Twilight opened her eyes. It was eight o'clock in the morning.

She peeled her duvet off her damp coat. Ponyville was currently in the throes of a particularly intense and annoying heatwave. She ran a hoof down her tummy and cringed at the feeling of moisture. Back in Canterlot, her tower had enchantments woven into the stone which kept the ambient temperature in perpetual perfection.

Golden Oaks didn't have that.

"Spike," she began, rolling out of the sodden bedclothes and ambling to his basket, "Come on, busy day ahead of us,"

"Hmmm... no." He muttered in retort, pulling his blanket over his head. She looked over to the window. It was wide open to compensate for the heat, yet she heard absolutely nothing from outside. All she could see was the blue and white of cloud-speckled sky. She could be in the middle of the sea and the experience wouldn't have changed.

Maybe Spike was right about that whole 'busy day' thing. Yet, she persevered regardless.

"Come on Spike, ponies are depending on us. We're not in Canterlot anymore."

---

---

Once Twilight had actually managed to get Spike up, it had been off to the shower to cleanse her coat of last night's perspiration. After she was done, they'd both enjoyed some cereal. High in fibre at Twilight's insistence, and higher in sugar at Spike's. She had planned out her study schedule for the whole week, as usual, so once their meal was finished the unicorn settled in for another morning's reading and note-making while Spike sorted out the library. As usual.

They settled into their customary pleasant rhythm. This library, however, was so much smaller than her old tower in the castle, and it wasn't long before Spike was done and set to lazing with one of those comics he was so fond of. The clock ticked patiently on the wall. Why the previous librarians, whomever they had been, had bought a ticking clock was truly beyond her.

In their first week here, she tried to buy them another one only to find there wasn't a single shop in town which stocked them. So it was now a choice between going further afield or ordering one in the post.

Twilight leant her head on her hoof, took her eyes off the sentence she'd been rereading for essentially the whole morning and stared at the door for a spell.

Applejack had told her a short while back that Cheerilee had set a class project on the town's local history. The foals were to trawl newspaper records and write an essay on a significant town event. Twilight knew that the only place in town that would stock such records would be a library. She also knew that Golden Oaks was the best stocked and largest library in the whole town, but not the only one. There was a much smaller, much less pleasant facility across town. Finally, she knew she had not seen a single foal enter Golden Oaks in at least two months.

Twilight estimated, from the amount of ticks she heard while waiting to see if anyone would actually come and visit, that she stared at the door for a good ten minutes.

Maybe she'd buy a clock the next time she visited her parents in Canterlot.

"Spike," Twilight began, not taking her eyes off the door, "Do you like it here?"

"It's a darn sight easier to clean than the tower so I'm pretty happy," he laughed.

She waited a couple of moments before realising that if she wanted this to go further, she was going to have to do the legwork.

"That's nice but I meant here. As in Ponyville."

"Are you happy here Twilight?" he sighed, eyes pointedly still fixed on his comic.

"What makes you say that?"

"Twilight, most of the time I tell you I'm hungry by just saying the word 'food'. We both know I'm hardly the most subtle creature around so if I've not said that I'm unhappy here then I'm clearly not unhappy. So, once again, are you happy here?"

"You know," Twilight chuckled while setting her book down, "Growing up in libraries has made you annoyingly smart."

"Well I learned from the best," he replied, his silence a clear prompt for her to carry on. She took a deep breath

"The other day, when I went to get us some fairy cakes from Sugarcube corner, I walked in and some of the ponies in there stared at me," her words hung awkwardly for a spell. Spike's concentration never left his comic.

"...So?" he finally relented.

"So... it was weird!" she exclaimed, "I don't mean a couple of ponies happened to look in my direction, I mean I saw two different couples stop their conversation and all make unbroken eye contact with me. It was like they were sizing me up. I didn't like it."

"Twilight, we've only been here a few months and the day we arrived a vengeful night god tried to overthrow our government, you can't be surprised that some of the ponies here might find you a bit of a novelty still."

"This would have never happened back in Canterlot!" Twilight retorted, pushing down a sting of annoyance at the way Spike continued to read his comic, "And furthermore, I could take a study break, go into town and grab lunch at a different place every day for a year and would still have a million more places to try! Here it's like ten places."

"Twilight, I've lived with you from the first day you set hoof in Celestia's academy and can count on one hand the amount of times you 'took a study break'."

"Well okay maybe that was an exaggeration Spike. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving it here but it's just... different. I miss the action."

And finally Spike scoffed.

"I'm sorry," Twilight bristled, "Do you think I'm being ridiculous?"

"Twilight, you haven't changed your schedule one bit since coming to Ponyville. You get up, study, eat lunch, lunch that is made by me in this library and not some hidden gem of an independent street food place might I add, and then get back to studying. That right there shows that this isn't about 'missing the action', so what's it actually about?"

"Last time we went out, Applejack told me that Cheerilee had set a class project on the town's local history." Twilight began, "The foals have to trawl newspaper records and write an essay on a significant town event. And considering libraries are the only place they're gonna find all those old newspapers I was really excited! It seemed like a great chance to get the kids interested in history and to learn a few things about our new home myself... how many foals have you seen here in the last few weeks Spike?"

He paused for a moment, eyes swivelled up to the ceiling and mouthing silent calculations. Twilight didn't wait for him to finish.

"It was one, and she ran off when I tried to talk to her. Golden Oaks is the best stocked and largest library in the whole town, but it turns out we're not the only one. There's a much smaller, much less pleasant facility across town. I went there you know? Far be it from me to judge but the phrase 'dusty, unkempt hellhole' sprang instantly to mind. And wouldn't you know, Cheerilee was there with her whole class. It's double the distance to that library from the school than it is to this one. They actually went out of their way to avoid me."

And Spike finally put his comic down. He turned and looked at her with genuine sympathy. She hadn't actually told anyone this yet.

"Twilight... we don't know it was you-"

"Spike, they clearly didn't do it to avoid the library and I know for a fact we have over quadruple the size of archive that the other library does. Doesn't leave us many variables does it?" she spat.

"Why would they possibly be avoiding you? They don't even know you properly!"

"Exactly!" she yelled, "That is exactly the problem, they don't know me at all and they're never going to! The princess sent me here to learn more about friendship, but I think this town is making it harder!"

"How could that possibly be the case?" the dragon scoffed, again. The unicorn scrunched her face up in a rage that she knew, even then, was childish. Still there was something about having her mind stripped so utterly bare that made her feel five years old again. She pulled her book up and read the offending passage aloud.

"'In early stages of friendship activity takes precedence over company since company's importance is cultivated by the very friend-bonding facilitated by activity. To wit, you could have fun with most anyone skydiving or going to an exciting concert, and you could have fun with your closest friends doing most anything. It is for this reason that early stages of friendship involve much more regimented planning of specific activities, which allow for ballast to natural conversational and bonding lulls, compared to the more organic and free-flowing nature of close friendship.' Do you get it now Spike?"

It was good that Spike was now giving Twilight his full attention. It was likely not very good that he stared at Twilight like she had sprouted a second head.

"The point being," she sighed, "In Canterlot I had ponies who I had known for years. But here, I'm only just getting to know everyone, and I'm not going to make life-long friends by grabbing lunch and occasionally heading to the local pub!"

"Twilight, I know this is a new concept to you, but this isn't something you can tackle like a scholar. I've been out to the exact same arcade with Pinkie and Rainbow ten times in the last two weeks and we're getting on great! You don't need to go skydiving with someone to get to know them."

"But the social ballast-"

"Back in Canterlot you spent so much time with your books that you never got to know anyone very well, but you had a million and one rock climbing walls or paintballing arenas to go to so it didn't matter. But here, you've got ponies who really want to get to know the real you. Sure it's going to take a while, but the girls are really popular here in Ponyville. As you get to know them better everyone else will fall into place! So it might be a bit awkward at the start, and there might be a few times that you don't have much to say, but that's normal and it'll give you something a hundred times better than what you had in Canterlot?"

Twilight grumbled something unfavourable, slumped her head onto the desk and stuck her nose back into her book. The pages smushed against her snout making it impossible for her to actually read any of the words. She heard Spike getting up before he gently prized the book from her hooves. Feeling again very childish, she refused to make eye contact. She didn't like feeling like Spike was parenting her, that wasn't the way this was supposed to work.

And yet...

"Spike, I don't fit in here and it's getting harder to pretend I do. I feel... like I'm intruding. Everyone knows everyone and no-one keeps their door unlocked and isn't it all great how small-towney everything is?! Well I'm not from a small town, and half the ponies in this town have already decided they don't like me because of it! I mean, with the girls, we get to go off on all these adventures and I get closer to them through that. But even that isn't enough, so what hope is there with everyone else? How am I supposed to convince them I'm someone worth knowing when they clearly already want me out?"

"Twilight, a crisis is not going to come along everytime you want to get to know ponies better. No one wants to get rid of you! It's a great town, ponies here are just a little set in their ways." Spike scolded, he marched around her desk, putting away her books and quills, while she pathetically protested, "Now, Princess Celestia sent you here to experience friendship and that's just what you need to do. Go do something low-key and relaxing with one of your friends, get out of your head and leave me to read my comic!"

"So I go to Sugarcube corner to find Pinkie or Rainbow and more ponies literally stop their conversations to stare at me?" she levitated one of her books out of his grasp and began to read out loud again, "'Newcomers in existing social paradigms need to exercise high caution about forcing their way into said paradigms when those already within may deem it hostile. For many, tradition and routine are important in their relationships and newcomers attempting their way in can come off rude and only serve to increase their outsider status'. So, according to High Noon, I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't!"

"So don't go to Sugarcube Corner, you have more friends than just Pinkie and Rainbow. And High Noon never lived in Ponyville, they were from Canterlot." Spike growled through clenched teeth, his body conveying clear and growing irritation.

"Applejack and Fluttershy are going to be working right now, they always need notice to hang out." Twilight huffed.

"Well how about Rarity?"

How about Rarity indeed? Of all the friends she'd made in Ponyville, Rarity was the one Twilight was the least sure of. It wasn't that Twilight didn't like her. Quite the opposite in fact, she was possibly the pony Twilight got on best with here. She was smart, insightful and witty enough to have made Twilight actually fall out of her chair laughing one time. But she was several years older than Twilight, she ran her own business and was so much more confident than the bookish unicorn.

Added to all that, every-time they all went out Rarity watched everyone with a gaze that sometimes made Twilight... uncomfortable. Totally indecipherable, her face a mask, but the eyes were so analytical. It made Twilight feel naked, small and unwelcome. It was the feeling she got when all the locals stared and whispered, but multiplied a hundred-fold. Honestly, with all that, it was hard to not feel a little intimidated.

"I don't know if Rarity likes me very much Spike," she muttered.

"Twilight, Rarity loves you. She's always asking after you whenever I go round. 'Oh Spikey darling, you must tell Twilight about this book, you must tell her about our next get together, you must tell her to come for tea whenever she likes, she's such a dearest dearie darling'," he managed to mimic the seamstress' refined accent pretty well, enough to finally get Twilight to chuckle.

"Now, you're never gonna fit in if you've already convinced yourself you never will. Get out there in that town and go spend some time with Rarity. You might find out a lot about both of them." Spike said, all but shoving her out of the library, "And if you do go to Sugarcube Corner feel free to grab some triple chocolate muffins."

The unicorn only just managed to levitate her saddlebags out with her before Spike shut the door. She turned and took in the town. The heat made the air shimmer and obscured the endless cottages. They could have gone on forever. Rows and rows of identical dwellings, the distance between them and Golden Oaks felt insurmountable for a second. She felt so small again.

In fact, Twilight was just about to blow the whole thing off when a couple of ponies waved at her. They didn't need to, but still they went out of their way to be friendly. It was a life preserver in a vast ocean. Small, but maybe enough, She took a resolute breath, crossed the grass expanse to the cottages and was at once swallowed into the folds of the town.

---

The calligraphy on the sign was so fancy that it felt like someone was actually singing at Twilight.

'Back later!'

So much for getting to know Rarity on a deeper level then. She supposed she could just wait until she returned, but she already had gotten the impression the older unicorn thought her a little young and naive. Sitting around like a lost dog outside Rarity's shop was unlikely to help her shift the image.

The sun bore down on her while she planned her next move. There was something she loved about Carousel Boutique, though it was hard to accurately place. It was slightly removed from the mainland of the cottages in the middle of a fetching pasture of grass, just like Golden Oaks. It also stuck out like no-one's business. Everything from its singular decor to the circular floorplan made it markedly different to the mainland of cottages. It was like an island. It's refinement and the pony inside creating a tiny slice of Canterlot out in this ocean.

Just like Golden Oaks.

Twilight suddenly wanted to speak to Rarity, she really, really wanted to speak to Rarity. She reached out to the piece of paper in the misguided hope that she could maybe glean more information than the two words if she physically interacted with it. And somehow, against all hope, it unfolded. In her haste, Rarity had obviously stuck the paper a little too harshly, obscuring the second half of the message.

'Gone fabric shopping.

- R'

Twilight turned from Rarity's island and looked back towards the mainland. There was no-one around and the metropolis stole any noise before it reached her, casting a forceful silence. Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. Twilight didn't test the waters this time. Instead she waded directly in, cutting across the grass in the direction of the markets.

---

Ponyville's markets were its high watermark in energy, which was in of itself unfortunate. This was not some mysterious eastern bazaar, filled with verbose merchants selling exotic goods. This was a quiet, small town affair filled with window-shopping octogenarians. Everything in Ponyville was a quiet small town affair after all, but a quiet small town affair Twilight was on the other side of. Vendors chatted with their locals as she scanned the various stalls. Every once in a while, one would look up at her and their gaze would linger. Sometimes they smiled, often they didn't.

Twilight looked harder for Rarity.

She knew the unicorn was bound to be by the fabric stall, there was only the slight issue of Twilight not knowing who ran said stall or where it was. She felt herself going in increasingly tiresome circles as she passed the same vendor three times within a quarter of an hour. They watched her go by every single time.

Eventually, she found herself at the market's centrepiece. The large statue of Ponyville's founder smiled blankly down at her. The mare was up on her hindlegs and stood alone, surrounded by water on a circular plinth. Twilight let her hoof drag across the water's surface. Her tail beat a nervous rhythm on the ground and her heart ached for the chance to know what that statue was thinking. Islands were lonely places. The founder smiled, and Twilight knew she was lying. She was pretending for everyone else.

Once she was able to tear her eyes away, Twilight spotted some graffiti on the side of the fountain's rim. Street art is a great way to get insight into local culture, especially facets which may crop up in conversation less - From City to Hamlet and Back Again by Jet Stream

Twilight took a closer look. Despite expecting the tag of a gang formed by bored, middle class teenagers, what Twilight found nearly beggared belief. The lines were bleach white and contorted into... something?

It was hard to tell, it looked like someone had set themselves the challenge of drawing a shape that could never exist in their reality and actually succeeded. Angles and edges bisected each other haphazardly, yet seemingly never without purpose. Nothing just ended, it always was in service of the wider polygonal chaos. Trying to trace it was nigh-impossible, it was like trying to stare at an eye floater. How on earth could it have been stationary? What did it mean?

"Twilight!" the unicorn's eyes snapped from the headache-inducing drawing and over to where her name was being shouted. Rarity was making her way over to her current location, waving her hoof and smiling widely. The way she acted was as if she was having difficulty getting Twilight to spot her, as if her extravagant summer hat and saddlebags filled with rolls of colourful fabric didn't already single her out as the most striking thing at the market.

"Hi Rarity! I..."

In friendships both fledgling and old, one should remember that honesty is not always the best policy, a harmless white lie in service of protecting someone or avoiding truly needless bad feeling does not have to be avoided - Intricacies in Equine Relationships by High Noon

"What a coincidence to see you here!" Twilight said jovially, "Let me help you with some of your bags,"

"Oh you're such a sweetheart," Rarity cooed while Twilight unburdened her friend of a couple of rolls, "What brings you to the market then dear?"

"I... I erm... just book shopping?"

"Oh is there a book stall now? That must be new." Rarity replied, leading a few seconds of silence while Twilight tried to formulate something to say.

"Oh Rarity," called out a nearby earth pony mare. She had a light beige coat with a curly blue and pink mane, "Thanks again for helping me organise that confectionery display, I don't think I've ever sold that many sweets in one day!"

"You're very welcome darling, thank you for making such lovely material for me to work with!"

Twilight awkwardly watched the two of them chatting, feeling acutely like she was intruding again. They interacted so effortlessly, like they'd known each other for a lifetime. Twilight supposed they probably had.

"Oh where are my manners? Bon Bon, this is Twilight Sparkle." Twilight came back to reality when she heard her name mentioned and saw that she had become the focal point of the conversation.

"Nice to meet you. Are you taking over from Night Owl? Make sure to watch out for all the old decorations!" Bon Bon laughed.

"I uhm... Night Owl?" Twilight replied, already uncomfortable.

"She's our old librarian dear, big fan of getting the library trussed up like no-one's business on Nightmare Night." Rarity explained.

"Oh! Yeah I guess I am then!" she replied brightly. Too brightly in fact. Noticeably overcompensating by her own estimation.

"Well I hope you're liking it here," Bon Bon said and immediately turned back to Rarity, "Does she..."

"She's new in town darling, all the way from Canterlot."

"Oh okay. Sorry."

Twilight watched them continue. Stuck between relief that she was no longer forced to display her ignorance of local trivia and irritation at being spoken about like an object. As the two of them laughed at another joke Twilight didn't understand, she began to lament the fact that she couldn't just slink away unnoticed now she had half of Rarity's shopping.

"Well I'm going to get off, have a good day! Nice to meet you Night Light!" Bon Bon called over her shoulder as she took off back into the market.

"Don't bother dearie," Rarity whispered to Twilight before she could call out in correction, "Appropriately sweet that one, but a mind like a sieve. Now, how about you and I go and get some lunch? My treat!"

"Oh you don't have to-"

"Nonsense dearie," Rarity trilled, already starting off from the fountain, "It's the least I can do considering you listened to me and Bon Bon for so long, I don't know where my manners have gone this afternoon!"

And she was off, all the while exuding her trademark effortless confidence. She never looked back, as if it didn't occur to her for a second that the younger unicorn wouldn't take her up on the offer and follow. A stubborn, childish part of Twilight wanted to insist she had an engagement she couldn't miss. 'Canterlot Business', she could have said. Why not steer into the skid at this point? But her hooves were already moving. Anyone could say what they wanted about Rarity's innate self-assurance, but they couldn't say that it didn't work.

Night Owl's successor followed like the lost dog she so desperately wanted not to be. She caught up to her new friend and the two fell into pleasantly superficial small-talk. Twilight didn't even take notice of the stall owners as their eyes traced her path from the fountain, and all the way out of Ponyville's heart.

---

"Sunny Pastures Cafe?" Twilight said, doing a wonderfully poor job of disguising how underwhelmed she was. The cafe was certainly a quaint and charming place, and their food was to die for. None of this was the issue. The issue was that Twilight had eaten there sixteen times in her three months in Ponyville.

"Oh yes darling! It's my favourite place in the whole wide world! It's the only food I ever eat in fact, thank our God they do takeaway!" Rarity babbled with wide-eyed excitement. Twilight stared back and hoped she did a better job at disguising her horror this time. Nothing happened for a couple of seconds' worth of uncomfortable eye-contact until Rarity snorted with laughter.

"Joking dear, but they do do a very fetching black forest gateau in my favourite flavour... 'forbidden by my diet'."

Twilight giggled. It hadn't occurred to her until now that this was the first time she and Rarity had spent any serious time alone with one another, provided the whole 'accosted for a makeover the first time they ever met' didn't count. It was nice. She was remembering all the reasons she liked the seamstress, and thankfully none of Rarity's more... intense qualities had come out today. They found a table and Twilight pretended to read her menu until one of the waiting staff came to take their orders.

"Hello there Snowdrop! How are you doing today?" Rarity greeted the light blue unicorn mare fondly, like she seemed to greet everyone in Ponyville.

"Not bad Rarity! Who's this?" She replied. Her braces added a mote of adolescent sibilance to every syllable, and the way she waggled her eyebrows made her already obvious implication all the more blatant. How old was she? Seventeen? Less than that? It made Twilight uncomfortable.

"I should be so lucky dear," Rarity replied confidently, even finding the time to shoot a reassuring wink in Twilight's direction, "Twilight here is just a friend. I think we're ready to order."

"Sure! What will it be?"

"I'll go for the posy vinaigrette salad and Twilight here will have the daffodil sandwich." said Rarity.

"Great choice, what to drink?"

"A diet coke for my friend, and I'll have... oh hay, let's splash out. Two diet colas and two mimosas please dear."

"I like your style," Snowdrop replied giddily, despite probably never having touched a single alcoholic drink in her life, "I'll have your drinks right out."

She left them to go and fetch the beverages while Twilight tried to figure out whether she should be insulted or not.

Early on in a friendship, one should not be afraid to start as they mean to go on. If one friend oversteps a boundary, setting the record straight allows for an opportunity to put in place valuable precedence for the relationship going forward. Crucially, though, it also gives the aggrieved party a chance to demonstrate themselves as confident, fair and compassionate in their response - Friendship as Art and Science by Gold Koi

"Rarity, I appreciate the lunch, but in the future I'd prefer to order for my-" Before she could finish, a masterfully groomed forehoof was placed gently on her lips.

"If you can tell me now, with total honesty, that you were going to order something else than any dress in my shop is yours free of charge," With that, Rarity withdrew her hoof and waited. Her expression was playful and subtly smug.

"I uh... Oh fine, that was exactly what I was going to get. How did you know?"

"Well darling, many ways," Rarity paused to thank Snowdrop as she returned with their drinks, "Maybe it's my eerie powers of telepathy, though the smart bet would be on the fact that you've ordered the same thing every time we've come here."

"Okay fair's fair. It's a shame though, a lot of those dresses are really beautiful," she relented with a chuckle. This was fine.

Maybe you don't have to take everything so seriously?

"Well darling I'm a gracious winner, come by soon and you can take a dress anyway." Rarity said breezily.

"Rarity I couldn't possibly-"

"Twilight I insist. It's pretty selfish anyway, nothing makes me happier than giving one of my friends a lovely ensemble."

"Do you ever charge anyone full price Rarity?" Twilight playfully scolded.

"Only ponies I don't like darling," the seamstress replied, her voice a theatrically conspiratorial whisper. The two of them laughed.

Rarity grabbed her pop and Twilight did the same. Once each had taken a healthy sip, they set them down and Rarity didn't say anything. She allowed her eyes to wander around the outdoor seating area, smiling at anyone who's eye she managed to catch. Once she was done her gaze came to rest on Twilight. Rarity's eyes were patient and contented, but even Twilight could see the unmistakable twinge of expectancy. She had carried all their conversations so far that day, and now it was Twilight's turn. The only problem was that Twilight realised despondently that she had nothing to say.

Of course that wasn't strictly accurate. Twilight did have insultingly cliched bits of dross like talking about the weather or asking how work was going. What she didn't have was anything of substance. She took another sip of the pop. It was too cold and the bubbles stung her mouth a little, but still it gave her a few more seconds of permissible silence. She looked around their seating area herself. The tables were full of ponies chatting happily. How she envied them right now.

On the stone wall surrounding garden, Twilight spotted an irregularity. It was the same graffiti from before. Well, that was to say it was the same strange shape. It spoke to its sporadic, chaotic form that it looked completely different this time around. But it was the same, exactly the same. Twilight just knew it. Her eyes slipped from the drawing and to the table situated nearest to it. All around the garden ponies chatted happily, but not that one.

That one had three customers, two pegasi, red and white, and a grey earth pony, and they were all looking back at her. Of course it must have looked like she was staring at them when she was taking stock of the graffiti, that was why they must have been looking over at her. But they didn't stop. No-one stopped in fact. Twilight looked at each of them in turn, and didn't know why her stomach started to drop when the beginnings of smiles began to crawl onto their faces-

"Rarity!" Twilight barked abruptly, "Your windows in Carousel Boutique, on the ground floor, they're plexiglass."

The unicorn peered confusedly over her pop at Twilight for a moment, clearly and quite justifiably waiting to see where this line of thought was supposed to lead.

"My my," she said in that tone which made Twilight internally cringe, the one that said Rarity thought she was a child, "Aren't you an observant one."

"No no, it's just... well you always look so good and aesthetics are kind of your whole life. I would have thought you'd have some fancy stained glass windows. At least some antique glass, but plexiglass? It just seems interesting. Is there a story behind it?"

Rarity took a moment, seemingly considering her response. Snowdrop brought them their food and they each thanked her but Rarity's gaze never let up. There was still amusement, but it felt more like that which one would expect between verbally sparring intellectuals when one had posited something new to the other.

"I love my job Twilight, but it relies on me being creative for sustained periods of time and that can be quite difficult. Though hardly ladylike, I can attest that I have been subject to the occasional, though more frequent than I'd like, bout of angry equipment throwing. Plexiglass can withstand impacts better than stained glass windows."

"Is that really the reason?" Twilight asked, giggling when Rarity nodded, "Wow that's really fascinating Rarity! So... I never heard of the pony who had the library before. What happened to Night Owl then?"

"Twilight dear, I feel you're reaching a little for things to talk about."

Oh.

"It's okay, it really is," she soothed, clearly sensing Twilight's worry, "This is new town and we're a new group of ponies! Just... we like you a lot already darling, don't feel you need to try so hard."

"Rarity I..." she grappled with the words, stuck between fear of oversharing and desperation to vent, "I love the town, it's just... I don't know if it loves me so much."

"Twilight! If you're about to recount some scandalous piece of gossip I'm afraid you have the wrong pony!" Rarity gasped, before making a show of getting much more comfortable in her seat and leaning forward, "Okay, now I'm the right pony."

"No it's not that," Twilight replied, her laugh somewhere between sincere and put-on, "It's just... ponies stare. When I walk around and I'm not with one of you girls. I don't think they like me."

"Well... you could be right dear. But it won't be anything to do with you personally! Ponies here are a tight-knit group, and for all the ones who will open up to you right away there'll be two who will take a long time to come around. I wouldn't blame you for thinking it's a bit boring here, but for many it borders on sacred. I've lost count of how many wedding receptions I've seen hosted at Sugarcube Corner."

"I don't think it's boring here Rarity," Twilight protested. Though, true to High Noon's advice, she left out the very important 'always' that should have slotted in after 'don't'.

"Oh darling please," Rarity scoffed and waved her hoof, "I've lived here my whole life and spent my entire childhood wishing to be in Canterlot. I can't imagine it the other way around."

She speared a flower with her cutlery and levitated it into her mouth before daintily chewing it.

"Ponyville is a great place Twilight," she continued, "But it's been here for so long. Long enough to be it's own world, but small enough for us who've always lived here to understand it. I think we're all a little mad if I'm being honest. Those old stories where some intrepid adventurer would find a little village and all the inhabitants would be so alien, they're grounded in something real. But... it's our madness, and as strange as it sounds it could be your madness too if you give it time. I took a long time to work out where I fit in at home, but I might be the maddest of them all now.

"Honestly dearie, I used to look to those mountains and wish more than anything to be in Canterlot. And while I still admire the centres of culture in our country, I don't wish that anymore. I'm happy where I am. Still, when I was younger I'd stare out of the boutique, or 'my auntie's house' as I knew it back then, and contemplate my place in all this for hours. Terribly indulgent I know but I've always been the dramatic sort. Up there, surrounded by so much grass and space, it was like I was-"

"On an island?" Twilight near-whispered.

"Hmm," another piece of salad speared and eaten, "I suppose it was darling."

"But when you're in the city, it's all just sea. And everyone's pulled together by random circumstance and we cling so hard. It's like lifeboats. You know that you could disappear and nothing would change but it's okay because it's the same for everyone in the lifeboat, and everyone in every lifeboat," Twilight said, aching and urgent, "Then you make it to the mainland and everyone has a purpose and a place. And you look out from your island and wonder how you could ever make it work, because you're from a lifeboat.

"You're from a place where any lifeboat could go and no-one would care," Twilight continued, "But suddenly you're somewhere where you're the only one who could go and maybe it'd all chug along a little better if you did... How does someone from a lifeboat make it work on the mainland Rarity?"

"That's a big question Twilight," Rarity said gently, levitating a napkin over to dab Twilight's eyes. Did I start crying? "I think lifeboats are overrated. Here on the mainland we do things a little differently... but I meant what I said. You could stand to be a little mad yourself. It just takes a little time, and an open mind."

Twilight stared into the older unicorn's eyes, suddenly concerned she may have gone a little far.

She isn't judging you, she understands.

It wasn't enough, Twilight needed more.

"Rarity, what are you doing tonight?"

And just like that, all life left the garden.

Background noise only became conspicuous in absentia. Low level conversation gave way to a void, and Twilight could swear the world became a little less colourful. Well, the world minus Rarity. She shone so hard it actually hurt a little. Her concerned interest had all but vanished, and in its place was a familiarly intimidating mask of self assurance. Lid-eyed, gently smiling, spearing and eating her salad all the while. She payed no mind to the rest of the patrons, she only focused on what said patrons focused on.

Twilight.

Looking around nervously, she found herself the unwilling centre of attention. Many eyes were peering over, but the effect was subtle, possibly imagined? To explain away lulls in conversation of course. But she had never been a narcissist and of all the things to imagine...

When she looked away, Twilight could swear eyes flicked to her. But when she looked, patrons messed with their food and stared at dinner guests. Were they pretending to eat? Surely not, why even think it? This could, and probably was, her tired mind overthinking everything.

The source of her dread was more that she hadn't looked at the table from earlier. Nearly against her will Twilight's eyes came to rest on said table's legs. Hooves were swiveled in such a way that they had clearly all turned to face her. Her gaze dragged at an agonising pace up their bodies. She couldn't look away, and she didn't understand why, but she hoped to Celestia they weren't smiling when she reached their faces.

"Twilight darling," Rarity drawled, "What did you have in mind for later exactly?"

The unicorn was given an excuse to turn away from that table and she swiveled back to face Rarity. She was somehow still looking ladylike despite the way she leant her head on one hoof, elbow brazenly on the table for all to see. She drank from her mimosa through a straw in one side of her mouth. She looked like she knew everything that happened in this town, and had all the time in the world to consider it.

"I... I don't know uh... we could grab some drinks or... we..." Why do I feel so on the spot? "We could grab something to eat... you know just hang out?"

"Hang out?" Rarity cooed, the amusement in her voice put Twilight in mind of a cat with a mouse.

"Um... yeah?"

"Twilight, why was I able to order your food for you?"

"Because I always order the same thing."

"Very good. Drink your mimosa dear" Twilight complied without thinking, "So I'm curious, you said you were having trouble fitting in, but this is a town where we're used to doing the same thing over and over. Same cafe, same bakery, same ponies. Why would a pony who always orders the same thing have trouble fitting in here?"

"Yeah but..." Rarity's gaze was unwavering as Twilight spoke, she looked like she was holding herself back from enthusiastically urging the librarian to continue, "I'm from a lifeboat?"

"And?" Rarity said, a near-unnoticeable tinge of mania creeping into her expression.

"And they do things differently here..." Twilight replied, her voice starting to shudder.

"And?"

"And... what if I don't like what I ordered?" Twilight said earnestly, because it was the truth.

Rarity studied her very intensely for a couple of seconds that felt like minutes, before her gaze softened again. She smiled at Twilight with genuine, yet confusingly sympathetic affection. Life and colour returned to the garden. Twilight was no longer the centre of attention, if she ever even had been. Background conversation provided pleasant ambiance. Two pegasi chatted with their earth pony friend.

"I think I'll be taking it easy tonight dear, but we must take a raincheck! I'm desperate for us to eat somewhere other than here, even if the daffodil sandwiches are as good as you say." Rarity finished with a wink, and Twilight giggled but it was slightly forced. They had their food and drinks. Rarity left a note to add it to her tab, and Twilight thanked her.

They even have local tabs for Celestia's sake...

Rarity, ever the gentlemare, insisted on walking Twilight home for which she was grateful. The chattering was leisurely, but depth had stalled since that... moment. Twilight turned back for a second. Snowdrop was clearing their table and looking at Rarity's note. She cocked her head up, made immediate eye contact with Twilight and smiled vacuously at her. She waited for Snowdrop to wave or look away, but she did neither.

Twilight moved closer to Rarity, and didn't back away until the hot, shimmering air had long stolen the shapes of Sunny Pastures Cafe.

Next Chapter: Dusk Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 56 Minutes