//------------------------------// // 200. Real Raritwi Hours // Story: Azure Edge // by Leaf Blade //------------------------------// Twilight adjusted her robes and looked herself over in the mirror of her room at the Green Neigh inn. She wondered if she should perhaps dress up more? Maybe wear something nicer? Rarity had gotten all of the girls at least two outfits, though Twilight wasn’t sure her other one was any nicer than this one, and this one was comfortable and practical and— “Hey Twilight,” Spike’s snarky voice snapped Twilight out of her mental loop and she looked over at him sitting on the bed, legs dangling off the side. “You overthinking things again?” “Overthinking? Me?” Twilight laughed. “Perish the thought, Spike.” “How are you feeling?” Spike asked, the little crackle in his voice cluing Twilight in that he was basically asking her how he should be feeling. They were getting ready to head to the train station to meet Rarity, and Spike was every bit as invested in Twilight’s relationship with Rarity as Twilight herself was; Twilight, and Rarity by association, were his family after all. With all that said, Twilight saw no reason not to tell him the truth. “I’m feeling great!” Twilight beamed. “I’m feeling confident, too! When Rarity left, she said she wanted to be friends again, I gave her the letter and told her all of my feelings, and now we just need to see how she feels. And I believe in her.” “Then I’m excited!” Spike pumped his fists and jumped off the bed. “So what’re we waiting for? Let’s go already!” “Us hurrying isn’t going to make the train get here any sooner, Spike,” Twilight gently chastised her son, rolling her eyes playfully at him. But then she bit her lip and pumped her own fists. “But I’m excited too so let’s hurry!” Twilight and Spike charged out the door, but not two steps into the hallway Twilight ran smack dab into a wall that knocked her right on her ass, Twilight rubbing her nose and groaning as she looked up to see she hadn't hit a wall, she hit Applejack, Twilight’s cheeks burning red as she stared up at her beautiful girlfriend, and her heart skipped a beat when she remembered that she could call Applejack that. “Howdy, stranger,” Applejack smiled at Twilight and tipped her hat, and Twilight bit her lip and mused that it was almost a struggle not to just nut right there in the hallway. “H-hi,” Twilight said, accepting Applejack’s help to get back to her feet. She couldn’t stop biting her lip either, nor could she stand to look at Applejack without her face turning all red, so she darted her eyes to the ground and played with her hair. “Fancy running into you here.” Applejack grabbed Twilight’s hand and gently pulled her forward, before tipping up Twilight’s chin and planting a kiss directly onto her lips, Twilight becoming awash in dreamy feelings for Applejack as their lips disconnected and Twilight struggled to not just collapse to the ground. “You excited about seein’ Rarity?” Applejack asked casually, wrapping her arm around Twilight as the couple and Spike headed down the hall toward the lobby. It was wild to think that Twilight was now in the middle of a conversation with her girlfriend talking about another, completely separate girl that Twilight was also in love with. Polyamory is magic. “I am,” Twilight purred as she leaned up against her beefy wall of muscled girlfriend. She could never get tired of reminding herself that Applejack was her girlfriend. “I’m very excited to see—” Twilight cut herself off as her group walked into the lobby, and seeing Trixie sitting at the bar drinking an apple soda “—Trixie!” Trixie spit her drink on the very unimpressed bartender, while Applejack and Spike tried not to laugh at the poor woman’s expense. “You’re excited to see Trixie?” Applejack joked, but Twilight barely heard her cuz she was so focused on Trixie. “How come you’re still here?” Twilight asked, running up to Trixie, who wiped the soda spit off her muzzle with her arm. “I thought you left already.” “Uh, well, I uh,” Trixie stammered. “You missed Twi too much and came back?” Applejack said with a big grin, wrapping her arm around a blushing Twilight. “Yeah, she gets that a lot.” “Eeeugughuhgueuughuh,” Trixie stuck out her tongue and… said? ‘Said’ wasn’t quite right, but whatever. “Listen, you-” Trixie grabbed Twilight by the collar “-I have something to say to you before I bounce, and just you.” “Could you guys give us a sec?” Twilight said nervously and looked to Spike and Applejack. She was genuinely curious about what was so important to Trixie that she needed to tell Twilight before she left. Applejack and Spike complied, and Trixie got another apple soda before dragging Twilight away from the bar and from prying ears. “Those apple sodas are good, right?” Twilight giggled as Trixie cracked her can open. “I told you, Applejack has great taste.” “Your mom has great taste,” Trixie groaned and took a sip of her soda. “So what’d you wanna say to me, Trixie?” Twilight griped, immediately tired of Trixie’s sass, especially since she had a date with Rarity waiting. “I wanted to tell you, um,” Trixie’s face turned red and she scratched at the side of her neck, “that uh, I um, yuhhhh… good luck, with your, uh, romance stuff. Your friend Rarity and whatever, I hope you two work things out.” “Wh— really?” Twilight blinked, her mind blown away with shock. “That’s what you wanted to say?” “Yes!” Trixie hissed, flicking her wrist annoyingly at Twilight. “Is that so weird?” “Yes, it’s extremely weird, coming from you,” Twilight said flatly. “But I appreciate it a lot, so thank you.” “Yeah, no problem,” Trixie shuffled her feet awkwardly. “I, like, I get it. Romance can be, uhhh a whole thing.” “Do you have a special someone, Trixie?” Twilight said teasingly, batting her eyelashes at Trixie. Trixie teleported away without another word, and Twilight laughed; she kinda figured that would happen. Still though, it was nice to have her support, and Applejack’s and Spike’s. Now it was just a matter of time until she saw Rarity again, and she couldn’t wait to see what would happen. **** Rarity’s heart was beating louder than the roar of the train as Green Neigh came into her view. Rainbow Dash was leaned up against her, snoozing away, and a happily contented Pinkie Pie was sitting across from Rarity in the arms of an also snoozing Fluttershy. It was nice; Rarity had half a mind to reach her arm across Rainbow’s shoulders, but she didn’t want to budge the sleepy girl until they reached their destination, and Rarity also wondered if that was an acceptable level of affection considering their non-romantic relationship. Of course, Rarity wouldn’t have thought twice about such a thing at any time before, it was only now that she had realized her romantic feelings for Rainbow Dash that she was questioning and second-guessing every act of affection that would have before come so naturally to her. And Fluttershy… oh, Fluttershy. They didn’t exactly have a relationship before Rarity was plunged headfirst into her feelings for the dragon, so the dynamic with her was quite a bit different than with Rainbow Dash. The dynamic was also different for another matter; Rarity was unbelievably thirsty for Fluttershy. Fluttershy was so incredibly sexy, even turning things as simple as sitting and walking into mesmerizing displays for Rarity’s eyes and, er, other areas. Rarity had never been a terribly sexual pony before, even her crush on Twilight Sparkle was rather chaste, but with Fluttershy, Rarity just wanted her hands on Fluttershy’s body and she didn’t care when or where it happened. But Fluttershy and Rarity were not dating, and while Fluttershy had exchanged some rather flirtatious remarks with Rarity, she had no idea if Fluttershy was being genuine or if the two were just exchanging in the kind of platonic flirting that lesbians so often did. Lesbians often did that, right? Platonic flirting? That was a thing, wasn’t it? Stars, now Rarity wasn’t even sure; her head was just a mess, swimming in all these different thoughts and feelings for all these different women. The blaring of the train whistle cut through Rarity’s mire of thoughts as it so often did, and her heart skipped a beat as she locked eyes with Twilight Sparkle through the window as the train rolled into the station, Twilight, Spike, and Applejack all waving from the platform. Rarity wanted to bolt right up and stampede to the door of the train, but first she gently nudged Rainbow Dash awake, the pegasus stirring cutely and eliciting a giggle from Rarity’s lips. “Wake up, sleepyhead,” Rarity whispered, and Rainbow yawned and stretched one arm over her head. “Oh,” Fluttershy yawned as well as Pinkie hopped onto the floor, “are we there yet?” “We are,” Rarity said, “and we—” “Rarity’s got a date with Twilight!” Rainbow jumped up and clapped her hands, startling both Rarity and Fluttershy, but Pinkie just started clapping right alongside her. “Let’s move, people! This is not a drill! This is Raritwi time!” “Real Raritwi hours, let’s go!” Pinkie cheered, Rainbow and Pinkie continuing their obnoxious clapping as they headed out of the cabin and toward the exit of the train, but Rarity and Fluttershy lingered a moment. “How are you feeling?” Fluttershy asked softly, gently taking Rarity’s hand as the two stood up, and Rarity’s cheeks flushed and she let out an embarrassing giggle. “I’m nervous,” Rarity admitted. “About a lot of things, quite frankly. But not about Twilight. I know exactly what I need to do about Twilight.” “Then let’s not keep her waiting any longer,” Fluttershy said, timidly pumping her fist, and Rarity beamed and bumped her fist against Fluttershy’s. Rarity walked hand-in-hand with Fluttershy to the end of the train, and let Fluttershy depart first. The others weren’t expecting Rainbow and Fluttershy, and Rarity wanted to let them say their greetings before she departed and soaked up all the attention. After a short moment, Rarity hopped off the train onto the platform, immediately locking eyes with Twilight Sparkle, whose entire body lit up when she saw Rarity, and the feeling was more than mutual. Rarity ran to Twilight and grabbed her around the waist, picking her up off the ground and spinning her around— a difficult task considering Twilight was a mite taller, but Rarity managed it. With Twilight still in her arms, the pair’s laughter resonating in Rarity’s ears as tears streamed down both their faces, Rarity offered Twilight a simple question. “May I kiss you?” “Please do,” Twilight beamed, and Rarity did just that. So much imagery rushed through Rarity’s mind as her lips connected with Twilight; her lips weren’t as soft as Rarity expected, and the fur of her muzzle tickled Rarity’s lips a little bit, but that was so endearing. The sensation of tasting sugar and running your fingers through musty old books hit Rarity like a train, a comparison that might seem an insult to most, but she was certain Twilight would find it glorious. As Rarity went in for a second kiss, something else struck her; fire. Twilight’s kisses were soft and gentle, but they were passionate and they made Rarity’s body shudder like a fire was burning inside her, and when Rarity opened her eyes and saw the familiar ethereal glow in Twilight’s, she sighed contentedly. “I love you,” Twilight whispered. “I love you too,” Rarity hummed, holding her dearest Twilight as close to her as she was able, the two women’s muzzles bumping softly against one another, “my darling.”