squirrels watching him warily, but he didn’t seem to mind their presence.

Twilight smiled, seeing that her son was safe and sound. She dreaded having to talk to him about what happened at the library, she hated that he had to see her not only in her forced transformation, but bleeding half to death as well.

Then Twilight remembered the extent of her injuries, and while she felt very sore, she didn’t feel like she was dying anymore. She also didn’t feel the heart pains of magic exhaustion, though she also didn’t feel rested enough to test her luck with magic yet either.

Someone must have taken care of Twilight while she was unconscious, and if Twilight was still in her dragon form, there was only one person who would’ve done that, which let Twilight breathe a sigh of relief, because even in her delirious, exhausted, half-dead state, she still managed to get Spike to safety and reach their destination.

The only question now was ‘where is Fluttershy?’, but that question didn’t require much searching as Twilight scanned the cave and found a curled-up dragon resting by Spike’s fire, eyes nearly fully closed, but fluttering open every so often.

“Spike,” Twilight groaned.

Before she could continue, Spike spun around and ran over to her, hugging her muzzle and nuzzling her.

“You’re awake!” he said, tears wetting his eyes. “I’m so glad you’re okay, I was super worried about you!”

“I’m sorry,” Twilight said, nuzzling Spike in return, her body still too heavy to move a paw or a wing around him. “I’m so sorry.” Twilight didn’t know what else she could say other than that, over and over again.

“Don’t apologize, Twilight!” Spike huffed, trying to look brave even through his tears. “Please, don’t apologize.”

“Okay,” Twilight sobbed, massive tears running down her cheeks. “Spike, I promise, I’m gonna fix this. Somehow. I’m gonna fix it.”

Spike looked up at Twilight with a bitter scowl on his face, and she worried that she’d said something wrong, but before she could ask, Fluttershy interjected.

“I think the two of you should get some sleep,” she said. “Spike’s been up all night worried about you, and now that we know that you’re going to make it through, I think both of you could use a little rest.”

“She’s right, Spike,” Twilight said weakly. “Do you wanna get some sleep?”

“I’m not tired!” Spike yawned, and Twilight held back a laugh at seeing him trying in vain to keep his eyes open.

“C’mon, big cat,” Twilight forced herself to move so that Spike could curl up with her like he used to, and he nestled himself against her side, using a wing and her tail as cover, “let’s get some rest.”

By the time morning came, Spike was still sleeping but Twilight had barely rested at all. She managed to worm her way out from under him without disturbing him, and returned to the hill near the forest, where the snow was still stained by her blood.

As if she needed it, seeing her blood on the snow was just more proof to Twilight that what had happened last night wasn’t some horrible nightmare. That this was her reality now, and she had to face it.

“How are you feeling?” Fluttershy asked as she gently flew behind Twilight.

Twilight turned to look at Fluttershy and found herself smiling; seeing Fluttershy in her true form filled Twilight with a strange sense of peace. Her serpentine body and enormous, feathery wings were beautiful, and she moved with a sense of grace that warmed Twilight’s heart. Or perhaps Twilight was just happy to still have someone who she could talk to, and that was causing her to overdramatize.

“I’ve been… better,” Twilight mumbled. “Thank you, for taking care of me. You didn’t have to do that.”

“That’s an odd way to put it,” Fluttershy landed delicately on the ground, careful not to disturb the nearby animals, and cocked her head. “You speak as if taking care of an injured friend is some kind of burden.”

Twilight’s cheeks flushed and she turned her head away from Fluttershy. That’s exactly how Twilight thought of it, to be honest. If it hadn’t been for Spike, if he hadn’t been with her that night, Twilight would never have come to Fluttershy. She would have probably just let Rarity kill her if that’s what Rarity really wanted, but she certainly wouldn’t have travelled all the way to the forest for help.

She would have just lied wherever she ended up, and whatever happened to her could happen, and she wouldn’t fight it.

But Spike was there, and Twilight wasn’t going to leave him without a mother.

“Thank you, again,” Twilight turned to Fluttershy and nodded her head, trying to act confident. “I appreciate your help, and if there’s any way I can return the fa—”

“No, Twilight Sparkle,” Fluttershy held up her paw and shook her head, “I don’t want you to consider yourself indebted to me, that will only make me feel stressed. Can we just say I did a nice thing for a friend, and call it even?”

Twilight smiled bashfully and held out her paw, “I guess we can.”

Fluttershy smiled back and put her paw on Twilight’s, and for a moment Twilight was able to find some inner peace, like she could see the light at the end of the tunnel. But she still had to finish walking through that tunnel.

“I guess you were right,” Twilight hummed, looking out at the horizon. The hill by the forest also overlooked the nearby town of Ponyville, and Twilight could see the railway that led to the place she used to consider her home. “There was no use trying to hide who I was. It was always going to catch up to me eventually, wasn’t it?”

“I’m sorry, Twilight,” Fluttershy sat beside Twilight, covering Twilight’s back with a spread wing. “I know how it feels to lose a home, to lose family, and I wish there was anything I could do to ease that pain.”

“Are you kidding?” Twilight chuckled, and Fluttershy looked at her confusedly. “Fluttershy, you not only healed my injuries and saved my life, but you looked after my son when I couldn’t. If you’re not going to accept my debt, then I at least don’t want to hear you selling yourself short.”

“That’s fair,” Fluttershy giggled, a paw up to her mouth.

Fluttershy sighed, and Twilight groaned under her breath. It was nice to have someone to talk to, but Twilight couldn’t avoid the inevitable forever, especially as she saw the train rolling toward Ponyville, and got a very sharp feeling in her gut.

Her horns faintly glowed with a raspberry aura as Twilight confirmed her instinct, and she grit her teeth.

“That train,” Fluttershy said quietly, almost cautiously, “it’s carrying—”

“My family,” Twilight said instinctively, but that wasn’t quite right anymore, was it? “Or at least—” but what could she call them other than that? Twilight drew herself up and sighed. “No more hiding,” she turned to Fluttershy. “I won’t let them bring danger to your forest.”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Fluttershy hesitated, biting down on her lip for a second before exhaling sharply and giving a determined nod, “I trust you.”

Author's Notes:

oh hey just a head's up! after this story arc wraps at chapter 110, i'm gonna be taking a break for a couple weeks to recharge my buffer and such!

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

102. Wow Everything Sucks and Only Seems to Keep Getting Worse

Rarity was staring out the window of the train, not even really watching the scenery as much as she was just completely tuning out the world around her. Rainbow had been gone for a little bit now—Rainbow had said where she was going, but Rarity wasn’t listening—and Applejack had just gotten up to go check on her, leaving Rarity and Pinkie alone in the cabin.

It was hard not to think of Twilight, and even harder to think of anything else. Twilight wasn’t just a friend to Rarity; as pathetic as it felt to admit it, Rarity almost thought of her as family. They saw each other almost every single day for months, and Rarity felt more kinship to her than to any other pony she’d ever met.

Rarity scoffed as that thought crossed her mind. ‘Other’ pony, as if Twilight herself was indeed a pony. But she wasn’t; she was a monster. A snarling beast of fang and flame that lived for nothing else than the destruction of weaker species.

Right, because that certainly sounded like Twilight.

It bugged Rarity to no end, trying to wrap her head around why Twilight was so kind, and so friendly, and so docile, why she hadn't ever tried to attack anyone, and didn’t fight back when Rarity tried to kill her.

That last part was the thing that confused Twilight most. Twilight’s attitude could simply be chalked up to her not being a very good dragon. Maybe she was too cautious, and was waiting for the ‘perfect moment’ to strike, and it just never came, but in that case why didn’t she fight back?

The more Rarity thought about it, the sicker she felt. And eventually, she realized there was one other question she had neglected to ask, but just like everything else, no answer was in sight.

Why did Twilight burn down the library?

“Maybe we don’t have to kill her,” Pinkie’s voice suddenly interrupting Rarity’s thoughts caused the unicorn to crease her brow and glare at Pinkie, who tried to cover herself with her mane to hide from Rarity’s intense stare.

Rarity sighed and ran a hand through her mane. She recognized the smile on Pinkie’s face, the almost too manic smile of someone trying to act okay—poorly. Pinkie Pie didn’t need the added stress of a lecture or rant from Rarity, but her question still grinded against Rarity’s last nerve too much to be simply ignored.

“Then what would we tell Queen Celestia?” Rarity asked flatly, resting her chin on her palm and staring out the window.

“I—I dunno,” Pinkie sniffled, holding her body and trembling. Rarity was almost irritated by how easily her emotions were swayed by a sad Pinkie Pie, because now she felt guilty and miserable.

Rarity got on her knees on the floor of the cabin, looking up at Pinkie Pie and putting her hand on Pinkie’s knee.

“I will promise you this,” Rarity said hesitantly, knowing how seriously Pinkie took her promises and how outlandish Rarity’s promise was about to be, “if there is a non-violent solution to this whole mess, I will take it in a heartbeat. But I need you to understand that there simply may not be one.”

“Pinkie Promise?”

Rarity forced a smile that hid her gritted teeth as Pinkie uttered the two words Rarity was dreading. A regular promise, Rarity might have been able to talk her way out of, but she worried that Pinkie would quite literally never forgive her for breaking a Pinkie Promise.

And yet, Rarity found her smile becoming softer. Her promise was outlandish, but it wasn’t unreasonable, was it?

Rarity supposed the real question was this: did she want to kill Twilight Sparkle? If she did, she could not agree to Pinkie’s promise, but if she didn’t, then…

“Cross my heart,” Rarity said softly, closing her eyes and letting a genuine smile creep upon her lips ever so briefly, “and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. I Pinkie Promise.”

“Yay!” Pinkie cheered and catapulted into Rarity’s arms, knocking her on her back. Rarity allowed herself a laugh as she held onto Pinkie, remembering for just a moment what actual joy felt like.

“Darling?” Rarity said gently, and Pinkie looked at her concernedly, worried for more bad news. “I need a few moments alone, are you going to be alright?”

“Yeah,” Pinkie nodded, smiling brightly. “I’ll go check on Applejack and Rainbow Dash, you do what you need to, okay?”

Rarity stood to her hooves, helping Pinkie off the ground as well, and headed out the cabin, but Pinkie had one more thing to say.

“Just be safe, okay?”

Rarity hated that Pinkie had to ask her that, and hated even more that Rarity needed to hear it. She hated nothing more than to feel like a burden on her friends, and to know that her idiotic behavior caused them to worry was—

Rarity flashed a dazzling smile and nodded, grateful for the relief that washed over Pinkie’s face.

A disgusted groan escaped Rarity’s lips as she looked at the utterly distraught mess of a mare that stared back at her from the bathroom mirror. She was thankful the bathroom was empty so that nopony could see what a spectacular disgrace Rarity’s fur, hair, and makeup situation was.

And her clothes, ugh. How could she go to sleep in her clothes, and furthermore not change into a new outfit once she woke up? She was grieving, certainly, but that was no excuse for barbarism!

Her makeup would have to wait one more moment, however, because there was something more pertinent that Rarity had been putting off, and she certainly couldn’t do it after fixing her makeup.

Rarity took a few deep breaths, trying to clear her mind as much as possible; trying to shed the chains of anxiety that bound her, the shackles of pride that made her body unwilling to follow her natural instincts.

Rarity needed to cry. It had been too long.

And yet, no tears were coming.

Rarity’s usually pretty face twisted into an ugly scowl. She had half a mind to punch the pony in the mirror, but that was far too uncouth, even in her fragile emotional state.

Hmph, Rarity grimaced, ‘fragile emotional state’ indeed. Not fragile enough to cry, obviously!

Then again, perhaps she was simply taking the wrong tact. Every one of Rarity’s thoughts since… ‘the incident’, had been laced with bitterness, anger, betrayal. She was furious, and that wasn’t much of a crying emotion.

She was sad… wasn’t she?

To be truthful, Rarity realized in that moment that she hadn't quite thought about it. She mostly was angry, and at what? At Twilight, for lying? Oh, certainly, but that… that was nothing. Rarity understood why Twilight had to lie, and though she was frustrated with having been lied to, in the end that wasn’t cause for all this anger.

She was angry at herself, for becoming so attached to Twilight that it felt like half of her world had been ripped asunder by what happened to her librarian. She hated the idea that she needed anypony—rather, anyone— that much.

So she took a breath, and tried to remember why.

And as she recalled Twilight’s flustered reaction to Rarity’s flirting on the day they met, Rarity felt a single shadow of a tear. As she thought about zoning out during Twilight’s lecture on cragadiles because the librarian was just too damn cute, Rarity found herself clutching the sink in order to keep from falling on her trembling legs.

As she remembered taking Spike out for ice cream, and the two of them making fun of and with Twilight while she nervously skittered about, so uncomfortable to be away from her library, Rarity held her face in her hands.

Memory after memory flooded Rarity’s mind, of all the joy she had in the Golden Oaks Library, and how now it had all been rendered unto nothing. It was all a lie, at the end of the day.

And yet, when Rarity realized that even regardless, she wouldn’t have traded those memories for anything in the world, that is when the tears fell.

She could accept the rage brewing in her heart— she told herself as she fell to her knees and sobbed— because Twilight’s smile brightened up a room.

She could accept the despair at having her life destroyed— she insisted as she nearly pulled her hair out while she wept, barely restrained screams of sorrow leaving her lips— because Twilight’s voice was like a song that filled her with strength.

And she could accept whatever came next, whether it be death by dragonfire, or the blood of a violet temptress staining her blade— she resolved as she gripped the bathroom sink and pulled herself back up to look in the mirror, smiling at the distraught mare with black tear streaks streaming down her face— because at the end of the day, she still loved Twilight Sparkle, just as much as she hated her.

The piercing whistle of the train as it approached Ponyville station also brought a smile to Rarity’s lips. Her makeup was even more horrid now than when she walked into the bathroom, but it was nothing she couldn’t fix; she excelled under pressure and was determined to look her absolute best before she walked off that train.

After all, she had a very important date.

As Rarity departed the bathroom, she quickly ran into the others and instinctively reached for poor Rainbow’s mane; the sleepy pegasus looked more a mess than she had and, judging by the look of her clothing, likely tried to hide how bad she looked by wiping her face with her shirt.

“You alright?” Rarity said, and Rainbow nodded and gave a yawn.

“She’ll be fine,” Applejack put her arm around Rainbow and pulled her close, Rainbow smiling as she leaned against Applejack. “I’ve got her, after all.”

“I’m sure you’ll take wonderful care of her,” Rarity beamed.

“Hey, nopony needs to ‘take care of’ me,” Rainbow said groggily, “I’m all can take care of by myself.”

“You wanna lift, sugarcube?” Applejack asked, and Rainbow didn’t even answer before climbing onto Applejack’s back, resting her head against Applejack’s and promptly falling asleep.

“You look good, Rarity!” Pinkie cheered as the party headed for the front of the train.

“I try my best,” Rarity smiled grandly, flicking her mane.

The girls departed the train, Rarity holding her head high as she walked onto the platform, breathing in the bustling atmosphere of the busy Ponyville station, which put the perpetually empty Moon District one to shame.

She felt okay. No, for the first time in an age, she felt good.

Until she locked eyes with a lavender mare sitting on a bench on the platform, and her stomach dropped.

“Hello, Rarity.”

“Hello,” Rarity said, taking a cautious step forward, “Twilight Sparkle.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

103. Travel or Blood

Twilight sat at the train station waiting for the nearby train to roll in. She was trying to keep her breathing under control, but that was kinda hard to do when she knew any number of ponies who probably wanted her dead were going to be walking off that train.

It was only after leaving Fluttershy’s forest that Twilight considered the possibility that Rarity had contacted Celestia, and Twilight would not only have to deal with the Hunter Queen of Equestria herself, or her armies, but that she would have brought them to Fluttershy’s forest as well.

‘Relief’ could not aptly describe the sensation that washed over Twilight when no armed soldiers departed the train, though this positivity was short lived when she saw the ice-cold glare of a pony who—

“Hello, Rarity,” was all Twilight could think to say, a storm of anxiety roiled with guilt and shame tearing a hole inside her stomach.

“Hello,” Rarity said flatly, “Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight’s entire little ‘family’ had gathered behind Rarity, and Twilight almost wanted to laugh at seeing Rainbow asleep on Applejack’s back. Twilight remembered how happy she was when the two had told her they were finally seeing each other, and how proud she felt that it happened in her library, and now thinking of that memory filled Twilight with nothing but sadness and regret.

Twilight hated the lying; every day that went by in her library, she found herself wishing there was some way to tell her friends what she really was without them turning on her. She even studied it, reading up on ancient dragon and pony relationships and history, but she never found anything that would alleviate the fear and hatred those four ponies would have for her when they found out.

Rarity took a few threatening steps toward Twilight, who considered for half a second just teleporting away, but the strain on her magic would leave her with a resounding headache—at best— that she didn’t need right now. She was already weakened enough from having conjured temporary clothing, considering her last outfit didn’t exactly survive her transformation.

Applejack grabbed Rarity’s arm and muttered something to her, but Twilight couldn’t hear, though she could see both Pinkie’s confident nod of affirmation, and Rarity’s beautiful smile that she replied with. She missed Rarity’s smile. She missed Rarity in a general sense, but seeing her smile made Twilight ache.

The smile vanished the instant Rarity turned back toward Twilight and approached her, Twilight slowly standing to her feet and taking a deep breath as she prepared for what was either going to be the most difficult conversation of her life, or a simple execution.

“What are you doing here?” Rarity asked coldly, her fingers tapping on the hilt of her axe.

“There’s a lot of ponies around here,” Twilight said anxiously, though she attempted to sound as if she were in control, “someone might get hurt if a dragon suddenly shows up, so I figured—”

“Is that a threat?” Rarity sneered.

“N-no!” Twilight gasped. “But I know that the four of you want to kill me—”

“I don’t!” Pinkie chimed in, though her voice was cracking and she was visibly trembling as she hid behind Applejack’s leg.

“Thank you, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight smiled at her and it hurt that it seemed to have no effect on Pinkie’s fear. Twilight cleared her throat. “I only want to talk, and I figured that doing so in a public space, where there would be less incentive for either of us to start a fight, would be a good idea.”

“So, Twi,” Applejack chimed in, walking a little bit closer, but not so close that Rainbow or Pinkie would be ‘unsafe’, “what’re you even doin’ here in Equestria? Why settle down in Canterlot of all places?”

“I’m looking for Azure Edge,” Twilight admitted. She had nothing to lose by being honest now, but there was a certain joy she felt in knowing that Azure Edge was a secret thing that only she and Rarity shared, and the pained scowl on Rarity’s face was a painful confirmation that Rarity still remembered.

“Uh-huh,” Applejack nodded, “yeah, I ain’t got any idea what that is.”

“It doesn’t matter,” Rarity said coldly, “it doesn’t exist.”

“Right,” Twilight muttered, hanging her head.

“So what are you doing here, then?” Rarity asked, arms crossed. Even though she was shorter than Twilight by a couple inches, Twilight still felt so, so small next to her. “Why so keen on talking to us, when you know that we have to kill you?”

“Rari—”

Pinkie tried to protest, but Applejack quickly put a hand on Pinkie’s shoulder and shook her head, Pinkie biting her lip closed in response.

Rarity had turned to look at them, but then turned back to Twilight with an impatient arched eyebrow.

“I want you four to accompany me to the Crystal Empire,” Twilight said, trying to sound confident but feeling instead like all of her innards were about to fall out her stomach.

“Are you daft?!” Rarity cackled, and she clenched her fist so hard Twilight was certain she was about to throw a punch. “How dare you? How dare you have the gall to ask a favor now, after everything you’ve done?!”

“It’s not a favor,” Twilight said sternly, empowered by a sudden burst of frustration and anger— not at Rarity, but at this whole mess, and specifically at what awaited her in the Crystal Empire. “Believe me, there’s almost no place I’d rather go than there, but—” Twilight hesitated, but she quickly drew herself up and looked Rarity in the eyes.

“But I want you to know the truth,” Twilight said clearly and boldly, “about me, about my kind, about what we are and what we can be. And to do that, I think you need to meet my brother.”

“Oh, good!” Rarity cackled. “More dragons! Just what I always wanted! You’re such a keen gift giver, Twilight!”

“Rarity,” Applejack muttered in Rarity’s ear, and Rarity and Twilight both looked around at the crowded Ponyville station, and at the several ponies whose eyes were now locked on Rarity.

“WHAT,” Rarity said flatly, loud enough for every pony to hear and glaring at them to boot, and that seemed to be enough to diver those ponies’ attention.

“Anyway,” Twilight cleared her throat, and decided to keep her voice to a whisper from now on. “My brother has been trying to foster friendship between ponies and dragons in the Crystal Empire, and from what I gather, he’s obtained some amount of success. Dragons live there already, unhidden and in harmony with the ponies who rule there.”

“Then how come you didn’t settle up north?” Applejack asked skeptically.

“Me and my brother,” Twilight groaned, “don’t see eye to eye. “B-but that doesn’t matter! This is more important to me, and if anyone can help you all see the truth of how dragons can be, that we honestly don’t want to harm anyone and just want to live in harmony like everyone else, it would be my brother! So please,” Twilight bowed her head, “come to the Crystal Empire with me, and let’s see him and the friendships he’s built together.”

No response.

Twilight rose her head and everyone was looking at her, but no one had anything to say.

Twilight took a deep breath, trying to shake off the shame and desperation she felt. She had no more cards left to play, and she already knew this was a desperate gambit. If this was to be her last stand, then so be it.

“Come to the Everfree Forest,” Twilight said, “when you’ve made up your minds one way or the other. I’ll be waiting, and we can finish this, with travel or with blood.” Twilight clenched her fists and— even as tears wetted her eyes— looked dead-on at the ponies who had come to see her, who she once considered family. “But I want you all to know, that I will not leave my son without a mother.

“Rarity,” Twilight looked straight into Rarity’s eyes, and now the pony was the one who looked intimidated, “I didn’t fight back against you last night because I desperately wanted to believe that you wouldn’t hurt me. I was wrong. The last thing I want is to hurt any of you, but if you come into the forest looking for a fight, I won’t back down.”

“I understand,” Rarity said simply, and Twilight nodded.

“I look forward to seeing you again,” Twilight bowed her head once more, and with a flash of light and a crack of magic, she was gone.

Author's Notes:

i've used the word blood in alot of these chapter titles, but i guess it's fitting since that's just my Aesthetic(tm)

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

104. The Most Dimwitted, Pigheaded Pony in the World

Rarity was furious that Twilight would just disappear into thin air like she did. Rarity wanted to chase the dragon down, to yell at her and scream and ask her so many question—no, demand so many answers from her, but she knew all of that would be meaningless, empty gestures.

Nothing Rarity could say or do could change the fact that, even now, even after she let her rage guide her through her conversation with Twilight, she still loved that monster.

“So,” Applejack said heavily, “what do y’all wanna do?”

“We gotta go to the Crystal Empire!” Pinkie said immediately, pumping her fists.

“Pinkie, are you serious?” Rarity asked incredulously. “How are you not afraid of her?”

“I am afraid of her,” Pinkie admitted, hanging her head like she was ashamed of herself, “but she’s also my— she’s my friend. And I care about her still. Even if she is a big and scary monster—” Pinkie scowled and looked like she was fighting back tears, so Rarity knelt and put her arm around Pinkie. “I miss Fluttershy, and I know she’s a dragon too.”

“That’s right,” Rarity whispered, and it dawned on her that Twilight disappeared into the forest. Could Rarity honestly do battle with two dragons, with only Applejack and Rainbow Dash for support? That was Twilight’s plan all along, wasn’t it?

There was always Celestia though.

Rarity shook her head and inhaled sharply.

“You still want to see Fluttershy?” Rarity asked, Pinkie nodding so effusively it made Rarity smile as she stood back up. “What are your thoughts, Applejack?”

“Obviously I don’t wanna take a trip all the way to the Crystal Empire,” Applejack grumbled, “especially not with Pinkie; it’s dangerous!” Rarity was waiting for Applejack to lament the lost business it would mean for the smithery, but that never seemed to cross Applejack’s mind. “Still though…

“I said I wanted to find out the truth, and I meant it. Apples ain’t liars, and we don’t go back on our word. Could I live with myself if I didn’t see this whole thing through to the end? I don’t think I could, but I also know I couldn’t live with myself if anything happened to you, or to Pinkie, or to Rainbow Dash on my watch.”

“Hey, I can take care of myself!” Pinkie insisted. “I have been training like my whole life to be… a Slayer.” Pinkie’s melancholy tone was a far cry from the enthusiasm she spoke with before, and it brought a painful pang to Rarity’s heart.

“What about you, Rare?” Applejack asked, and now Rarity suddenly felt very nervous.

“I, uhm,” she cleared her throat and laughed awkwardly, “honestly, shouldn’t we wait for Rainbow Dash to wake up? We do have to explain everything to her and—”

“Nah, I’ve been awake the whole time,” Rainbow said, her eyes darting open as she slumped off of Applejack’s back and onto the platform.

“Why you been pretendin’ to be asleep?” Applejack asked teasingly. “Just like bein’ close to me that much?”

Rainbow chuckled but didn’t actually respond. She looked at Rarity and cocked her head. “C’mere, Rarity. I wanna talk to you real quick.”

Rarity followed Rainbow Dash outside the train station to a little pocket nestled away from their friends or the general crowds of Ponyville, and as Rarity prepared for whatever Rainbow needed to speak to her about, she took stock of Rainbow’s appearance and felt a mountain fall on her shoulders.

Rainbow’s fur was a mess of dried spit and mucus, her eyes were still red from crying, and there were nearly pitch-black bags underneath her eyes. She was wearing her usual confident grin, but even that felt like it was merely plastered onto her face by habit and not by choice.

“I’m sorry, Rainbow,” Rarity said helplessly, though Rainbow just cocked her head.

“Why’re you sorry?”

“This must be a lot for you too,” Rarity couldn’t bear to look Rainbow in the eye as she made her guilt-soaked apology, “Twilight was your friend too, and I know you’re terrified of dragons. You’re my partner, and I should have been there for you to help you get through this, and I wasn’t. And I’m sorry.”

Rainbow looked nervous. She blinked a few times and rubbed the back of her neck, a light groan escaping her lips as her eyes darted away from Rarity.

“Ehhh, don’t, uh, don’t beat yourself up, Rarity,” Rainbow sighed and ran a hand through her mane. “Maybe in a better time or place, you could’ve been there for me, but then again, I could’ve been there for you too, and I wasn’t either. So I think it’s a wash.” Rainbow smiled and held out her hand. “So what d’ya say? Call it even, no hard feelings?”

“Sounds good to me, darling,” Rarity took Rainbow’s hand and returned her smile, feeling that mountain gently slide off her back.

“Okay, with that out of the way,” Rainbow cleared her throat, and Rarity gave a tiny giggle at how quickly Rainbow brushed all the sentimental stuff aside, “tell me honestly, Rarity, what are you thinking? About Twilight’s offer?”

Rarity blanched. She took a step back and felt a little dizzy, but Rainbow grabbed her arm and that brought her back to earth.

She felt… embarrassed. That was the most prominent thing Rarity was feeling; she was embarrassed that she still had feelings for the dragon, that she wasn’t clearheaded enough to make decisions quickly, that people who she cared about were counting on her and she didn’t know what to do.

She took a deep breath and, just as Celestia had taught her to do in situations like this, she followed her instincts.

“I… agree with Applejack,” Rarity said, every word tugging at her heart and having to be dragged painfully out of her mouth. “I don’t know if I could live with myself if I let this go without knowing, for certain, what the truth was. There are so many things about this situation that just don’t make sense, and I—”

Rarity sighed, though it quickly turned from a nervous exhale to a distressed groan of pure, distilled anguish.

“Rainbow Dash, tell me honestly,” Rarity hung her head and played idly with the curls of her hair, her back turned toward Rainbow, “does it make me the most dimwitted, pigheaded pony in the world, that I still have feelings for her? That my heart skipped a beat, seeing her at the train station? That I want nothing more than to just put this whole ugly mess behind us and go back to the way things were?”

“Nah,” Rainbow responded immediately, and Rarity snorted from how quickly her response came. “Honestly, Rarity, that’s the most normal you’ve ever sounded to me.”

Rarity laughed, and wiped tears from her eyes. “I suppose you’re right.”

She almost gasped as she felt Rainbow’s wings wrap around her, quickly followed by Rainbow’s arms as she put her head on Rarity’s shoulder. Rarity took Rainbow’s hand and let her tears fall uncontested, and it felt… comforting, in a way, to be able to cry again.

Rarity heard a weak exhale from behind her, and turned her head to see that Rainbow was fighting back tears of her own, so Rarity turned around and embraced Rainbow in a tender hug, the two mares holding each other tight while they wept for the lives they had to move on from.

“I guess that settles it,” Rarity laughed, wiping tears not only from her own eyes, but from Rainbow’s cheeks as well, “we need to go to the Crystal Empire.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

105. The Child Without a Family

Twilight’s teleportation spell landed her back on the hill she first arrived on, and her nose curled up at seeing her blood still staining the snow. Wouldn’t kill the sky to drop some fresh snow or something. Or maybe Fluttershy could just melt it? Or maybe Twilight was just seeing things cuz she hadn't slept? Who knows, who cares.

The next order of business was to shed Twilight’s pony skin, though she was loath to do it. She’d gotten used to dressing as a pony, and the last several months of her life, where she’d spent it as a pony almost every single day, had been the best time of her entire life. She didn’t want to abandon what was starting to feel more and more like her ‘real’ skin.

But those days were over, and the disguise had to go. ‘No more hiding’ was her new mantra, after all.

Her horn flared up with magic and split in two, starry wings outstretched from her back, and violet flame torched her fur, covering every inch of her body until she was born anew in the form of a dragon; it was a much more painless transformation than the forced one from before, but it still brought with it a sense of guilt and disgust, not helped by the nausea she felt from using her magic, since she was still recovering from her exhaustion.

Twilight crawled through Fluttershy’s forest back into her cave—well, no; she supposed ‘crawling’ wasn’t quite accurate, she was just walking on all fours, but after having spent so much time as a pony, it felt like crawling.

Spike was awake and rushed to hug Twilight’s muzzle as soon as she entered the cave, and she nuzzled him affectionately in return, sighing contentedly that at least he was safe, despite everything else going wrong.

Fluttershy was curled up in the corner of the cave, though she was looking at Twilight expectantly.

“I talked to them,” Twilight said, and Spike gasped, his hands over his mouth.

“How did it go?” he asked.

“Don’t know,” Twilight sighed, “won’t until they get here.”

Fluttershy took a deep breath and sighed, frowning as she rested her head limply on the ground. Twilight knew Fluttershy wasn’t keen on Twilight’s plan—neither was Twilight, for that matter—but Twilight was over the moon grateful that Fluttershy agreed to be a part of it; after all, Rarity’s group would have a difficult time saying ‘no’ to two dragons.

Unless of course Celestia got involved, and it burned up Twilight’s nerves that every single element of her plan relied on her presumption that Rarity would want to deal with Twilight herself and not get Celestia involved, but if she was wrong—

“I couldn’t sleep while you were gone,” Spike yawned, and Twilight took the opportunity to nuzzle her little bug and escape from the torturous thought train she was on.

“I’ll hum you a lullaby,” Twilight whispered fondly. She was glad that Spike was falling asleep too; she desperately didn’t want Spike to be around for Twilight and Fluttershy’s confrontation with Rarity’s group. He didn’t deserve to be put through that kind of stress.

Twilight coiled up and Spike snuggled up into her embrace, using her tail and wing for cover as Twilight hummed his favorite melody. The peace and comfort she felt as she heard his light snoring was almost enough for her to feel like going to sleep herself, but the intense stare of Fluttershy alarmed her.

“What?” Twilight asked, and Fluttershy covered her face with a wing.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare,” she said bashfully.

“It’s okay,” Twilight said, “what’s on your mind?”

“It’s just,” Fluttershy muttered, “he really loves you a lot.”

“I should hope so,” Twilight remarked with a sly grin, “I’d be a really bad mom if he didn’t.”

“I just mean, relationships like that, built on mutual trust and companionship, between ponies and dragons… that’s very rare.”

“I guess,” Twilight said, looking at Spike as he slept comfortably underneath her wing. “He’s been with me his entire life, he hasn’t known any other family but me and Zecora. And I may have lived a lot of years, yet sometimes I feel more like a child than he is.”

“How did you find him?”

Twilight looked toward Spike, then back to Fluttershy. She never shared the story of how she found him before, not to anyone but Zecora, but it’s not as though it was some deeply treasured secret. And besides, she was putting her life in Fluttershy’s paws and, more importantly, was risking the safety of Fluttershy and her forest for her own selfish reasons.

Twilight wanted Fluttershy to trust her, so she explained.

Though Spike was only a decade and change, Twilight remembered her life before him as though it happened centuries ago. So much could change in but a single day, how much more in a decade?

A younger Twilight flew through the night skies of Zebrica, through snow-swept mountains and through blustering wind. She still felt far from home thanks to her travels, but she was almost in reach. She was exhausted, almost ready to give up entirely, but she was so close, that she commanded herself to push through her weariness, even if it meant walking through the snow for a bit, instead of flying.

The howling of the wind had been the only noise echoing in her ears for hours, so when she heard another sound, she thought herself delirious and ignored it. But something about that sound, like a high-pitched squeal, caught Twilight’s attention, and something in her gut compelled her to find its source.

She soon realized it was the sound of a distressed baby, and Twilight almost wanted to breathe a sigh of relief. Its parents must have been nearby, she told herself, and there was nothing she would be able to do to calm it down anyhow, so she elected to ignore it and be on her way.

But then, she thought, why would a baby be so far from civilization? This mountain range wasn’t exactly a primes tourist destination, and even if the parents were nearby, were they properly equipped to travel these channels? Twilight pondered this for a moment before deciding that it didn’t hurt to at least check and make sure everything was okay.

The sight that greeted her formed a pit in her stomach. A small campsite, with a long dead firepit sitting in the center, a small carriage sitting unmoving in the snow, with the creatures that had been pulling it lying dead before it, small, thin blankets covering their bodies in a futile attempt to protect them from the piercing weather.

Twilight inched closer, drawn by heartache to the tragic scene in front of her. What had brought these travelers so far from home?

The sound of the crying baby snapped Twilight back to attention, and as she approached the carriage, she prayed desperately to find the baby’s parents still alive inside. She knew they might be afraid of her, especially if they were foreign to Zebrica, but if they still breathed, she could bring them warmth, or to shelter, or—or something.

Twilight moved the tarp that acted as a door to the carriage aside and peaked inside, and her body fell awash with grief at what she found.

A couple, huddled together underneath every blanket and fur they could manage, trying to keep each other warm with their own bodies to no avail. They were long dead before Twilight found them. Between them, Twilight could see something moving ever so slightly, and she raised a single claw as she considered reaching for what was almost certainly a baby, no older than a few months.

Twilight wanted to weep for the child, only kept alive due to the sacrifice of its parents, and for what? The babe wouldn’t make it through the night in this cold…

…unless it could be warmed up by the light touch of a dragon’s paw.

Twilight tore the roof off the carriage, wincing at the sound of the baby’s whimper. With a trembling hand, she reached into the carriage and took the child, gently balling her hand into a fist. Bringing her hand up to her snout, she saw the baby closer; purple fur and a little green mane just starting to form, swaddled in so many blankets.

Twilight looked around, and only snow, wind, and rock greeted her. The mountains were perilous, and it was so easy to get lost, that must have been what happened to this family. If Twilight had only been a little faster, if she had perhaps been a little less lazy getting out of bed this morning, or had more dutifully headed down her path like she was supposed to, she could have—

Another whimper distracts Twilight’s misplaced guilt, and she looked to see the baby’s face scrunched up in pain, and she felt that pain as if it were her very own. He’s so small, and so cold, and he’s shivering. He doesn’t understand a single thing about what’s going on, no thoughts going through his head other than how he doesn’t like what’s happening to him, and he wants his parents, no idea that they won’t ever comfort him again.

Twilight felt tears rolling down her cheeks as she pressed her nose gently against her hand, balling it into a fist as much as she could without disturbing the little bug who was so much smaller than even her littlest claw. With a breath of magic, a radiant warmth fills her fist, and Twilight’s tears turn from grief to joy as she hears the baby make a little giggle.

He opened his eyes and stares up at the monster looking down on him, holding him in her fist. Twilight’s breath hitched as she worried he was going to start crying again and she wouldn’t know how to make him feel okay, but he just laughed instead; the precious, innocent laughter of a baby who hadn't a care in the world.

He reached his tiny little hands out to Twilight’s muzzle, and she leaned a little closer so he could touch it, giggling and cooing as he ran his barely-warm hands across the heated scales of her snout. For a moment, Twilight feels like everything’s going to be okay. She’s so close to home she can almost smell the aroma of Zecora’s cooking pot, and she’ll know what to do with a baby pony.

But there was one more thing that needed to be dealt with before Twilight could leave in peace.

Twilight gently took the bodies of the parents and of the animals that so dutifully served them in her magic, laying them out on makeshift cots made from the carriage’s wood. She covered them with blankets and prepared a gust of flame to send them off, but then stopped short.

She took in a deep breath and looked at the tiny child comfortably sleeping in her palm. She closed her eyes and whispered a short prayer; if the spirits of these parents, somehow, were watching over this scene, still clinging to their child in death as they so honorably had in life, then Twilight wanted them to know that their baby was safe with her.

Twilight blew a violet flame across the bodies of the dead, and with a gust of her wings scattered their ashes into the winter wind so that their spirits may be free to find their next lives, unshackled by guilt or regret.

There wasn’t much in the way of supplies in the campsite, but there was still baby food, clothes, and blankets, and Twilight took everything she could before taking flight, holding her newfound charge close to her chest, promising him, herself, and the child’s parents that she wouldn’t let him grow up without a family.

“Oh,” Fluttershy remarked as Twilight concluded her tale, and Twilight couldn’t help but laugh at the reaction. “I never… I don’t what I expected, but that certainly wasn’t it.”

“I still think about them sometimes,” Twilight admitted, staring at the snoozing Spike, “his birth parents. I wonder, if their spirits are still around in some way, what would they think of me? Would they condone the way I’m raising our child? I wonder, if there is a life after this one, what they’ll say to me when I reach it.”

Twilight went silent, a nightmarish thought suddenly flashing through her mind that never even occurred to her before.

“I’m going to outlive him.”

“Yes,” Fluttershy said, “almost certainly.”

Twilight took a deep, deep breath, and released it with as soft and calm a sigh as she could muster. That was a thought for another day.

“But for now,” Fluttershy said, “you are his home, and his family.”

“He deserves better,” Twilight remarked immediately. “He deserves a real family, not just a good-for-nothing mother. He had one, and I screwed it up—”

“Twilight,” Fluttershy rose to her feet, wings fidgeting at her sides and eyes narrowing at the entrance to the cave.

“They’re here,” Twilight gulped, “aren’t they?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy clutched her heart, “your family has arrived.”

It broke Twilight’s heart to crawl out from under Spike’s sleeping form, but with a little effort she managed to do so without waking him. He would be protected by the animals of the forest until Twilight returned to him.

The idea she may not return flashed through her mind, but she threw that thought away with a bitter snarl.

No matter what happened with Rarity and the others, Twilight would never leave her son without a family.

Author's Notes:

wow this one's a real downer huh

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed.

106. The Dragons of the Everfree

Pinkie Pie’s breath hitched as she and her friends crossed the threshold into the Everfree Forest. This was the place that she couldn’t stop thinking about after she visited it— and its lovely Spirit— the first time, but it sure seemed a lot less inviting now.

Cuz before, there were always cute squirrels and birds in the trees, and other delightful critters roaming all about, but this time there were no cute animals to be found, and the distant howling of timberwolves rang through the air like a haunting chorus.

Pinkie stayed as close to Applejack as possible, wanting to jump at every shadow she saw. Timberwolves were scary— she still wasn’t entirely over the trauma of dealing with them the last time— but there was something else that lived and breathed through this forest that was even scarier.

The Spirit of the Everfree, or rather, the dragon of the Everfree.

Rarity took the lead of the party, and Rainbow was walking right behind her. Neither had weapons drawn, but Pinkie knew both of them would be ready to fight—even kill—at a moment’s notice. Applejack stayed behind the two with Pinkie nearly glued to her, even though she politely declined Applejack’s offer to carry her. She was definitely scared, but she wanted to walk this road with her own two legs.

The group came to a snowy clearing; probably not the exact same one where Rarity had nearly been killed by a King Timberwolf, or the one where Pinkie, Fluttershy and Twilight held their picnic, or even the one where Pinkie overheard Twilight and Fluttershy’s conversation that led to her to discover that her friends were dragons, but it looked enough like all of them for Pinkie to start feeling panic welling up inside her.

Even her good memories of the Everfree were tainted by everything that had happened. She always had her doubts about whether Fluttershy liked her or not, and now that she knew that Fluttershy was a dragon, that fear was magnified by like a million.

Dragons hated ponies. That’s what Pinkie had been told her entire life, and seeing the dragon tearing through her hometown, burning and maiming and killing and eating every pony in its path, what conclusion could Pinkie come to other than that?

Yet Twilight kinda threw a wrench into that whole thing by being the nicest, friendliest, most compassionate person Pinkie’d ever met, and nothing about Fluttershy struck Pinkie as anything other than sweet and kind either. Maybe Pinkie was just a really bad judge of character.

Rainbow stopped suddenly and grabbed Rarity’s arm, and that was reason enough for her and Applejack to halt instantly, and Pinkie didn’t know what else to do but to hide behind Applejack. She wasn’t helpless, she’d brought her enchanted crossbow with her just in case, but the last thing—the very last thing—Pinkie wanted was to have a fight inside the Everfree.

But something was coming. Even Pinkie could now hear the rustling of leaves nearby. Something big was approaching the group from their left—no, from behind them!—wait, wait, it was to their right!

Oh.

Pinkie held her breath. The creature moved all around them in a circle, and the three other mares formed a circle around Pinkie, though none of them drew a weapon, to Pinkie’s relief. The dragon that was watching them, it was moving fast, and Pinkie had a good feeling that it wasn’t Twilight.

Then, like a bolt of lightning, a golden, serpentine dragon jumped out from the trees and into the clearing, rearing back and spreading its wings out to their full length, staring down silently at four ponies that must’ve looked like ants to her.

Her wings were golden like her, but hued pink at the tips of her feathers, and she had a flowing pink mane that nearly reached the ground even at her impressive stature.

She was a dragon; the very first Pinkie had seen since that fateful day.

The four ponies turned to face her, and not even Pinkie was deterred by her presence. But before anypony could start feeling too confident, an earsplitting crack of magic resounded through the clearing, and suddenly the number of dragons were double.

Standing tall next to Fluttershy, was a great lavender dragon, its wings holding the shapes of galaxies and constellations in them as they were spread wide alongside Fluttershy’s. Pinkie got what they were doing; they were showing the group just how terrifying dragons could be, just in case any of them had an urge to fight.

And they were terrifying. Pinkie swore her heart stopped for at least a second as she stared up at the massive, towering beasts before her, who did nothing but stare silently back at her and her friends. Standing in front of Pinkie were two monsters who could destroy whole cities on their own if they wanted to, who Pinkie had lived in fear of her entire life, and whose memory still gave her nightmares.

But all she saw were two of her best friends, and she couldn’t think of anything she wanted to do more than to run up and greet them.

So she did just that.

Ignoring the protests of her pony friends, Pinkie ran up in front of Fluttershy, arms held open.

“Fluttershy! It’s me, Pinkie Pie!” Pinkie jumped up and down, ignoring Rarity’s and Applejack’s frantic calls for her to come back. “I missed you!”

“Y-you— you missed me?” Fluttershy put a paw up to her muzzle, and Pinkie Pie gasped. She still moved, talked, and acted just like the friend that she knew, even in this new, scary form.

“I did! I really, really did!” Pinkie beamed and waved at Twilight, who responded by just blinking. “And Twilight too!”

“You’re not…” Fluttershy leaned her head down to Pinkie’s level, and Pinkie froze up immediately, causing Fluttershy to recoil, but when Pinkie reached out her hand, Fluttershy lowered herself once more, allowing her cheek to gently graze Pinkie’s waiting hand, and a chill went up Pinkie’s spine as she made contact with the warm fur on Fluttershy’s face.

“You’re not afraid of me?” Fluttershy asked, and Pinkie felt tears stinging her eyes as she saw Fluttershy’s shimmering teal eyes glistening with tears.

“How could I be afraid of my best friends?” Pinkie said tearfully, throwing herself against Fluttershy’s muzzle and hugging her as best as her tiny body allowed.

Fluttershy let her wings settle against her body and tentatively, hesitantly, reeeeeeally slowly, put a paw on Pinkie’s back. And while Pinkie flinched at the touch, she responded by burying herself deeper in Fluttershy’s fur, nuzzling her friend to show her that she wasn’t afraid.

Pinkie looked up at Twilight and motioned for her to come down, and while Twilight looked uncomfortable at first, she got on all fours and lowered her head to meet Pinkie, who put a hand on Twilight’s snout in an attempt to group hug the two dragons.

Pinkie’s entire family was together finally, and all felt right in her world.

Author's Notes:

as someone who struggles with depression, writing angst can be rly hard for me, so it's nice to get back to writing some warm fuzzies instead

btw! a wee update on my upcoming break! it's actually gonna start after chapter 111 (not 110 like i thought), which will conveniently go up on new year's eve! very serendipitous that.

i'll have more info on how long my break will be when i publish that chapter, but i'm thinking i'll probably be back with more azured edge in late january

Anyhoo, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

107. A Whole New Light

“Pinkie Pie!” Rarity stomped her hoof, aghast that Pinkie would just run ahead so thoughtlessly and start cozying up to a pair of dragons, for pony’s sake! “Get back here this instant!”

“No!” Pinkie huffed, sticking her tongue out at Rarity and burying herself deeper in the two dragons’ embrace.

Fluttershy gave Pinkie a gentle nudge with her snout. “It’s okay, Pinkie Pie. You shouldn’t make Rarity worry.”

“Okay,” Pinkie said sadly, reluctantly letting her hand fall away from Fluttershy’s cheek as the dragon rose to her full imposing height. Pinkie gave Twilight another pet on her snout before walking back to the group, where Applejack got on her knees and grabbed Pinkie into a hug.

“Honestly, sugarcube,” she whispered, and Rarity could hear the distress in her voice, “don’t go worryin’ a pony like that.”

“I’m sorry,” Pinkie nuzzled her cheek against Applejack’s. “I got ahead of myself. I didn’t mean to make anypony worry.”

With Pinkie safely back in their fold, Rarity took a moment to gaze upon the dragons of the Everfree, and her heart was gripped with fear, anger, and awe. Perhaps it was simply because she knew these two dragons personally, but they didn’t fill Rarity with the visceral distaste and disgust that the typical dragon did.

Or perhaps it was because, though she couldn’t bring herself to admit it, she thought both of them were beautiful. Especially Twilight; seeing her lavender scales glimmering faintly in the cloudy morning sun— instead of seeing her covered in blood and magic-vomit— put her in a whole new light.

Rarity suddenly understood what Lady Cadance always saw in these creatures. But she shook that thought away, because at the end of the day they were still monsters… right?

“Twilight,” Rarity cleared her throat and stepped forward, speaking clearly and bluntly. Twilight lowered herself to Rarity’s eye level, and Rarity took another step forward, fighting back the urge to raise her hand and pet Twilight’s snout or some such nonsense.

“I suppose there’s no pussyfooting around it,” Rarity sighed. “Twilight, we have decided to accompany you to the Crystal Empire.”

Silence.

Twilight blinked, but didn’t move.

Rarity scowled, and Fluttershy cocked her head.

Rarity glanced back and saw her companions; Rainbow was tapping her hoof, wondering what the holdup was, Applejack’s face and posture betrayed nothing, and Pinkie was chomping at the bit to celebrate, but every second that passed without a response from Twilight no doubt made the whole group feel more anxious.

“Twilight?” Rarity tapped her knuckles against Twilight’s snout, and she wondered where she suddenly found the gall to something so brazen. “Did you hear me?”

“I heard you,” Twilight spoke, and it was disconcerting to Rarity how… normal she sounded. Her voice was exactly as it was in the library, yet it came through the lips of a monster. It was eerie. “I just don’t believe it.”

“You mean you literally don’t believe me, or—”

“No, no of course not!” Twilight reared back and Rarity instinctively reached for a weapon, though Twilight quickly bowed her head. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to startle anyone,” she looked at Rarity, who took one step closer and released her grip on her axe. “Are you being serious? You’ll actually accompany me?”

“Yes,” Rarity said reluctantly. “Yes, we will. We all have our own reasons, but none of us are willing to go the rest of our lives without having some of our unsettled questions answered.”

“Okay,” Twilight sat on her haunches and exhaled a deeply held breath, “okay, I can live with that. You’ll come with me.”

“Us,” Fluttershy said, and now Rarity was startled. “They’ll come with us. We agreed, remember?”

Pinkie Pie gasped, because of course she would. “Fluttershy!? You’re gonna come with us to the Crystal Empire!?”

“Yes,” Fluttershy nodded, a sickeningly innocuous smile on her fanged face.

“I dunno how I feel,” Applejack chimed in warily, “’bout havin’ two dragons trailin’ us all the way up north.”

“Applejack!” Pinkie scolded. “You bite your tongue! Fluttershy is our friend! Or at least… she’s my friend!”

“Pinkie, think about this for a sec,” Rainbow chimed in, her eyes darting between Pinkie and the dragons, and Rarity could see sweat starting to dampen her fur the more she stayed within the dragons’ presence, “if things get bad on the trip, the four of us can totally take out a dragon. But two dragons might be a little dicey, you get it?”

“Nothing’s gonna go bad, Rainbow,” Pinkie huffed, “cuz we’re not gonna fight each other!”

“Incidentally,” Twilight said, “that’s part of why I asked Fluttershy to come along.”

“What?” Rarity asked, and now all eyes were on Twilight.

“You all have your reasons not to trust me,” Twilight explained, “and I understand that, but you have to understand I can’t trust any of you either. I genuinely want you all to see the Crystal Empire, and to see that dragons aren’t what you think they are, but to do that, I need to be sure I survive the journey, and travelling by myself with four armed Slayers, or Slayer-adjacent ponies, isn’t safe for me. More importantly, it isn’t safe for my son.”

“Hey, where is Spike, anyway?” Rainbow asked, and Rarity growled under her breath because she’d prefer it if they all stayed on topic. “Is he okay? The little dude isn’t totally traumatized by this whole thing, is he?”

“He’s okay, I think,” Twilight said. “If you’d like to see him once we’re all wrapped up here, I think he would love to see all of you.”

“Yeah?!” Pinkie clamored, pumping her fists. “We totally wanna see Spike, don’t we everypony?!”

“I’d like that,” Applejack admitted, and Rainbow nodded her confirmation.

Rarity had much less to say, and she didn’t appreciate the chorus of eyes now locked on her.

“We need to make travelling arrangements,” Rarity said, because somepony had to stick to what was important, and she supposed it would just have to be her, “and you two are going to need clothing, are you not?”

Fluttershy’s horns glowed with teal light that quickly consumed her entire body, before she transformed into the frail-looking slender pegasus Rarity was more familiar with.

“Why?” she asked. “Equestria doesn’t have a nudity taboo, and clothing is so restrictive and unnecessary.” Rarity’s nose curled up at that appalling statement.

“And how do you plan to explain to everypony,” Rarity said, her patience running thin, “when you get asked why you’re wandering around naked in the middle of winter?”

“That would be a dead giveaway that something was up with us,” Twilight remarked.

“Oh,” Fluttershy said sheepishly, her cheeks turning bright red, and Pinkie giggled before running up and giving the dragon a hug, which Fluttershy returned with a disconcertingly genuine smile.

Twilight transformed back into a pony next, and Rarity was suddenly very much reminded of how attractive she had always found the librarian now that said librarian was standing naked in front of Rarity.

Rarity felt her cheeks burn up and hoped that no on noticed, though she also found herself staring at Twilight, and she only noticed that she had been staring when Twilight smiled at her, forcing Rarity to spin around and stomp off, utterly humiliated.

“Y’alright, sugarcube?” Applejack gently grabbed Rarity’s arm, though Rarity had half a mind to slap her for it.

“I’m fine,” Rarity hissed through gritted teeth. “I’m going to go get train tickets and clothing. Be ready to leave when I come back. We’ll stop by the Moon District, then probably go straight for the Crystal Empire. No detours, no other stops. Let’s just get this over with.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

108. (Not) Everything Has to Change

Rainbow lingered behind Applejack and Pinkie Pie as they followed Twilight into the den where Spike was—Fluttershy having slithered off to say goodbye to her animals and make sure her forest would thrive without her care.

It was cold— obviously it was cold, it was winter— but Rainbow still felt like she was sweating, running her hand through damp fur on her face over and over again. No matter how much she tried to act like everything was fine, like she could totally deal with Twilight and Fluttershy and everything else, Rainbow couldn’t run away from the fact that she was terrified.

She knew that everything would be fine; Twilight and Fluttershy had no reason to go all hostile, and even if they did, Applejack and Rarity, and to a lesser extent herself and Pinkie Pie, could totally take ‘em! Right?

Right, of course!

…but what if they couldn’t?

What if something happened, a fight broke out, and Rainbow froze? What if Twilight was everything she claimed to be, just a humble librarian trying to live a peaceful life, but Fluttershy was everything Celestia always said dragons were? What if Twilight wasn’t what she claimed to be, and was leading Rainbow’s friends into a deathtrap? It’s not like Twilight was unfamiliar with lying to them, after all.

For every reason Rainbow could think of not to worry, she could find three or five or ten reasons to freak out, and she didn’t realize she had fallen so far behind the rest of the group until she looked up and found no one there.

“Guys?” she whimpered pathetically. “Guys!?” she screamed desperately, running through the trees and slamming right into Applejack within seconds, tumbling back and falling on her butt.

“Woah, sugar, you okay?” Applejack asked concernedly, helping Rainbow back to her feet. Rainbow nodded weakly. “You get a little sidetracked and fell behind, huh?” Rainbow nodded again, and she couldn’t bring herself to look at the others.

Applejack sighed, and Rainbow winced, thinking about how Applejack probably thought she was a big loser.

“Y’all wanna hurry on ahead? We’ll catch up in just a sec?” Applejack called out to Pinkie and Twilight.

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie cheered, and off she and Twilight went to the cave.

Rainbow didn’t know what to say, and she dreaded whatever Applejack was gonna say, but then she didn’t say anything; Applejack just lightly grabbed Rainbow’s chin and planted a kiss on her lips.

Rainbow closed her eyes and let herself fall into Applejack’s embrace, Applejack putting her hands on Rainbow’s lower back while Rainbow put hers around Applejack’s shoulders, Applejack delivering one passionate, warm kiss after another until Rainbow had to pull herself away, breathing heavy and cheeks burning, cuz now she was feeling hot for a totally different reason.

“Wh—what was that about?” Rainbow asked, giving a high pitched chuckle and adding “Not that I’m complaining!”

“Figured that’d do ya a world better’n words would,” Applejack said, leaving another gentle kiss on the bridge of Rainbow’s nose. “How ya holdin’ up, hon?”

“Could be better,” Rainbow bit her lip and thought about kissing Applejack, but she couldn’t bring herself to, “but I feel a lot better now, so thanks.”

“Anytime, sweetheart,” Applejack gave Rainbow’s nose another kiss, getting a coy giggle out of Rainbow that instantly embarrassed her, but Applejack crushed that embarrassment into a profound sense of joy by holding Rainbow tight against her chest.

“And hey,” Rainbow said, nuzzling against Applejack’s chest, “please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help you feel okay. I know I’m not the only one struggling to deal with this whole… thing.”

“Honestly, Rainbow,” Applejack said as she stroked Rainbow’s mane, “takin’ care of you does make me feel better. But I promise I’ll let you know if there’s anything else, okay?”

“Sounds good,” Rainbow smiled and pounded her fist against Applejack, “uhhh… I still haven’t come up with a cute pet name for you yet.”

“You’ll think of somethin’,” Applejack ruffled Rainbow’s mane, and Rainbow puffed up her cheeks, “you’re a smart pony.”

“Thanks,” Rainbow stuck out her tongue, and Applejack just winked at her teasingly as she turned around, and Rainbow bit her lip cuz damn Applejack was hot.

When Rainbow and Applejack made it to the cave nearby, guided by a faint trail of light left by Twilight, they found Pinkie cuddling Spike in a big, fluffy hug, but no sign of the dragon herself.

“Where’s Twi?” Applejack asked, and before she could get an answer, she was distracted by Spike’s gasp as he noticed them. “Hey kiddo, how’re you doin’?”

“Applejack! Rainbow Dash!” Spike tore himself away from Pinkie and rushed toward the two, Applejack running to him and scooping him up into her arms, where he hugged her and nuzzled against her while she held him up. “You guys don’t hate me, do you? For hiding everything from everyone this whole time?”

“Nah, Spike,” Applejack said comfortingly, “we know you were just tryin’ to do the right thing and protect yer ma, we can respect that.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow said hesitantly. Applejack wasn’t wrong, but it still left a bad taste in Rainbow’s mouth to be made a fool of for so long, and by a dragon no less.

“You guys probably hate Twilight though, huh?” Spike said sadly as Applejack put him on the ground.

Pinkie sucked air in through her teeth and shot a pained glance at Rainbow, who quickly looked away from Pinkie and shrugged for no one’s benefit but her own.

Applejack got on one knee and put her hand on Spike’s shoulder.

“Spike, you know I ain’t no liar,” she said solemnly, “so believe me when I tell ya, that nopony hates your mom. We’re all a wee bit mad at her, and some of us are gonna need a lot of time to get our feelings sorted out about this whole mess, but nopony hates her. I promise.”

“Cross your heart?” Spike said weakly.

“Hope to fly,” Applejack said sweetly, holding out her pinkie finger. Spike put his pinkie around Applejack’s and the two said together “Stick a cupcake in my eye!”

The two laughed, and Pinkie joined them for a group hug, leaving Rainbow kinda on the outs. She thought about just bailing, thinking that maybe she wasn’t really needed here, but then Spike walked toward her.

“Rainbow?” he said awkwardly, fidgeting his fingers. “Are you mad?”

Rainbow looked down at the kid and wondered how she could ever justify being mad at a child. Of course she was mad, but… but Applejack wasn’t wrong. Rainbow hated this whole crappy situation, but she didn’t hate Twilight, and she sure didn’t hate Spike.

And she didn’t have the words, or the guts, to articulate any of that garbage.

“I brought you something,” Rainbow slid her bag off her shoulder and put it on the ground, squatting down to rifle through it and procuring a single book; Daring Do and The Razor of Dreams. “A lot of the library got kinda… burned up. But I managed to salvage some stuff. You wanna read it?” Rainbow asked, forcing a weary smile and cursing the damn tears forming in her eyes for like the thousandth time today.

Spike didn’t say anything; he tried, but it came out as blubbery sobs, so he just nodded a bunch and snuggled up with Rainbow and Pinkie Pie as Rainbow cracked open the book.

A lot had changed in a single day, but not everything had to.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

109. A Couple Bottles of Cider Between Friends

“Pinkie,” Applejack said firmly, chewing on her thumbnail and looking out the entrance to the cave while Rainbow, Spike and Pinkie all sat around reading Daring Do. “You know where Twi went? I wanna talk to her real quick.”

“By yourself?” Rainbow asked, her face turning pale.

“Don’t you worry none, Rainbow,” Applejack gave a reassuring smile, “I ain’t gonna get into a fight, I promise.”

“Uh,” Pinkie said, clearly also nervous but she was Pinkie so she obviously didn’t wanna say no to Applejack, “she said she needed some time to herself, but I dunno—”

“There’s a hill,” Spike said, “it overlooks the forest, and the town nearby. You should be able to find it on your own, right? That’s where she would’ve gone.”

“Alright,” Applejack nodded, “I don’t think I’ll have much trouble. Not my first time combin’ through a forest. Thanks, y’all.”

“Be careful, okay?” Rainbow asked, and Applejack’s heart warmed at her sweetness.

“And be nice!” Pinkie added.

“Will do, y’all!” Applejack shouted as she left the cave.

It didn’t take long for Applejack to find the hill where Twilight was sitting cross-legged, staring out over the town of Ponyville in a little grassy patch, the snow having melted around her presence.

Applejack didn’t immediately alert Twilight to her presence, though she suspected the dragon knew she was there regardless; they weren’t easy creatures to sneak up on.

She had conflicting emotions about still thinking of Twilight as a mark; she honestly wanted to believe that Twilight was everything she said she was, that Twilight and Rarity and Spike and everypony else could go back to the library once this was all over and share a mug of hot cocoa like they used to.

But on the other hand, Applejack had seen the horrors that dragons could unleash. She’d held burning corpses in her hands, carried bodies of children back to their parents, nursed a young Pinkie back to health after her house had collapsed on top of her.

Applejack wasn’t about to take any chances.

Yet if that were what she really believed, she ought to have just killed the dragon right now. She probably could too; Twi’d never see it coming if Applejack of all ponies turned traitor on her now, and Twilight was probably still weakened after her battle with Rarity and whatever caused her to burn the library down in the first place.

But Applejack found that idea completely out of the question. She wasn’t about to fight dirty like that… but if she only thought Twilight was a monster, she’d have no problem with it, would she?

“Bit for your thoughts, Applejack,” Twilight said quietly, still staring out across town. Applejack guessed a sneak attack was off the table now anyway.

“Got a whole lot of dustbunnies runnin’ around in my head right now, Twi,” Applejack laughed and threw her pack onto the ground next to Twilight, startling her, and sitting down beside it.

She pulled out two bottles of apple cider and handed one to Twilight, who took it hesitantly. Applejack opened hers and knocked it against Twi’s bottle before taking a drink, Twilight very slowly and cautiously following her lead. The smile on Twilight’s face as she realized the cider was real good made Applejack beam with pride.

“But I reckon you know all about that, huh?” Applejack asked. “Bet you’ve been thinkin’ long’n hard ‘bout this whole situation since last night.”

“Since this morning,” Twilight said, taking another sip of cider. “Slept through last night. If I hadn't gotten to Fluttershy, I would’ve—”

“Well, I hope you can forgive Rarity,” Applejack said solemnly, though she was quickly startled by Twilight spitting fizzy cider all over the place.

“Wait, what!?” Twilight yelped. “What do you mean forgive Rarity?! I thought I was the one who’d been bad!”

“I mean,” Applejack stuttered for a sec, but then shrugged and collected her thoughts before speaking again. “She did try to kill ya, Twi. You could go on and on about why she did that, but the fact is she did try to kill ya, and I couldn’t exactly blame you for not bein’ able to look past that.”

“Oh,” Twilight took another sip of cider and then hummed, “I guess I hadn't really thought about it. Didn’t think about much of anything last night, to be honest. It was all kinda fight or flight, instinct, that sorta thing.”

“Then how come you didn’t fight back?”

“I didn’t want to hurt her,” Twilight’s response was instant, like not only did she not need to think about it, but she spoke it like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I love her. And I can’t stop loving her, just because… of this whole mess.

“It’d be a lot easier on me if I could!” Twilight laughed awkwardly, and Applejack couldn’t help sharing a nervous smile with her. “If I could pretend that I really was this soulless monster you all think that I am, but… I’m not. I can’t stop loving her, or Rainbow, or you and Pinkie Pie, even if it hurts. And it does hurt, but—” Twilight shrugged and took another swig of cider.

“Well, I’d be lyin’ if I said I could take you at your word, Twi,” Applejack sighed. “Wish I could. But the threat of dragons ain’t just a fairytale to me, I’ve seen it firsthand, and it’s a nightmare.”

Twilight’s ears lowered and she looked sullen at the ground, and Applejack wasn’t sure if she should feel sad, or mad that Twi was trying to pull one over on her.

Then again, if Twilight was who she said she was, she probably wasn’t trying to make Applejack feel for her, but that’s if she was just a librarian and a mom, and not also a monster, and Applejack wasn’t ready to take that bet quite yet.

“I tell ya what though,” Applejack took a swig of cider, sighing in contentment at its profound flavor, “I ain’t exactly sure who to trust right now. A lot of this situation just don’t add up, and I ain’t willin’ to snap to any judgments ‘til I know for sure what’s goin’ on with you, and with this Crystal Empire and such.

“For right now, all I’m trustin’ is Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie, but I promise I’ll see this thing through to the end, no matter what. How’s that sound?”

“Honestly?” Twilight held her nearly empty cider bottle out toward Applejack, who clinked hers against it. “I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

110. Alone for Too Long

Applejack had left to check on the others, so Twilight was left alone staring across the horizon over the busy town of Ponyville. She allowed herself one last transformation back into her natural form, knowing it would be a little while before she could safely transform again, and so she thought to take advantage of these last few moments in the forest.

It was almost time to leave; Fluttershy would soon be done with her farewells, and Rarity would be back soon with her clothing, and everyone would set off toward Canterlot, the place Twilight used to call home, before heading to the Crystal Empire to see her brother.

It was… a lot.

Twilight hadn't seen her brother in years and barely had any correspondence with him. Their last fight had been a pretty ugly one. She was certain he would welcome her back if she went to him— she wouldn’t have suggested going to the Crystal Empire at all if she wasn’t confident that she could trust him— but going to him and admitting that her attempts to hide in Equestria failed, after he warned her repeatedly that they wouldn’t work… it was going to be painful.

No more painful than seeing the glare in Rarity’s eyes as she charged at Twilight with a sword though.

That really happened, hadn’t it? it wasn’t just some horrible nightmare. Rarity really had… tried to kill Twilight.

Part of her had still been in denial about it, but Applejack’s bluntness kinda did away with all that; any attempt to hide from or rationalize Rarity’s actions was now moot because she couldn’t change the fact that, yeah, Rarity had tried to kill her.

And yet, Twilight still couldn’t find it in her heart to be angry, at least not at Rarity.

She was angry, but moreso at Trixie, and at herself, and at this whole shitty situation and the cursed centuries of ponies and dragons being taught to hate each other. Twilight lived most of her entire life believing that ponies were just monsters that wanted to hurt and kill dragons, but living amongst them, she realized that wasn’t true at all.

Ponies were afraid of them, just as dragons were afraid of ponies. Even the Slayers were just doing what they thought was right, and weren’t just mindless, bloodthirsty killers out to harm dragons.

Well, some of them definitely were. But that was a whole thing and wasn’t really relevant to Twilight’s point, so she would thank her brain not to interrupt her again.

Regardless, if Twilight’s exposure to what ponies were really like could open her eyes, she was certain the reverse was true as well; that meeting her brother, and seeing the community he was building in the Crystal Empire— ponies and dragons living side by side in harmony— could help her friends to realize that the lies they had been told about dragons were just that.

She hoped.

But she couldn’t entirely disregard the possibility that this plan of hers would completely fail. After all, her last one failed, didn’t it?

She needed to accept the reality that her ‘family’ of the Golden Oaks Library was no more, and it likely never would be again.

That she had failed not only herself, but Spike as well; dangling in front of him the hope of a family that he’d always yearned for, only to snatch it away from him when it was all starting to feel real.

She had to face the fact that Rarity would never look at her the same way again; that where once she saw a cute librarian in Twilight, now she only saw a monster.

And it was all Twilight’s fault.

Twilight curled into a ball and covered her face with her wings, weeping quietly at what she had ruined. She didn’t even notice the other presence skulking up behind her, until she curled up right next to Twilight and laid a golden wing across Twilight’s back in a show of support.

Twilight peeked through her wings and looked up to see Fluttershy in her own dragon form smiling back at her.

“You look distressed,” Fluttershy said. “I thought you could use some company.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

Fluttershy blinked and cocked her head. “I don’t understand.”

“Why are you being so kind to me?” Twilight repeated. “Healing my wounds is one thing, but allowing me to bring dangerous ponies into your forest, leaving your forest to accompany me to the Crystal Empire? It’s so much! Why are you going out of your way to help me like this?”

Fluttershy took a second to ponder Twilight’s question; in Fluttershy’s mind it seemed obvious, but she supposed from Twilight’s perspective her behavior might come off a little strange. She just hoped Twilight was okay with Fluttershy trying to help, and that she wasn’t messing everything up by putting her big nose where it didn’t belong.

“I suppose it’s just in my nature,” Fluttershy smiled. “I can’t turn my back on someone in need, if I have the means to provide help to them.”

“But leaving your forest?” Twilight asked perplexedly. “Going all the way up north to the Crystal Empire? It’s so far away!”

Fluttershy hoped Twilight wasn’t trying to hint that she didn’t want Fluttershy to come, but she presumed that was just her anxiety talking so she settled with simply answering Twilight’s question.

“I guess,” Fluttershy hummed, happing her chin with a claw, “I’m tired of hiding too.”

Fluttershy had long since lost track of how long she had lived in her forest; she had seen at least one generation of children grow into adults in the nearby village, but the years flew by too quickly for her to keep track of how many there were.

And it was true, that she would miss the forest; for many reasons, not the least of which being that she was now connected to it. She didn’t just live inside it, she lived through it, she could feel every leaf and snowflake within her forest as though they were her own fur and feathers, and being apart from that connection would make her feel very small indeed.

All the tearful farewells she had to bid to her dear animal friends didn’t make it any easier, but the words she spoke were true. She was tired of hiding.

She was tired of living in fear of the day that dragons came to Equestria, she was tired of waiting for the inevitable day that the village beside her forest grew larger than her realm and realized they had no need for her. She was tired of wondering whether her death would come at the hands of ponies or dragons, and living every day with that thought pounding at the doors of her mind.

If Twilight could risk her safety and her comfort to fight for a life worth living, so too could Fluttershy.

“And I want you to know,” Fluttershy smiled and nudged Twilight with her wing, “that I’m happy to help.”

“I appreciate it, Fluttershy,” Twilight sighed and arched her back, yawning herself awake. “I’m glad I won’t be alone for this trip.”

“I don’t know, Twilight,” Fluttershy thought about Pinkie Pie and brought a paw up to her cheek, vividly remembering the touch of the pony’s hand against her fur, “maybe I’m being too hopeful, but I don’t think we’ll be alone for too long.”

“You know what, Fluttershy?” Twilight flashed a smile, and Fluttershy smiled back, overjoyed to see Twilight finally smile for the first time since she’d landed in Fluttershy’s forest. “I bet you’re right.”

Author's Notes:

in which leaf blade plays coy with how much time fluttershy's spent in the forest cuz keeping track of specific dates and times is a nightmarish headache that she just doesn't need

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

111. A Profound Sense of Peace

Ponyville’s clothing shop was a delightful little boutique with tranquil wallpaper, polite clientele, and very friendly and welcoming employees. The whole place filled Rarity with a profound sense of peace, which abruptly came crashing down when the thought of owning a place like this for herself reminded her of all those damn fashion books that she never read with Twilight.

Dear stars, she griped, everything is going to start reminding me of Twilight, isn’t it?

It didn’t help when Rarity came across a violet dress, with a cape trailing behind it and long sleeves to keep a pony cozy even in winter, and couldn’t help but think of how adorable Twilight would look in it.

She held the dress in her hands and it was so soft, and it reminded her of how Twilight used to nuzzle her cheek against Rarity’s hand, and she wanted to burn the dress to cinders, just like how the library was—

Okay, now this was getting ridiculous.

Rarity sat on a bench off to the side in the boutique, and cradled her face in her hands, groaning loudly in frustration.

“Oh hiii, Rarity,” a familiar, laidback voice called out to Rarity, catching her by surprise, “what are you doing here?” Rarity looked up to see a familiar gray pegasus sporting a blonde mane and shimmering yellow eyes, one of which was locked on Rarity, and the other very much wasn’t.

“Bubbles!” Rarity said cheerfully, her ears perking up. “What a pleasant surprise! I didn’t get to see you before I left last time. How are your injuries?”

“My what now?” the pegasus tilted her head and creased her brow, looking terribly confused.

“Don’t you recall?” Rarity asked, equally confused as to how someone could simply forget being mauled by a timberwolf. Rarity certainly hadn’t. “You followed me into the Everfree, a few months back. Your leg was terribly injured during the ensuing battle, and though I heard you were doing alright, I didn’t get to see you for myself before I left, so I was concerned.”

“Oooooh,” Bubbles snorted and slapped her knee, “that time, I remember that! Welp, my leg’s all better now! So no need to worry about little ol’ me!”

“That’s a relief,” Rarity sighed. At least there was some good news to be had today.

“What’s on your mind, Rarity?” Bubbles asked, sitting down unprompted next to Rarity and putting an arm around her shoulders. “You seem tense.”

“I am tense,” Rarity replied miserably, though she realized she couldn’t exactly share the circumstances that led to her agonized state, now could she?

“What’s wrong?”

Rarity pondered a moment.

While it was true that she couldn’t say exactly what happened, Bubbles seemed like a sincere enough sort, and Rarity might feel better talking to someone who didn’t carry as much baggage as her friends.

At the very least, she might feel better by getting all her frustrations off her chest, and if Bubbles was asking, there was no reason Rarity couldn’t at least share the vague details of her story.

“I have—or, had, I suppose—a friend,” Rarity explained, “a very, very dear friend. And I recently realized that she’s been lying to me about something huge since we met, and I’m not sure I can ever trust her again.”

“Is she sorry for lying?” Bubbles asked, tilting her head innocently.

“She says she is,” Rarity said, “but how can I simply trust her word after she already lied to me?”

“That’s not really the question you should be asking, I think,” Bubbles puffed up her cheeks and crossed her arms. “I think what’s more important is, do you want to trust her?”

“What, pray tell, are you talking about?”

Bubbles cleared her throat. “Well, if your friend said she was sorry, and she wants to make up for lying to you, don’t you think you’d rather believe her? Like, if she’s your friend, and you still want to be friends with her— you do still want to be friends with her, right?”

“I do, but,” Rarity bit her lip, “what if she lies to me again? What if I, or even someone else who I care deeply for, gets hurt?”

“I think it’s better to risk getting hurt than to guard yourself pre-emptively from anything that could hurt you,” Bubbles said, “especially when it comes to friendship.”

“So you think I should give her a second chance,” Rarity grumbled.

“I think everyone deserves a second chance!” Bubbles said cheerfully, throwing her arms in the air and spreading her wings. “Maybe not a third chance, but think about it like this; if you still want to be friends, and she wants to make amends, don’t you owe it to both of you to give her another chance?”

Rarity paused. She stared into space for a second, and then looked at the violet dress still in her hands. She hadn't for a moment considered what she wanted from this whole situation, just what she thought she should do, or what she thought the ‘right’ thing to do was.

But what is it that she wanted?

Looking at the dress again, and thinking about how darling Twilight would look in it, she knew the answer, and she prayed she was brave enough to act on it.

“Thank you, Bubbles,” Rarity said with a smile, gently placing her hand on a beaming Bubbles’ hand. “You’ve given me a lot to think about, and I think I have an idea of what I need to do.”

“Glad I could help!” Bubbles shot right up and gave a salute. “And I hope you and your friend work things out!”

“Yes,” Rarity said fondly, “so do I.”

Rarity took the violet dress to the counter, along with a pretty green dress for Fluttershy, and some extra dresses in case they needed to change clothes for the journey, and other outfits in case they got tired of dresses.

Oh, they would also need jackets; even if they were immune to the cold themselves, nopony wanted to look at someone who looked cold, plus how could Rarity resist buying a few new stylish jackets for the winter season? Especially since the damn season seemed intent on staying past its welcome.

Rarity also picked up a new dress for herself, figuring she may as well treat herself since she’d been having such a shitty time, then realized that of course she should treat her friends as well, and got some new clothes for Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Spike, and Pinkie Pie. Nothing too frou-frou-y for the former three, though Rarity was certain Pinkie would positively adore the cabaret-style dress Rarity picked out for her.

With a small mountain of clothes hovering in the air behind her, Rarity finally felt ready to check herself out, and the woman behind the counter’s jaw dropped as she adjusted her glasses and stared in awe at Rarity’s impressive selection.

“Dear me,” she said, “is that all for yourself?”

“Heavens, no,” Rarity giggled, looking fondly at the collection, “they’re for me and my family.”

Author's Notes:

*bubbles voice* break time!
i'm going on a brief sabbatical during this new year! i will be returning with Much more azure edge again starting on january 28th!

gonna take these nice four weeks to build up my buffer and get into a comfortable routine where i can not only stay ahead on azure edge, but hopefully spend some time on my other pony projects too (and non-pony projects.. i have a fightin herds fic in the works that i'm super jazzed about but that's neither here nor there)

i hope u look forward to reading more of this story on the 28th, cuz i certainly look forward to writing more of it! and there's A Lot more story to tell

Until then, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!
And happy new year, everypony!

112. Sitting Alone

Rarity sat alone on the bench of the Ponyville steam train, hoof tapping against the thinly-carpeted floor of the vehicle, thumbnail bit between her teeth.

She was right—because of course she was, she was Rarity after all— Fluttershy looked very cute in the outfit that Rarity had bought for her, and it was nice that Fluttershy and Twilight both did not put up much of a fuss about the clothing choices Rarity had made.

How Twilight looked in her outfit, Rarity couldn’t really say, as she was very purposefully trying to avoid looking at the purple dragon in pony’s skin, lest the flame Rarity was trying to suppress rise back to the surface.

Hmm, ‘flame’… perhaps a poor choice of words.

Granted, as she watched Fluttershy get acclimated to a pony train for the first time in the disguise of a gangly, almost sickly-looking pegasus—this being the very first time the dragon had ever set foot into a train in her life—it was difficult not to look at Twilight Sparkle who was right by Fluttershy’s side, laughing and conversing quite jovially with the yellow mar—woman.

Rarity wished that she were in Fluttershy’s place, and then she cursed herself for having that damned thought.

But she couldn’t quite help it; she couldn’t help but long for the way things used to be, when she and Twilight would spend hours upon hours chatting about the most frivolous things, before Rarity knew about the horrifying secret that Twilight had been keeping from her during their entire relationship.

And that was the cursed train of thought Rarity was stuck in, going in a constant loop inside her head over and over; thinking about Twilight made her think about the old times, thinking about the old times made her think about Twilight’s secret, thinking about that secret made Rarity curse Twilight Sparkle, which made her yearn for the old times and—

Rinse. Repeat.

Twilight apparently noticed Rarity staring at her and Fluttershy, and turned her head to look at Rarity. Rarity considered turning away, averting eye contact with the dragon who had pretended to love her, but she chose not to.

She wanted Twilight to see her, to see the anger, the betrayal, the hatred in Rarity’s eyes.

But as tears stung Rarity’s eyes, she wondered if those were truly the emotions her eyes held, and only then did she look away, choosing instead to peer out the window at the station of Ponyville. She remembered how quaint the town had been during her last visit here, and at one time she wondered if perhaps the easy life of an ordinary citizen should have been her calling.

There was a time where she thought about settling down, just being happy and living an ordinary life with the people she cared about, and that memory brought her right back into that ever-looping train once again.

There was no escape from the thoughts of Twilight Sparkle, it seemed.

And perhaps, Rarity pondered, perhaps it would be best to simply confront these thoughts head-on. If going back to those old times was what Rarity truly desired, then maybe giving Twilight the cold shoulder was not in her best interest.

Would it be better— would it even be possible— to look past Twilight’s secret-keeping and her dragonic blood, and instead forgive her—or even apologize, if not for her own sake, then on behalf of the Queen and the Slayers who hunted Twilight’s kind?

As Rarity’s fingers instinctively traced across the surface of her dragon fang necklace, her stomach was seized by a violent wave of anxiety and disgust. It was impossible to overlook the similarities between Twilight’s situation and the case of that dragon so many years ago.

Twilight had been living in Canterlot for many more months that the dragon who burned down Pinkie Pie’s village, and had not once even attempted to make conflict within the city or with any of its inhabitants.

But what if she was just biding her time?

Rarity’s first gut reaction was to almost laugh at such an absurd notion; a clever, manipulative schemer who waited for the perfect moment to strike against her hated enemy didn’t sound like the Twilight Sparkle she knew at all.

But that was just it; she had no way of knowing how much, if any, of the Twilight Sparkle she thought she knew was even real, and how much was merely a part of her disguise.

This whole thing was starting to give Rarity a headache, and she found her mind returning to some words of advice she once heard, but now couldn’t even remember who had said them to her.

What do you want, Rarity?

And what did Rarity want? She had spent so much of her life never considering such a notion that it was difficult for her to parse what should have been a rather simple question.

But if Rarity were being entirely honest with herself, what she truly wanted was—

Twilight laughed and Rarity immediately turned to look at her, Rarity’s ears clamping against her head as she was caught completely unprepared by the wave of affection that crushed her as she saw Twilight laughing with a bright smile on her face, Twilight not even noticing Rarity as she remained enraptured by her pleasant conversation with Fluttershy.

Rarity stood up and headed for the bathroom. Once there, once she had sequestered herself within a stall in which she was certain nopony would bother her, she allowed herself finally to break down in tears.

What she truly wanted was far beyond her grasp now.

Author's Notes:

eyyy look who's back! it's meeeee
I hope y'all are excited about ANGST, GAY FEELINGS, and ANGST ABOUT GAY FEELINGS!

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

113. New Memories

Fluttershy’s emotions were a roiling cocktail of mixed feelings as she first set foot on the train leading out of Ponyville. She couldn’t deny a little bit of excitement at the prospect of seeing the world outside her forest, but leaving that forest made her melancholy, and the fear of what might happen to her if her true form as a dragon were discovered didn’t help.

She was feeling many things, but most of all she just felt sick.

She was fortunate that between the clothes she’d gotten from Rarity, not being surrounded by animals, and not melting the snow around her hooves, she didn’t draw attention to herself and nopony in Ponyville recognized her as the forest’s spirit.

But that still didn’t help the feeling that everypony was watching her as she marched through the town, trying to hide herself from the knife-like glares of Ponyville’s citizens that bared into her skin from every pony.

If they knew what she was, how would they react? And as Fluttershy stepped onto the train, those fears overwhelmed her and she couldn’t help thinking that everyone around her knew—they knew and they hated her, and they wanted her gone.

They wanted her dead.

“Fluttershy?” Twilight Sparkle’s soft voice and gentle touch of her hand on Fluttershy’s hand woke Fluttershy back up to reality. “Are you okay?”

“Um,” Fluttershy bit her lip. She was standing frozen in the train’s entryway, and she knew it wouldn’t be long before someone yelled at her to hurry up, but she couldn’t bring herself to move and soon she felt a cold sweat beating down her brow.

“Come on,” Twilight Sparkle said with a tender smile, easing Fluttershy deeper into the train with their fingers intertwined. “You’re gonna love the train, it’s awesome.”

“O-okay,” Fluttershy swallowed a lump of anxiety and it felt like shards of glass were scraping down her throat.

She had no idea where any of the ponies in her group were by the time Twilight sat her down on a bench beside the window, and Fluttershy had to admit, being out of everyone’s way and being able to focus on the snowy scenery outside was already helping her mind feel at ease.

“You okay?” Twilight Sparkle said softly, her fingers still wrapped around Fluttershy’s like a protective blanket.

“I-I think—I think I—”

“Let’s take some deep breaths, alright?” Twilight said, and Fluttershy nodded.

Fluttershy watched Twilight Sparkle breathe in through her nose, and Fluttershy mirrored her movements, focusing on the feeling of air flowing into her body.

Twilight Sparkle slowly let out a soft sigh, and Fluttershy did the same, a smile gracing her lips as she felt much of the pressure on her heart leaving alongside the breath.

“Thank you,” Fluttershy dipped her head down, fidgeting anxiously with her hair. “That helped.”

“My pleasure,” Twilight Sparkle smiled, and it was the first time that Fluttershy had noticed that Twilight had a very pretty smile.

A smile that disappeared in an instant when Twilight turned her head, and when Fluttershy followed Twilight’s gaze, she understood immediately why.

Rarity.

She was staring at Twilight and Fluttershy, though to be honest even despite Fluttershy’s anxieties she wasn’t so self-centered to believe that Rarity was looking at anything but Twilight.

Her eyes were so fixed to Twilight that she didn’t seem to notice Fluttershy staring back at her.

Fluttershy’s impression of Rarity had always been complicated, since the first time Rarity had entered her forest; Rarity was a woman of great compassion and dedication, but one who obviously struggled with her inner demons.

She killed animals and dragons alike and seemed to revel in that life of violence, and yet she spoke with an exhausted tone that belied a woman who understood the emotional cost of violence, but felt powerless to break free.

But looking at her now, Fluttershy couldn’t help but see her as anything more than a pitiful, heartbroken woman.

“How do you feel about her, Twilight Sparkle?” Fluttershy asked calmly, her gaze still fixed on Rarity.

“I don’t know,” Twilight said emptily. “Or rather, I don’t know what to say.”

Twilight Sparkle returned her attention to Fluttershy before burying her head in her hands, and Fluttershy thought it only polite to give Twilight her full attention in return.

“I don’t really want to talk about it,” she whimpered. “Sorry.”

“That’s okay,” Fluttershy gently placed her fingers around Twilight’s and offered a graceful smile. “What do you want to talk about instead?”

“I dunno,” Twilight muttered. “All of my good memories are wrapped up in memories of the library, yet right now it feels like those memories are as ruined as the library itself.”

Twilight groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Which reminds me,” she sighed bitterly, “I need to see the wreckage for myself. Need to see if there’s anything in there worth salvaging. That’s gonna be a downer.”

“I think I understand how you feel,” Fluttershy said carefully. She wanted to empathize, but she didn’t want to presume she knew what Twilight was going through just because she felt like she had gone through similar experiences. “I don’t have many pleasant memories of my home anymore either.”

“You come from Zebrica, right?” Twilight asked, and Fluttershy nodded with a small giggle. Zebrica was the only major territory that allowed dragons to live openly, so it wasn’t hard to guess where Fluttershy was from. “What region?”

“I kinda went all over,” Fluttershy said, and while she knew that answer was pretty unhelpful, she always tried to keep details of her past locked in a vault inside her brain that she never ever opened. “Ended up settling down in Dragmire for the longest though.”

The way Twilight instantly sucked air through her teeth, Fluttershy could tell she also spent some time in Dragmire.

“That’s rough. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Fluttershy shook her head and smiled. “We’re in this together now, and we’ve both gone through a lot. But the beautiful thing about life is that there will always be opportunities to make new happy memories.”

Twilight blinked and stared awkwardly at Fluttershy, which made Fluttershy feel a little anxious. Then Twilight burst out laughing and Fluttershy’s cheeks turned a deep, blazing pink and she wondered if perhaps she should have just kept her mouth shut.

“You’re so right, Fluttershy!” Twilight said with a big smile, and the wave of relief that washed over Fluttershy was indescribable. “I still have my son, and you, and Pinkie Pie too.”

“Yeah,” Fluttershy said softly. “Just cuz we have a lot of unhappy memories weighing us down, doesn’t mean we can’t blaze a new path toward a life worth living, y’know?”

“I do!” Twilight chirped, nodding vigorously. “We can make new happy memories, and you know what?”

“Hm?”

“I think I just did,” Twilight beamed, and Fluttershy smiled brightly back at her.

It was still going to be a long journey to the Crystal Empire, and yet Fluttershy was sure now more than ever that she was glad she came along.

Author's Notes:

now that i've revealed that twilight and fluttershy are dragons, i can finally admit that the hardest part of writing this fic was making sure neither of them said "everypony" during the first 111 chapters.

oh, by the way! are y'all interested in reading a tumblr blog that chronicles my rewatch through ALL of friendship is magic?? cuz it exists, u can read it with ur eyes, and it's called Thanks Firefly!
i'm rly proud of it, so if u enjoy my writing and wanna hear my hot takes on poneys, go ahead and check it out!

Anyhoo, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

114. Old Memories

The winter wind felt colder on Twilight’s skin than it had in a long time, as it brought with it the smell of burnt wood from the ashes of the once great oak tree she stood in front of.

This had been her home, and now it was nothing more than a pitch-black splintered trunk and flecks of ash sailing on the wind.

As Twilight stood in front of the ruins of her old home, her fingers gripped gently by Spike’s hand, she wasn’t really sure what to feel. Sadness? Regret? Despair? Even anger maybe?

Twilight didn’t know, so she didn’t really feel much of anything. It was almost like she was staring at the scene outside of her own body, a passive observer to whom the library that had housed so many wonderful memories meant nothing.

It was all over now. The life Twilight had been trying to build for herself and her son lied in ruins like the library.

It was too much for one woman to bear, so she simply refused to bear it.

Twilight felt a gentle tug on her hand, and she looked down to see Spike, eyes glistening with unshed tears, smiling up at her. She couldn’t help but smile back. At least they still had each other.

Memories, homes, even relationships could be rebuilt, so long as they were together.

“C’mon, Twilight!” Spike pitter-pattered over to the library, tugging Twilight along with him. “No sense standing around moping all day! Let’s look for some buried treasure!”

“That sounds great, Spike,” Twilight laughed, thankful for Spike’s enthusiasm. “Just be careful! We don’t know if the place is gonna collapse any more than it already has!”

“Yeah, yeah,” Spike gave an exaggerated scoff. “You’re too paranoid, honestly!”

“Sure,” Twilight chuckled and rolled her eyes as the pair took their first steps into the library.

Twilight felt nauseous feeling the familiar hardwood of her library under her hooves, and it didn’t help when she looked up and saw the sky through the burnt-out hole in the roof—it was practically more hole now than roof to be quite honest.

Spike didn’t seem deterred, digging through collapsed shelves and toppled bookcases like it was nothing more than a scavenger hunt, and Twilight breathed a sigh of relief at his energy. She was worried this was gonna be harder on him than it would be on her, and she was glad to see the reverse was true.

After maybe fifteen minutes of searching, Twilight and Spike sat at the half-burned remains of their coffee table and looked at the small collection of books they had gathered.

Twilight, ever the perfectionist, wasn’t interested in keeping around books that had lost even a few of their pages, and unfortunately for her the books that had been completely unharmed by the battle in the library numbered in merely the double digits.

“Well, that’s a spirit breaker,” she said drolly, pouting and resting her chin on the table.

“None of your journals are here,” Spike said sadly. “I thought you had like really powerful protection spells on them, so I was hoping at least they’d still be around.”

“They should be,” Twilight muttered. “But they’re all upstairs. Considering how many abjurations I cast on the upstairs bedroom, I bet it still looks better than most entire houses in the rest of this city.”

“Oh! Let’s go up there then!” Spike cheered, not even waiting for Twilight’s reply before hurrying up the stairs.

“Be caref—”

Before Twilight could even finish, Spike stepped on a stair that collapsed upon his touch. Twilight gasped, teleporting over to him and picking him up as he fell, her wings outstretched behind her back as she floated above the floor.

“Woah,” Spike chuckled, looking up at Twilight as she put him on the ground. “You haven’t let your wings out like that since—”

“Bleugh,” Twilight groaned as she put her wings away. She hated them. A cursed reminder of how she would never fit in, no matter where she tried to hide. “Come on, Spike. Let’s go up there together.”

“Roger that!” Spike gave a spirited salute that made Twilight giggle.

If stepping inside the library made Twilight feel nauseous, stepping into the attic bedroom made her want to die right on the spot. It was the same as it ever was, just as Twilight predicted, and it was an even more pressing reminder of the—

No.

No more of that. No more being miserable about the past. I need to move on. We need to move on.

“Hey, Twilight!” Spike said, his eyes wide as he rummaged through one of the nightstands. “Check this out!”

Twilight pushed aside the storm in her stomach to pay attention to Spike, but she couldn’t hide the pained grimace on her face when she saw what he had found.

He had indeed found Twilight’s collection of journals, which she was quite happy to see; it would have been a huge pain to rewrite that much material.

But no, that wasn’t what Twilight focused on.

A small pile of books had been removed from the nightstand, sitting in a pile on the floor beside Spike, who had no idea what he had moved. They had been sitting inside the nightstand on top of Twilight’s journals, because she had wanted them to always be close to her.

It was an assorted collection…

…of fashion books.

“God fucking damn it,” Twilight cursed under her breath, biting down on her thumb almost hard enough to draw blood.

“What’s the ma— oh,” Spike gulped as he followed Twilight’s line of sight to the fashion books. “Oh, I didn’t see those when I moved ‘em. I didn’t really think— I’m sorry, Twilight.”

“Don’t be,” Twilight shrugged, wiping the blood off her finger onto her tunic. “Not your fault. Not anyone’s fault, I guess. Just—”

“Do you think Rarity will ever wanna be friends again?” Spike asked, and his voice cracked with emotion that threatened to shatter Twilight’s fragile heart.

Twilight didn’t want Spike to feel the same kind of pain she was feeling, but she refused to lie to him or give him false hope.

“I don’t know, Spike,” she said coldly.

“Is there anything we can do?” Spike whimpered, his face scrunching up to hold back tears.

“I don’t know,” Twilight choked out, her own tears threatening to break free at any second, so she knelt down and hugged Spike, who clung to her tightly.

“I don’t know either,” Spike sighed, but then quickly pushed himself away from Twilight and smiled at her, “but what I do know is that I’ll always be your friend! And you’ll always be mine!”

“That’s right, Spike!” Twilight chuckled and ruffled the little pegasus’ mane. “I’m really lucky to have you.”

“That’s true,” Spike said smugly. “Honestly I don’t know how you’d survive without me.”

“I’m sure I wouldn’t,” Twilight chuckled but her words were absolutely serious. If not for Spike, she probably wouldn’t have—

Well, best not to think about what would’ve happened.

“Alright,” Twilight groaned as she stood up. She felt like age was already catching up to her, and yet she was barely a young adult. “I’m tired of swimming in these old memories. Let’s pack up the important stuff and head to the station already.”

“Okay,” Spike hummed and collected his little doll of Twilight’s likeness— which made Twilight’s heart melt every time she saw it— and Twilight’s journals. “Oh, hey,” Spike said, giving a limp kick to the fashion books, “what about these?”

Twilight took a deep breath, in through her nose— and it didn’t escape her that she felt like she could actually breathe for the first time since she’d set her eyes on the ruined library.

Twilight sighed slowly, wanting to let the past die so she could move on into a better future.

“Pack them up,” Twilight said with a nervous smile, Spike’s eyes glittering like stars at her words, “you never know when we might need them.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

115. One Last Job

Applejack sighed as she tapped her finger against the wooden counter of the smithery. Pinkie sat in a nearby chair; she had planned to gather food and stuff from the kitchen to pack up for their journey, and Applejack was gonna see if there was anything worth salvaging from the shop, but—

Both ponies sat in cold silence.

This was it. They were really closing down the shop, and there was no way of knowing if they were gonna be able to recover it after this.

“I mean,” Pinkie chuckled awkwardly, “we have a few loyal customers. They won’t just forget about us, right?”

“Not enough to break even,” Applejack mumbled, chin resting in her hand. Pinkie just sighed.

“I’m sorry, Applejack,” Pinkie pouted, curling up into a ball with her legs held in front of her like a shield. “If it weren’t for me—”

“Don’t even start, Pinkie,” Applejack shook her head. “I love ya more’n any shop or job. Yer family to me, and I don’t wanna hear you beatin’ yerself up over any of this.”

“Oh,” Pinkie hummed. “Well then, can I be honest?”

“Absolutely,” Applejack offered a warm smile.

“I am gonna be so glad to be done with this place!” Pinkie groaned, lurching back with her hands over her face. “Working here has been like one nightmarish stress headache after another and I am SOOOOOO done!”

“Y’know what, Pinkie?” Applejack grumbled, before bursting out laughing. “Big same! Gawd, I’m so glad we’re on the same page here!”

“Me too!” Pinkie gasped, jumping into the air. “Oh, I was super duper worried you were gonna be totally bummed out!”

“Eh, I am a wee bit,” Applejack shrugged. “But the truth is, I ain’t gonna miss doin’ this work. Heck, I ain’t even gonna miss Canterlot if I’m bein’ totally frank.”

“Me neither,” Pinkie huffed and crossed her arms. “Twilight was the best thing to ever happen to this city.”

That statement caught Applejack off-guard, and she arched an eyebrow. Truth be told, she still wasn’t entirely sure how she felt about Twilight Sparkle, the dragon. All she knew was she for dang sure didn’t want Pinkie gettin’ involved with such a dangerous situation.

But then again, she knew there was nothing she could do or say that’d stop Pinkie from chasin’ after Twi if that’s what she wanted to do.

Didn’t mean she couldn’t try though.

“Pinkie—”

A jingling bell interrupted Applejack’s train of thought as a customer came into the smithery. Applejack prepared to put on her polite dealing-with-customers face, but before she could even do that she was left stunned by exactly who it was that walked in, and her face went completely pale.

“Um,” Fluttershy muttered, fingers twiddling in front of her, “is this store open still? Should I come back later? Or uh, never?”

“Oh, Fluttershy!” Pinkie’s eyes lit up like glittering stars and she bit her lip real hard, probably trying to control herself from just leaping onto Fluttershy in a big hug. “No, you’re totally welcome here! Our home is your home!”

I wouldn’t go that far, Applejack thought, but it wouldn’t do to be impolite to a guest. After all, Applejack might not have trusted Twilight or Fluttershy, but she wasn’t ready to just start jumpin’ to conclusions about ‘em either.

“How can we help ya, Fluttershy?” Applejack asked.

“Well, I um-” Fluttershy cleared her throat “-I was under the impression that this was a smithery. I was wondering, if um, you could maybe—”

Fluttershy bit down on her thumb while twirling a strand of hair around her other hand. Pinkie walked up to her and grabbed Fluttershy’s arm gently, smiling brightly at her. That seemed to help Fluttershy’s mood a fair bit.

“I was hoping you could make me a sword!” Fluttershy said with an exaggerated bow.

“Heck yeah!” Pinkie squealed, jumping in the air and pumping her fists while Applejack was still trying to process what Fluttershy had just said. “One last job, Applejack! What d’ya say!!”

“I’m a little surprised,” Applejack tapped a finger on the counter, her brow thoroughly creased. “How come yer lookin’ for a sword, Fluttershy? Thought you were the non-violent type?”

Pinkie glowered at Applejack, but Fluttershy just chuckled.

“Complete non-violence isn’t very realistic, is it?” Fluttershy said with a calm, measured smile on her face. “There are always people out there who might want to hurt you, and I’d rather be able to defend myself with a sword than with fire, you know?”

“Ah,” Applejack chuckled awkwardly, “I guess that makes sense.”

“Besides,” Fluttershy looked down at Pinkie and gave her a serene smile, “I’ve heard that Pinkie Pie is an expert enchanter, and I would like something—” Fluttershy bit her lip and pondered her next statement for a second. “In case I ever need to go back into hiding, I would like to have something of hers, a small part of her that can always be with me.”

Pinkie’s eyes glistened with tears and her smile was as wide and brimming with joy as Applejack had ever seen it. Applejack couldn’t exactly say no to that face, but it didn’t much matter since she wasn’t planning on saying no anyway.

“What d’ya say, Pinkie?” Applejack grinned at her tiny pink companion. “One last job?”

“Yeah!” Pinkie gave an eager grin and pounded her fist against her palm. “Let’s make one last sword—the best one we’ve ever made— not just for Fluttershy, but to celebrate all the time we’ve spent here and all the friends we’ve made and stuff!”

“Honestly, Pinkie,” Applejack chuckled and gave a soft sigh, feeling a mountain of weight falling off her back as she stood up and readied her tools one last time, “that sounds great.”

Fluttershy had an ideal in mind for what her sword should look like, and she tried to give specific instructions about it to Pinkie Pie and Applejack, but she also didn’t want to step on their hooves too much, so she felt like her suggestions might have gotten muddled, and she worried that her weapon wouldn’t come out how she wanted it.

Turns out she worried for nothing— what a concept— because the sword that Fluttershy now held in her hands was even better than what she had imagined.

A sturdy, curved blade that gently glowed with pink runes etched onto it— six of them, each representing a different enchantment inspired by Pinkie Pie’s love for the people she cared about, and her desire to protect Fluttershy with those feelings.

The hilt was a forest green with a pale pink design of a butterfly etched into it, and as Fluttershy swung it this way and that, it felt lighter than air, like it was a part of her body and not just a tool for self-defense.

“Thank you, Pinkie Pie,” Fluttershy smiled brightly, her cheeks tinted a rosy pink, “it’s perfect.”

“I daresay it’s the finest thing we ever made,” Applejack wiped some sweat off her brow as she sat contentedly at the counter, arms crossed over it and head resting over her arms.

“I’m super duper glad you like it,” Pinkie beamed, a little squeaking noise escaping her lips that warmed Fluttershy’s heart.

“I do,” Fluttershy sighed, feeling a breath of fresh air filling her lungs for the first time since she’d left her forest as she stared at the runes etched onto her blade. “I love it.”

Author's Notes:

yo real quick; huge shout out to earthsong9405 for making some EXTREMELY RAD art based on this fic!

her au idea was the inspiration for this fic in the first place, so seeing her take on my take on her work is like?? so incredible

so yea, go check out those pics! and then check out all of earthsong's other art too! cuz quite frankly she's a fantastic artist and u should have her works in ur life if u don't already

Anyhoo, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

116. The Manticore Mission

Rarity was seated at the bar in Canterlot’s Moon District, elegantly posed and sipping from a delightful little pink cocktail—

No, okay that’s not true. Rarity had her head firmly against a wooden table in the corner of the slate-gray bar, a half-empty mug of cider sitting on the table in front of her.

Rarity generally dealt with any kind of tragedy or emotional turmoil by barricading herself in her room with several tubs of ice cream— crying hysterically for hours at a time in the most dire of circumstances, which this certainly qualified as— but she didn’t have the opportunity to stock up on ice cream since everything that happened with Twilight, and one could only cry so hysterically in a public bathroom without attracting unwanted attention.

So here Rarity sat, lying in pathetic squalor in a seedy rundown bar, cursing herself for ever having feelings for the woman that somehow managed to save her life and then ruin it all over again.

Rarity’s wallowing would have to wait however, as she was suddenly interrupted by Rainbow Dash slamming her palm down on the table, Rarity jolting up in alarm.

When Rainbow took her hand off the table, Rarity looked down to see a piece of paper that Rainbow had left there.

“What is this?” Rarity asked.

“That is a piece of paper,” Rainbow replied, and Rarity just sighed. “It’s a mission. A simple one, just go hunt down a manticore that’s been bothering the ponies in Luna Bay. I figured you could use some time away from-” Rainbow gesticulated in disgust “-all this, so I signed you up for one.”

“Without asking me first?” Rarity arched an eyebrow.

“Well, I’m not gonna twist your arm or anything,” Rainbow shrugged. “If you don’t wanna do it, I’ll just do it myself, I just thought you might appreciate having some time to yourself to sort your head out, y’know?”

“Honestly, Rainbow Dash,” Rarity scoffed, “I’m not sure why you think I need to be sequestered from the all the important things going on with Twilight and everyth—”

“Whatever, Rarity,” Rainbow interjected, batting Rarity’s arguments away with a dismissive hand. “Like I said, if you don’t wanna do it, that’s totally fine. I know I could definitely use some time to think about everything that’s happened.”

Rarity tapped her finger against the wooden table and let out a slow, dreary sigh through her nose. Perhaps Rainbow Dash had the right idea. Just seeing the woman known as Twilight Sparkle made Rarity feel ill, and angry, and sad, and heartbroken, and depressed, and—

“Okay, fine,” Rarity grumpily said aloud, if only to silence the torrent of intrusive thoughts smothering her mind. “Fine.”

“You’ll take the mission?” Rainbow sat down and gave Rarity a friendly smirk, and while it was but a small gesture, it somehow made Rarity feel like she could breathe again for a short time.

“I will,” Rarity nodded and reached her hand across the table, Rainbow looking at it for a second and biting her lip before deciding to put her hand overtop it. “Thank you, Rainbow Dash. And I apologize, for snapping at you before. You didn’t deserve that at all.”

“Thanks, Rare,” Rainbow chuckled, “I appreciate that. Cuz yeah, I totally get why your patience is on thin ice right now, and I feel ya, but don’t forget that Twilight was everypony’s friend, and we’re all reeling right now.”

“You’re absolutely right,” Rarity sighed and gently squeezed Rainbow’s fingers. “And I’m sorry that I’ve just been thinking of myself.”

Rainbow Dash merely nodded in reply, a soft smile on her face. She stood up, and Rarity stood up as well and embraced Rainbow in a tight hug, the two just holding each other for a brief moment in time.

“I will say,” Rarity whispered, “I am incredibly fortunate to have such wonderful friends in my life.”

“You sure are,” Rainbow snickered, and instead of sniping back at her, Rarity only giggled. She couldn’t even hope to argue with that.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

117. Stay Safe

Rarity sat on a bench in the Moon District train station, listlessly waiting for her train to arrive. She hardly noticed the passersby going about their business around her as she sat solemnly, finger tapping against her cheek.

She sat alone; she was taking an earlier train than that of the rest of her group, so she saw fit to arrive at the station early; the less time she had to spend pining over Twilight Sparkle, the better.

“Hey, Rarity!”

Applejack’s voice calling out to her made Rarity’s ears shoot right up, and she attempted to affect a cheerful expression as Applejack walked up to her— but the key word was ‘attempted’ and it was not a lovely sight to behold.

“Woah,” Applejack said with a cringe, “don’t look too excited.”

“I’m sorry, dear,” Rarity groaned and pouted. “I’m not in a good mood today, I’m afraid.”

“Yeah, I feel ya on that,” Applejack grumbled and took a seat next to Rarity, putting her arm around Rarity’s shoulders. Rarity thought to protest, but decided against it; she could use the comfort.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to be there fo—”

“Don’t apologize, hon,” Applejack chuckled and rubbed Rarity’s arm, and while Rarity did feel somewhat guilty still, she appreciated Applejack’s support. “We’re all reelin’ from this, it’s only natural we’d all need some time to get our heads on straight ‘fore we can really be there for each other. Especially you.”

Rarity said nothing, just let the truth of Applejack’s words fill her like water being poured into an empty vase.

“So hey,” Applejack cleared her throat and Rarity’s ears flicked up again, “were you gonna tell the rest of us that you’re takin’ a different train?”

“Uh, well,” Rarity stammered sheepishly, her face turning a bright red. Truth be told, it just slipped her mind that she should probably inform the others of her change of plans. “I apologize, I haven’t quite been myself as of late.”

“That’s fine, sugarcube,” Applejack laughed and brought Rarity in close for a side-hug. “I’m just teasin’ ya. Rainbow told me the whole story.”

“Oh, okay,” Rarity sighed. “I certainly hoped one of you informed Pinkie Pie. You know she’ll be distraught if the news is dropped on her at the last minute.”

“Yeah, she wasn’t happy about it,” Applejack hummed. “But she gets it too. You need some time and space to clear yer head, we all do.”

“I hope she wasn’t too upset,” Rarity mused.

“She said it’s fine,” Applejack chuckled into her hand, “but that next time she sees ya she’s gonna make you eat one of her strawberry-cinnamon-cilantro cupcakes.”

“Oh goodness,” Rarity held her hand up to her mouth and laughed, “certainly a punishment worse than death.”

“I’ll eat one with ya,” Applejack said, “cuz I wanna go with you on the manticore mission.”

“What,” Rarity said stiffly, looking at Applejack as though she had told her that the earth was flat or some other such nonsense.

“I know you need your space,” Applejack gently tapped her knuckles against her palm, “so if u don’t want me to come, that’s fine. But I don’t wanna leave you totally on your lonesome. I want you to have somepony to talk to if you need to.”

“That’s—” Rarity blushed, and she chewed on her thumbnail to stall for time and think of what to say.

She was flattered, honestly. She was touched by Applejack’s concern for her; it always surprised her when her friends showed genuine concern for her wellbeing. To some degree, there was a part of her that always assumed her friends were only friends with her because of what she could do for them, so to be reminded that no, her friends really care about her, it was—

It was difficult to handle.

Rarity made a loud hacking cough to try and dissuade the emotions she was feeling, and the tears welling up in her eyes, from fully coming to the surface. Unfortunately, the rest of their little group arrived at the station just in time to see Rarity pretending to hack her lungs out.

“Oh no! Applejack did you tell her about the cilantro thing?” Pinkie gasped, hands over her mouth. “That was just a joke, Rarity, I’m not actually gonna make you eat those nasty things!”

“You’re very—” Rarity coughed, her pretend hacking fit bringing on a real one, and Applejack patted her back. “You’re too sweet, Pinkie Pie. Thank you.”

“So you two work out your travel arrangements?” Rainbow asked, crossing her arms and cocking her head. “You gonna go together?”

“Yes,” Rarity nodded, putting her hand on Applejack’s leg and looking up at her with a tender smile. “Yes, we are. I would like that very much.”

“Happy to do it, Rarity,” Applejack replied with a beaming smile. Applejack looked at Rainbow Dash and winked at her. “I hope you’ll be okay without me for a day or two.”

“I think I’ll manage,” Rainbow rolled her eyes. “But you’d better brace yourself, cuz next time I see you, I’m gonna kiss you like super hard.”

“Lookin’ forward to it,” Applejack licked her lips.

“I, um,” Fluttershy if all po—creatures—muttered, “I hope you two have a good time.”

“Thanks, hon,” Applejack said politely, though Rarity refused to say anything at all as she stood to her hooves.

And she looked directly at Twilight Sparkle, who took a step toward her.

For a moment, it felt like the two of them were all that existed in the world, as they simply stared at each other in silence, Spike anxiously holding onto Twilight’s hand.

“Stay safe,” Twilight said, her tone betraying zero emotion.

“You too,” Rarity choked out, speaking before having a chance to think better of it, and then walking away from Twilight Sparkle to the train platform, as the whistle of the oncoming train pierced through the air and shattered the silence.

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

118. Cookies on the Train

Twilight was leaned against the window of the train as the snowy hills of Equestria rolled by, her eyes darting back and forth between the scenery outside and Spike, who was sitting across from her and just had so many questions about the Crystal Empire.

Unfortunately for Spike, Twilight couldn’t actually answer most of his questions, as she hadn't ever actually been there; but she didn’t want to tell him that, so she just tried to be coy and answer his questions in as teasing a tone as possible.

Granted, trying to be playful with her son was not super easy considering all Twilight really wanted to do was curl up into a ball and lie on the ground for the rest of her life, so she was somewhat relieved to see Pinkie Pie poking her head into their cabin.

“Knock-knock!” Pinkie chirped. “Anypony in here? Er, wait—anycreature? Anyp—uhh what’s the term here?”

“’Anyone’ is fine,” Twilight chuckled.

“Oh yeah,” Pinkie conked herself on the noggin, “duh! Anyhoo, I brought many cookies!”

“Oooh, come on in, Pinkie!” Spike cooed, slapping his hands against the seat.

Pinkie did exactly as asked and bounced into the cabin, holding two big plastic bags full to bursting with cookies and throwing one over to Spike, who audibly grunted from the weight as he caught it, and he yelped and covered his face with his arms as Pinkie pulled a third bag out of her mane and tossed it to him.

“Hey, Spike,” Pinkie said as she took a seat next to him, “be a dear and split those cookies with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy? I forgot to hand those off to them!”

“I hope you made enough for Applejack and Rarity,” Twilight said listlessly, staring vacantly out the window.

“Of course, silly!” Pinkie blew a raspberry. “But they aren’t here right now so I’ve got their cookies stuffed away in my secret pouch!”

“So wait,” Spike said, holding up a bag of cookies and licking his lips, “does that mean this whole bag is just for me?”

“Well as long as Twilight’s okay with it,” Pinkie nodded, “yeah!”

Spike whipped his head toward Twilight at lightning speed and looked at her with stars in his eyes, and Twilight just rolled her eyes and smirked.

“Go ahead, Spike,” she said, “but bring that other bag to Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy first, okay?”

“Will do!” Spike said with an eager salute. “Thanks Twilight, thanks Pinkie!”

Spike couldn’t bolt out of the cabin fast enough, practically leaving Twilight and Pinkie in a cloud of dust, and Twilight couldn’t help but laugh.

“Thanks, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said. “That was really sweet of you.”

“You guys are my friends,” Pinkie shrugged and stuffed a fistful of cookies into her mouth, not even pretending to care about chewing before she started speaking again and spewing crumbs everywhere. “You want some?”

“Yeah, I’ll take a few,” Twilight said, reaching her hand out.

“Help yourself!” Pinkie chirped as she handed over the bag.

Twilight took a cookie out of the bag and bit down on it. It tasted very good, and Twilight meant to say as much, but she just sort of… zoned out.

“Hey,” Pinkie said softly, Twilight responding by looking up at her but not by speaking. “You wanna talk about, y’know, all the stuff?”

Twilight shook her head.

“That’s okay!” Pinkie kicked her legs in the air. “Do you mind if I… keep you company for a bit?”

“Actually,” Twilight hummed, tracing her fingers over her cookie, “yeah, I’d actually really like that, Pinkie.”

Pinkie beamed and reached out her hand for the cookie bag, Twilight handing it over and Pinkie wasting no time in stuffing her face with as many cookies as would fit in it.

“Don’t worry,” Pinkie said, her mouth full of cookie, “I’ll make sure I save some for you!”

Twilight chuckled but didn’t respond. She just wanted to look out the window at the scenery going by, but every so often she’d look back at Pinkie gleefully eating cookies, and it made her think about the party they all had in Twilight’s library.

That was probably the best day of Twilight’s entire life, and now the library was burned to ashes and was never coming back. Twilight’s lie was revealed, Rarity hated her now, and yet?

Pinkie Pie still wanted to be Twilight’s friend.

And suddenly, the weight of everything that had happened crashed on Twilight’s shoulders like a tidal wave, and her face scrunched up reflexively to try to stop the tears from happening, but they were coming way too strong for Twilight to fight back against them, and Twilight broke down and started weeping.

Pinkie hopped off her bench and came over onto Twilight’s, not saying a word as she just wrapped Twilight up in a hug. That just made Twilight cry even harder, but in a good way, if that makes sense.

Pinkie held up a cookie for Twilight, and Twilight took it and gave it a gentle nibble.

“These are really good, Pinkie,” Twilight said, trying to get a coherent sentence out despite her sniffling and blubbering.

“Thanks,” Pinkie said warmly, “I made them with a lotta love.”

“Pinkie Pie,” Twilight put the cookie in her mouth and embraced Pinkie, holding her tight like she was the only solid matter in a universe coming apart at the seams around Twilight, “thank you.”

“Hey,” Pinkie squeaked, starting to cry herself, “what are friends for?”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

119. Cookies Part II: Cookie Chaos

Fluttershy sat with her legs curled up in front of her, twirling a strand of her hair around her finger as her eyes remained glued to the window and the snowy hills outside. She was alone in a private cabin, but she wasn’t sure if that made her feel better or worse.

She still had a lot of anxiety being outside her forest; her magic was severely weakened, and she was constantly surrounded by ponies who, if they knew what she was, would want to have her killed immediately.

Not exactly a situation conducive to relaxing.

She felt okay—not great, but okay—when she was with Twilight, but Twilight needed some time alone with her son, and Fluttershy wasn’t about to deny her that, so now Fluttershy was on her own, and every second felt like an hour passing by.

A gentle tap at the door of her cabin made Fluttershy nearly jump out of her skin, and she wasn’t honestly sure how to feel about Rainbow Dash’s voice coming from the other side.

“Hey, Fluttershy?” she said. “You in there? Mind if I come in?”

“Um, okay,” Fluttershy whimpered meekly. Rainbow hadn't been anything but polite to her so far during their limited interactions with each other, and Fluttershy figured Rainbow must have had something important in mind if she was coming to Fluttershy of all creatures.

Rainbow Dash awkwardly sidled into the cabin and pointed at the bench across from Fluttershy.

“This seat taken?” she said with a shaky grin. Fluttershy just shook her head.

Rainbow cleared her throat and sat down, and the two just… sat.

And sat.

In silence.

For what felt, to Fluttershy at least, for about thirty years.

Fluttershy finally mustered up the nerve to speak, but as soon as she did, Rainbow blurted out something as well and the two talked over each other, both awkwardly shutting down to let the other speak first, which only led to another awkward silence.

“I’m afraid of you,” Fluttershy blurted out, and Rainbow sputtered in response.

“Wait, what?” Rainbow blinked. “You’re afraid of me? That’s what I was gonna say, but like the other way around! How are you afrai—”

“I think it’s because ponies, and especially Slayers, seem to be dedicated to wiping out my entire species,” Fluttershy said flatly.

“Oh,” Rainbow replied, eyes darting toward the ground, biting down on her lip and to top it off her ears flattened against her head. “Yeah, okay. That makes sense. Sorry about that.”

“Hm,” Fluttershy nodded. She wasn’t really sure how to take ‘sorry for the attempted genocide’.

“Hey guys, I have cookies!” Spike cheered as he bounced into the cabin, nearly giving Fluttershy a heart attack.

“Yo dude, I love cookies!” Rainbow cooed.

“I-I’ll have—oh!” Fluttershy yelped as Rainbow pulled a cookie out of Spike’s bag and tossed it to her.

“So Fluttershy, here’s what I’m thinkin’,” Rainbow said, her mouth full of cookie, Spike sitting next to her and chowing down on his own bag of cookies. “We got the being scared of each other thing in common, right? And we got the being trans, and the being friends with Twilight thing in common, too.”

Fluttershy wasn’t sure she could consider herself a ‘friend’ of Twilight Sparkle, exactly; they didn’t know each other that well, but Fluttershy did feel that she wanted to be friends with Twilight, and she would be pleased if Twilight really felt that way.

“Maybe we should have the being friends with each other thing in common, too!” Rainbow said, pounding her fist against her palm. Fluttershy gasped, and she wasn’t sure if it was at the sound or at Rainbow’s words. “Cuz I don’t think anyone deserves to live their life in fear, and that obviously includes you, right?”

“I think—” Fluttershy hummed and held out her hand, Rainbow Dash putting a cookie into it which Fluttershy took a nibble of and purred with delight; these must have been Pinkie Pie’s cookies. “I think I’d like that, Rainbow Dash.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

120. Cookies Part III: Cookies and Trauma

Twilight sniffed and wiped her eyes as she managed to finally grasp some modicum of control over her emotions. Pinkie Pie, for her part, had been an absolute sweetheart; happily munching on cookies and comforting Twilight while Twilight cried. It was very embarrassing.

“I’m sorry,” Twilight said, taking in deep breaths to try and get ahold of herself. “You didn’t deserve to see all of tha—”

“Bupbup!” Pinkie interjected, raising a hand up toward Twilight’s muzzle but she couldn’t quite reach. “I don’t wanna hear it, Twilight. You’re my friend, and sometimes part of being a good friend is letting your friends cry on you for a bit. No big deal.”

“I just,” Twilight groaned, “I don’t want you to have to be my therapist or anything.”

“I’m not your ‘therapist’,” Pinkie giggled, and Twilight couldn’t deny that sound did wonders for her mood, “I’m your friend!”

“A good friend wouldn’t force you to carry my burdens for me,” Twilight grumbled, shifting uncomfortably in her seat. “I need to deal with my own problems, no one else needs to be burdened with sifting through my baggage.”

Pinkie blinked at Twilight and pursed her lips.

“Who hurt you, Twilight?” she asked flatly.

“Nobody ‘hurt’ me!” Twilight balked, admittedly caught off-guard by Pinkie’s response.

“You super sure about that?” Pinkie hummed, holding her index fingers together against her lips.

“Yeah! I mean—” Twilight thought about it for a second, thought about her parents back when they were still around, and about all of her old magic teachers besides Zecora, and even Shining Armor. She was forced to admit that Pinkie may have had a point. “Uhhhh, hm.”

“It’s okay, Twilight,” Pinkie patted Twilight’s thigh. “Dealing with hurt is really hard! It’s sticky and it’s complicated, and there’s no easy fixes! But there are-” Pinkie pulled a pair of cookies out of her cookie bag and beamed brightly “-cookies and friendship! And I think those things make dealing with the stickiness a lot easier!”

“Okay,” Twilight giggled and took one of the cookies Pinkie offered, “maybe you’re right.”

“Of course I’m right!” Pinkie nodded confidently, puffing up her chest. “If there’s two things I understand, it’s cookies and friendship! And actually, I know a lot about dealing with internalized trauma too, so you should listen to me!”

“Well that’s upsetting to think about,” Twilight nibbled on the cookie; she wasn’t really hungry, but Pinkie’s cookies were so good, and she knew the only reason she wasn’t hungry was just because she was anxious and her stomach was completely empty. “I don’t want you to have to deal with that kind of pain, Pinkie Pie.”

“Right back atcha!” Pinkie shrugged, taking a big bite out of a cookie. “But we all have demons, right? And the way I see it, friendship is about sharing, and sometimes that means sharing cookies, and sometimes it means sharing burdens! Both are important parts of friendship!”

“Hm,” Twilight took a slightly bigger bite out of the cookie, “I never really thought about it like that before.”

Twilight looked at the half-eaten cookie in her hand and pondered Pinkie’s words. It was tough to hear them, tough to think that Twilight’s method of dealing with her troubles all this time— by internalizing them and never letting anyone else see them ever— was not only not working, but actively hurting her relationships.

And it hurt even more because she knew it was true.

“I’m not—” Twilight croaked weakly, sinking her teeth into the cookie for a second but feeling too sick to take a bite. “I don’t think that I’m ready to share like that.”

“That’s okay!” Pinkie chirped, taking a big bite out of another cookie.

“It is?” Twilight cocked her head as she looked at Pinkie in bewilderment.

“Yeah, totally!” Pinkie nodded confidently. “Everyone deals with their stuff at their own pace, and it wouldn’t do for me to force you to share stuff you’re not comfortable with! That just wouldn’t be right at all! But I am here for you whenever you’re ready to share stuff.”

“Thanks, Pinkie,” Twilight felt a familiar heat creeping up against her cheeks, and it was actually quite a welcome reprieve from how garbagey she’d been feeling up until now.

“No problem!” Pinkie said, her mouth full of cookie. “Happy to do it!”

“I will admit,” Twilight took a big bite out of her cookie, relishing in how sweet it tasted and how the storm in her stomach was starting to quiet down a bit, “these cookies wouldn’t be nearly as good if I were eating them by myself.”

Author's Notes:

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

121. Rainbow Dash Ponders the Meaning of Friendship

It had gotten pretty late and Rainbow Dash and the others were still on the train to the Crystal Empire—sheep had fallen asleep on the tracks or some nonsense, so there was a delay. Not that it mattered; the girls had decided to stop at Neighagra Falls and wait there for Rarity and Applejack, but the train hadn't gotten there yet either.

Most of the others were snoozing in the cabins, but Rainbow was sitting in the dimly-lit snack car, trying to read a Daring Do book but only scanning the same sentence like fifty times as her brain buzzed with thoughts of Rarity and Applejack, and of Twilight and Fluttershy.

When Rainbow had offered Fluttershy her friendship, it felt like the right thing to do at the time—it still did! But there was still this garbagey nagging feeling in her brain that Fluttershy was a dragon and that she was dangerous, but Rainbow didn’t want to believe that anymore! But she still couldn’t shake this crappy feeling in her stomach that kept reminding her of how scared she should be of them.

“Rainbow Dash?” Twilight’s voice made Rainbow nearly jump out of her skin.

“Uh, hey Twilight,” Rainbow hacked loudly, her voice echoing through the nearly empty snack car. “What are you doing up? I thought everypo— uh, I thought everyone agreed to catch a few winks before we hit Neighagra.”

“I could ask you the same thing,” Twilight replied.

“Well you shouldn’t sneak up on a girl like that,” Rainbow hissed.

Twilight looked behind her and then at Rainbow. “I came from in front of you.”

“Oh yeah,” Rainbow blushed, “so you did. Sorry.”

“I’m sorry too,” Twilight said, “for sneaking up on you.”

Was that supposed to be a joke? Or was Twilight patronizing Rainbow?

No, probably not. Twilight wasn’t that kind of girl. Or was she? Rainbow didn’t know anymore!

She hated that she was now trying to read way too much into every single thing that Twilight said, but how could she not? But she shouldn’t be though, Twilight was her friend and she deserved better from Rainbow than that, right?

“I heard what you said to Fluttershy,” Twilight said, and her neutral tone and the way she was standing against the light and her face was all shadowy made it hard to read her, not that Rainbow was any good at that sorta thing anyway. “That was really sweet of you.”

“What do you mean?” Rainbow asked.

“How you said you wanted to be friends with her,” Twilight brought her hands in front of her chest and twiddled her fingers together, “and you told her that we were still friends. That’s… is that true? Do you still consider me a friend?”

Rainbow took a deep breath and leaned back in her booth.

“Here’s the thing, Twi,” Rainbow sighed. “This situation with you, being a dragon and everything, is a little bit complicated.”

“Just a little,” Twilight snorted, but when Rainbow arched an eyebrow at her she just meekly hung her head and said “Sorry.”

“Either you’ve been lying to us about your intentions ever since we met,” Rainbow said, and every word felt like a hot coal being forced out of her throat, “or Celestia’s been lying to all of us ever since we were born. And honestly? I’m not really sure which would be more upsetting.

“And that’s just me!” Rainbow slapped her hand on the table in front of her. “I’m just a colleague of Celestia, I just work for her! But Rarity? She’s Celestia’s star student, she’s known Celestia personally since she was a kid! Rarity practically idolizes Celestia! For her to have to come to grips with the fact that her idol may not only be wrong, but like, that she’s actively been pursuing this bloody war of attempted genocide for a thousand years—”

“Do you think Rarity will ever be able to forgive me?” Twilight asked, collapsing into the booth across from Rainbow.

“That’s what you’re worried about?” Rainbow asked, her face twisting in confusion.

“Of course!” Twilight said desperately. “All I wanted when I came here to Equestria was to fit in and make friends, and that finally happened and it was the best time in my entire life, and now everything’s falling apart and I just don’t know what to do.”

“You’re a lot less afraid of ponies than Fluttershy, huh?” Rainbow said, feeling the weight of this conversation crush her heart in her chest.

“I made a choice a long time ago,” Twilight said, and her tone became hardened like steel, “that I wouldn’t live in fear. I’m still afraid of the Slayers, you know that, but I refuse to be afraid of common ponies.

“So no,” Twilight shook her head, “I’m not afraid of you, or of Rarity. What I’m afraid of is being alone again.”

“I dunno what to tell ya about Rarity,” Rainbow folded her arms across the table. “But I’ll tell ya this; Rarity’s a smart girl, and she’s really dedicated to doing the right thing. I think she’ll come around.”

“Does that mean that you—”

“Like I told Fluttershy,” Rainbow muttered, tapping a finger against the table, “you’re my friend. Sorry I haven’t been acting like it.”

Author's Notes:

yo, just a quick psa since apparently this needs to be said:
i won't stand for any kind of queerphobia in the comments section. if anyone leaves a comment disrespecting the queer community or their identities, the comment will be deleted and the commenter will be blocked.

tbh i don't know how u can even read a story about trans lesbians and still say queerphobic crap lmao

just be cool, y'all

Anyhoo, thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoyed!

122. Five Little Words

The snowy hills behind Luna Bay were inhospitable, with biting winds and thick mounds of snow that impeded pony progress, so Rarity was glad that she was bundled up in a heavy yet fashionable coat. Despite her elegant winter protection however, she was still holding her arms and trying to think warm thoughts to keep the chill at bay.

Applejack had no such issues, plowing through the snow like a machine, and as Rarity followed behind her and let her clear a path, Rarity found that she was incredibly grateful that Applejack had decided to accompany her on this journey.

Though she also found herself wishing that a certain someone was here as well; someone who had no issues with the cold at all and could melt the snow around them with her mere presence, and that thought caused Rarity to feel a little nauseous.

“Hey,” Applejack said suddenly, snatching Rarity’s attention. “We’re here.”

Applejack pointed into the distance, to a flat pane of light snow near the shore of the bay, where a hideous beast roamed; a manticore, part lion, part scorpion, all dangerous.

But not any more dangerous than two well-prepared Slayers.

“Let’s get this over with then,” Rarity said sternly as she stepped in front of Applejack, reaching over her shoulder to grab the bow on her back.

And grabbing at the air several times before she realized it wasn’t there.

“Applejack,” Rarity said casually, “do you see a bow on my back right now?”

“I don’t,” Applejack sounded quite unimpressed, and Rarity almost appreciated her blushing cheeks for giving her a reprieve from the cold.

“Well that is unfortunate,” Rarity hummed, letting her arm fall limply at her side.

“How’d you forget yer bow?” Applejack snorted.

“I had a lot on my mind!” Rarity shot back defensively, searching herself to make sure the rest of her equipment was present; and it wasn’t, her knives were missing as well, but she still had her sword, her axe, her shield, and Celestia’s onyx blade. “It simply must’ve slipped my mind.”

“Eh, no biggie,” Applejack shrugged and gently pushed Rarity out of the way, “we don’t need a silly ol’ bow to take this thing down!”

“You’re going to go after that manticore with your fists,” Rarity said flatly, crossing her arms, “aren’t you?”

“You betcha!” Applejack shouted gleefully, taking a running start and charging straight at the manticore.

“Gee, it would certainly be nice if I could support you from a distance!” Rarity shouted.

“Won’t need it!” Applejack yelled back. “Thanks anyhow!”

Rarity sighed. Melee combat was not exactly her forte, but beggars can’t be choosers and this was the hand she was dealt. She wasn’t going to let a silly missing bow stop her from helping out Applejack or from fulfilling her mission.

Applejack rushed toward the manticore; and while Applejack was giant for a pony, the manticore still had her beat in size, but that didn’t stop the beast from flying back when Applejack’s punch connected with the beast’s head, sending it crashing into the snowy ground.

As the manticore recoiled and jumped back, Rarity had a thought. She remembered her battle with the dragon—the one in Baltimare, not… not the one in Canterlot—and how Celestia allowed to her to reach an untapped well of magic inside her.

She figured that if that well still existed, she could try to reach it without Celestia’s help by diving into her memories of using that magic. It was worth a shot.

The manticore jumped forward and slashed its claws at Applejack, who guarded herself with her arms, but there was no need; Rarity’s trick worked and the manticore slammed headfirst into a solid wall of glassy magical energy, Rarity letting out a triumphant laugh.

“Applejack, did you see that?!” Rarity cried out gleefully.

“Sure did, hon!” Applejack laughed, swinging a solid punch at the manticore’s head, but this time the beast blocked with its foreleg, readying its tail to fire venomous spines at Applejack.

Or so Rarity thought before the spines were shot directly at her, but she was able to deflect them just in the nick of time with her shield.