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.