Love Is Like A Cure

by chillbook1

Divine Intervention

Twilight ran her hand down her darling Rarity’s soft, silky hair complacently, a pointless, calming practice that Twilight wasn’t even entirely aware of. It was a fantastic night, a perfect ending to an equally perfect day. The two spent all of their Sunday talking, reading, modelling, and experimenting with charms. In contrast to the fiasco that was Brazen’s Saturday visit, this Sunday was utterly calm and serene. After the day had run its course and the sun had gently set, the two had retired to Twilight’s bed, where a calm, warm sleep overtook them.

At some point, Twilight wasn’t sure when or for what reason, she awoke. She wasn’t jolted awake, nor was she startled by some loud noise, rather, she just faded out of the aether of sleep and into consciousness. She didn’t think she’d be able to fall back asleep any time soon, but that was fine. Twilight was perfectly content to sit in the darkness, stroking the mane of the woman in her arms.

It didn’t particularly bother her how Spike was hanging upside down from the ceiling, staring down at them, nor was she very concerned with the odd oil paintings of her own belly button that now hung in a ring around her room. These things were of little consequence in the grand scheme of the relaxing night.

“Hello, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight herself couldn’t be bothered to pinpoint the source of the voice, nor did she care to respond. She continued to stroke Rarity’s silky locks, ignoring the shadowy figure that slowly appeared next to her. The figure, which seemed to step out of nothing, was entirely featureless, save for the bold cerulean beams the projected from where her eyes would be.

“It would appear that the connection is skewed,” said the shadowy apparition. “No doubt due to your young alicorn blood.”

“Who are you?” asked Twilight finally. “Can you keep it down? We’re trying to sleep.”

“Trying and succeeding, We’d say,” said the figure. “Please, try to stay focused, Twilight. We would like to speak with you.”

“About?” asked Twilight quietly. The shadow being’s dark face split, showing a curve of white light that resembled a smile.

“We always found this bit to be amusing,” said the shadow. “Open your eyes a bit, Twilight Sparkle. Try to make sense of your surroundings.” Twilight looked up to Spike, who had since fallen asleep, then to the paintings, which were now close-up photos of Rarity’s horn.

“It all seems pretty sensible to me,” said Twilight, still stroking Rarity’s mane.

“And doesn’t that frighten you?”

As if a spell had been lifted, Twilight snapped fully back into consciousness. Now, she was more than a little bit concerned about her surroundings. Spike really shouldn’t be up there like that, and Twilight was sure she hadn’t shot, developed, framed, and hung a baker’s dozen photos of Rarity, let alone her horn. Arguably the most shocking thing, however, was the form that the shadow now took.

“Do you see now?” asked Princess Luna. “We would like to do away with this little game, if you don’t mind.”

“P-princess Luna?” said Twilight. She was now, officially, confused. “I don’t understand. What’s going on? Nothing makes any sense anymore.”

“Perfect. That means we can now properly discuss,” said Luna. “Things rarely make sense in a dream, if ever.”

“Dream?” asked Twilight.

“Yes. We intended to visit you in the physical plane, but royal duties have come up,” explained Luna. “We noticed you were napping, and, as We have about ten minutes for lunch, I surmised that it would be efficient to speak to you now.”

Twilight sat up awkwardly, pushing Rarity’s head off of her lap. As she did, she noticed that she never really had Rarity in her arms. The entire time, Twilight was stroking and holding just her hair, with no body attached.

“This is bizarre,” said Twilight.

“Be thankful you were having a decent dream when I entered your mind,” said Luna. “We have lost count of the amount of times We have interrupted a less-than-pure stallion’s fantasy just for him to find that his partner had no face. The brain can only focus on so many things while asleep.”

Twilight shook herself slightly, trying to urge some shred of logic into the situation. Luna never just popped in for a visit, as delightful as that had the potential to be. No, the Princess of the Night always had an agenda, and, whenever she made an appearance, it was for business. Naturally, Twilight assumed the very worst.

“What’s happening?” she asked, her voice heavy with dread. She didn’t quite notice how the walls around her warped, almost as if melting. “What did you need to talk to me about?”

“Relax yourself, Princess Twilight,” said Luna. “For such a bright, cheery person, you have quite the streak of pessimism. There’s no looming threat or impending doom. I merely came to ask you about Rarity.” Now Twilight was very confused.

“What do you mean?” she asked. Princess Luna took a single step, yet somehow managed to appear just to Twilight’s left, sitting in a throne of lapis lazuli that Twilight certainly never saw before, let alone purchased and kept in the castle.

“You are a princess, an important one, too,” said Luna, crossing one leg over the other. “You and your friends are, for all intents and purposes, Equestria’s only defense. When something happens that may compromise any of you, my sister and I take it very seriously.”

Then, everything clicked, and Twilight started to laugh, causing her room to glow faintly and shake gently. Luna, while far from offended, was also quite a ways away from joining in on the laughter. She stared at her fellow princess, watching the young alicorn mare laugh with a sort of bemused curiosity.

“May I ask just what is so humorous?” said Luna, raising an eyebrow.

“I see what you’re doing, Luna! You’re trying to big-brother my relationship!” chuckled Twilight.

“I am afraid I don’t follow.”

“You, Celestia, too, both of you are afraid of losing me to someone who’s not worthy,” said Twilight with a smile. “You don’t want me dating someone you don’t approve us, so you’re trying to do background on me and Rares.”

“We… I…. That’s not…” Luna struggled to say the words she wanted, further proving Twilight’s point. “Be that as it may, Our reason for this is strictly professional. As We said before, you six are the sole defenders of the land. I cannot allow one of you to negatively affect the other.” Twilight giggled a bit more, which made Luna a bit more irate.

“You know, this entire thing may have been avoided,” said Luna, crossing her arms. “All you had to do was alert my sister or myself about your intentions to woo Rarity, and we would be significantly more relaxed about the whole thing. The fact that you had no intention of telling us leads us to believe that you are hiding something.”

“Sorry, Luna. We never really planned it to happen,” apologized Twilight. She bowed her head slightly. “We just sort of… came together. If it makes you feel any better, we didn’t really tell anyone. The others didn’t find out until about two weeks ago.” Luna sighed, relaxing herself slightly in her chair.

“We cannot fault you for falling prey to the sudden urges of your own heart,” said Luna. “Though, it would make Us… me… feel much more at ease if you were to inform me of such developments in the future, hm?”

“Absolutely, Princess,” said Twilight, smiling brightly.

“What does your family think?” asked Luna.

Twilight’s smile, which was ear-to-ear just seconds before, quickly fell into a dreading, terrified grimace. The walls of her room began to fade and lose some of their luster, as well as their consistency. Her grey jelly-walls were the least of her worries.

“Our niece approves, obviously, or she wouldn’t have let it happen,” said Luna, apparently unphased. “And, had Shining Armor objected for whatever reason, we would not be having this discussion, for he would have said it already.”

“Luna, wake me up,” said Twilight. “Wake me up right now! I need to tell them!”

“Tell whom?”

“My parents! Shiny! Everyone!”

“Twilight, you are being nonsensical,” said Luna. “Relax. I will awaken you. But, what must you tell them?”

“I have to tell them I’m with Rarity!" Twilight near shouted. She thought about it, the pit in her stomach growing. "I have to tell them that I'm gay!”

Luna wasn’t very good at reading people, or guessing reactions. She felt most people acted too randomly to accurately predict. But, even she could reason that Twilight’s parents would have liked to know this fact earlier, and they’d probably be outraged.

“I believe,” said Luna. “That what you need to say is what Ms. Pie classifies as a ‘drama bomb’.” Luna waved her hand, warping the reality Twilight was only now becoming accustomed to and slowly waking the Princess of Friendship from her slumber.

---

Rarity held out her finger, creating a perch for Caesar to land on. She quickly moved the songbird out of Twilight’s bedroom and down in the main chamber, where a hastily and magically created cage stood for him. Neither Rarity nor Twilight were certain whether they should keep Brazen’s little demonstration, though Rarity was leaning towards the “no” end of the spectrum.

Once Caesar the Songbird was safely secured, Rarity returned to the bedroom. Both she and her beloved Twilight were wearing lazy day bathrobes, tied tightly around the waist. Rarity loved the robes, because she spent several days and nights creating them just for her and Twilight. The effort paid off, as the robes were amazingly comfortable, as evidenced by how easily Twilight fell asleep in one.

Rarity stood in the doorway, watching her girlfriend sleep with a small smile. The princess, who was pretty cute to begin with, was down-right adorable in her sleep. Her mouth, slightly agape, dripped a tiny bit of drool from the corner of her lips. Something about her sleeping gave Twilight the illusion that, even while unconscious, she was still thinking. What truly set Rarity over the edge, what made her feel like she could sit and watch her sleep forever, was the snoring. The princess snored ever-so-slightly, just loud enough to be noticed, but low enough to be not only tolerable, but endearing.

“I don’t understand!” said a tricky, amused voice. “When you watch her sleep, it’s cute and romantic, but when I watch her sleep, it’s creepy and I need to leave the castle?” Rarity groaned, though she did manage to keep the brunt of her annoyance to herself. She knew the voice well, of course, and she truly did not want to have to deal with its owner.

“Hello, Discord,” said Rarity, quietly and through gritted teeth. “Would you mind coming out where I can see you?” Rarity’s robe shook and trembled, practically jumping off her body. A blur leapt from beneath her robe, flourishing into the mismatched, mischievous, pain-in-the flank draconequus. Discord stood on one foot, balancing just on the tip of Twilight’s horn.

“Hello, my dear, Rarity!” said Discord, as loudly as he could. “How are you, darling, it has been an absolute eternity!”

“Could you please quiet down?” demanded Rarity, “Twilight has earned a nap, I’m sure you agree.”

“Hm?” Discord looked down, as if he just noticed what he was standing on. “Oh, Princess Twilight here? That filly could sleep through a hurricane!” Rarity clenched her jaw angrily, mostly because anyone who knew Twilight could tell that she was typically a rather light sleeper. There was just no reasoning with Discord. He wanted to talk, so talk they would.

“What brings you around today?” asked Rarity, trying to be polite. Discord snapped his fingers, and a large set of noise-cancelling headphones appeared on Twilight’s ears.

“I am hurt, Rarity!” he said dramatically. “Offended! Humiliated, even! You two, my best friends, decided to shack up and you didn’t even tell me? I had to find out from Fluttershy! I feel like I deserve at least a phone call!”

“Discord, we never see you. The last time you decided to pop in was Pinkie’s birthday,” said Rarity. “Six months. You’ve never given us your number or address. I didn’t even know you got service where you live.” Discord snaked his way over to the seamstress, wrapping his arm around her. He withdrew a small slip of paper, scribbled some invisible pen on it, and passed it to Rarity.

“This just says ‘seven’,” noted Rarity. Discord nodded.

“Dial seven, ask for Sheryl, and she’ll put you through to me,” said the god of chaos, smiling widely.

“Who is Sheryl?”

“Haven’t the faintest! But don’t think you can change the subject!” Discord slipped back into his melodramatic tone. “You truly couldn’t be bothered to make contact with me? Am I truly that unimportant to you that you would keep such big, exciting news under wraps? I thought we were friends!”

Rarity was slowly falling into the trap. As much as she knew that she shouldn’t, she started to feel genuinely bad for not telling Discord. Even if she wasn’t ecstatic with the draconequus at any given time, she still valued him as a friend, and friends share news with each other.

“I mean, come on!” continued Discord. “I get that you told the others first, then your family, but really? You told Coco before you told me? I’m an A-tier friend, she’s C-tier, at best!”

“Discord, I am truly sorry,” said Rarity. “I should have found a way to tell you. I promise you, Twilight and I will keep you in the loop from now on.”

That seemed to be enough for Discord, who snapped again and removed Twilight’s headphones. He was just about to snap away when Twilight jolted awake, yelling, screaming, laughing madly, and generally carrying-on.

“Oh, this must be good,” snickered Discord. Twilight didn’t really seem to notice him, far too focused with the ripping out of her own hair. She looked to Rarity, her eyes rife with panic and self-loathing.

“What’s the matter?” demanded Rarity. She grasped Twilight’s hands. “Calm down, darling, it’s all going to be okay.”

“Rarity, I have an IQ of 195. I’m 26, and I’m on the fast track to two separate doctorates,” said Twilight, her tone akin to a dead mare. “I’ve mastered thousands of spells and charms, created hundreds of my own. I’ve completed a millennia-old spell that stumped the greatest unicorn mage of all time. I’m fluent in twenty languages, eight of which are dead. At the risk of bragging, I am a certified genius, in every sense of the word.”

“Yes…” said Rarity uneasily. “Um… Is… Is there a point to you listing your resume?”

“If I am so smart, then explain to me how I can also be a complete idiot at the same time.”

“Oh, it’s quite simple, actually,” said Discord, slithering around Twilight and leaning on her shoulder. “I know exactly how you feel! You can have all the knowledge in the world, but, sometimes, nothing is there! It’s hilarious!”

“What ever do you mean, darling?” asked Rarity, trying her best to ignore the unwelcome third party.

“I forgot to tell my family,” groaned the princess, falling flat on her back. “Shining, Cadance, my parents. I still have to tell them everything.”

Rarity sighed in relief, then gasped in absolute, one hundred percent, unadulterated terror. She couldn’t muster any words for a while, instead letting out a long, low whining sound. It was so bizarre that even Discord was slightly concerned.

“Rarity?” he asked. “What ha-. Oh, my word.” Discord’s brain quickly wired the situation together, and his already cheshire grin spread even wider. “You neither? Hahaha! How is that possible?!”

“Wait, what?” asked Twilight, snapping out of her own sort of daze. “You didn’t tell them about us?”

“No,” said Rarity, her voice barely a whisper. “Not even Sweetie Belle. She… Oh, no. We have to tell them! I can get my parents down for dinner tonight, what say you? When can you get your parents over? We need to do this sooner, rather than later.”

“We already put it off too long, as it is,” agreed Twilight. She gulped loudly. “However… I think we should tell your family first. Give me a week or two so I can… Ease mine into the waters.”

The tension and discomfort flowing from Twilight was as dense as it was extreme. Discord dropped his smile, and peered thoughtfully at her. She had a very particular look and posture to her, one that Discord felt he’d seen before. Yes, it was definitely familiar. The look she had when approached with the idea of talking to her parents was fear, bordering on contempt. The look on Twilight’s face was that of a girl with daddy issues.

“Wouldn’t you know it?” said Discord. “Fluttershy and I were due for tea thirty minutes ago! I had better take my leave, if you have no objections.” Without bothering to wait for a response, Discord snapped his fingers, vanishing in a flash of light. Twilight pulled at her hair nervously, her unease quickly infecting Rarity.

“Darling, you really should calm down,” said Rarity, as soothingly as possible. “You’re getting yourself upset. I doubt that they’d be horribly cross with you in the long run. There’s no need in procrastinating here.”

“I’d normally agree with you,” said Twilight. “However… And I don’t mean to sound rude here, but… You don’t really know what you’re talking about.”

“Beg pardon?”

“Has it never struck you as odd that you’ve never met my folks?” asked Twilight. “Believe me, that is no accident. You’re going to have to trust me on this one, Rares. I have to take this one slow, plan it out.” Rarity didn’t like the way Twilight was speaking very much. She was far too stressed. It was a bit scary, watching the strongest willed person in your life have a proper breakdown. Whenever it happened, Rarity felt part of herself weaken, a certain helplessness gripping her at the sight of Twilight, who was her world, essentially pulling herself apart.

But, this time, it was different. Before, Rarity was merely looking on as a friend. Now, she was a pillar. She could be a rock, which was what Twilight needed now.

“Whatever you think is best, love,” said Rarity. She flattened herself down on the bed, her hand resting gently on Twilight’s stomach, her face nuzzling against the princess’ neck. “Nobody is rushing you here. You can tell them whenever you’re ready, I’ll be there with you every step.”

Twilight tilted Rarity’s head up, then kissed her softly. Rarity’s warmth did a great job of helping Twilight keep back the tears, and the seamstress’ soft, lavender-painted lips against her own alleviated most of the panic. Still, Twilight couldn’t help but scare herself with her own thoughts. She could tell her parents whenever she was ready, but the princess didn’t think she ever would be.

Fortunately, Rarity’s kiss was making it rather difficult to concentrate on how ready she wasn’t.

Author's Note:

Ever have a secret that seems harmless enough until it actually comes time to tell someone? It can be a difficult thing, especially if keeping the secret is easy to do.

Hope you enjoyed and, if you did, comment to tell me why. If you didn't enjoy, I'm sorry, and comment to tell me why. Thanks a million.

Like, comment, and follow for a game of chess.

Comments

[CommisarSilver]

I don't get it. How is being gay harmful?
Or do you mean something else? Like telling people you are gay can be harmful ?

[chillbook1]

6185137 Most definitely the latter. If I thought Homosexuality was harmful, this story would be very different

[CommisarSilver]

6185300 ah OK thanks.
I'm curious to see how you portray her parents, it's rare to read about twilight having mediocre or bad parents. I'm also curious as to the whys. Is it a cultural/religious mindset differences? Disregard for twilight in general?

I can't wait!

[AppleJackAdmirer]

I have really enjoyed this story. I read the other story 1st.