Vignettes
Spoilers from chapter 1 to 36 of Enchanted Library
#01 - Air
It didn't matter that she'd been freed for several hours now, and it didn't matter that her chest rose and fell as oxygen rushed into her lungs for the first time in centuries; it didn't matter, because her first real breath of air came only when she saw Rarity was safe and sound.
#02 - Apples
"I don't care how much ya beg and plead, Pinkie," Applejack said, ignoring the pink mare practically sniffling at her hooves, "'cause Princess Twi's first meal is gonna be a bonafide Sweet Apple Acres apple pie, and I ain't letting it be otherwise."
#03 - Beginning
On a particularly grim day, months after having last seen her princess, Rainbow asked Rarity a question: if the unicorn had somehow known way back how things would end, would she have still set foot inside the library that very first time; Rarity would always answer with a resolute yes, and yet in the stillness of the night, she sometimes wondered if her heart agreed with that.
#04 - Bugs
Rarity knew Pinkie to be clever, but she had to wonder if offering the resident's of Heart's Haven acting classes was truly the best way to earn money for their future shop in Hollow Shades.
#05 - Coffee
"Sis, isn't that way too much coffee?" Sweetie asked, watching as her sister poured coffee into not one, but three whole thermoses, "Or is Princess Twilight going to keep reading to you about Magic Thermodynamics?"
#06 - Dark
For the past thousand years, Princess Twilight Sparkle had been used to keeping the first floor in darkness; it was a bit difficult to get used to having Star as a chandelier all the time now that that strange unicorn kept coming back to visit her.
#07 - Despair
"No! I refuse! I want out! OUT, I SAY! OUT!" Rarity shrieked, banging her hoof against the bookcase blocking her way out from this hellscape she'd been forced into; behind her, Twilight rolled her eyes so far back, she could see through her head, "Oh come on, Rarity, we've only been practicing teleporting for six hours."
#08 - Doors
It was frustrating to say the least — every single time Rarity made any progress, whenever she felt like she'd finally opened the door to Twilight's past, she'd always find that there were twenty more closed doors waiting; by the time she was done, she'd be an expert at lockpicking ponies's hearts.
#09 - Drink
Princess Twilight had never been one to drink alcohol, not even back when she could actually physically do so, and yet it was hard to deny she was drunk on Rarity's mere presence.
#10 - Duty
"I'm only helping her because it is my duty," Rarity whispered to herself, forcing herself to not stare at the princess for the tenth time; it was duty, and certainly nothing else that forced butterflies into her stomach and painted her cheeks red whenever Twilight so much as smiled at her.
#11 - Midnight
Rarity loved their necklaces—how could she not when it meant she and Twilight could literally interact whenever they wanted?—though she really, truly wished Twilight would call her at more decent hours than the middle of the night.
#12 - Temptation
Sometimes, she stared for too long, when Twilight was too absorbed in her books to notice, and she wondered if she was brave enough to voice the three words she wore on her lips; sometimes, Twilight would look up at her, as though she knew Rarity had been watching and ask, "What's wrong?"—Rarity always lied with her reply.
#13 - View
Twilight made sure to be cautious whenever she stole glances at Rarity; she waited until she was too busy reading or sewing or being adorable, and then just gaze at her—this unicorn that had stumbled into her life—and all would be well; that is, all would be well until Rarity would smile and say, "I take it you're enjoying the view, darling?"
#14 - Music
It didn't matter how awful the nightmare was, Pinkie knew that Princess Luna would always come and get here; all the little filly had to do was be brave, be strong, and do her best until her best friend in the world arrived alongside the hum of a lovely lullaby.
#15 - Silk
"This dress is beautiful, Rarity!" Tullip Blossom gasped, brushing her hoof through the prettiest silk dress she'd ever seen, "And it's made for a pegasus! Was it a commission, or is it on sale? I want to buy it before you move to Hollow Shades!"; Rarity smiled gently and softly replied, "It's not for sale. It's a present for a..."—she faltered—"a friend, though I'm starting to think I'll never be able to give it to her."
#16 - Torn
It was both sad and fascinating how quickly one could grow used to new things, how changes became routine after repetition; how she'd been initially unsettled by a strange unicorn finding her way into her life, and how one day the thought of a life without Rarity was nigh unthinkable—it was both sad and fascinating how she never realized how quickly she'd grown used to being with Rarity until the day she could do so no more.
#17 - Perseverance
Just as it had during three terrible months, Rarity and Pinkie's shared motto resurfaced during the years that went by; "we have to work to free the princesses," Pinkie repeated time and time again, whether it be to a cheerful unicorn working on a dress, or to a desolate mare curled up in her bed, "we have to help them be free, even if we won't be there when it happens."
#18 - Dream
"Does she dream of her a lot?" Pinkie asked, watching as Princess Luna rearranged the stars, and she felt rather sad when the Princess shook her head—did it hurt that much that not even in dreams could Rarity bear to see Twilight?
#19 - Fool
Rarity had done a great many foolish things: she'd fought dragons with no weapons but words, she'd gone against timberwolves and nearly been mauled, she'd insulted the Spirit of Chaos to his face, but she wondered in the late hours of the night if perhaps her most foolish mistake had been to fall in love.
#20 - Heart
Carousel Boutique was quiet.
It had been quiet for a long time now, as one would expect of a shop whose owner had moved away a year ago. This time, however, though it was quiet, it was not completely and utterly so. The lights from the floor below were dim, barely illuminating the ink marks on the floor and walls.
A pink mare snored away in Sweetie Belle's room, cuddled under the covers and mumbling about the princess of the night. She dreamt of said princess, in fact, and of the day where they would be able to hug and cry and be together beyond dreams.
A little filly slept soundly on one side of her sister's bed, nearly tipping over the edge, her fur covered with ink splotches she'd acquired when trying to help bring somepony up to the room.
Besides her, an alicorn slept for the first time in a while, her breathing even and her thoughts, for once, not tormenting her as they'd done for as long as she'd been trapped in her library. There was a smile on her lips, soft and loving and happy, and she nuzzled against the last pony on the bed.
Unlike the others in her house, the unicorn was not asleep. She was wide-awake, more than she'd been in a what felt a long time. Rarity cuddled against the one besides her, her ears pressed against Twilight's chest as she listened quietly to a rhythmic melody she never knew would make her so happy.
A heartbeat.