//------------------------------// // 74. Trust // Story: Azure Edge // by Leaf Blade //------------------------------// “It’s cold out tonight,” Rarity said idly as she and Twilight walked away from the train station, rubbing her bare arms. “I just got back from Las Pegasus, where I barely needed my jacket, and I fear I must have left it on the train.” “You can have mine,” Twilight said without hesitation, starting to remove her dusty brown jacket. “Oh, darling,” Rarity said with a coy smile, “I don’t need you to do that. I’m a Slayer! I’m used to tough conditions!” “The cold doesn’t bother me,” Twilight insisted, “in fact, I barely even feel it! So please, take it.” “Well,” Rarity bit her lip and gently touched the sleeve of the jacket, “if you insist. It is quite noble of you to offer, I wouldn’t want to turn you down.” “It’s settled then,” Twilight smiled and took the jacket off, gently placing it on Rarity’s shoulders, Rarity sighing with relief as she put her arms through the sleeves. “Thank you, darling,” Rarity hummed, and though the jacket was about one size too big for Rarity, it looked perfect on her. “No problem,” Twilight said, gushing internally about how that totally went off without a hitch, just like in all her romance books! “Happy to do it!” Twilight let her hands dangle at her side as the two walked, Twilight not really sure where the pair were going so she let Rarity lead the way. There was a lot on Twilight’s mind—between Fluttershy and what she said, Pinkie Pie and the weird way she was acting, and now that alicorn who saw right through her—but she promised herself that for tonight, all that mattered was Rarity. And she felt doubly committed to that decision when she felt Rarity’s fingers delicately wrapping around her own. So the two walked, holding hands all the way until they reached the little café where Rarity wanted to sit down for food and drinks, and they chatted about things like Twilight pointing out the linguistic origins of some of the menu items, or Rarity telling Twilight about some of the more exotic foods she’d eaten at some of the stranger places she’d been in her travels, and somewhere along the conversation Twilight corrected Rarity that she wasn’t afraid of quesadillas, she just thought they were too cheesy. It had been a perfect evening, and it all led to Rarity and Twilight sitting on a bench on a snowy bridge, over a frozen river, gazing at the stars. And while the starry sky Twilight was looking at wasn’t quite as beautiful as the one she saw in the Everfree, it didn’t matter because Rarity was more beautiful than any star. Everything was perfect. “Twilight?” Rarity said softly, leaning her head against Twilight’s shoulder. “Yes, Rarity?” Twilight chirped, daring not to look at Rarity as she smoothly put her arm around Rarity’s shoulder. “Can I ask—rather, can I share something with you? Something… that’s very personal to me?” the tender, vulnerable tone in Rarity’s voice drew Twilight’s eye to her, and she saw Rarity biting her lip. “Of course,” Twilight smiled softly, and the way Rarity’s eyes gleamed when she smiled back may have been the most beautiful thing Twilight had ever witnessed. Rarity nuzzled her cheek against Twilight’s neck and purred, and Twilight bit down a smitten giggle as the blazing heat in her cheeks cut through the icy cold of the nighttime air. She swore if she dipped her face into the snow it would’ve melted at least a meter radius around her. “It’s not something pleasant, I’m afraid,” Rarity sighed, “but it’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you about, and that I keep putting off because I’m scared. But I don’t want to run anymore, least of all from you. So will you allow me to tell you?” How could Twilight refuse, when she was so determined herself not to hide anymore? Or at least, she wanted to be. And maybe not hiding from Rarity, and the unpleasant things they would have to deal with eventually, was a good way to start. “Of course, Rarity,” Twilight said, trying to drown her worry with a pleasant tone. “What is it?” “I want to tell you,” Rarity caressed the dragon fang attached to the collar around her neck, “about how I came into possession of this horrid thing.” “Oh.” This was the conversation Twilight had been dreading. Of course she noticed the dragon fang, of course it was the first thing about Rarity that caught her attention, and she had very, very specifically never asked about it. She didn’t want to know. She didn’t want to hear this story. She didn’t want to know Rarity’s depth of hatred for… Hm. So Rarity told her story, told Twilight about the dragon she slayed, the one who begged for mercy but then destroyed an entire village in a single night. She told Twilight how she hung onto the dragon fang not out of pride, but out of deep shame and regret, and as a promise to never let what happened that night transpire again. Twilight was horrified. She was horrified by the destruction and bloodshed the dragon caused, by the way it betrayed Rarity’s trust, by what Rarity was forced to do, and by the bitterness that laced every word of Rarity’s tale. She was at a loss for words, but as Rarity wiped tears from her eyes, Twilight took hold of one of her hands and gently caressed her fingers. Rarity needed to know that Twilight was there for her, even if her voice was failing her. “I’m sorry for ruining our evening,” Rarity said with a wry chuckle. “You didn’t ruin anything,” Twilight said, pulling Rarity close. “I’m glad you shared your story with me. I’m glad that you—” Twilight choked on her words. “That you trust me with something that personal.” “You’re important to me,” Rarity said, resting her head against Twilight’s chest, “and it was important that you know why I take my responsibilities so seriously, and what happens when I don’t.” Twilight didn’t know what to say, so she contented herself with stroking Rarity’s mane softly and gently, almost rhythmically, as she tried to fight the squall of anxiety that was threatening to cascade inside her. “You have a lot of weight on your shoulders,” Twilight said, and she felt Rarity nodding. “I want to help you carry it.” “Twilight, you—” Rarity straightened herself up and stared into Twilight’s eyes, though it took tremendous concentration for Twilight to keep from looking away from Rarity’s gaze. Rarity leaned her face closer to Twilight’s, her lip quivering in anticipation. Twilight lowered her head and gently placed the tip of her nose against Rarity’s, who nuzzled her in return. “Thank you, Twilight,” Rarity said with a smile. “Whatever happens next,” Twilight said, her eyes closed as she let herself melt into Rarity’s embrace one last time, “I want to face it head-on. Together.” “I will help you carry your burdens, Twilight Sparkle,” Rarity said softly, “if you will help me carry mine.” Twilight sighed, knowing that neither one of them could fully wrap their minds around the entire scope of each other’s burdens. There was so much that Twilight was afraid of, and she knew that she couldn’t run forever. “Rarity,” but for now, Twilight would allow herself to feel what she knew in her heart she truly wanted; to trust Rarity, “nothing could please me more.”