“What do I do now?” Twilight paced her bedroom for the hundredth time. She was utterly stumped about how relationships were supposed to work. She really hoped everything would go okay, and the last thing she wanted to do was hurt Fluttershy. Twilight obviously didn’t enjoy being so clueless.
It had taken quite some time to finally get back to the library, since Fluttershy wanted to continue their walk for a while longer. Spike had come home shortly after the unicorn herself did, and was supposedly making dinner.
Twilight glanced around for some sort of inspiration, when a sudden idea hit her. “Oh! The answer should have been obvious! What this situation needs…” The lavender mare dramatically opened the door with her magic, “Is studying.”
She giggled at her own antics, but quickly realized that she didn’t have time to foal around. Studying was essential at this point in time, and books would be her only allies here. All she had to do was find the perfect one and she’d be given more insight than another pony could ever give. Excluding Princess Celestia, of course.
Wait. Twilight stopped walking. Princess Celestia! She could ask her teacher for help; it was simple! Princess Celestia always had good advice—and this kind of relationship was only one step above friendship, right?
Before the unicorn got too excited, she reminded herself that the Princess had sent her to Ponyville to learn about these things on her own.
“Books it is, then…” She mumbled to herself.
The lavender mare began scanning through the many titles in the romance section (only after making sure Spike was still in the kitchen; she didn’t need him asking tedious questions right now.)
There were so many different books on this subject! Since when did the library have this much information on romance?
“How to Handle Steamy Situations with Your Marefriend? What does it mean by steamy situations…? Like arguments? Better take it just in case… A Guide to Breaking It Off? Better not, I’m not about to break up with her. Eh… Romancing Your Partner: She’ll be Pleased!”
Twilight stared at the last book. The cover showed a picture of a stallion and a mare; the latter having some sort of delighted expression. Was this what she needed? With a precarious glance around to ensure that she was still alone, the unicorn levitated the book next to her.
But she wasn’t done yet. While Fluttershy’s depiction of love seemed good enough, Twilight didn’t yet have a firm enough understanding of it. She continued reading titles until she was satisfied that she had found enough books on the different branches of love. That’s what it seemed like, anyway—there was family love, dating, marriage, divorce, breaking up, and just about anything Twilight could think of! The unicorn never thought she’d have missed studying something with so many diverse topics!
Twilight sneaked back up the stairs without Spike ever knowing she had been down there, the books hovering behind her. She crawled into her bed and looked over the covers; trying to decide which one she wanted to read first.
“Better start at the basics. A Detailed Account of Love from One Bookworm to the Next…Seems promising.” She opened to the first page and began reading silently. Her eyes scanned the pages, and she felt as if she were really learning about love.
Over time, she went through book after book, cover to cover. They each had their own distinctive bits of information that seemed to add to this infinite puzzle called ‘love.’ There were some recurring statements, however, which only annoyed the unicorn. Mostly they all told her to ‘be yourself’ and ‘you’ll know if they’re the one.’ (This one irritated Twilight more than any other, as she wasn’t looking for who ‘the one’ was.)
With a huff, the lavender mare pulled out the last book she hadn’t read yet, How to Handle Steamy Situations with Your Marefriend. Just before she got into the reading, a knock was heard at the door and Spike came in.
“Twilight, there you are! I’ve been calling for you for at least ten minutes! Dinner’s ready.” The baby dragon gave her a glare. Twilight figured that he should have gotten used to being ignored by now, what with countless nights of constant studying.
“What are you reading?” Spike’s irritation turned into curiosity as he attempted to make out some of the words from the doorway.
“N-Nothing! Just some uh…light reading.” Twilight smiled unconvincingly. She hadn’t told Spike about Fluttershy just yet; they had gotten together today, after all.
“Come on, Twilight. I know you better than that.” The baby dragon walked over to the bed to see just what the unicorn was hiding. Twilight panicked—what was she to do in this situation?
Just as his scaly claws reached out to grab one of the books, a knock on the door stopped him.
“Oh, Spike! A visitor! Why don’t you go get that while I tidy up?” Twilight all but shoved the dragon out the door. He was muttering something, but he still went to see who it was.
In the meantime, Twilight hurriedly pushed the books under her bed. She heard Spike call up to her.
“Twilight! Fluttershy’s here to see you!”
Fluttershy? Hadn’t they spent the entire day together? Twilight wasn’t complaining; she liked spending time with the pegasus. But it was strange to have her come to the library at dinner-time, as she did have her pets to tend to. And when they were sick? Very peculiar indeed.
Nonetheless, the unicorn made her way downstairs to see her…marefriend…Twilight still didn’t like that word.
“Hey Fluttershy, what brings you here?” The lavender mare smiled at the pegasus, who stared curiously.
“You don’t remember? At the end of our walk you um, invited me over for dinner.” Fluttershy’s eyes scanned the floor.
Twilight plastered on a smile at this and gave Spike a look. “Oh, right! I was just studying—I remember now. Is it cold out?” The unicorn quickly switched subjects as she pulled the yellow pony inside. She couldn’t believe that she had forgotten something that could throw off her entire schedule of studying! If the unicorn hated anything, it was being caught up in something that wasn’t planned.
“Not really…” Fluttershy glanced back at the open door.
Spike disappeared into the kitchen; probably to make some extra food. She was glad to have the baby dragon do all the housework; the unicorn couldn’t cook to save her life.
Twilight stepped closer to the door and closed it with magic. “Woah, it certainly feels cold!” The lavender mare shivered before moving over to Fluttershy.
The yellow mare chuckled lightly, “It may have to do with me being a pegasus and you being a unicorn.” Twilight’s teeth chattered and she experimentally gave Fluttershy an affectionate nuzzle. (Romancing Your Marefriend: She’ll Be Pleased! was the book that she credited for this course of action. Apparently, it had said, the more open and touchy you were to your marefriend, the better your relationship was.)
Her fur really did seem thick and warm. “You probably never get cold. It’d be nice if I could have a natural resistance against weather like this. Hm…I’ll need to study about that sometime…” Twilight made a mental check-note to write an actual note to study weather-related magic; perhaps she could even interview some of the Canterlot unicorns about their work! Twilight snuggled even closer to this source of warmth.
“…Cute…” Fluttershy mumbled with a blush.
“Did you say something?” Twilight glanced up, unsure if the pegasus had actually spoken or not.
Before her marefriend could reply, a rather loud cough made them aware of Spike’s presence. Twilight jumped away from Fluttershy.
“So, you two are going out?” Spike casually leaned against the doorframe with…arrogance?
The two in question both blushed before Twilight nodded slowly. “I knew it! Pinkie Pie totally owes me a dozen emerald cupcakes!” The baby dragon exploded with happiness, jumping up and down in victory.
“Spike…How did you know?” Twilight stared at her number one assistant sharply. He stopped his shouting at once before casting his eyes downcast. Yes, he was a clever little thing.
“Uh…It’s like this…Erm…You can’t get mad!” He stuttered out, looking anywhere but Twilight.
“It’s okay, Spike,” Fluttershy’s soothing voice came out of nowhere, “You won’t get in trouble. Right, Twilight?”
Who could say no to that look? That pegasus really knew how to pull off a guilt trip—or did she do it unknowingly? Maybe she was just that cute all the time.
Twilight could only nod mutely. The dragon sighed in blissful relief.
“A couple of weeks back me and Pinkie Pie had planned to do a prank on you, Twilight. We were going to give you this gum that was so sticky you wouldn’t be able to speak in at least a day! Anyway, Pinkie gave it to you and you actually put it in your mouth. You started freaking out and was trying to get somepony to help you, but nopony could understand you! Me and Pinkie were laughing so hard, but we followed you when you went to Fluttershy’s place.
“Out of nowhere, Pinkie asked me, ‘Wouldn’t they be cute together?’ Then I said, ‘Maybe they would.’ After that she asked me, ‘Do you think they could start going out?’ I was like, ‘They probably could.’ Pinkie told me that she’d bet me on it, probably just for the fun of it, but yeah, that’s how it happened…I’m sorry…Pinkie talked me into it!”
“That was on purpose?!” Twilight glared as the baby dragon cowered. “Pinkie just said that it was an accidental mix-up! That was so embarrassing… It took Fluttershy two hours to get that sticky substance out of my mouth!”
The unicorn felt something on her neck and turned slightly to see what it was. The sight quelled her anger instantly—Fluttershy was nuzzling the place between Twilight’s shoulder and neck. It was strange to suddenly be so close to somepony like this, but it was comforting. Twilight liked it.
“Spike said he was sorry, Twilight, can’t you forgive him? I mean, um,” She faltered, “It was nice helping you.”
“…You’re right…” The unicorn gave Spike one last look. He ought to be glad that Fluttershy was there to save him! “The past is in the past, so I forgive you, Spike. You’re bound to make mistakes; I’m not the only one learning about the magic of friendship here. You were there in the library with me the whole time back in Canterlot.”
Fluttershy smiled in approval at them. It was almost as if Twilight and Spike were siblings fighting and Fluttershy, being the parent, had just broken them up. It was a very creepy thought, and the unicorn quickly cast it aside.
“Thanks. Oh! The food!” Spike hurried off to get the table set. The two mares giggled at the sight, and, sure enough, a few minutes later they were eating. Spike had brought out a basket full of apples, apple pie, and some gems for himself. He was slacking majorly tonight. Just what had he been doing while he was 'making' dinner?
On any other circumstances, Twilight would have lectured the baby dragon and made him make a proper meal, but Fluttershy only thanked him and started eating. She didn’t seem to mind in the slightest, so the unicorn didn’t make a big deal out of it.
The apple pie was obviously made by Applejack. There was always that different cinnamon taste in AJ’s pies when compared to the rest of Ponyville. She would always modestly decline those compliments while chuckling and say that Twilight was lying. That earth pony wouldn’t accept praise any more than help on the farm.
The three eating dinner finished shortly, due to the fact it could barely be considered a meal. After a few minutes, Spike excused himself for bed, leaving the two mares to themselves.
“I should probably be getting back to my animals…” Fluttershy shifted slightly in her chair.
“I’ll walk you home.” Twilight was already up and moving to the door before the pegasus could object. The unicorn knew that Fluttershy would try to say that she’d be fine on her own.
“Um…If that’s okay with you…” The yellow mare followed behind Twilight just as she opened the door.
A sharp, cold wind immediately blew in, freezing the unicorn to death. It seemed to bode warning, and Twilight considered calling it a bad omen. “S-So c-c-cold,” she chattered, “If I d-didn’t know any b-better I’d say ‘it must be w-w-winter.’”
Fluttershy stretched out her wings, “I don’t think it’s that cold outside.”
Twilight turned and cast a playful-yet-accusing hoof at the pegasus’s wings, “You have t-those to keep you warm. M-My horn is great for magic, but it doesn’t really help in the f-freezing cold.” Absent-mindedly the unicorn wondered if there was some sort of heating spell already created. Before she went to sleep tonight she’d definitely look for it.
Fluttershy moved next to Twilight and draped as much of her wing onto her as possible. “Does that maybe help a little?” Yes, it did. Those feathers really did do their job wonderfully well. Twilight was overcome with the simple kindness (cold really was her worst enemy—ever since that one play) and did what A Detailed Account of Love from One Bookworm to the Next told her to.
Twilight kissed her. The unicorn felt the pony next to her stiffen from the contact, and she was afraid she had done something wrong—did she read the section detailing what not to do? She was about to break it off and apologize profusely to the probably mortified pegasus, but was surprised when Fluttershy kissed her back.
It was still windy, and terribly cold. Twilight shivered and wondered why Fluttershy had moved her wing off of her.
This was their first kiss—heck, it was Twilight’s first kiss ever! She could’ve jumped for joy at this prospect, but they were still at it. Twilight was sure she was starting to like Fluttershy the way the timid pegasus had expressed her own feelings earlier that day.
It ended all too soon. When the unicorn opened her eyes (when had they closed?) the first thing she noticed was Fluttershy’s blushing, bashful expression. Adorable. The wind blew hard again, and Twilight instinctively slipped an undetected glance to the pegasus’s wings, which were, oddly, upright. Huh?
“Twilight…That was…” Fluttershy spoke even softer than usual.
“B-Breathtaking?” Twilight supplied, still shivering. Why were unicorns so prone to the cold?
“…Yes.”
No more words were exchanged. Fluttershy kept Twilight warm when they began their walk to the pegasus’s cottage. Her wings were rigid at first, but after a few minutes she was able to let one rest on the unicorn’s back.
There weren’t any ponies around town. It was strange not to see one of Pinkie’s parties in full throttle on a Friday night, but the unicorn didn’t think too hard on the subject. That earth pony didn’t have a single grain of logic in her and was, instead, random all the time. It was only reasonable that the party-times be as unsystematic as the pony herself.
Twilight felt a pang of disappointment when they finally did reach Fluttershy’s place. Their first day as a couple would be considered over, and she didn’t want it to end. The unicorn actually wished she had noticed Fluttershy that way sooner so they could have spent more time together. Everypony was right when they said that love was worth the risk. (Why hadn’t she paid attention to Shining Armor when he explained it to her?)
The two mares stopped at the door. Why did there have to be so much wind? Twilight internally cursed it, wishing that Princess Celestia’s gift to Equestria would come up to warm her. The unicorn berated herself for having such ridiculous thoughts—they seemed to be like something Pinkie would wish for.
“I um…guess this is good night…” Fluttershy pawed at the ground with a hoof.
“I suppose so…” Instead of walking all the way back to the library in this freezing cold, Twilight decided that she would teleport as soon as Fluttershy went inside.
“Thank you for walking me home…I’ll see you tomorrow, Twilight.” The pegasus hesitantly gave the unicorn a quick peck on the lips (number two) before nudging the door open.
Twilight beamed in return, already charging up her teleportation spell. This day had easily become the unicorn’s favorite of all time, (except for the day she used magic to hatch Spike) and she was excited to have another just like it. Would all the time she spent with this yellow mare be so exceptional?
“Angel?” There was something scary about that tone, so Twilight cracked her eyes back open. (She always had to close them for the concentration needed for teleportation.) What she saw immediately brought her spell to a standstill, and her heart stopped.
Angel Bunny was lying on the floor, unconscious. His fur was disheveled and a leg was twisted in a way that shouldn’t have been possible.
“A-Angel!”