“I juth don't get it! I’m ath pretty ath any other pony... ath Applebloom, or Diamond Tiara, or Thweetie Bell!” Twist cringed at the thought, easily finding doubt in her own words. She huffed and threw herself down face-first, forcefully shoving her face into her pillows in an attempt to suppress her rising tears.

It was the night before the Blooming Youth Dance being held at the Ponyville Consolidated School District, and Twist was the only pony in school who still had no date. More so than most school dances, this one was hyped up to be considered the most important dance and celebration in school, ever. It was the dance that students moving from middle school to high school from all three major schools in the area attended. That fact alone made it a big deal socially for a lot of ponies.

Despite the obvious reasons for emotional turmoil, she endeavored to stay positive. She found herself hoping she'd be asked last minute, but it still hung heavily on her heart knowing that nopony, not even the dim-witted outcast of a colt Snips, or the chubby and less-than-appealing Snails, had asked for her hoof to the dance.

"Even thtupid Thcootaloo got a date..." She thought aloud.

Feeling particularly self-loathing and rejected, she crawled out of bed and wandered toward her bedroom mirror. She looked herself over, noting the afro-ish, overly curly mane engulfing her head, and the equally poofy tail jutting from her backside. "Juth look at you... you're abtholutely hideouth..."

The pained filly couldn't help but shed a tear beneath her own self-induced anguish.

“I thuppose itth not a total thurprithe.” She spoke to her reflection once again, somewhat intentionally insulting it, releasing her own pent up disdain on the source causing her pain, on herself.

She shook her head and cleared her mind as a new wave of thoughts entered. "My oh my, Thilver Thpoon, of... of courth I'll go to the danth with you. It would be my pleathure!" She batted her lashes and put on an endearing smile, beginning to lose herself in a daydream.

“Twist, would you like to help me with the dishes?” A voice sounded from downstairs.

“Thure thing Mom, I'd love tah.” With a final glance in the mirror, she turned away and tended to her chores.

As the evening fell, Twist found herself starring at the sunset from her front porch. She almost always found something settling about the beautifully fading orange lights in the sky, but today they represented something else. It reminded her of her failure to find a date to the dance, and how it's quick approach was haunting her.

Before she could get too lost in her own foggy sea of self-pity, Rarity happened to be on her way home with a bundle of fabric and spotted the sulking little filly. Her kindness and generous nature wouldn't let her simply trot away from a filly clearly in need of a friend.

"Oh hello there dear, what's got you so down on this lovely evening?"

“Oh nothing. It, itth juth that I'm the only pony who didn't get invited to the Blooming Youth Danth..." Twist explained, sure not to let any of her discontentment stay hidden.

"Only pony you say? That's just too bad dear, and I can't imagine... I can't... um, imagine why..." Rarity looked the filly over, analyzing her physical appearance and sense of fashion otherwise.

"Well I think I can see the problem."

"You can?! Tell me tho I can ficth... fick... correct it!" Twist jumped up excitedly.

"Correct it... Well it won't be easy, but if there's anypony who can do it, it's me." Rarity proudly proclaimed as she grabbed Twist by foreleg and dragged her towards the Boutique.

Twist looked back towards her door and saw her mother peeking out with a look of confusion. "Don't worry mom! I'll be right back, Rarity'th gonna help me with thomething!"

The mare just shook her head and closed the door, trusting Rarity to take care of her naive daughter.

` Upon entering the Boutique, she sat Twist down on a rotating chair and darted back and forth with a sudden burst of enthusiasm and excitement.

"Okay, first thing's first. Lets find your look!" Rarity rolled the chair in front of a large mirror and let out a blissful sigh, happy to be in her element.

"My look?" Twist peeked up, slightly bewildered as everything was happening so quickly.

"Yes dear, your look. Certainly you aren't satisfied with your style the way it is as of right now. Are you?" Rarity asked, leaning in and levitating her glasses to a nearby counter.

Twist couldn't lie. She was less than satisfied with herself, and had realized that her appearance may very well be at fault for her lack of dance invitations.

Rarity smiled and levitated a hosed-nozzle over to Twist's head, leaning her back and drenching her mane. She attempted to brush through the soaked mess, but her hairbrush was immediately snagged and refused to budge any further. She wiggled it free and placed a hoof on her chin thoughtfully. Moments later, the resourceful unicorn had an idea. She trotted into the other room and returned with a variety of mane-care products.

"Let's see if we can't get those tangles out, shall we?" She smiled and let loose a cloud of misty spray from one of the containers.

Twist smiled bashfully and allowed the mare to do what she did best. Rarity then carefully began brushing through the very tips of her mane, feeling the bristles slowly and steadily sliding through with the help of the conditioner. Feeling optimistic, she continued taking larger and larger portions into the brush, until the entire mane was cleanly brushed through.

"Beautiful!" The fashion diva exclaimed.

Twist looked up, trying to see herself in the mirror but her vision was far too blurry.

"Now, how about a complimentary mane-cut. My treat for the pretty little dancer-to-be." Rarity brushed a hoof across Twist's cheek and spotted a pair of scissors. "I bet you'd look absolutely breathtaking with a French Twist. Ooh, and so suiting for our little Twisty-Wisty, am I right?"

Twist simply nodded and smiled as Rarity lifted the scissors to her mane. Snip by snip, small locks of curly mane fell to the floor beneath her hooves. She then repeated the process on the tangled tail and cut it to match her mane. The cheerful unicorn hummed an upbeat tune while she combed and styled the little red mane in front of her.

"Oh my, who's this little cutie?!" Rarity exclaimed as she turned Twist to face the mirror.

The flustered little filly squinted but couldn't make out her own reflection. "I can't thee anything without my glatheth."

"Oh right, of course." Rarity levitated the glasses onto the filly's muzzle.

Twist's jaw dropped as she looked into the eyes of a young mare she hardly recognized. "Ith... ith that me?"

She stared into her own eyes, and scanned over her mane which covered one eye partially and fell gracefully over one shoulder. She then wiggled forward, flicking her long straightened tail out to one side.

Rarity wore a empathetic smile as she placed a hoof on Twist's shoulder. "Yes it is dear. A young mare as beautiful on the outside as she is on the inside. Just don't forget who you are when all the young colts come running for your hoof at that dance tomorrow. Stay the sweet little Twist I know forever, will you promise me that?"

Twist began to tear up, she then glanced to Rarity and nodded. "I promith. Maybe when we get back to my plathe, I can give you thomething thweet to eat. Itth the leatht I can do, conthidering thith amazing generothity you've thared with me."

"I think I'd like that. Now let's get you home before your mother begins to worry." Rarity turned towards the door.

Twist took a moment to look herself over once again. "... Perfect."

Her attention was then drawn to her large wide-framed glasses. "Everything lookth great exthept thethe thtupid glatheth."

"Your glasses?" Rarity wore a concerned frown and thought for a moment. "Well I think you look absolutely stunning just the way you are if you ask me."

"You really think that, Rarity?" Twist asked with bright eyes.

The encouraging mare nodded and smiled, glad to have lifted this sweet and loving filly's spirits. Before Rarity had a chance to speak, she was tackled into a tight hug by the made-over little mare.

"Thank you thoooo much!" Twist could no longer hold back her tears. "There'th no way I won't get athked to danth now."

Rarity hugged her back, and nervously glanced off to one side, hoping she wasn't setting this fragile filly up for failure. After a moment of gratuitous embrace, Rarity led Twist back home.

"Come by the Boutique before your dance tomorrow and I'll help you style that mane again, and teach you how to do it yourself from then on. Now you better rest those hooves, because I'm fairly certain you'll be doing quite a bit of dancing tomorrow night." Rarity knew she should let up, but loved the look of glee those words brought to the filly's face.

"Will do." Twist smiled happily and rushed inside to show off her new look.

Before the generous unicorn had time to leave, the little filly came rushing out with a small bundle of peppermints. "Here, take thith. I made them mythelf."

"Thank you very much darling." Rarity put on a nervous grin and turned slowly to head back home, truly hoping that she had done something generous, and that this filly would have the time of her life at the dance.

Hoping for the best, she pushed through her front door and headed into her vanity room. "Oh Opal, what a mess. And I haven't even started those dresses. I'm quite behind on my tasks indeed, what to do, what to do..."

She paced back and forth, cleaning the mess as she trotted and thought. "I'll have to make time in the morning, there's no other way."

She let out a sigh of exhaustion and headed into her bedroom, laying on her soft blankets. "Good night Opal."

"Meww"

After a satisfying dinner, Twist made her way upstairs and into her bedroom mirror quite promptly. It was getting rather late and her parents were off to bed, giving her a blanket of comfort knowing she was alone and wouldn't be eavesdropped on.

"Hello there, Thilver Thpoon... Whaddaya think of me now?" She posed in a promiscuous manner and batted her lashes, then clumsily winked.

"Oh thank you! I think you're beautiful too." Twist blushed in the mirror and placed a hoof to her chest.

"May I have thith danth?" She asked herself, then nodded coyly.

With a blissful kick to her heart, she twirled around and fell into bed, letting out a painful sigh of longing, hoping that tomorrow evening would be as amazing as she now hoped it'd be. Lost in her vivid imagination, she rolled up in her blankets and dozed off.

The morning came quickly and she soon heard her mother calling for her, reminding her to do her daily chores and routines. Twist groggily stretched and yawned, then looked toward her wall-clock. She quickly realized she wasn't wearing her glasses, and reached a hoof over to her nightstand where she normally placed them before bed, but couldn't seem to find them. Standing up over the edge of her bed, she heard a dreadful crunching sound. With a painful gulp, she reached down and lifted the remains of her glasses.

"Oh boy..."

She attempted to put them on, but one lens was completely shattered while the other was severely cracked. "Mom, I have thome... uh, bad newth!"

Twist waddled toward the direction of her bedroom door and felt for the knob, twisting it and trudging into the hallway.

"Mom! I can't thee! I... I broke my glatheth by mithtake!" Twist shouted, hoping for a bit of help navigating.

"Oh my, oh dear Twist. How many times to I have to tell you? Don't leave your..."

Twist competed the rest of her mother's sentence in unison. "Glathes on the floor. I know I know, it was an acthident, I thwear!"

"Yes, I'm sure it was. I highly doubt this is your way of trying to get a new pair before that dance you've been on about all week, right?" Her mother asked.

Hmm, not a bad idea. I'm surprised I didn't think of it sooner. Twist thought, a devious grin growing on her face. "Of courth not, I'd never..."

"Well I suppose your prescription did need renewing, so the timing couldn't be better. On with it then, take my hoof and we'll pay Doctor Specs a visit." Twist's mother dragged her out the door and made her way down the street.

As they trotted, Twist held close to her mother, unable to see anything at all other than a headache-inducing blur of colors. She reached up with one hoof and began matting her mane down, hoping to have it at least resembling her new style by the time she reached the optometrist's office.

As they reached the building, she was finally satisfied with her mane, at least from what she could feel. In the waiting room there was a very large and brightly lit mirror wall behind a vast display of frames. Twist silently hoped she'd be able to convince her mom to get her a new pair of glasses to match her new style, but knew bits would be an issue.

The wait wasn't long before she was called back to see the doctor. Having done this several times before, Twist took her seat and followed all the necessary procedures. He lowered the phoropter in front of her eyes and began cycling through the different lenses. She was an expert at getting her prescriptions renewed at this point, and answered the questions accordingly. However, this time, she had a goal, and refused to remain silent as she made her way back into the waiting room.

"Thankth Doc." Twist waved and made her way next to her mother in the waiting room while her lenses were being prepared.

"Tho, I wath thinkin'... Maybe I can get a... a cooler pair of glatheth thith time? Pleath?" She asked, placing her front hooves together and widening her eyes.

"What? The same pair is perfectly 'cool'. You really don't need a different pair." Her mother sternly denied the request.

"But mom! That pair doethn't match my new thtyle!" Twist argued.

"Oh, that Rarity can be such a pain in my flank sometimes." She placed a hoof to her forehead and looked down.

"Don't blame her, she made me beautiful! And I want glatheth that don't make me look like a lother!" Twist furrowed her brows and stamped her back hoof on the floor.

"Fine Twist. I'll get you your new glasses, but this comes out of your allowance for the next three months. Got it?"

"Really?! Yeth! Got it!" Twist jumped up and clapped her hooves before trotting up to the wall of glasses she could choose from.

She wore a copy of her original frames temporarily while she waited for her new prescription to be filled and resented them, but began to look over a variety of ones that seemed much more appealing.

"How do I look in thethe?" She looked back and asked her mother.

"They look fine dear." She answered, not glancing up from the magazine she seemed so invested in.

Twist looked back to the mirror and frowned. "Lame." She tossed on another pair and looked back again. "How about thethe?"

"Mhm."

"Come on! You're no help at all, mom..." Twist rolled her eyes and sighed. "I can't thee mythelf in them very well ya know..."

A shimmer caught her eye, and she came to a decision without even trying the frames on. They were a gorgeous pair of glossy thick black frames with a red line streaking down each arm. She closed her eyes and imagined herself wearing them, and how they'd accent her bright red mane.

"Perfect!" She took her glasses off and tried them on. "Look at thethe, and I mean it thith time!"

With a sigh, she looked up. "Oh wow, those actually look great on you sweetheart."

"I want them, they're perfect, jutht perfect!" Twist proclaimed as she jumped up and down.

"Alright, you can have those." Her mother signed a few forms and paid for them, then turned to head home. "Come on then Twist, we have many more chores to attend to.

Ignoring her mother's calls, Twist found herself frowning in the mirror. Her mane was in shambles and her tail wavy and matted. She realized she wasn't used to brushing and styling, due to the fact that her mane was normally so unmanageable. She attempted to fix it the best she could with only the use of her front hooves, but still failed to make much of a difference.

"I need to run to the Carouthel Boutique for a moment, then I'll be right back home." Twist smiled nervously and rushed past her mom down the street.

She groaned and held her hoof out, wanting to protest. "Twist, wait a minute! Oh fine, but hurry home you hear me?!"

Twist made her way to the Boutique quickly and tentatively inched the door open to head inside.

"Hello? Anyone home?" She asked, hearing a strange noise coming from the other room.

She cautiously moved in the direction of the sound and soon spotted Rarity running a large sheet of fabric through her sewing machine.

"Oh, ec-cuthe... eck-cuthe... pardon me Rarity, but uh, would you be able to teach me how to thtyle my mane now?" Twist's voice fell unusually quiet as she let her question slip out.

The focused mare turned back around to see who was there, and immediately her eyes lit up. "Oh what gorgeous new glasses you have there. They match your mane and new style ever so perfectly!"

"Oh thank you! I jutht got em new, today."

"And well of course dear. Just come in and have a seat and I'll be with you shortly." Rarity slowly continued running the fabric through the machine and Twist calmly backed away.

She slowly made her way back to the seat in which her transformation occurred. There were still bits of red mane visible in a small golden-colored trashcan beneath the sink. She stared into the mirror across from her. Even after a night's sleep and a busy day messed her mane up quite a bit, she still loved the look of it in comparison to the way she was before. She felt so much more feminine and so much more mature. With her eyes now closed, a thought entered her mind. As usual Silver Spoon dominated the center of her imagination.

The two were standing in the middle of the dance floor. Hoof in hoof, they leaned on one another for support as they slowly rotated in rhythmic steps.

"You look amazing, Silver Spoon." Twist spoke completely lisp-free as she gazed deeply into the young mare's beautiful purple eyes.

"You, even more so." The chivalrous mare returned the compliment with the utmost sense of sincerity.

They nuzzled each other closely and hugged tighter, one hoof interlocked and the other around her partner's waist.

Twist leaned close to her friend's ear and began to whisper. "Silver Spoon, there's something I've been wanting to tell you for a long time now. I... I..."

"Okay ready for your lesson in mane-management?" Rarity interrupted the daydreaming filly's thoughts and twirled the chair around.

"Oh... oh yeah. Let'th get thtarted then." Twist put on a mask of enthusiasm and began to listen carefully to whatever the mare might say next.

Rarity cleared her throat and whipped out an assortment of items they'd need with the widest, most excited smile she had ever worn. "You know dear, I'd never have guessed it otherwise, but you are quite the gorgeous little mare." Rarity spoke as she added a bottle of conditioner to the filly's mane and began combing it through.

"Whacha mean?" Twist blushed and looked up.

"I mean just look at you." Rarity rotated the chair to face the mirror once again. "Your natural red mane brings out those bright pink eyes of yours perfectly, and the color of your coat is actually very charmingly soft. Most ponies resort to artificial means to achieve such an excellent combination of colors, but not you, you don't need to. You my dear, are quite naturally beautiful."

Twist's eyes lit up as she took those words in. Rarity, the most beautiful mare in Ponyville, had given a very high compliment to a very insecure filly. "I... Thank you..."

"No need to thank me love, I just felt that I should let you know how gifted you truly are." She continued brushing through the mane and adding pins to the necessary areas.

"Um... do you. I mean, ith there a way to..." Twist bashfully looked down and sighed.

"What is it dear? What are you trying to ask me?"

"I wath jutht wondering if, well if there'th a way to get rid of my lithp." Twist blushed, not so comfortable talking about her biggest insecurity.

"Well I'd imagine in time you'll grow out of it, mostly at least. Otherwise there are speech classes and things similar to help move the process along." Rarity shrugged and began working on the tail.

"Oh... Okay, thank you." Twist nodded and looked over her shoulder to see the mare behind her at work.

"Now pay close attention to this." Rarity lifted her tail and made sure Twist was looking. "Apply the treatment, and brush through starting at the tips, working your way up. Simple, yes? This is the most important part to getting your mane ready to be styled."

Twist nodded with wide eyes, paying very close attention to everything the fashionable mare had to say.

After a long and thorough lesson, Twist was once again back to her most well groomed self, and oozing confidence.

"It's getting late in the afternoon darling. Now have fun at the dance tonight, and if you have any questions about anything, don't hesitate to come right back here and ask me. For now, I must return to my projects." Rarity waved her young client off and returned to her sewing room.

Ah, to be young again... She began to recall her own school dances, and a certain crush she had on a pony she so desperately wanted to impress at the time. Oh Cheerilee... where oh where did the time go...

Twist trotted down the road, skipping past her house and wondering how much trouble she'd be in for abandoning her chores. It didn't take long for those thoughts to be washed away as she made it to the school where a large crowd of ponies was gathering.

With several deep breaths, Twist attempted to psyche herself up. Okay Twist, you can do this. It's nothing. Just a dance is all, just have fun and I'm sure somepony will ask you to dance. Maybe even... Silver Spoo...

"Twist?! Is that you?!" Applebloom shouted from across the crowd. "You look great! I'm really lovin' those new glasses."

Applebloom and her two closest friends quickly trotted up next to her with ecstatic smiles, excited to see such a drastic change in style on such a cute pony.

"Nice, you look great Twist. What happened?" Scootaloo trotted in a circle around the filly, noting that even her entire coat seemed to be shinier.

"I have to agree with Applebloom, you do look great. I mean really Twist, is it... is it really you?" Sweetie Belle looked stunned and let her jaw drop as Twist span around.

"Yup, it thure is! And thanks, you guyth look really good too." She couldn't help but notice a more brilliantly colored red bow in Applebloom's mane with long ribbons dangling down her side.

She then looked to Sweetie Belle, who had translucent blue and pink gown on and a flower in her mane. Scootaloo stood proudly next to her date with an unusually nicely combed mane and gentlecolt's cuffs on her legs.

"Where'th your date AB?" Twist asked, genuinely curious as she glanced around.

"Featherweight? He's sick and couldn't make it. So I decided to dance with Sweetie and Scoots." Applebloom explained.

"Oh, well, I thee. Um, the thing ith, I don't ec-thactly... eck-thact... I don't really have a date either. Maybe we can be dateth and enjoy eachother'th company on thith lovely evening." With unusual confidence, Twist held out her hoof, almost assuming her friend would say yes.

"That sounds like a great idea. It'll be loads of fun, I'm sure. Thanks Twist." Applebloom gave her friend a warm hug before standing close to her and smiling at the other couple.

"Awesome! Now I get you all to myself." Scootaloo teased Sweetie Belle as she gave her a kiss on the cheek and placed a wing over her back.

"Settle down you, wait until we get home for that." Sweetie blushed and trotted away, Scootaloo quickly following after her.

Twist looked over to Applebloom and giggled, a hint of blush growing over her muzzle. "Lookth like they're happy, huh?"

"Sure do. They're like sunshine and celery stalks, them two." Applebloom winked and spilled out a bit of her country charm before taking Twist's arm and pulling her towards the entrance to the dance.

As soon as they entered, Twist spotted the pony she both anticipated and dreaded seeing. Silver Spoon stood next to her friend and smiled while they talked. It was too loud to to make out their conversation, but she looked happy, and that was enough for Twist to want to abandon her daydreams and fantasies. However hard she tried, a part of her couldn't help but want to trot up there and attempt to steal Silver's away from the ungrateful little mare that so obviously took her affections for granted.

"Hey, Applebloom." Twist leaned in and narrowed her eyes.

"Uh, yeah?" She asked, now curiously trying to follow those pink eyes to what they were locked on.

"What do you think my chantheth are with Thilver Thpoon?" She gulped, almost fearing the answer.

"Huh? Chances? Well I don't know. Why would ya wanna waste yer time with a stuck up little mule like Silver Spoon anyhow?" Applebloom wore a look of disdain and stuck her tongue out.

"What? The'th not that thtuck up. And, I think that Thilver ith really great... The'th not the terrible pony that Diamond maketh her be. I've theen her alone, and the'th... Well, I like what I thaw underneath meanneth, not to mention, Thilver'th jutht plain beautiful." Twist's eyes blissfully narrowed as her gaze washed over the little gray mare's perfectly slender body from across the dance-floor.

"Meh, if ya say so. Good luck gettin' her away from Diamond though. I swear they're conjoined at the hip." Applebloom chuckled beneath her breath and looked over to Twist, who was now sighing and letting her ears droop.

"Ah, come on now. Here, I'll tell ya what. How 'bout I go distract Diamond and give you two a chance to talk for a bit. Sound good?" Applebloom selflessly attempted to cheer her friend up with a plan.

Twist's eyes lit up and she nodded as rapidly as ponily possible.

"Alrighty then. Here I go." Applebloom cracked her neck and trotted towards Diamond, a devious look in her eye.

Twist slowly followed and waited for an opportunity to talk to her crush alone. Applebloom stopped at a small table and grabbed a cup of punch, carefully balancing it on the tip of her hoof while she continued trotted on three legs. Diamond was wearing a very elaborate dress with shining lace holding the piece of clothing together down the center.

"Oh hey there Diamond, lookin' good huh?" Applebloom greeted her with a cheerful smile and a compliment, knowing what to expect in return.

"Too bad the same can't be said for you. You're hardly even wearing anything, like this is some kind of... country hoedown or something." She tilted her nose up and laughed quite condescendingly.

"Ah, well let me show ya how we dance at them rootin' tootin' hoedowns of ours down on tha farm." Applebloom laid her accent on intentionally heavily.

She began comically kicking her back hooves out and stereotypically bouncing around in circles like an under-educated hick of a pony. In doing so, she deliberately tossed the drink right into Diamond's face.

"Oops, my bad. Lemme get that for ya." Applebloom began forcefully rubbing her hoof on the dress, undoing the lace holding it on.

The dress came undone and slipped off her flank and onto the floor, right into the pool of bright red punch. Diamond was mortified. She stamped a hoof and began nearly hyperventilating.

"That is an eight-hundred bit dress! And you stained it with your... your stupid punch?!" She shouted and Applebloom shrugged.

"What can I say... Accidents happen, right?" She shrugged again and put on an apologetic smile.

"I'll show you an accident!"

"Uh-oh!"

Applebloom turned and high-tailed it out of the building as quickly as she could and Diamond was in hot pursuit. Then, Twist saw her chance. She headed across the floor, receiving various compliments from ponies she recognized and unfamiliar ones alike.

"Ooh, pretty."

"I like your glasses."

"I haven't seen you around here before, you're cute!"

Twist bashfully yet gracefully accepted all her compliments and carried on towards her target. Before she could make it, Snips and Snails made their way in front of her.

"Hey Twist." They each nervously kicked at the ground and glanced away.

Snails spoke up. "I was just thinking that you're really pretty and I was wondering if you wanted to dance with me."

Snips jumped up and stepped between them. "No way, I was gonna ask her first!"

"Well too late, I asked her first!" A scuffle ensued.

Silver Spoon covered her mouth in an attempt to suppress her laughter over the whole situation, then spotted an unlikely mare trotting up to her with an obviously nervous smile.

"What do you want, Twist." She spat her name out with such spiteful disdain, that Twist almost lost all traces of her gained confidence and turned away.

Almost.

"I didn't mean to bother you. I kind of wanted to know if you would like to... maybe..." She made sure not to use words that would cause her lisp to come into effect, and held her hoof out, hoping that would be enough to let Silver know that she wanted a dance.

"You want to dance with me? But..." Silver raised an eyebrow, wondering if this was another setup, similar to the one used to embarrass her friend.

Twist nodded, still holding out her hoof, too afraid to put it down, fearing she wouldn't have the courage to ask again.

Silver Spoon glanced back and forth, wondering who might be watching. She then turned back to Twist, only now noticing the drastic transformation the mare had underwent, and somewhat surprised that she didn't realize it sooner.

"You changed. I like your glasses..." Silver noted.

Twist smiled and blushed. "I like your... Um, me too."

"Okay well.. maybe one dance. But I'm here with Diamond so I can't leave her out there on her own for too long, alright?"

"One will be better than what I thought I'd get, but all I really hoped for." Twist smiled and desperately tried to keep herself from blushing.

Her heart pounded in her chest as she felt Silver's hoof touch her's. The warm sensation of it gliding across her's and lightly interlocking sent chills up her spine. She had been imagining dancing with her crush for quite some time now, but never could have imagined it would become a reality. It was everything she had hoped for.

Gentle music played in the background while all the ponies around them gently embraced one another and slow-danced.

"Are you shaking?" Silver Spoon laughed, although there was no harshness or cruelty to her tone.

"Thorry, I gueth I'm a little nervouth." Twist placed a hoof to her mouth and cringed almost instantaneously after speaking.

Silver noticed her embarrassment as she blushed and kept her eyes lowered. "Hey, lisps are nothing to be embarrassed about. My little sister has a lisp, and I think they're really cute."

Twist looked up into those gorgeous purple eyes, almost losing herself in them. "You really think my lithp ith cute?"

"Mmm, you smell like peppermint." Silver nodded then pulled Twist against her as they danced.

"Yeah, everything I own wreakth of peppermint becauth my houth doubleth ath a our thweetth shop." Twist explained, worried she'd found something else to be embarrassed of.

"Well I really like it. It reminds my of visiting my grandmare before she passed away. She loved peppermint treats..." Silver laughed and looked down, surprised at how easily she was letting herself get emotional.

They stopped for a moment and Twist placed both hooves on Silver's shoulders. "I'm... I feel bad for your grandmare. I didn't mean to make you feel bad though."

"Hey it's not your fault. Thanks though..." Silver laughed again and blinked, trying to force her tears back. "You know, you're the first pony other than my family to offer any sort of condolences. So thank you for that too."

Silver Spoon dropped her smile and lowered her hoof down Twist's back, then pulled her back into motion as another song began to play. She looked through Twist's glasses and into her eyes, feeling somewhat ashamed that she never viewed this beautiful filly as a pony before, but only as a target of insult and nothing more. She gulped and felt the urge to apologize for everything she'd done throughout the years, finally seeing a pony just as vulnerable and fragile as she pretended not to be.

"Hey, you know I never really meant to be mean to you right? And I'm sorry if I was. I never really wanted to be mean to any of you guys, I just do it, and I don't know why. I guess I'm just a mean pony... I'm glad you don't hate me though."

Twist immediately accepted her apology without hesitation, and it was exactly what she had hoped for. "It'th okay, don't mention it."

Silver let out a light giggle, for some reason feeling relieved that Twist held no resentment towards her. "So tell me, why did you want to dance with me anyway?"

"Well, Thil... ahem, Sssilver Thpoon..."

"Hey don't worry about that lisp. I'm serious when I say I think it's cute." Silver Spoon stopped dancing for a moment and leaned back to make eye contact with a friendly smile, placing a hoof on Twist's cheek. "Now tell me what you have to say."

"Alright, if you thay tho. Um, well Thilver Thpoon, the thing ith, I've been meaning to tell you thith for a long time now. I... I think you're the prettietht, motht amazing mare I've ever met. And that I, I like you a lot." Twist could feel the heat in her face, knowing she was blushing harder than she'd ever blushed before.

"You really feel that way about me?" Silver asked in a quiet voice, her eyes wide and front hooves quivering.

Twist nodded and felt a stabbing churn in her stomach as she leaned forward towards the mare of her dreams' lips. Silver's eyes widened further as soon as she realized what was happening, but couldn't bring herself to turn away, or to stop her friend. She gulped and closed her eyes, not sure if she wanted to go through with a kiss, but definitely sure she didn't want to stop it.

Twist's heart began to race, she felt wobbly on her hooves but forced herself to stand steady. Not even her imagination had prepared her for this moment, and she couldn't begin to imagine what could make her night any more perfect. Their muzzles brushed against one another, the heat radiating from their faces merging into a single aura of warmth. Their lips inched closer and closer, and time seemed to have stopped as everything fell silent. Each mare could almost taste her friend's breath as she inhaled one last time before they'd connect.

"Silver! What in the hoof are you doing?!" Diamond Tiara shouted from the doorway.

The entire crowd of ponies all turned their gazes to her, surprised by the sudden shouting interrupting the gentle music.

Silver quickly dropped Twist to all fours and backed away. "I..." She glanced around and backed up.

"Did I just see you kissing... TWIST?!" Diamond shouted her name with an insulting sense of disgust. "Really?! You want to dump me, and you choose the ugliest, lamest, most worthless pony in all of Ponyville over... over me?!"

Twist ducked down in overwhelming embarrassment, tears forming and her fragile self-esteem shattering under Diamond's harsh words.

Silver couldn't bring herself to speak before Twist covered her face and ran towards to door, shoving her way past Diamond.

Silver stood shocked, her eyes nervously scanning the floor as she attempted to make sense of what just happened. She wiped her muzzle with a hoof, catching a hint of the peppermint scent that remained, and her heart skipped a beat.

"Diamond... Don't make fun of her."

Shocked, Diamond raised an eyebrow and crossed her hooves. "Excuse me? I'll make fun of any loser I want to make fun of. Now get over here and dance with me. This is supposed to be my best night ever, and you're starting to help those dorks ruin it."

Silver cringed and wondered why she even considered agreeing to that request, realizing loyalty to her best foalhood friend had kept her by Diamond's side for a long time.

"You really hurt Twist's feelings with what you said back there. You should go apologize..." Silver spoke up more loudly now, a bit of confidence growing and overtaking her own insecurities.

"Yeah right. Like I care about her feelings. Forget it, you go play with your little filly friends, I'm here to have a good time." Diamond trotted up to Silver and forcefully shoved her out of the way. "You all here that? I'm in need of a new date, so line up and I'll decide who's worthy."

Silver rolled her eyes and trotted towards the door, glancing back to see a row of jocks and cool-colts lining up for Diamond's nitpicking. She turned back towards the door and hesitated, looking back at her best friend, almost stunned that she'd stand against her like that. More than anything, she felt pit in her stomach, hurt that her best friend since she was just a blank-flank would turn on her so easily, and without a second of hesitation.

I guess to some ponies popularity really is everything... She swallowed the lump in her throat and looked back to the exit.

As she exited the building, she spotted three ponies surrounding Twist, along with a couple teachers. They were each comforting her and promising things will be better in the future, but she seemed inconsolable.

Silver trotted up to the sulking mare."Twist?" She spoke up.

She immediately looked back and stopped crying.

"You alright?" Silver Spoon placed a hoof on her shoulder.

Twist put on a crooked smile and nodded.

"Hey Cheerilee, you should talk to Diamond... And do the rest of you mind letting me talk to her alone for a bit?" The other ponies didn't think twice about listening to Silver, almost accepting that she was now in charge of the situation.

She lay down on the grass next to Twist and wrapped a hoof around her. "I'm really sorry about what Diamond said, and I want you to know it's not true."

Twist winced beneath the seething pain in her stomach, and shook her head. "It'th true and I know it. Without Rarity'th makeover, you never would have even notithed me at all..."

"That's not true! I hardly even noticed your makeover. I'm just... well I was... I can't really explain. I was just stuck on Diamond I suppose, but not anymore." Silver leaned over and looked Twist in the eye.

She smiled and messied the mare's mane with her hoof as much as she could, returning it nearly to it's normal level of poofiness. "I like you just the way you are Twist. I think I've liked you a bit for a while now. I always noticed that much unlike your friends, you never retaliated against Diamond, or me, in any way. But you were always there to offer us something sweet, or even just a smile no matter what we did. You're really something special, and I only wish I could have seen it sooner.

"You really think I'm... thomthing thpethshial?" Twist hugged onto her friend and smiled.

"You really are." Silver hugged her back and closed her eyes.

"Now I think we were in the middle of something that got interrupted. Shall we continue then?" Silver grinned and brushed her muzzle against Twist's.

"I think you're right." Twist nodded and closed her eyes, ready for a dream to come true.

~♥