Twilight is summoned to view the world famous "Fashion Mile" but things have are never simple.
Twilight is summoned to view the world famous "Fashion Mile" as Celestia's Protege but things rarely go the way they are intended and are never simple. Especially when she finds herself completely spell bound by a model who's an entire world apart.
( A MASSSIVE thank you for Starykrow from derpyhooves chat for the image)
Twilight looked out the right side of the air balloon she was currently flying. Usually such a vehicle would be rendered useless; at the mercy of the winds, but this was no ordinary balloon. It was a special device gifted to her by her Mistress, and Princess: Celestia. It was made of a special substance which could absorb magic easily so it would be easy to control for her; student or not.
At the moment the lavender unicorn was on her way to Canterlot for a very special occasion. Princess Celestia had sent an invitation to Twilight ( by way of Spike, her baby dragon companion) to one of the most popular fashion shows which occurred bi-annually in the upper echelon of Canterlot’s society. “Fashion Mile” a top tier view into the fashion of only the most elite ponies from all over the world. Each day the entire set is dismantled and moved down a mile allowing for a setting change each night for a full week of couture. Now, Twilight did feel a small bit guilty that Celestia had only sent her one ticket, and that it had arrived when she was buys having tea with Rarity so it was impossible to hide it from her. She had of course immediately asked the Princess for a second ticket; unfortunately it was a more private matter between the two being seen in public as Princess and Student.
Most of Twilight’s guilt stemmed from the fact that this made her far happier than it should have. It had been a long time now since she had moved to Ponyville and begun her studies into the magic of friendship; a long time to spent away from her teacher. She could not even begin to hide the joy of spending a week near the Princess (though she knew realistically they would spend very little time together).
Twilight looked over the side of her air balloon down at the mountain side Canterlot; pausing for a moment to take in the beauty of her home. She sighed deeply, it felt comforting for the unicorn to be coming home, but she felt the week apart from her friends would be more than a little difficult (not to mention a week away from her studies!). Rechecking her trajectory she sat back on her haunch and allowed herself a moment of meditation; an art she had been forced to live without in the chaotic swirl that was Ponyville.
An unearthly peace ensnared her soul in a moment of pristine silence; did she really miss the silence so much? She wondered… Life was a great deal more different in Ponyville then her solitary study within Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. There was an unnatural peace about the place; one induced by the magic which flowed so thick through the air.
A deep sigh escaped her lips and she let her eyes open… She would be at the school in just a little over an hour… only an hour more of this magnificent peace before the fashion show would interfere and her life would become nothing but noise and bodies again. Twilight closed her eyes and crossed her forelegs silently… she would use every moment of this peace then before it went away again.
Twilight wished to drink in as much of it as she possibly could before she was once again forced away from quiet meditations.
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The balloon landed directly when Twilight had meant it too; five minutes before the expected time. Better to be early in all things as Twilight had always held a silent mantra; which was her very essence of being. Bowing low Twilight allowed her horn to press against the beautifully cut grass of the Castle’s landing pad; a majestic garden along one of its back walls of meticulously tendered gardens and grass clearings.
Before her was the Princess, Celestia.
“Princess.” Twilight said respectfully keeping her head bowed. In all too obvious awe of her god-like teacher; with her brilliant white coat and wings, magically flowing hair which sparkled like the sky at twilight.
“Oh Twilight, raise your head my faithful student.” Celestia chided in her kindest of voices; a smile erupting from her young student’s lips like it always had before. “Let’s head up to your room.” the Princess said with a watchful smile over her small student, nodding her head towards a young unicorn who had accompanied her to the landing. He nodded and ran up to the balloon’s pit and began loading up all the suitcases on his back (infinitely grateful that there was only three, the last time he had been requested by the Princess was to carry the most ungodly amount of luggage for some prissy white Unicorn).
“Are you sure I brought enough clothes?” Twilight asked as the two began to walk along the beautifully adorned wall. “I’ve never been to a fashion show quite like this before... Rarity took it all under her own wing, you know? She wouldn’t take no for an answer; it was all ‘dress this’ and ‘dress that’. I swear she designed more outfits for me then will be shown at the whole event.” Twilight rambled passionately; as she always did when she caught her stride only pausing when a cheeky chuckle from her mentor interrupted her flow of thoughts.
Blushing she looked down embarrassed at how she had rambled; waiting for her teaches response. “I’m sure you’ve brought more than enough clothes. I personally will be going as is.” Celestia teased; as if she would need to dress up, she was very much as beautiful as the sun. “It must be very nice to have such a caring and loving friend.” she pointed out; reminding her student promptly of her studies into the magic of friendship.
Twilight found herself blushing more, her cheeks almost glowing in the late afternoon sun. Thinking of the beautiful, snow white, Rarity fussing over her like that was extremely satisfying. She gave her Princess a deeply heartfelt nod and a radiant smile that some would say could rival her master’s natural shine.
“Will Princess Luna be joining us for the show?” Twilight asked as the duo came to the spiralling stairs to the upper level entrance to her “tower”. It had been a while since Twilight had seen the younger Princess and she had to admit she was a bit worried.
“No...No I’m afraid not...” Celestia said; her voice changed uncharacteristically. Twilight gave her a worried look. Indeed a shadow passed over that beautiful face which seemed so alien and haunting that it was burned away by the light as quickly as it had come. Twilight silently pondered if it was about the incident last month...there had been a time when there was no moon in the sky... Perhaps the two had a fight and had yet to reconcile. Either way the young student decided that it was not her business until her teacher decided it would be.
“When will we be heading down to the show?” Twilight asked as the door before her parted to the soft lavender glow of her horn’s magic. “So I have time to change and get ready.” she continued to explain; her voice anxious and nervous.
“Well I’ll be going down now to help set it up. You’ll join me for around eight; we’ll welcome all the guests then take our seats in the main booth.” Celestia instructed.
Instructions were good, they were easy to follow; like a lesson plan. It had an almost soothing effect on Twilight; like a long lost drug being reintroduced to her system.
“Yes Ma’am.” she said obediently and went into the room to get prepared as Celestia flew past the luggage pony who had just now reached the bottom of the spiral. It would be a genuinely fun night; of that Twilight was sure.
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Twilight was sure she had never blushed so hard in her entire life. So radiant was her cheeks that they seemed to dim the natural light coming off of Celestia who stood beside her greeting the many guests to the first night of “Fashion Mile”.
Rarity had gone out of her way to leave detailed instructions on which outfit she was to wear each day; how to accessories it, and in some cases how she should walk while wearing certain clothes. Perhaps Twilight had let her go a bit too far...
Tonight was her Gala outfit; Rarity had of course left a rather in-depth note explaining how tacky it would be to be seen in an outfit that had already been worn so she had modified it and included a beautiful tiara which seemed to capture and spread starlight all over her cheeks casting them in a heavenly sparkle.
She was completely unaware of how many ponies she had greeted that night with a polite nod or even a “Thank you for coming!” in a faintly squeaky voice.
There was a gentle caring nudge to her shoulder from Celestia. “You’re doing very good.” she encouraged her student; they had been standing there greeting people in the way of very powerful stage lights that were all too hot. “Let’s go in now.” she instructed and motioned for Twilight to precede her.
The inside of the open topped arena was surprisingly like any other fashion show that Twilight had scene when Fluttershy had become a model, or when Rarity had described them to her. The main difference was that the back and sides near the walkway were open to the background; which tonight was the center courtyard of the Canterlot Castle. It was a beautiful scene really, the marble buildings and flowers all seemed to absorb and reflect the moons light at the stage.
The lights were moving all over the crowd of prestigious Unicorns, Pegasus and Earth ponies with abandon. Twilight sat down in a booth just to the left of the stage next to her Princess. It was an amazingly comfortable seat with a unspeakable view of the stage.
It was then that the lights dimmed. The show was about to begin.
Twilight could hear some Stallion introducing models and lines of clothing but to be honest she heard none of it; now did she hear any of the beautiful music being played by an orchestra in the back corner. All that her senses could take in were the beautiful ponies making their way down the walk way.
Stallion and Mare came one after another; stars sparkled brightly in Twilight’s eyes as she took in all of the beautiful ponies and their outfits. She was not one for fashion but it was absolutely breathtaking the magic that a powerful designer could achieve with an outfit and the right pony.
The show went on for what must have been hours but to Twilight it all seemed to move in slow motion but pass all to quickly in an odd paradox that she couldn’t begin to comprehend.
Just when she thought the show was over the show only just began.
The most beautiful mare that Twilight had ever seen appeared out at the back of the walk from the curtains meant to contain the element of surprise. Her coat was the purest of white; so white in fact that the moon and flowers all cast their reflections upon her making her fur dance and sparkle with different shades: brilliant purples, reds, blues and greens serenaded her underside while the sparkling moonlight pranced across her back. Hair... her hair was the most perfect shade of pink; it dabbled her coat in a reflected rose that would be the most perfect blush. Legs that were long and lanky accented her thin light-weight body and showed all of her magnificent curves flawlessly. Twilight viewed this regal mare as she made her perfect walk to the edge of the path, turning her neck slowly to reveal her “outfit” a un-earthly gemstone hung about her neck cut into the shape of a “Fleur des-lis” which Twilight had noticed was the symbol upon her unmarred flank. With the softest glow of salmon pink her hair parted revealing a chain like crown with a gemstone of the same shape with the same foreign stone; a gem with a purple of the fairest pink.
The walk seemed to last an eternity for Twilight, the unicorn was sure that her heart had stopped in that one moment as she viewed this epitome of ponydom. But the endorphin induced slow-motion drifted away as the beauty turned and walked away; swaying her body more seductively than any mare had a right to.
The cheering was absolute; save one. One pair of hooves was too stunned to be able to show the same cheer and joy. One heart had been pulled so much harder than all the others. Twilight did nothing in that moment but stare; awestruck.
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Rushing from the booth before anypony else had begun to move Twilight was up the aisle and outside quicker then she had ever known herself to move. The models would all be moved out first so as to avoid the adrenaline driven crowd; upper echelon of Canterlot or not they were just as susceptible to the primal urges when faced with such beauty.
Twilight had little idea what she was hoping would happen as she dashed out into the herd of ponies; looking for that one unicorn.
A glimpse of beautiful rose and she was off through one of the many hedged pathways which dotted the courtyard. The occasional view of pure white coat kept her charging on; her breath caught in her chest viciously.
There she was, walking just ahead of Twilight. The unicorn pulled into a small clearing near the edge of the courtyard and paused for a moment to view the beautiful pony.
But something was wrong. The thing, tall mare was shaking almost uncontrollably and though from the angle she was in Twilight could not see her face there was a deep release of steam from her face with each breath as if she was heating up.
“H-hey are you oka---” Twilight started when the beautiful mare collapsed to the ground shaking.
Rushing to her side at full gallop Twilight pressed a leg against her forehead. A fever; she was very hot; putting her ear to her chest Twilight listened for her heart beat.
It was weak and sporadic.
Panic sunk in first, a million questions ran through Twilight’s mind as she tried to figure out what was wrong, what had happened. But then her studies came in. Up close the pony beneath her seemed malnourished and thinner then she had on stage; Twilight could almost see her ribs.
“Probably just exhausted...” Twilight said having done a year or two of intense medical study (which for her was something beyond anything a normal pony could conceive). Using her magic she gingerly lifted the mare onto her back, hoping that she was tall enough to not drag the strange goddess across the dirt as they walked. Twilight knew she had to get her home and plugged up with an IV, maybe run some tests on her to make sure that it was just malnourishment and not something like drugs...
“Well...” Twilight said as she stealthily made her way up the castle carrying the unconscious mare on her back. “It’s been one hay of a night.” she whispered to no one but herself as she magicked her door open. Lifting the other inside, she set her horn a motion, the room filling with her lavender magic.
Fleur stirred from her deep sleep and found that when she tried to lift her fore-hoof to her pounding forehead that it caused a painful tug on her skin. Her lavender eyes opened and were slammed shut by the forceful intruding of a blaring sun. Celestia’s orb mocked the pained mare as if to punish her more than the hammering in her head was already.
A tug of her leg and the forceful gripping against her flesh persisted. This time she forced her eyes open through the pain of the sun too behold her leg. There was an intravenous needle wedged and taped into her skin caused for lack of a better word: Instant Panic.
A million thoughts raced through the model’s mind as she turned her neck with such speed that it caused a whiplash like after effect which immediately caused deep regret to radiate out from her very bones. She was not in her room within the palace (a personal treat that the Princess had offered her for her stay in Canterlot during ‘Fashion Mile’). No this room was much different from her luxurious suite.
For one, the window in the upper right corner of the room was nothing like the massive dual-window that donned a full wall of her suite looking out to the palace grounds, and that was only the start of the problems within this room. There were many machines, none of which the foreign pony could place; the majority of which were hooked up to her in some way or another. Nobs and lights flickered and turned; needles jumped and pulsed all along sheets of paper that seemed to come from some fathomless depth of parchment to form into a pile of what must had been hours of compiled data. Bookshelves lined the walls and created a dusty grimness in the fog of what must have been early morning. Fleur struggled with everything around her: heart racing, eyes going wide the only thought that she felt absolute in was that: she had been foal-napped.
Teeth clamped on the needle, and then violently ripped it from her flesh. The tall mare pushed herself off the bed...table? She had no idea, at the moment there was nothing but panic. Several padded sensors fell off her chest, back, and flank then the alarms went off.
The mechanical screeching set the room alight with noise causing the already panicked mare to literally go into hysterics. She looked about the strange room for some kind of exit in her adrenaline driven flight; finding it not too far from where she had been laying. Making a gallop for it it took Fleur an extra moment to realize the soft purple glow that had encompassed her entire form and lifted her hooves off the ground.
“Whoa whoa whoa!” a soft feminine voice said from behind the frantic unicorn. Magic, yes magic; sadly Fleur had completely forgotten the tool in her need for flight. Another unicorn made her way down from a staircase that was previously hidden in the darkness of the room. She was short, and rather chubby (Fleur noted through the panic; a trained mind is trained well); she had dark hair with a lavender and purple streak, and on her flank was a symbol of a star with stars enveloping it. She looked strangely familiar to Fleur and this allowed, for the moment at least, the panic to subside.
Familiar was safe.
Until proven otherwise.
“Sorry about that.” the mare said setting Fleur down; her cheeks had a deep blush of magenta, a shade that Fleur had only ever seen the most capable fashion pony creates with hours of intensive care and hundreds of bits worth of makeup. “I must have dozed off; are you doing okay? How are your legs? Feeling weak?” Fleur almost interpreted that as a form of threat; as if the unicorn was asking if whatever she had been pumping into the white coated unicorn was taking its effect, but she found that no such doubt could come to mind. There was too much concern in her voice.
“Je vais bien...” Fleur said, her purple eyes still studying the smaller unicorn as the magic surrounding her set her down on the table. “I’m fine.” she clarified to the “foreigner” as she was released. The initial fear of foal-napping had passed and Fleur was confident enough that this other mare meant her no harm... At least long enough to hear out how she came to be in this situation.
Twilight ignored Fleur’s response for the most part, ponies could lie, but cold hard medical science never would. She took minor note of that beautiful voice trying to focus on the leaflets of data and the massive scrolls that dotted the floor of her room (thankful that all of her medical equipment from her days in the academy had continued to work flawlessly).The readings indicated a strong recovery.
“Good, after you collapsed last night I was very worried.”
“Collapse?” Fleur mouthed; whispering the word out-loud. It would have explained how she had ended up in this bizarre situation. She had felt unusually tipsy after the first show; the heat of the lights... and those eyes... everypony judging her... It was all she could do to hold back the bile as the rush of emotions and the heats of those stage-lights assaulted her. Fleur had held her own then but now, in some semblance of privacy the mare found she could not and with a disgusting sound of some living organism being ripped in half she wretched the contents of her stomach onto the floor; it mixing in with the papers of data.
The as of yet nameless mare watched; stared into Fleur in a way that made her want to wretch more form her empty stomach. A hoof placed pressure on her lower back rubbing in a strong, slow circle which though Fleur would hate to admit it was bizarrely soothing.
After a few more minutes of pained retching and pained breathing Fleur found her stomach setting, completely empty. The nameless mare stopped her soothing rubs when the convulsions of the Unicorn beneath her ceased; Fleur felt a deep shame in being so vulnerable. In her line of business it was the adamant will of a strong survivor to never give in or become...weak. Fleur had seen more than her share of model ponies (stallions and mares) give in to their weaknesses, become abused...mistreated...or worse lose their beauty and shape that had been their only claim to fame in their lives.
A fate worse than death...
“You all done?” a voice called her back; the young mare was talking to her. Using her magic the other unicorn lifted up a mop and a pail and began to clean up the mess Fleur had just made. The model looked down from her resting spot and considered helping the other unicorn... eventually deciding against it; there was a level of class that she was expected to show in all situations, no matter what they may be.
“Oui.” She said lifting a leg to wipe away the tears that had been forced down her cheeks by the pain of the vomit escaping her throat. Fleur winced and considered how she must look at the moment; sure that her perfect hair was out of place; eyes reddened by the tears, fur wet with sweat, mouth drenched with the spit from her moment of weakness.
“I’m Twilight Sparkle.” the now named mare said as she levitated the full bucket away and sent the mop out the nearby door; the stench thankfully had not gotten too overpowering (less Fleur would more than likely had retched again). Twilight Sparkle... the name did ring a certain bell... but where had Fleur heard it...? This homely pony must have been someone of some standing for Fleur to even recognize the name, of this she was sure; she had only been exposed to the highest of nobles and the richest of ponies since her arrival in the palace the day before. The Princess! Of course, Fleur recalled it now; the Princess had mentioned something about wanting to introduce Fleur to her protégé: Twilight Sparkle. It seemed to Fleur extremely coincidental that the mare that the Princess had intended for her to meet would be her savior in her time of need.
“Excusez-moi! Ou sont mes manieres?” Fleur began; in times of dealing with those of nobility and high standing there were certain protocols to uphold. “Je m’appelle Fleur de Lis.” she said; lowering her horn in respect for the other mare.
Some manner of meep or whiny escaped Twilight’s lips and she blushed trying furiously to remember the etiquette lessons she had received early on in her acceptance to the academy; attempting to bow in turn, only finding that she had over compensated and the weight of her motion sent her falling to the paper covered floor. The studious unicorn did a full roll in the piles of papers trying to regain some semblance of balance; confused and aggravated gasps escaping her lips as she tumbled head over hoof.
Fleur watched the spectacle of the smaller unicorn with some disdain; confused that a pony so clumsy who seemed to be missing the natural born class of the aristocracy could be in a rank of such high standing as the protégé to the Princess. Though that was just a secondary nuisance to the model pony, Fleur was beginning to recover her strength, and she could feel the power coming back to her limbs. She’d be able to thank Madame Sparkle for her assistance in her time of need and leave sharply to get back for the daily routine she had planned. All in order to get ready for the second night of Fashion Mile, sure by now that there was a search party going all around Canterlot looking for her. As Twilight finally managed to right herself looking extremely untidy and spent, the same magnificent glow about her cheek (though Fleur would never admit it, made the model extremely jealous) Fleur found herself strong enough to stand on her own, able to leave.
“Thank you for your hospitality.” Fleur said her foreign accent thick on her words. Weighing them down, making them sound forced. “Ils doivent penser que je suis absent.” She said noticing Twilight’s confused look, she must not be as learned in other cultures. “I have been gone some time, yes? They must have noticed.” she clarified slowly.
Now Twilight knew that she wasn’t as fluent in what Applejack would adamantly refer to as “Fancy” but she was able to understand the basics of the language. She felt she would have been able to understand what Fleur had said if she had not been talking quite so fast; a common occurrence to those “Fancy” talkers.
“Oh you can’t go yet!” Twilight said pulling her mind away from the clarification and self-questioning which the all too common bane of most intellects. “You must stay for breakfast!” she said remembering how emancipated the beautiful mare before her was; thinking of ways to get as much calories in something small as she could.
Fleur gave a small wince. It had been a long, long time since she had ever been “hungry”. When she was discovered by Fancy-pants she was rather young, and her body become the very center of her existence, and keeping her weight down so that she could maintain a “pony like none other” look had been her only goal. Over time Fleur had found herself completely losing her appetite to the point that she had people (under Fancy-pant’s instruction) to feed her very specific meals at very specific times. Or she may forget to feed herself completely. Fleur had to admit, to herself at least, that this was not the first time she had collapsed randomly. It was always such a nuisance... but usually Fancy-pants or one of her personal entourage was around her to make sure she would be looked after proper. The last time she had been forced to... eat more than what she subconsciously felt she needed to maintain her ideal body shape she had thrown up for hours. Even the thought of that evening brought the retching feeling returning to the back of her neck. It had been at a rather fancy dinner and the guests where all expected to complete their dishes. Just imagining the food Fleur could feel the ounces and pounds creeping back on her form; had the room had better lighting Twilight would have assuredly been able to see the dry sweat forming on Fleur’s brow.
“No, no, no. That is quite impossible.” she explained hastily trying to back out of a situation where she could damage her body’s image. Especially during “Fashion Mile” she had worked too hard to screw it up now, regardless of who she was dealing with. “They will take care of me back at my suite, “Servieurs, oui?”.
Twilight was shaking her head however, thankfully able to understand the choking accent that the other mare had. All of her “s”’s seemed to come out as “z”’s, and Fleur still managed to talk too fast for a normal pony to hear. No, Twilight was not about to let that happen. Fleur was currently her responsibility.
“Je suis desole.” Twilight said raising a fore hoof to Fleur’s right shoulder, pushing her down onto the table. A surprisingly easy task for a pony so physically weak; Twilight became truly terrified for just how weak the other mare was. “When they gave me all this equipment I took an oath to protect and heal those in need.” she said in her most proud of tones. Regular everyday pony or not, Twilight was an accomplished student... for some reason it made her feel more relaxed in Fleur’s presence to mention her accomplishments... trying to bring herself up to Fleur’s level she supposed.
Twilight had never had feelings like she did right now towards another pony. She was sure, logically of course, that it was because of how different and beautiful that Fleur was compared to the ponies that she had seen in all her life. If Twilight were to compare her beauty to any other pony she knew it could only be the Princess. A feat that Twilight had always felt would be unimaginable for any other pony to achieve. It made her feel very small and insignificant in comparison. She was not one of the upper castes; the high echelon was something she was pulled into at the insistence of her beloved teacher.
The gap between her and Fleur felt very massive... almost hopeless and it spawned a sense of...dread? Deep inside of her stomach, as if Spike had put a gemstone inside her food and it had crashed into her with a thud and sat there taking up space.
Applying pressure.
“I can’t just let you go until you’ve had something to eat.” Twilight said going around Fleur and the table to the counter where she would enjoy her meals when she was at the academy. Slowly magicking down an apple for herself she began to get some food for Fleur. “Nothing large... I promise.” Twilight mentioned as an afterthought. Hermit or not, she had spent enough time with Rarity to understand how difficult modeling was for someponies and that weight was something next to divine for them. But that was secondary to her health, that was all Twilight cared about at that moment; taking out a couple of slices of bread and some hay.
Fleur had moved up next to Twilight now sitting down a little ways from her companion. This was definitely not what she was expecting for her first meal in Canterlot. Looking about the room the crystalline unicorn took in all the books and dusty tomes that dotted the walls. While Fleur was looking around the room Twilight snuck some Alfalfa into the sandwich she was making for Fleur, it would help had a large amount of calories to the meal without being overbearing. Hoping that it would help give her the energy to prevent any more collapses.
Fleur looked back from the room to the unicorn magicking a sandwich. She was used to being served, but she very rarely saw the ponies that were busy providing for her. Silently she wondered if they all looked so intense and caring when making her dishes. “So, is this a...ah... bibliotheque?” she asked, attempting to tone down the regality of her voice; gradually coming to the awareness that Twilight may not be used to dealing with ponies of Fleur’s status.
Twilight blushed furiously in response; the blade she was levitating to cut the sandwich slamming down sharply almost cutting the plate in half. She made a small non-committed response and pushed the sandwich down the table to Fleur who looked at it with disdain.
“Pardon?” she asked, unable to hear what Twilight said.
“No, this is my bedroom.” she whispered feeling awkward at the implication (though at the same time glad). It would make her feel silly later on, but at the moment it was an embarrassing fact. Let alone the fact that she normally lived in a library, the fact of which seemed to be escaping her.
“Oh? How quaint,” Fleur said. Looking down at her sandwich, pondering it with every fibre of her being and all the implications it entailed. There was a loud, sucking squelch to the side as Twilight bit into her succulent red apple. Biting back any bile which tried to raise itself into her mouth Fleur focused on the sandwich. Lowering her head, since no utensils were offered, she slowly bit off a piece of the hay based snack. It was good, light enough not to weigh her stomach down enough to make her sick. Though she felt she wouldn’t be able to eat the whole thing. Twilight sat beside her, hoofs up on the ledge, the magic wrapped around her horn levitating her apple as she took another bite. Eyes never leaving Fleur.
She noticed that Fleur was having a hard time eating, hoping that the alfalfa’s flavour was not noticeable. After a few moments of silence Twilight had finished her apple and Fleur had half made her way through her sandwich... which was more than Twilight had expected. Though she looked absolutely full Twilight couldn’t help but notice a healthier glow in her cheeks, perhaps she would hunt down Fancy-pants and inform him that small amounts of alfalfa in her food would help her get needed calories.
Fleur blushed a little, Twilight was staring rather intensely. The feeling mixed with the food she had just eaten pushing her close to her limit again. Pushing her food away with her horn she stepped away from the counter feeling a little woozy from the amount of food she had eaten. That simple hay sandwich had tasted more delicious then most of the food that her servants bring her... and she had no idea as to why.
“Thank you for your aid.” Fleur said feeling sick again, just from overeating. Turning away she made her way to the mouth of the tower when a call came from Twilight.
“Would you like me to walk you back?” she sounded close, she must have followed Fleur. The model shook her head and took a step out into the light, it blinding her momentarily.
“No that’s fine. Again thank you, it means a lot to me.” she said without thinking shaking her head confused. It was no more than what she’d expect from any pony in the situation Twilight had been in. “I’ll see you tonight. Au revoir!” she called galloping down the ramp of the tower, legs strong now that she had rested and eaten.
Leaving Twilight there watching the beautiful mare disappear off into the courtyard contemplating the night and the entire situation; regretful that she had not been able to converse with Fleur on any kind of personal level. Even though the beautiful pony was gone Twilight still felt a deep pull on her stomach keeping her from relaxing fully, it was speaking now, gentle words into her subconscious, words that spoke a language that Twilight had never known before.
Twilight Sparkle was eagerly looking into a mirror trying to calm her fluttering heart as she used her unicorn magic to apply her makeup for the evening. A letter had arrived mid-day when she was busy putting away all the medical equipment that she had taken out for Fleur’s visit via carrier pony. The letter had the location of tonight’s show as well as its theme “Snow and Ice”.
Applying a small amount of rosy blush to try and hide the magenta of her cheeks Twilight pushed her magic out to her wardrobe; thankfully taking Rarity’s advice and packing for all manner of occasions. Throwing on her winter cloak that Rarity had made for her Twilight paused for a moment to look herself down in the mirror. She had always considered herself rather homely and plain, never attracting too much attention to herself but even Twilight had to admit that she was looking spectacular today.
The blush on her cheeks mixed with the discolouration caused by her blood in a very unique way that Twilight had never quite experienced before. Her cloak glistened with a small amount of glitter that Rarity had snuck into its inner pocket (a thing that Twilight would have to thank her for later) to give it that “snowy, and sparkly” look all day long.
A hard knock on the door pulled Twilight from her stupor. The courier pony had already delivered the location so she had absolutely no idea who would be knocking on her door so soon before the second night was supposed to begin.
“Come in!” she called, too focused to worry about it as she magiced a brush through her hair trying to get each strand perfect; happy that she had spent so much time around a beautiful fashionesta’s like Rarity.
“Good to see you up and about Twilight Sparkle.” Came the familiar and powerful voice of Princess Celestia, a voice which was most unexpected.
“Princess!” Twilight yelped, dropping her brush and turning in surprise. The Princess was equally surprised to see the young unicorn so done up before her.
“I must say I’m rather pleased to find you up and about.” Celestia said making her way into the room, spreading her wings in the cleared out tower. “After how you ran out on the show last night I was afraid that some of the hors d’oeuvres had not settled well with you.”
Twilight could not meet the Princess’s eyes, she had completely forgotten about her teacher the night before and how she had run out on the fashion show before the after party. No part of her regretted her actions, especially since she was able to ensure that Fleur had made it through the night, but that did not in any way prevent her from feeling guilty.
“Ah…well no nothing like that, I noticed…that…um… one of the models didn’t appear too healthy and I was worried for her wellbeing…. So I took after her to make sure she was umm… safe.” Twilight babbled on almost incoherently, the words seemed to melt together save for the occasional gap. She was trying to be as honest as she could without revealing how she really felt, unaware of how her Teacher would take her new found attraction.
“Oh I see, one of those calls hmmm.” Celestia mused knowingly causing Twilight to look further away her cheeks almost burning off the carefully layered makeup. “Don’t be so embarrassed Twilight.” The Princess chided her student, her tone teasing openly. “We all are struck at some time or another.”
Twilight looked up a little, embarrassed still. “You sure you don’t mind?” she asked quietly, knowing she would be unable to ignore Fleur next time they were to see each other regardless of the situation.
Celestia wrapped a wing around Twilight’s back bringing her in for a close hug. “It’s quite alright; you are at that age…” she chuckled moving them towards the door. “Just remember your social obligations next time that it happens first, alright?” she laughed heartily pushing open the door with her unicorn magic. “Like now we must go or we’ll be late.” Twilight nodded and followed her teacher who chuckled and added knowingly.
“We don’t want to keep Madame Dis Lis waiting do we?”
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Twilight anxiously sat beside the Princess in a luxurious chair the likes of which she had never seen before; the colour of which was the richest black that Twilight had ever seen. The décor was fantastic on this evening, the entire side of the castle on which the stage was backed up was draped in the most gentle of snow which Twilight had ever witnessed the royal weather brigade having spent all of the day altering the local climate to treat such an amazing feat. It was still snowing as everypony took their seats, the kind of light snow which falls only on a day with no wind; the massive stage and rows of seats being lit by floating candles being levitated by scores of unicorns who stood off behind the bleachers.
It was like a scene from a perfect winter wonderland for Twilight who was nestled into her throne looking out over the stage which was being gently painted with the light snow; an occasional earth pony running up it with a small plough to make sure it was not overly slippery. Luna’s moon was brilliant in the sky as it was haunting; with the sudden drop in temperature and the silver thaw all over the castle walls and nearby trees it gave the entire section of the castle the most mythic glow. Twilight was blushing a beautiful pink under her magenta blush for the eyes of many a stallion and many a mare had their eyes on the beautiful apprentice this night, but young Sparkle could barely notice them.
As the candles dimmed magically and lights lining the catwalk flared to brilliant light casting shadows of white in the gloomy forecast which was releasing its snow onto the ground did Twilight take a sharp breath of expectation.
The first model to come out onto the catwalk was a beautiful Pegasus sporting a wintery looking bikini; the brilliant blur fabric was trimmed with a thick white fur; reminiscent of a bear’s. The next, a powerful looking stallion, was wearing a long robe thick with fur and a unique snow flake pattern that made many in the audience swoon. Twilight would admit that the plethora of models being paraded in front of her was impressive, and at times exceptionally beautiful, but it wasn’t Fleur. The one pony that Twilight was waiting for would most likely be last same as before.
Mounting anxiety filled Twilight to the brim as she eagerly watched the fashionesta’s coming out with their models and taking a bow before the special finale. There was a general murmur and applause as the designers and models took their bows followed by a respectful silence as the dull background music, something that had been almost invisible throughout the performance, began to rise in volume.
Then she was there.
Twilight could feel her heart skip a beat when the lights dimmed and focused on a single point, Fleur de Lis. There was a stallion beside her, a massive pony with a brilliant snow mane and frosty blue hair who was garbed in a white flawless tux inlaid with alternating pearls and diamonds, though Twilight could barely notice him. Fleur was, to put it in words that Twilight’s mind could currently comprehend, magnificent. There was not one thing out of place on her as she made her way down the catwalk, the stallion in tow. The untainted white coat covered by a beautiful robe of the milkiest white and trimmed with a royal blur fur that covered most of her long body, her hair done ever so perfectly no strand out of place, resting on Fleur’s forehead was a pristine tiara that sparkled and reflected the glistening moonlight all throughout the snow casting the entire hall in a disco ball effect.
Halfway down the walk there was a dramatic pause and the stallion almost tore the cloak from Fleur’s back revealing the outfit hidden within.
Twilight swooned audibly at what was revealed underneath. An ungodly white saddle was resting on Fleur’s back, littered with diamonds of the purest white and the softest Baby-blue Sapphires that anypony could ever have imagined. Twilight knew at that moment as Fleur continued to walk down the stage the lights bouncing off her gems to cover her marble coat in delicious spots of pure white and blue that this was a pony that she had to be closer to. In that one moment Twilight was completely and open heartedly aware of her raw love for Fleur.
It was at that moment that Fleur stumbled, eyes meeting the star trapped eyes off Twilight with a look of untamed panic as she fell off the vaulted six foot high platform into the crowd bellow.
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Fleur de Lis steadied herself on the other side of the curtain waiting for the moment where the show would truly begin for her. Tonight she would be accompanied by the most stunning of Stallions, wearing the most stunning of outfits and all of this seemed shadowed by the thoughts of the lavender unicorn that had helped her in her time of need. Fleur tried to push Twilight Sparkle from her mind, someone of such a low class, regardless of how they had risen in the political ladders was worth her focus… alas Fleur found she could think of little else though.
Twilight had been exceptionally kind when there was no cause to, something that Fleur found was sadly lacking in all of Equestria. Beyond that she had taken care of her… something that had only ever been done by servants to the stunning mare… not somepony of equal or greater standing, and though Fleur would hate to admit it the sandwich that Twilight had made for her had been one of the most delicious and rejuvenating things she had eaten in a long time. It had completely bounced her back from her anorexic black out and the model found herself feeling stronger then she had in a long time.
The signal went off.
“Push it from your mind, focus…” Fleur thought viciously as she stepped out from the off-stage area, her mind going into the ‘zone’.
Walk forward, keep eyes out on the crowd but don’t see, shut down all the senses but movement and your sense of time, allow the ticking of your inner clock move your body, every tick a well calculate flex of muscles and look for the eyes; for every step an equal un-step. Don’t focus on the crowd, that will only bring you panic; remember the clock focus in on your timing and never miss a beat. Fleur sacrificed her mind to the clockwork that had been drilled into her mind since she had been discovered as a model, throw all emotion outward, never see the response; time, always time. The half-way point of the walk, pose. Allow the stallion to remove the cloak; they’re all looking at you now, no messing up.
Fleur released all of her emotions and moved with the time and grace that had been her birth-right as if it was the easiest thing in the world; the air around her, hot with the light of the lamps would have stifled a normal pony but not Fleur, there was no light.
Until that little twinkle broke into her mind.
There, beside the Princess was Twilight Sparkle and for one moment their eyes met. Fleur took all of Twilight in; her beautifully done hair seemed to glisten with a light glaze of snow, her eyes which had a liner used just gently around them to bring it out in the candle’s soft glow. The blush on her cheeks mixing with a light make-up cover which seemed to glow against her coat, and that cape; a brilliant royal blue with a collar as white as the snow dabbled with three large silver stars made of the finest thread, it seemed to sparkle in the candle light as if there was an aura of Sparkles all around it.
At that moment when Twilight completely invaded her world Fleur felt her heart tug in a way that she had never known the organ to act before. Her timing became upset, she lost all sense of that inner clock, of direction and motion, there was only Twilight and that look of awed epiphany on her face.
Hoof fell on nothing though and broke the dream like trance the two had sunken into as Fleur walked straight towards Twilight and off the side of the raised stage to the unlit blackness bellow.
Twilight Sparkle, all done up in her finest winter clothing and dabbled with the most exquisite make-up that Rarity had gifted her teleported off of the balcony the instant she saw Fleur’s hoof hit the ice. Appearing on the floor below the instant the ice white mare crashed to the snow dabbled ground Twilight immediately forced out her magic around Fleur’s body, lifting her off the floor.
The bruise from the crash was already forming on the flawless mare’s right side; tainting the white coat with a purple underlay like a creeping virus. A gasp of surprise and concern ran out through the high-class crowd but very few, if any, of the ponies present made a move to get a closer work or assist Twilight in aiding Fleur. Save for two; Fancypants arrived next to Twilight the moment he was able to fight through the rows of seats between his place at the very head of the cat-walk, and Celestia who flew down on her incandescent wings.
“Twilight…Est-ce vous?” Fleur whispered, her lips where shaking and painted a light blue; the cold air amplified now that she was out of the blazing heat of the light which lined the stage to accent the outfits. Twilight nodded furiously in response, too focused on lifting the mare with her magic to vocalize. She felt the intrusive magic of Fancypants and Celestia mix with her own; the aura of magical power encircling fleur becoming a married of royal blue, lavender and pure white.
With a relieved sigh Twilight began to move, the other two ponies in tow carrying Fleur with their combined while focusing on moving as a group through the crowds; richly dressed onlookers watched with passing interest, some bothering to move out of the way as the trio exited the makeshift “studio” which was constructed to look like a steel palace, covered in the conjured snow. On the inside the area resembled a royal court while on the outside it looked more like a frostbitten construction zone with scaffolding laced with silver thaw where straps and pulleys that the construction crew had used in the earliest hours of the morning to create the illusion waiting just on the other side. Pushing that entire ambiance aside Twilight focused all of her attention on getting Fleur back to her room and making sure that she would be okay.
____________________________
“Is she going to be okay?” Fancypants asked nervously as he walked around the cleared table in Twilight’s room which was still in “medical” mode from the incident earlier in the morning. Twilight flickered flames into the candles using her magic as she set down Fleur gently, turning back to the princess who for all her glory was looking rather steady and calm. It wouldn’t be until days later in the same room where the three stood right now would Twilight come to realise how much interference Celestia had run for them while they were magicking Fleur away from the show; keeping medical ponies and the mass media away from the scene with her royal visage and reaffirming words.
Something that the ever viligant Princess would continue to do; for once Fleur had been set down on the medical “bed” she turned to her apprentice and offered a gentle smile. “I’ll go keep the hounds at bay, please ensure that our guest is taken care of while she is here.” Celestia said with an all to knowing wink of her eye, and a gentle flap of her large wings. Turning to face the entrance way Celestia made her way out of the library/medical center/ bedroom into the through of newsponies who were flashing their cameras in the direction of the tower hurriedly trying to get that one shot that would help cement their careers.
Twilight smiled at her mentor, thankful for the help in her time of need than turned her attention back to Fleur who was still shivering. Looking up to Fancypants Twilight opened her mouth to speak as she moved an exploratory hoof over the damaged area on Fleur’s side, “Go grab the comforter from my bed, she’s still very cold from the snow.” She ordered, focusing on the tenderness; sending out a probing aura of magic to feel for injury.
One rib, two… small fractures; Twilight could feel the tear in the muscle, tracing it all the way down Fleur’s side to her hind left leg. Running her hoof back along the damaged muscle Twilight paused and probed deeper; hunting for extensive internal damage. Fancypants returned with the blanket; his usually regal features dabbled with sweat, his tight black tux with accented his frame was dirtied and damaged in places that Twilight was sure had never been damaged before.
Reaching over a hoof Twilight grabbed the thick, plush comforter from Fancypants; spreading it gingerly over Fleur tucking her in as much as she could without risking hurting the mare underneath.
“So what’s wrong with her?” Fancypants asked genuine concern in his voice, Twilight had met with Fancypants before at the garden party and was well aware that though he was in the top echelon of pony nobility he had very down to earth notions about friends. He was the kind of stallion who, though sophisticated, wouldn’t mind getting a little mud on his hooves if a dear friend needed him desperately.
“She fractured some of her ribs,” Twilight began going back to a dusty old cupboard which he been un-used since long before she had moved to Ponyville; opening the door with magic and squinting up into the dimly lit confines. It took her a moment to find the right see-through vial with a small white label on it; filled with medical details and other such data as per dosage and proper use. It was a special drug that had been developed several years earlier called “Marephene” designed to help ease the pain of a Mare in labour with children, the smallest of dosages would be useable in this situation. “That’s not that bad.” Twilight explained moving back to Fleur; a medium length needle enveloped in her magic poking through the sterile top of the jar and pulling a small sliver of the powerful drug into its tube. “It will take me an hour or two to magically meld the bones back together along the cracks so they don’t shatter when she moves. The real problem is her muscle; it was torn rather violently, that kind of convalescing takes time. Even if I do have some of the salve in here for it it’ll take a full day, plus.” Twilight murmured slowly sliding the needle into Fleur with her magic, injecting the anesthetic. Sighing Twilight set the needle back in the cupboard alongside the drug vial.
Turning to face Fancypants, Twilight gave him a reassuring smile. “I’m sure she’ll be fine, but it will require a lot of concentration.” Pulling up a chair and climbing into it Twilight took the most meditative and relaxing position she could; crossing her hind legs before her and resting her forehooves on her knees. “If you could go get a few towels and try to keep the sweat out of my eyes.” She instructed; Fancypants nodding enthusiastically, magicking some towels down from on top of the cupboard.
Taking a deep breath and stroking Fleur’s magnificent candy-cane mane Twilight Sparkle steeled herself for the long haul and began the healing magics which he had studied for long before ever leaving Canterlot.
__________________________________
Fancypants stood alongside Twilight Sparkle for the following four hours, long into the early morning as the lavender unicorn used magics that would be decades beyond his meager talent; a mere manipulation of light to control shadows and effects.
Keeping a watchful eye on her, using the towels in his control to dab away any sweat which was forming upon her brow he was truly taken aback at how hard Twilight was working for a pony that she barely knew.
He was aware that Fleur had spent the previous night in this room as well, having been filled in by his model when she returned earlier in the morning. It was good, in his mind, that Fleur would be near so humble a pony; one that grew up in all the class and glamour as the protégé of the Princess and yet chose to live in the humble town of Ponyville within a library. Hoping some of that humility would rub off on his model, who had spent all her time surrounded by ponies that worshipped the ground she walked on or were so like-minded to her that they chose to ignore her existence or accept her as a challenge; neither of which were healthy forms of relationships.
Fancypants was also, surprisingly thought it was, aware of the fact that Twilight had managed to convince Fleur to eat something substantial; as feat that he had been unsuccessful at since she first debuted as a model. It was stunning to him, watching this essential stranger going so far out of her way to help somepony she barely knew.
Taking Twilight in he fully appreciated the strain this was having on her body; Twilight needed to focus absolutely on Fleur’s inside, slowly probing along the bone which was damaged and pulling it together with the gentlest of touches. There was a light shiver in her hooves from the strain, and he could notice her licking her lips and swallowing deep; it must truly be a strenuous venture.
Fancypants never took his eyes off of Twilight, confident that Fleur was safe in her capable hooves; it was a sense of utter calm and concentration that she was exerting. He had known other ponies to exhibit this kind of aura and was aware of its implications; not entirely sure how they would be received. Fleur had had many suitors in the past but none like Twilight, not to say they weren’t mares, but nopony so absolutely devout and in the moment.
Smiling at her with a wiry grin the older stallion whispered beneath his breath. “You got my vote, kid.”
______________________
Twilight gasped exhausted as she let go of her magic, releasing her spells from Fleur; after four and a half hours of non-stop work the bones had been perfectly healed. She wouldn’t allow herself to stop there though, sliding off from the chair and almost collapsing under her own weight and weak knees Twilight was glad that Fancypants was there to keep her up.
Smiling she offered him a weak explanation. “I have to get the salve on her…” she said; suddenly feeling all of her hard work weighing on her, putting her almost into a spent sleep. Leaning on Fancypants the two made their way over to the cupboard. Rummaging through the vials and bottles Twilight found (with her eyes half closed) an old rust tinted gourd which smelled thick of earth and thyme. Together they stumbled back to Fleur and she began the slow process.
It took Twilight another hour to thoroughly knead the mixture into Fleur’s coat along the torn muscle, feeling a knife plunge into her every time that she saw the beautiful mare wince in pain. Pouring the thick black paste from the rusty looking gourd she slowly lined it all over the torn muscle and massaged it into the skin slowly; it was gruelling physical work that needed to be done in order to guarantee that Fleur would have the quickest recovery, and when it was done Twilight felt well and fully exhausted.
Fancypants gave a chuckle that pulled her away from her half-asleep daze; looking at hour tired and untidy the fashion pony look only helped to remind her how long this night had become. She felt his hoof go into her hair and give her mane a ruffle and then it was as if all the weight was out of her body and she felt herself lifting off the floor; unsure if it was a dream or not.
Fancypants smiled as he levitated the young unicorn to her bed on the second floor of the room; keeping an eye out so as not to stumble on the books strewed about the floor. Some had cooking in them, while others seemed to be French text translations and learning devices which made him chuckle all the more.
This truly was a very special mare.
Setting Twilight in her bed and magically pulling her blanket over her he sighed and leans back, a crack echoing off of his older spine. Turning he went back to the ground level by Fleur, finding a quill (owl feather, he noted) and a small amount of ink he wrote out instructions for both Twilight and Fleur using the magic of his horn and set out to find his own room in the early morning air; wishing both of the mare’s good luck on the morning’s journey.
Twilight Sparkle looked at the rolled-up piece of parchment that had found its way to her bedside table without her knowledge, around it was a collection of make up; of which she had never seen before. With a pained attempt she moved her leg. She coughed out a whimpering neigh and withdrew her limb. She recalled the night before just as the early morning sun peaked its way into the multi-levelled tower that was her room. Every muscle in her body cried out in soreness from exhaustion, but it caused only a moment’s hesitation as she reached out with magic for the parchment. This tiredness was nothing like the raw exhaustion she had felt during her years at the academy before moving to Ponyville where she would be up for days practicing to master her powerful magic. Her lavender glow encompassed the scroll and lifted it to her outstretched hoof (which was peeking out of the heavy blanket that the rest of her body was cocooned in), guiding it to herself she felt its weight and realized that it was several sheets rolled in on themselves.
Pushing it to her horn she focused what little magic she felt was available to herself to open it, the closeness reducing the amount of force she needed to use to unravel the scroll.
Taking a deep breath, she shook the weariness from her clouded mind and looked into the words, which read:
“Dear Ms. Twilight,
I hope this letter finds you recovering well.. I felt it was my duty in this unique case, if not for my own indulgence, that I aid your hoof as it were in an endeavour that I believe you are unaware you are taking. Firstly let me thank you for taking such good care of Fleur for me, it takes a truly special pony to be as caring and generous for a stranger from a different land as you are, and even if she doesn’t display the same level of gratitude as myself Fleur is thinking the same.
I’ve never seen anypony look at her the same way you do…”
Twilight looked away from the letter, wincing a little as she blushed not enjoying that she was wearing her emotions that plainly. Shaking her head to the grating creak of her neck she focused beyond that and turned her attentions back to the letter.
“…though many have come close. Fleur always has had ponies lost in some sort of love trance, it is nothing new for her and if you do not make your intentions known then she will more than likely assume it is more of the same. None of those ponies ever tried to know more about Fleur other than her beauty and that has left her more than a little leery of such suitors interested only in the magnificent form that she appears. Now what separates you from those other ponies, besides motivation I would hope, is opportunity. I have left a similar letter to Fleur with instructions as to what she is to do today the most prominent of which is stay with you and stress her body as little as possible.
Tonight’s walk will be the Stallion Parade and she will not be needed so there is no business reason for her to be removed from your care and do not allow her to try. Focus on getting to know her, and if it is really your intention, being her Friend. I fear that this is something that Fleur needs desperately that I am not able to fill.
Please be sure your feelings are set before following any of my given advice, as I would hate to see Fleur come to any form of emotional harm. She needs some pony that will care for her and more importantly she need s a friend who truly loves her. I hope that you can be all those things for her and, though it may be a little presumptuous of me I have included some light make up which will help disrupt the no doubt awkward silence that will follow…”
The letter went on to instruct Twilight as to how to apply the make-up (after a shower of course), thankfully the bathroom was on the second level and she could take a dip before going to see Fleur. With a soft spoken groan she forced herself up from the bed setting down the three sheet letter and levitating up the makeup. Turning she was about to make her way to the shower when she remembered the instructions on how best to apply the makeup and added the sheet to her levitation grasp. She tried hard not to look down at Fleur asleep on the medical table. Glad that she managed to enter the bathroom without distraction.
#
The sound of the shower kicking in and the water surging its way through the pipes startled Fleur to a sudden, sharp consciousness that she was unused to. There was a soft, almost omniscient beeping that pervaded Fleur’s sense of sound now that she had regained consciousness, finding that she was, once again, wired to things of which she didn’t remember being wired up to. The room at least, this time, was familiar if not comfortable. She was once again inside of Twilight’s room, though she was connected to considerably more equipment then the morning before. Fleur shook her head from side to side in an effort to clear the smog; she remembered seeing Twilight in the booth next to the Princess. Fleur felt her heart skip a beat and the machines around her flared and beeped in response. She recalled the beauty that she had seen the night before when her eyes had fallen upon Twilight all done up and glistening with the soft ambience of snow.
The model shook her head; rationally there was no reason for her to be so fascinated with Twilight. The unicorn was rather plump with a solid figure but nothing unique or overly impressive. She had curves, but they were not accented any more than any other pony who wasn’t trying to stand out. So then why, Fleur asked herself as she looked to the upper level hoping to catch a glimpse of Twilight though the shower still ran, did she still feel this aching connection to Ms. Sparkle. Gradually the fall came back to her mind and she remembered the searing pain, taking a not to casual glance down at her exposed body where a thick purple bruise had formed just beneath her coat almost all the way down her side. Fleur winced at the pain in her side along her ribs.
Slowly she raised her hind leg up over the mark gasping at the pain but finding some comfort in the fact that the wound seemed, though painful, superficial and healing well. The pain was nowhere near as unbearable as Fleur had imagined it would be. Turning away from herself for a moment Fleur looked more closely at her position in Twilight’s bedroom. She was on the same bed as she had been the previous morning; just beside her on a small table was an assortment of water bottles, bandages and what appeared to be dirty rags. Resting against one of the bottles was a tightly wrapped scroll with her name written in Fancy’s artistic penmanship. Focusing her unicorn magic she wrapped the scroll in a soft pink glow which pulled it into the air and laid it beside her on the table. Fleur gave a shake as her muscles twitched painfully. The multi-paged letter unfolded before her as she pushed herself through the pain, all three of the pages flopping down in front of her; littered in Fancy’s articulate script.
“My most darling Fleur,
I hope this letter finds you well and rested. I suppose you will be quite sore. You injured your ribs in your fall and pulled the muscles in your flank quite painfully last night and had you not received such swift and skillful medical help may have damaged your ability to continue on modeling…”
Fleur took a painful swallow, her forelegs shaking a little at those words; modeling had been all her life since Fancy had found her on his tours through foreign lands and she had devoted all of her existence to the art. The idea that she could have lost it all in a moment, seeing those words played out on the page was almost too much for her to take as all of her life was thrown into perspective. She forced her legs to stop their shaking and pushed herself to read on.
“… but you were quite lucky to have such a sturdy and dedicated friend willing to help you. Young Mistress Sparkle carried you off under her own power (an amazing feat I might add) and stayed up by your side all night. Working her magic into your ribs and making sure that the fractures you incurred were fixed before painstakingly lathering a salve into your pulled muscles before promptly passing out herself. I’m rather surprised you managed to make such a dedicated and caring friend in our short time here and I hope this will be a friendship you will grow to cherish all the more.”
Fleur was momentarily grateful for the fact that Twilight was in the shower and there was no one to see the flush on her cheeks, the embarrassment overwhelmed the pain she was in as the full effect of this all came down onto her. Twilight had already helped her once when she was in a state that was not befitting of a mare of her standing and once again Fleur found the young Ms. Sparkle going out of her way to help. Used to intense amount of attention and fuss from a large crowd was one thing but Fleur had never been able to handle the close scrutiny of an individual, not even the designers of her outfits were allowed to be alone with her, focused on her, less she find herself collapsing into anxiety and here was a pony who had given her nothing but care and…love. Shaking her head of such foolish thoughts Fleur tried to distract herself by refocusing on the letter, turning over the first page with her muzzle to start viewing the second.
“Now I know you have a hard time when individual ponies pay too much attention to you and that it will be difficult you to trust Ms. Sparkle and open up to her but please Fleur try. I think this will be a good experience for you and after staying up with the young unicorn all night as she tended to you I can say that she is not someone who will take a friendship with you lightl.. Twilight seems to be somepony who is dedicated to her friends in a way that is so very rare in this day and age so please Fleur…try.”
Fleur looked at the letter and just paused for a moment before turning to the third page, there was a warm feeling inside her; the same feeling that she had felt when she had first met Fancy. He was the first person to ever make a connection to Fleur outside of family and he had always acted like a guardian over her since she was much younger than she was today and this letter just reminded her of every kindness that he had ever allowed her. Fancypants was like a father to Fleur and his kindness was one of the few things throughout her modelling career that had allowed her to continue on the way she had. It hit her then that the same sort of comforting feeling may be the way she felt when she thought of Twilight. That overbearing sense that they just wanted to care for and protect her when she was not able to do it herself. Noticing that a tear had started to roll down her face she lifted a foreleg shakingly to brush the tear aside before turning to the last page.
“Now tonight is the Stallion show and you were planning on spending your day alone in the garden were you not? Perhaps this would be a good time to get to know your new friend, especially since you need to spend the whole day and tomorrow in bed if you are hoping to appear in tomorrow night’s performance. So why not suggest the two of you go for a walk? I’m sure a wheelchair could be made available for a nice stroll… and don’t you go doing anything reckless. We still have a show to do remember.”
Fleur scoffed a bit at his inclination but there were good points in his letter that the fashion mare was unable to deny. She DID feel that being with Twilight was something good, and it was something she felt she would be able to do without much stress… and Fleur had indeed intended to spend the day strolling alone through the Castle grounds…perhaps some company would be just what the doctor ordered. Just as she was about to consider this train of thought more however the silence of the shower pulled her out of her thoughts and onto the fact that Twilight was now making her way down the stairs.
#
Twilight had just finished applying the makeup that Fancypants had left her and making sure that she applied it correctly (his notes were very thorough). She was surprised to find the subtle chances the makeup had made on her. The shadows on her faced seemed too become more acute and the color added to her lips blended perfectly not to look artificial but to make them pop just a bit more. The eyeliner she had assumed would make it look like she had missed out on sleep (not that she hadn’t), but instead Twilight found her eyes being drawn into attention in the mirror as if the light framing was designed to draw the attention away from the makeup itself.
Loath that she was to admit it Twilight would have never been able to figure out the correct shades and techniques required to do such a magnificent performance on her face if it was not for Fancypant’s intervention, the stallion was clearly a genius that Twilight had yet to fully appreciate. It reminded her much of the instructions that Rarity had left for her the night before; the two of them, both Fancy and Rarity seemed to be genuine geniuses of her craft, and Twilight made a mental note to compliment Rarity on her skill when she returned to Ponyville. She took a deep breath and finished her mane. Finally prepared to go down stairs and see if Fleur was up yet.
“One hoof in front of the other…” Twilight muttered to herself as she walked out of the bathroom, it felt as if her heart had lodged itself in her throat. It wasn’t until she reached the first step and her hoof clopped down on the hard surface that she noticed movement. The eyes of Fleur and Twilight met, and in that moment, it felt as if that time had become as solid as stone.
To Twilight it felt as if time had staggered to a grinding halt as she took in Fleur with her eyes. Before her was the model pony, her coat seeming dishevelled and out of place; her mane was tossed and out of place, eyes reddened and wet slightly moist likely from the pain. And through all of this Twilight could not help realise the truth of Fleur’s beauty. Every little imperfection just seemed to accentuate every aspect of the mare before her and showing just how beauty can be perceived as she laid there on that bed frail and weak, a mess by any standard but just as beautiful as she had appeared on the stage with the reflections of diamonds all over her coat and the spotlight highlighting every aspect of her body. It truly did take the young unicorn’s breath away.
Fleur alternatively could see in the early morning sun the outline of Twilight Sparkle as she made her way down the stairs; the healthy curves of her body and the blush on her cheeks accenting a kind of homely beauty that Fleur had never really known. The subtle hints of makeup could be determined to Fleur’s trained eyes as Twilight approached, but the work was that of a masterful hoof not adding too much to be gaudy and not underwhelming the makeup in an effort to keep its effects hidden. As she moved closer to the ground floor and though Fleur was able to understand and reverse engineer the process of her makeup, even though she was able to call to image the mare before her in all of her plainness there was a beauty in this mare before which caught the models breath and made her cheeks burn red beneath her white coat.
“Um…How are you doing…?” Twilight asked, her cheeks alight again with magnificent blush as the introvert attempted to break the staring contest the two were having.
“I’m fine…merci…” Fleur said slowly as she was pulled slowly out of her own stupor her leg’s throbbing pulling her back to the incident which had happened before. “Vraiment, cela signifie beaucoup.” She continued remembering just what was in the letter from Fancy and how Twilight had spent the whole night rigorously helping her get better.
“Quelque chose pour un ami.” Twilight replied her accent rough, eyes cast to the floor not able to meet Fleur’s gaze at the moment; hoping that she was able to get the words correct the construction of sentences still a little shaky for her.
With Twilight looking at the ground unable to meet with Fleur’s she was unable to see the expression the mare held, in fact it was an expression that nopony had ever seen the magnificent mare hold since she was a young filly long before she had found her cutie mark.
“Je ne peux pas vous remercier assez.” Fleur continued keeping her eyes glued to Twilight almost finding a kind of enjoyment at the other mare’s flustered inability to take the gratitude. “Honest.”
Twilight coughed and gently tapped a hoof against the floor trying to think of something, anything to do for at the moment the nerdy little mare was truly at a loss for words. “If….if there is anything else I can help you with today let me know… You need to stay off those legs and let your ribs rest if you’re going to be okay for the rest of the show.” Twilight said finding herself getting back into a medical routine, the pace of it setting her heart to a normal tempo.
“You’ve done so much more than I could ever repay.”
“There’s nothing to repay.”
“Still I feel bad causing so much trouble for you; you must be busy with royal business.”
“No, I’m glad to take a break from my studies to help the Princess with the Fashion Mile, it’s okay, really.”
“There must be something I could do to help you in return.”
Twilight smiled at the polite and common place exchange, it felt like a conversation between friends, one that she had shared several times with the friends she had made since she had moved to Ponyville. “Honestly, Fleur, it’s okay. No bother at all really. I’m happy for the company, though the circumstances could be better.” With this Twilight turned away, adding a subconscious flick of her tail for effect to not only end the debate but to show off how much work she had put into grooming herself that morning. “I’m going to make myself something to eat for breakfast would you like something?” she asked, hoping that Fleur could stomach something substantial.
Fleur considered it for a moment, not only would eating something prepared by Twilight most likely be something more substantial than what she was used to but she would also be stationary for the next twenty-four hours and would be unable to work off anything she gained. At the same time, she was definitely hungry and would need energy to get back on her hooves as fast as possible. Mulling the thought over for another moment before responding Fleur gave her throat a crisp clearing. “Perhaps another sandwich like the other day…would be fine…” she said softly leaning her head back down onto the pillow on the lifted part of the bed once Twilight had responded to her.
Twilight worked hard in the kitchen area. She got herself together a bowl of fruit, lifting everything slowly and cautiously with the magic of her horn. The weight of the familiar appliances and foods feeling heavy under the weight of her pain. It was not beyond her though. Once she had finished cutting her apple into eights and putting it in the bowl with grapes, strawberries, and oranges all resting on a bed of hay, she moved on to making her sandwich for Fleur. Simple hay, this time however Twilight worked in some rich olive oil into the thick loaf bread; she kept the portion of alfalfa there, low enough to not be tasted but enough that it would help the model’s caloric intake.
With measured slowness Twilight closed her lavender eyes and focused her magic. She could sense the telekinetic powers from her horn wrap around the bowl and sandwich that she had wrapped carefully in napkins. It all felt so large and ominous to her and she could feel a bead of sweat on her brow. She had not felt like this in so long, it was like when she was a young filly working her magic so hard to live up to the expectations of her teacher, her parents, and herself. It brought her back into a much younger headspace and raised the rate of her breath. Twilight focused herself and steadied her hoof. It was nothing she couldn’t hoofle. She wasn’t that little filly any more.
“J'ai ajouté un peu d'huile au pain pour le rendre plus facile à mâcher. Si c'est trop, faites le moi savoir.” Twilight began as she walked back. The focus of needing to recall what little ‘fancy’ she could muster while maintaining her magical focus actually seemed to help the pony. It provided a focal point, a distraction from the soreness of her magical ‘muscle’.
Fluer watched as the plump mare walked into the room, eyes extremely focused on the food in front of her. The model was suddenly very aware of how exhausted Twilight must had been if what Fancypants had left in his note was true (and he was not the sort to lie about that). She was glad that Twilight stuttered in her talking as it allowed Fleur to catch what he was saying fully; for she was quite distracted by the adorable look of concentration the mare was wearing on her face.
“Cela ne devrait poser aucun problème, je vous assure.” Fleur replied, stuttering ever so slightly at having to reply in her native tongue. She was fairly positive that at this point Twilight could have brought her anything and she would eat all of it simply out of a desire to ensure that she did not disappoint the mare. The sandwich lowered itself down onto the medical bed next to Fleur and the faded purple aura of Twilight’s magic dissipated. She watched the powerful unicorn lower herself onto a nearby chair, resting the bowl of fruit onto her chest.
“Bien! J'espère que tu peux pardonner mes manières. J'ai très faim.” Twilight said, a look of joy coming onto her face as she released the magical control of the bowl and the sandwich as if a great weight relieved itself from her shoulders.
“No problem.” Fleur stuttered back into Twilight’s native tongue. “Please, don’t let me stop you.” She continued, her sentence trailing off as Twilight dug into the bowl of fruit face first.
It was not that she was eating in a crude or uncivilized manner. But she was not using her magic, instead opting to lean into the bowl and pull at the fruit with her lips. The purple mare went straight for the orange wedge and pulled it into her mouth with a gentle caress of her lips; the rind making a smile where teeth would normally be. Twilight sucked at the fruit admittedly a little noisily, the sound of which echoed throughout the relatively quiet room. The fruit was cold and the citrus flesh was delicious and tart sending shivers down her spine; when she finally finished with that slice of orange he dropped the rind from her mouth and pulled and apple slice into her mouth next. Bitter through it in a solid chomp the green granny smith’s sour juiciness mixed with the tartness of the orange and made her face cringe in delight at the combination.
The whole while Fleur had been mesmerized on the mare, not even sure that she had been staring almost exclusively at her lips the entire time she ate the fruit until Twilight paused in her eating. The model had been captivated the moist wetness of the fruits, the movements of her tongue; so transfixed was she that she stared until Twilight noticed that she was being scrutinized.
Twilight coughed falsely in the back of her throat.
“I-is, is, everything okay?” She stuttered to Fleur her cheeks were flushed a violent magenta at the embarrassment of having eaten so ‘crudely’ while being watched by the model. Twilight could feel the heat on her cheeks radiating throughout her entire body to the point where she was positive that she had to be glowing.
Fleur realized she had been staring and she felt her entire face darken with blood. She nodded fiercely and turned away sharply, ignoring the pain into her side and leaning down to take a bite out of her sandwich. She moved much too quickly though and the sound of her horn bouncing into the railing of the bed rang out throughout the room. There was an awkward pause as Fleur nursed her throbbing horn with her hoof, even more embarrassed then moments before.
The silence lasted for a second before it was broken by raucous laughter. Fleur felt herself wince at the sound, and he skin reddened more. Her initial reaction was to feel an intense hurt that the person she had been warming up to her would mock her so cruelly, it was a knee jerk response and it almost moved her to tears. It took a moment for her to realize that there was no malice in the laughter, her pale eyes shifted over to Twilight.
The studious purple pony had dropped her bowl on the floor, her forehooves were pressed on her sides as if she might burst at any moment; her jaw was wide with laughter and tears could be seen at the edges of her closed eyes. Her whole body convulsed with joy whenever she made that crystal piercing full bodied laugh; she squirmed in her chair as if trying to stay upon it.
Fleur felt the heat of her cheeks more at how foolish she had been. How her instant train of thought had been so wrong. Twilight’s laughter bubbled more as the mare slid in her chai and Fleur could not help but begin to chuckle. What began as light chuckles and bubbling giggles quickly evolved into the loudest laugh Fleur had experienced in a long time. So strong she forgot why she was laughing, why she was sore, or why she had been mad just moments before. Once it took control of her the laughter became for laughter’s sake, and the two mares laughed each other winded until tears ran down their face.
When Fleur finally managed to slow her convulsions minute later she gasped out a set of breathless words. “Mon seigneur, je n'ai pas ri comme ça depuis que j'étais pouliche.” She shivered and flexed her hind legs. All the laughing had left her very sore in the ribs as well.
Twilight cleared a tear from her eye and slid out of her chair to pick up the fruit she had spilled. “You should laugh like that more often, it’s good for you.” She breathlessly added, resting her hoof on the other’s foreleg. For a moment the laughter faded away into memory as the two of them realized they were touching.
Fleur felt the familiar warmth rise up in her cheeks and a shiver ran its way up and down her spine so fast she couldn’t tell if it was coming or going. Twilight hesitated, her hoof moved slightly but didn’t leave the other’s leg as she also shared the spark, as if it had travelled along the limb after running its way through Fleur.
Their two eyes locked, and the silence held. Fleur noticed Twilight take a deep, and hard swallow; the action dragging her eyes down to the others lips. Her lips were suddenly parched dry as she looked at them and she instinctively leaned a little bit closer towards Twilight.
Twilight leaned back up towards Fleur not entirely sure herself what was carrying her towards the model with her pale pink eyes. Just as the silence reached its thickest and the two of them were mere inches apart…
…Fleur’s stomach let out a vicious grumble and she winced back at the hunger. She had not managed to get even a bite of her sandwich and her body was punishing her for the lack of respect. Twilight swallowed hard and pulled back her hoof from the other’s leg.
“You really need to eat!” She exclaimed before picking up the bowl of fruit she had reclaimed and trotting back to the kitchen area to hide the flush on her face and the shortness of her breath. Fleur watched the purple pony run off and felt an ache in the center of her chest (quite a bit higher then the rumbling of her stomach) and let out a heavy sigh.
Fleur turned herself away after watching the mare make her way back to the kitchen and began to eat the sandwich. The richly seasoned bread, moist with the oil was the perfect combination. Even as she took the first bite she felt herself beginning to regain strength. Fleur contemplated for a moment asking Twilight if she could get the recipe sent to the servants who normally took care of her diet, or to Fancy Pants so that he could take care of it, but the thought was short lived as she tore into another bite.
Twilight hurriedly tidied up and got rid of the spoiled fruit, not nearly full she took another apple from her stores and quickly ate the whole thing. Her heart was still pounding in her throat and bouncing in her ears. She took a steadying breath and rested her forehooves on the counter. What had she been about to do? She really had no idea at that point, just being that close to the model and the sensation of touching her had the most intoxicating effect. She calmly went over some math in her head, making a check list of all the things she wanted to do when she got back to Ponyville. The listing helped her calm down and as she was finally starting to reach a normal plateau she remembered the letter that Fancy left her.
“Oh Fleur, I thought perhaps you should get some air today…” She called out from the kitchen, still too flushed to face the white coated unicorn. “Would you be interested in a walk through the private gardens? I have a wheelchair…” She paused for a moment trying to think of the word in Fleur’s native tongue. “Une chaise roulante.” She clarified.
Fleur was just finishing up the sandwich that Twilight had made to her, chewing slowly so the heavy food didn’t trigger any negative reaction with her temperamental stomach. She mused the thought over in her head trying to focus on the food and not how close she had just come to kissing the other mare. She focused on the food as she listened trying to get the image of Twilight out of her head for a moment so she could think clearly. It occurred to her that Fancy Pants may have set something unnecessary up as per his usual schemes and machinations, she was sure that Twilight wouldn’t normally be so skilled in the application of the makeup she was wearing without further instruction. She was suspicious, and just when she was about to refuse, saying she would rather stay inside and rest, she remembered the note that Fancy had left her in more detail.
And she remembered the look on Twilights face when she had leaned up towards her.
Fleur decided in that moment that spending some alone time with Ms. Sparkle out in the gardens wouldn’t be the worst way she could think to spend the day.
“Bien sûr, cela semble être la perfection.” She called back out to Twilight, shifting a bit and making a face. Perfection? She thought to herself, not ‘nice’, or ‘a good way to spend the day’, no it would be perfection. Fleur shuddered out a sigh and shook her mane from side to side feeling It bounce. Today was shaping up to be an odd day for sure.
#
Twilight made her way slowly through the private gardens of the castle in Canterlot. It was one of her favorite little hiding spaces that Princess Celestia had shown her a long time ago shortly after becoming her student. It was a place where the two had come to practice her magic and study in the bright and glorious sun. She pushed the wheelchair slowly giving Fleur time to take everything in as she went. The pair had not said a word to each other since they had left the bedroom in the tower nearly an hour ago. A heavy atmosphere hung between them, thick like honey it dripped into their throats every time one of them went to start a sentence. They would turn to the other prepared to speak and then the light pink eyes and lavender would meet and they’d choke up completely in the moment.
Twilight licked her lips a bit trying to think of something to say to the model as they made their way around a wall of creeping vines and beautiful flowers of dark blues and violets into one of the observation areas. Suddenly Canterlot was before them. The entire city spread out beneath the walls of the high palace before them like a beautiful painting built onto the horizon, the high sun casting everything in radiant light. The waterfall, the river spreading out, even in the distance Ponyville could be barely seen from their perch. It all caught the afternoon sun and radiated warmth that was so familiar to Twilight it was like she had just seen home for the first time in years. Her heart skipped a beat as she saw the panoramic view before her, and the sound of Fleur’s gasp reached her ears.
Twilight looked at Fleur and saw the mare’s eyes alight with awestruck wonder. It was a sight she was seeing from a new angle for the first time and it had reached her in a place not too unlike Twilight. Seeing the model react so purely and innocently to the sight kicked Twilight’s mind into gear, and for a moment she reminded herself that Fleur was a pony, not some beautiful majestic creature without fault, but a pony that needed friends and someone to guide them from time to time. She cleared the fog from her head with this momentary reminder and it lasted just long enough for her to find her voice.
“How long have you been with Fancy, Fleur?” Twilight asked. “If it’s something you’re okay talking about.” She added as and afterthought seeing Fleur jump in the chair at the sound of her voice.
Fleur was startled that Twilight had found the power to speak where she had still been starstruck whenever she looked at the mare since they’re moment earlier. The question took her off guard so suddenly when all of her barriers had momentarily faltered, taken in by the sight of Canterlot and the mighty expanse of Equestria before her. Before she could even think about coming up with a way to answer the question discreetly or refuse to answer she was speaking instinctually.
“On m'a découvert quand j'étais un peu plus qu'une pouliche. Cela fait probablement près de dix ans que nous avons commencé à voyager ensemble.” She replied instantly, in her native tongue. When she realized what he had said Fleur flushed and went to repeat herself in Twilight’s native tongue, embarrassed that she had spoken so much of her own tongue so fast to the mare.
But Twilight cut her off.
“Do you get home to see your family often? Do you have siblings?” The purple mare asked without missing beat, not giving Fleur enough time to freeze up.
Fleur stuttered a bit as she tried to rationalize her thoughts, getting cut off as she was about to start translating throwing her through another loop. She found herself answering Twilight again without hesitation.
“J'ai un petit frère et une petite sœur qui sont un peu plus que des bébés maintenant. Je les vois une fois toutes les quelques années, mais je m'assure qu'ils sont pris en charge.” Fleur rambled off, not understanding why she added the last part in. It almost felt as if she had to excuse herself for seeing them so rarely often. She was shaken to be discussing this so candidly with Twilight, she almost never told anyone about her family as they were simple folk from simple stock who kept to themselves and had nothing to do with the limelight that she was normally thrust into. Yet Twilight seemed able to extract as much information from her as she wanted and Fleur, at least not yet, wasn’t ‘anxious’ about it. She felt confused and odd that she would feel so comfortable discussing this with a mare she’s known for a little under a week, yet at the same time her normal anxiety she had when dealing with a pony one seemed to be absent.
No, absent wasn’t the right word, she thought in the moment she had to spare as Twilight busied herself translating what had just been told to her. It was not that her anxiety wasn’t there, it was just not the anxiety that this person wanted to gain an advantage over her with the information or use it or her for their own goals; instead if was an anxiety that this person who she felt would never do these things might not…care for her as much if she learned more about Fleur, and it was a new type of anxious that she had never really encountered before.
Twilight mused this new information over and walked forward towards the railing of the observation station. She lifted herself up onto her hind legs and crossed her forelegs on the railing, resting her head on them as she looked out over her home. Her tail swishes slowly from left to right as she considered all that she had just heard.
“What does your family think about your modeling?” She asked, doing her best to ignore the feeling of Fleur’s eyes boring into her back.
Twilight had finally given Fleur enough time to catch her breath and steady herself. She watched the mare walk forward and lean on the railing the afternoon sun accenting all he curves of her body with playful shadows and light. Fleur swallowed hard as the light went through the mare’s hair causing it to shimmer and sparkle.
Slowly she closed her eyes and focused on the question before answering Twilight, this time in her own tongue.
“I think they are grateful that I can help them out as much as I do. I take care of most of their expenses and it lets them work as little as they need to and still take care of the twins.” She stuttered a bit repeating herself on the words ‘expenses’ and ‘grateful’ a few times as they were harder for her to remember and say correctly. “Though you wouldn’t hear them say that.” She laughed a little feeling a little bit of bitterness coming into her voice. “Any time I go home all they do is fuss over me and every little thing that happened on the road.” She added, pulling her eyes away from Twilight back to the city below.
Twilight kept quiet for a lingering moment as she thought about what Fleur had said, keeping her eyes over the city below. Her thoughts wandered to her brother, Shining, and her parents in Canterlot who she saw so rarely often since moving away. She recalled how excited they were to see her again and how intrusive they could be about the things they wanted to know; but beyond that she recalled how she often longed to be near her brother again, how she became excited to see him again and hound him for all the information about his marriage with Cadence… For a moment she was sure she understood quite fully how Fleur’s family felt about her.
“I think they just miss you a lot.” Twilight mused, more to herself though she said it out loud. “I miss my brother so much sometimes with him living with his wife in the Crystal Kingdom, and my family here in the city when I don’t get to be here often…” She continued looking down at her hooves on the railing. “I can understand how happy they are to see me and I guess that worrying and fussing is their way of trying to let you know that they’re always thinking of you even when you aren’t there.”
Fleur listened to her words and felt a little foolish to herself that she had ever felt that her parent’s enthusiasm for her stories was bothersome. She often longed for them as well, but she knew if she caved to those emotions and started to cut her journeys short she would risk her position as such a predominant model. It would add stress to her family to need to pick up the financial burdens again, especially with children so young. Yet at the same time she knew they would be over the moon to see her more. For the first time she was forced to see it from their perspective, Twilight’s musings pulled her out of the bubble she had built around herself that prevented her from understanding how those close to her might have been viewing her.
She very much missed her family in that moment.
She could feel tears welling up ever so slightly as she leaned back in the wheelchair considering how she felt in that moment.
“Comment traitez-vous quand vous les manquez si chèrement?” Fleur asked holding back her tears and swallowing hard; the image of her little siblings in her mind.
She heard Twilight’s relaxed sigh as her mind went to the answer. Her back relaxed and she leaned forward on the railing a bit more.
“My friends I suppose.” She sighed out into the afternoon sun.
Fleur felt suddenly very lonely and overwhelmed. She rarely felt herself become so open and emotional and it’s over bearing nature was more then she could handle in her current state. She had Fancy, she knew that and he was always there for her but sometimes that wasn’t what she wanted or needed and in those times she had always, always, carried the burden alone and on her shoulders. For the first time since she was a little girl her shoulders didn’t feel strong enough to carry that weight and it started to rain from her eyes in the form of hot tears.
“Ça me semble bien.” She muttered through her tears pulling further away and back into her chair attempting to cover her face in her forelegs. She didn’t see Twilight turn around to look at her, drawn by the shakiness of her voice.
“Oh, Fleur.”
Twilight was there then leaning onto the chair a bit, her forelegs wrapped around Fleur in a tight embrace. Twilight carefully positioned herself so that she wasn’t aggravating Fleur’s wounded body, attempting to take as many precautions as she can. She awkwardly patted the model on the back, rubbing her hoof up and down. She wasn’t skilled with emotions herself, a novice she liked to think, still learning and sending her letters to Celestia. To Twilight emotions and friendship were often the same as a class for magic. It was something to be studied and processed in slow and calculated ways; she often forgot the emotions of other. Yet since seeing Fleur she had felt a strong empathy for the model that had been leading to this moment, Twilight thought to herself.
Fleur needed a friend.
“Let’s head back to the room, Fleur. We can talk on the way.” Twilight said when she squeezed the other closer. She noticed that Fleur smelled lightly of strawberries. “Is that okay?” She didn’t want to move the mare without her consent.
Fleur nodded weakly against her neck, burrowing her face into the purple coat deeply.
“Please…and…if we can…” she breathed against her between the sobs.
Twilight rubbed her back stronger and nuzzled her cheek into Fleur’s mane.
“I’ll make sure that nopony sees us on the way back.” Twilight affirmed as she slowly released the frail model from her grip. Fluer nodded her head soundlessly and buried herself more into the other’s coat for a moment before taking a steadying sigh and pulling back.
Twilight offered her a warm smile and quickly ran a tidying hoof through her mane to make sure that she was as primp and proper as she could, nothing she could do about the tears in the eyes for now, but she knew she could get the other’s mane tidied. Fleur closed her eyes at the feel of another pony moving her hair, a state that she was used to for daily shows; a piece of her daily zen re-entering her mind and allowing her to begin calming down. She breathed deep in that feeling, drank deep of its comfort. It allowed her eyes to roll back into a head for a moment and forget how raw her nerves, and body were in their present shape.
“I have a lot to say to you on the way back, hope you don’t mind.” Twilight said assertively as she pulled back and walked herself around the back of the wheelchair. She was going to be this mare’s friend by the end of the day or she wasn’t Twilight Sparkle.
#
“Incroyable! Un bébé dragon? Vraiment?” Fleur exclaimed as the pair returned to the tower. Twilight had gone the long way around the gardens, taking some good many hours to get them back to ensure that no one came upon Fleur in her weakened state. Along the way she had been filling the model in on all of her wonderous friends and stories of Ponyville and had been talking to her about how the two of them could keep in touch at the end of the Fashion Mile. Fleur had calmed down a lot with Twilight’s overbearing speech, it was hard to follow at times but she worked her way through and when she struggled Twilight translated for her as best as she could. It had felt amazing to open up to someone who for once wasn’t trying to sidle up next to her for their own political game. As the pair had come close to returning to the bedroom Fleur had felt a pit beginning to form in her stomach when she realized that even if they were making a genuine bond it would go the same route of any other person in her life. She and Fancy would leave and she would be alone again soon enough. Fleur had begun to grow morose quickly with that realization until Twilight told her of her special friend.
“Oui! His name is Spike, he can magically send letters to people. Right now, we only ever send them to the Princess but I will talk to her tomorrow before the show and find a way to get them to you.” She said with a happy smile. “She may need to teach you how to send one back, she’s the one familiar with the spell…” Twilight mused as she started pushing the wheelchair up into the bedroom. The sky getting dark behind them.
“Amazing…” Fleur stuttered, the idea that she would have personal access to the Princess, that Twilight would so casually refer to royalty and promise the Princess’s hoof in teaching Fleur a spell left her staggered. Twilight was on a whole different level Fleur decided when her amazement was met with a confused, but gentle smile. “T’is is nothing, just a little overwhelmed.” She waved it off sighing as they made their way back into the room. The sight of the table where she had spent several nights this week upon, it felt lonely and uninviting at the moment.
Twilight wheeled her up beside the bed and set the lock in the chair, preparing to help get the hurt mare up onto the bed.
Fleur bit at her lip a bit and swallowed hard. Deep inside of her she searched for that courage that flooded her almost every time when she stepped out onto the walkway.
“Serait-ce ... d'accord si je reste avec toi? Je ne veux pas être seul.” She whispered low into Twilight’s ear as the mare came forward to help lift her up onto the bed. Fleur watched Twilight freeze at the request and could feel a slow heat rise into the other’s cheek as she flushed a dark magenta. The image of earlier in the morning flooding both of their heads.
Twilight nodded slowly, not letting her eyes meet with Fleur’s.
“You won’t be able to move your way up there on your own.” Twilight said softly still not meeting her eyes. “Puis-je vous soulever?” she asked softly.
Fleur felt her cheeks growing red at the idea of it. She was very aware that she had been lifted by Twilight the night before using her magic after she took her fall; but she had never been conscious of it happening when it was.
She swallowed hard before replying; “Bien sûr.”
Twilight closed her eyes and pushed her horn gently against Fleur’s chest; not noticing the shiver that went down her spine. She breathed deeply; she had barely used her magic all day and the muscle, though sore, did not seem too weak for the task. It didn’t fight her too much as the aura began to spread out over Fleur like it had the night before. It was a much shorter trip and there was a lot less stress going through her mind right now (not that it wasn’t cluttered). She released much of the air she had just taken in as she focused herself.
“Décontractez-vous. S'il vous plaît.” She whispered to Fleur as she took a step back.
Easy for you to say… Fleur thought to herself, shivering from the sense of the other’s powerful magical aura encompassing her body. She sighed and tried to relax her muscles as much as she could, which proved to be extremely difficult once she started to lift off the chair and move under someone else’s power. It was a sensation completely alien and it took all of her focus to not lock up instantly. After a moment she found herself surprisingly comfortable with the sensation though it was bizarre and new to her as she was conscious, her body seemed used to the state from the night before. Gradually Twilight walked Fleur up the stairs to the large, yet simple bed. Its blankets were dishevelled and one of the blankets was teetering on the edge prepared to fall to the floor at a moment’s notice. Fleur smiled at the simple bed, thinking in that moment that it looks delightful. Gently she was laid down onto the bed and the soft give of the mattress caused her little to no discomfort.
She noticed a slight sweat forming on Twilight’s brow and felt immediate regret that she had forced the unicorn to use her magic so much after the night she had experienced previous. Just as she was about to apologize however Twilight opened her eyes and gave an explosive sigh of success. The cool look of confidence and pride at a job well done played on her lips in a cocky half-smile that made Fleur’s tongue lock to the roof of her mouth and her heart skip a beat noticeably.
“Oh no! I didn’t make my bed this morning!” Twilight immediately snapped back to her regular expression and began fretting over the bed. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment.
“It’s okay Twilight.” Fleur said softly, trying to calm the jittery mare down. “Please, just come to bed.”
Twilight froze instantly at the request, Fleur’s thick accent sounding increasingly appealing as she found herself feeling more and more tired from the long day. Twilight sighed and cast a quick glance to Fleur. Their eyes met. She felt herself blush and quickly scuttled onto the bed (being as careful as she could to not harm Fleur) to hide her embarrassment.
Once the two mares were in the bed they settled down next to one another, a blanket pulled up over them slightly to break up the chill of the night.
It was then that an awkward silence fell onto the pair of them. Twilight felt her heart racing as she tried to calm herself down so that she could fall asleep, but every time she closed her eyes she could see how close she was to Fleur’s face earlier that day. She was hyper aware of Fleur’s presence in her bed, the weight of her on the mattress, the heat of her body, the displacement of her breath. All of it seemed to be resonating all around her like a storm.
This silence dragged on for minutes, it was quickly becoming unbearable to Twilight and she was trying to come up with some way that she could break it when a voice cut through the silence.
“Twilight, Je veux te remercier de ne pas m'avoir abandonné. Pour me donner mon espace mais ne pas me laisser juste mon chemin sans question.” Fleur spoke soft and slow, letting Twilight translate what she was saying in real time. She had not taken her eyes off of the mare since she had crawled into the bed beside her. Every little shiver and shake she had made because of Fleur’s presence she had seen and witnessed. The constant flush on her cheeks and the heaviness of her breathing.
Twilight looked as if she was about to reply when Fleur continued speaking.
“Je n'ai jamais réalisé que je pourrais avoir besoin de quelqu'un comme un ami dans ma vie. Je suis tellement content que c'était toi de m'apprendre ça.” Again, she spoke slow and deliberate. As Twilight heard where the sentence was going the blush on her cheeks deepened more; to a shade so dark Fleur could barely see it in the lightless room. The soft glow of the room casting them both in a faint silver.
Twilight gradually opened her eyes as she listened to Fleur, turning ever so slightly to look at her she realized that the white coated mare had been watching her the entire time. She swallowed hard with how close the much taller and regal looking mare was to her.
Fleur moved slightly close to her, looming over Twilight slightly as she did.
Twilight did not move away as she came closer, though in the darkness of the night it was hard for Fleur to notice if she leaned in like she obviously had earlier in the day.
“Twilight…” Fleur whispered softly to the other as she leaned down, her cotton candy pink mane falling over Twilight’s face shielding it from the light of the moon. She pressed her lips to the others and slowly closed her eyes, waiting to see if Twilight kissed her back.
