"So you're going to go paint?" Twilight asked, as if it were a difficult concept to grasp.
"Well, that is what you do when you go to an art studio. I think." Starlight answered with more than a little sarcasm.
"But you're going with a friend?"
Hoof met forehead as Twilight straddled the line between mentor and doting mother.
"Yes, Twilight. I'm going with a friend. Just don't-"
"This will be a great chance for you to advance your friendship studies!" Twilight finally chose which side of the line to stand on as she emphatically clapped her hooves, wearing an enormous grin.
"Yeah," Starlight grimaced, though if Twilight saw she made no indication. "great..."
It was cloudy when Starlight made her way to Easel's Art Studio the following morning. The dull gray of the skies seemed to mirror the gloom that threatened to settle on the mare as she trotted down the street. A quiet had settled over Ponyville. Starlight assumed that residents were just avoiding the drab weather.
Starlight's mood brightened a bit as she approached the studio. Tree Hugger stood in front of the building, staring upwards at a tree as a breeze shook a few leaves free of the branches. Tree Hugger wore an expression of wonder. If she hadn't met her in a forest, Starlight would have ventured a guess that Tree Hugger had never seen a tree before. Which would have been an incredibly strange thing when she considered Tree Hugger's name.
"Tree Hugger? Are you okay?" Starlight asked as she approached. Tree Hugger shook herself free of her reverie with a smile.
"I'm wonderful, thank you. I was just admiring the cycle of nature." Tree Hugger looked to Starlight, gently smiling.
"They're just leaves falling off the tree." Starlight tilted her head quizzically.
"Even simple things can show you beauty in nature. Like when the leaves start to fall from trees, seeds fall too. And those seeds will grow into a majestic tree someday." Starlight mulled this over for a moment, unable to disagree with the explanation. Before she could respond though, Tree Hugger continued. "We should go inside. I think the class is going to start soon."
"Okay. I didn't bring any art supplies though. Is that okay?"
Tree Hugger nodded as she held the door for Starlight. Her eyes followed one last leaf before she stepped inside.
Starlight was greeted with the smell of drying paint as Tree Hugger led her towards a classroom. The walls were decorated with a plethora of artworks from various artists. A zebra mask. A painting of a church with a swirly-starry sky in the background. A can of tomato soup. Starlight inspected each of these as she passed by, wishing she could say something artistic.
"I like the... colors." Starlight mentally facehoofed. 'I would have been better off saying "I like art." She must think I'm an idiot.'
"Right on. Color is such a great way to express what you're feeling. Its a bummer I can't paint what I feel better. I feel like it loses meaning somehow.." Tree Hugger lamented.
"Oh. I'm... sure you're a great painter." Starlight awkwardly attempted to comfort her friend. 'I'm doing terribly! Why did Twilight have to go and call it a friendship lesson?!' Starlight screamed internally.
Thankfully, Starlight's attention was pulled from her hidden meltdown by her arrival at the studio's classroom. Other ponies had already arrived, and were standing in front of blank canvasses set up in a circle. All eyes were on Tree Hugger and Starlight as they trotted inside.
Scanning the room, Starlight was struck by how varied the students were. Ages ranged from fillies around Applejack's sister's age to a few decades older than Starlight. Roughly a dozen students watched the pair. And then it dawned on Starlight: there were no empty easels.
"Tree Hugger? Are you sure we're in the right class?" Starlight whispered nervously. Before Tree Hugger responded, an older stallion stepped forward.
"Tree Hugger! It is good to see you. How have you been?" The stallion's words were laced with a thick Stalliongrad accent as he greeted Tree Hugger with a wide grin and a hug.
The stallion in question wore a paint-spattered artist's smock. His white mane was tied back into a topknot, presumably to keep paint out of it. This had clearly not been successful as the stallion had splotches of orange and green in his mane and tail.
"It's been pretty radical. Its good to see you again, Easel." Tree Hugger returned the hug happily. "I hope its cool, but I, like, brought a friend today."
"Wonderful! Hello!" Easel greeted Starlight with a hug tight enough to force the air from her lungs. "Welcome to my studio. Any friend of Tree Hugger is a friend of mine! I am Easel!" He released Starlight at long last.
"Starlight. Glimmer." The mare gasped for air, grateful for oxygen. "Its good to meet you, too."
"Please, get comfortable. We have a long class ahead of us. If you are in need of refreshments, please do not hesitate to ask." Easel offered, waving a hoof to a large circular platform in the middle of the easels. With that, he stepped away from Starlight and Tree Hugger, checking on the students.
"Tree Hugger? What did he mean?" Starlight worriedly asked in hushed tones.
"Hmm? Oh, I do modeling for Easel's class when I visit. Its totally liberating to just open yourself up, you know?"
"No, I don't know. I've never done something like this. I thought we were going to paint! I didn't know I was going to... expose myself in front of strangers!" Starlight harshly whispered, panic creeping into her voice.
"Starlight, your energy is all out of whack. Are you all right?" Tree Hugger shot Starlight a worried look. "Just take a moment and take a deep breath."
"I-I can't do it. I thought we were going to paint and have a nice relaxingtimeandnowIcan't-" Starlight took a deep breath before exhaling slowly.
Tree Hugger wordlessly placed a comforting hoof on Starlight's shoulder. Starlight had no idea how Tree Hugger did it, but somehow the stress building up seemed to just disappear.
"I'm sorry." Starlight apologized. "I-I'm just not comfortable with being in the limelight."
"Its cool. I don't want to make you do anything that would harsh your flow." Tree Hugger smiled gently. "If you're not comfortable you can totally just watch, or maybe Easel would let you paint."
Starlight hesitated for a moment. On one hoof, posing for a group of strangers was an absolutely terrifying idea. On the other hoof, Starlight really didn't want to have to explain to Twilight that she had been utterly terrified of posing for an art class and that's why she bailed on a potential friendship lesson.
"No, I'll- I'll stay." Starlight decided with a resolute nod. Putting up with a friendship lecture was scarier than this.
"Righteous. But if it starts to get to you, you should let me know. I know some wonderful auditory therapy techniques."
Starlight and Tree Hugger approached the round platform and climbed atop it. The blue velvet cover on it felt rather pleasant under Starlight's hooves. If only it were enough to quell the butterflies in her stomach.
'No. You can do this, Starlight Glimmer. You just need to not focus on the ponies that will be staring at you. Focus on... other stuff! Like... stuff. Shoot.'
"Tree Hugger? What do I do?"
"Just do whatever comes naturally. Let go."
"Okay..." Starlight was hesitant, but she struck a pose, holding an outstretched hoof. Tree Hugger, on the other hoof, stood on one hind leg, and stretched herself out horizontally, balancing perfectly.
The students got to their work, glancing from easel to models often. Most of them seemed to wear expressions of focus. Some furrowed their brows in frustration. This went on for a few minutes, until Tree Hugger changed her position. She stood tall, stretching her forelegs to the sky while folding the leg that wasn't supporting her upwards, bringing her hoof to her inner thigh. Starlight followed her example and bent her outstretched leg, holding herself in a rigid, and hopefully proud, pose.
This brought more frowns from the students. A bead of sweat started to trickle down Starlight's forehead.
'They don't like what I'm doing. What do I do? What do I do!?'
"Star?" Tree Hugger whispered. "Your aura's out of whack. Are you all right?" Tree Hugger's usual smile was replaced by a look of concern.
"I'm okay." Starlight forced a smile.
"Do you need help?"
Starlight hesitated for a moment.
"Maybe..." Starlight felt heat rising into her cheeks.
Tree Hugger wordlessly shifted her stance, coming back down to all fours and taking Starlight's upheld hoof in her own.
Starlight blinked in surprise. She hadn't known what to expect, but this hadn't been what she'd have guessed. Tree Hugger hadn't said a word, just made a simple gesture. Starlight felt her body relax slightly.
"Thank you." She mouthed silently. Tree Hugger merely smiled. They held this pose for some time, unmoving but comfortable. After a while they wordlessly changed poses.
Tree Hugger took charge, standing on her hind legs and bowing slightly. With gentle twitches of her hooves, she guided Starlight onto her own hind legs. Taking a cue from Tree Hugger's stance, Starlight curtsied.
The painters encircling them seemed to fade away from Starlight's view. She was vaguely aware of their movements as they furiously went about their work, seized by whatever moods compelled them to create their artwork. This didn't matter to Starlight, however. At some point she'd lost sight of the apprehension that had previously smothered her.
Another change in pose. Tree Hugger's hoof slipped around Starlight to the small of her back and pulled her closer. At the same time she took Starlight's hoof in her free one.
Starlight's breathing stopped for a fraction of a second. She wasn't used to being this close to somepony. She could feel Tree Hugger's fur tickling her skin. Tree Hugger's warm breath teased her fur. The scent of juniper berries danced about the two. Starlight made a mental note to ask what Tree Hugger used to wash her fur later.
Time passed all too quickly after that. The changes in poses became more and more infrequent as the class went on. Tree Hugger and Starlight's dance stretched on, graceful and delicate. Tree Hugger seemed to know exactly what subtle cues to give Starlight to wordlessly guide her through the process. All too soon, though, the class was over.
"Brushes down, everypony. Magnificent work! And please, a warm 'thank you' to our beautiful models!" Easel announced the end of the class. The students clapped their hooves, grinning widely. Starlight beamed, having long forgotten about the gaze of these ponies. Heat rose into her cheeks as a blush burned her face.
Easel approached and hugged Starlight and Tree Hugger both as they stepped off the platform, crushing them in the vice grip of an embrace.
"Magnificent work, girls! I have never seen students so inspired! You must do this again sometime!" Easel laughed heartily.
Tree Hugger said nothing as she glanced to Starlight. Starlight met her gaze for a fraction of a second before looking to Easel again.
"That sounds nice, actually." Starlight couldn't help but smile.
The three of them engaged in small talk as the students packed their supplies and left. A dozen paintings sat alone as they were left overnight to dry. Starlight gazed at the back of the easels, curiosity nagging at her like a spoiled filly.
"Easel? Would it be all right if I took a look at the paintings?"
"Of course!" Easel guffawed. "It is some lovely work. I am sure the artists would be insulted if you didn't look at them!"
Starlight moved slowly, circling the paintings and inspecting them one by one. Each one captured a different moment on the pedestal, from Starlight's awkward posing to Tree Hugger's fluid grace. Some captured different parts of the stretched out dance, carefully recreating them in each artist's own style.
Starlight stopped at one of the last paintings, her breath stolen by it. Upon the canvas was the embrace, where Starlight and Tree Hugger had first stepped close. The artist had captured everything. Their fur had been lovingly created with rich detail, each individual strand noticeable in the lighting the artist had recreated. Shadows danced along their frames, accenting each curve of the models. Starlight could now see how Tree Hugger had held her, firmly but somehow with a gentle touch. Starlight couldn't help but marvel at the expressions upon her and Tree Hugger's faces.
Tree Hugger's smile, delicate and genuine, lit up her face as she looked Starlight in the eyes. Starlight, on the other hoof, looked back with what could only be described as a mixture of awe and relief.
Starlight felt heat rising into her face yet again as she confronted the intimate moments she'd shared on the stage. The emotion that accompanied it was not embarrassment or terror at what she had done. In fact, Starlight would have never guessed she'd feel the way she did about posing for strangers.
She was proud of herself.