//------------------------------// // chapter 4 // Story: Unicorn Romance // by Jewel_Eater_Dragon //------------------------------// Twilight sat on one end of the bed, Rarity on the other. Both sat in silence thinking of what had just transpired. The kiss was still fresh in Twilight’s mind. She looked at Rarity, who was now sobbing slightly, her head hung low; tears slowly flowed from her eyes. “So what do we do now?” Twilight said, breaking the silence between them. “I don’t know.” Rarity answered, all the drama absent from her words. “I really don’t know.” She repeated. “Do you want to talk about it? I mean, you have feelings for me, I-“ “I love you Twilight Sparkle. I love you.” Rarity said softly as she tilted her head away from Twilight, her eyes tightly shut. Fear building up inside her. “Oh…” was the only reply Twilight gave as silence once more fell upon the room. “Do you… do you have any… feelings for me Twilight? Any at all?” she asked softly, a mix of fear and hope flooded through her as she sneaked a glance. “I don’t know Rarity. It’s all so sudden. I don’t know what to think.” Twilight admitted. “Then don’t think Twilight,” Rarity almost shouted, pain and hurt so evident in her voice, “Just tell me what’s in your heart.” “I… I… I don’t know Rarity. I really don’t” Twilight tried not to hurt her friend, though she found it hard not to. “I don’t know what I feel for you,” she continues, seeing the tears in her friend’s eyes, “but I do know I care for you. Does that help at all?” “No…” Rarity said flatly. “It does not. I know you care for me, like you and I care for the others, but… “she began to trail off. “Am I just a friend? Or are we… can we be more than just that?” “Rarity…” Twilight began as she slid herself closer. She reached out with her hoof and held up her friend’s face up. Rarity, looking into Twilights eyes, she suddenly lunged forward, wrapping her forelegs around Twilight’s neck, startling her. “I will always love you Twilight, even if you cannot love me the same.” And with that, she climbed down from the bed and headed towards the door. “Rarity, wait! It’s so late now, where are you going?” Twilight yelled as her senses came back to her. Rarity held the door with her magic, looking back at Twilight, “Home Twilight. Home to the solitude and loneliness of my bed.” And with that, Rarity leaves, closing the door behind her. Twilight leaps from the bed, however, in the frantic effort to go after her friend, one of her hind leg gets caught in the blanket, pulling her earthwards. With a crash, she lands head first just off the bed, her haunches and hind legs above her and her head and forelegs lay sprawled on the floor. In front of her lay a parcel that fell out of Rarity’s saddlebags. It was addressed to her. Magically tearing the parcel open, she noticed that there was a matching pair of heart-shaped Amethyst and Diamond collars. There was also a note, “To the one pony who has stolen my heart.” Try as she might, but Twilight could not hold back the tears that began flowing down her cheek. “Rarity!” she calls out as she fumbles against the blankets. Kicking them off, she dashes for the door. As she wrenches the door open with her own magic, she hears a blood curdling scream coming not too far into the forest. “Rarity!” she screams again, as fear clutches her heart. She gallops into the forest, towards the screams, praying to Celestia that she would arrive in time. She hears the screams again, closer this time. She pushes on, her hooves pounding against the ground, mud splashing with every step. Suddenly a branch lashes across her face. She ignores the pain, even as the blood and tears, trickles down her face. Barreling through a bush, the thorns rake against her flesh. Still she pushes on, blood soaking into her fur. Ducking under a branch, she sees a fallen log in her path. Gritting her teeth, she leaps over the log and through the undergrowth, landing at the edge of an open field. There she sees Rarity, covered in mud, lying on her back as she desperately tries to back away from a pack of four timberwolves. Rarity screams again as the timberwolves close in on their prey. She tries desperately to scare them off as she magically throws rocks and twigs at them. However, in her terrified state, she could not muster the power to throw anything heavier than a large pebble. The timberwolves ignore the pitiful assault. By now, the Alpha looms over her, saliva, almost as thick as tree sap, drips from his open maw. Rarity closes her eyes, waiting for the jaws to end her life. The last thing on her mind was Twilight. How she would never see her again. How she would never find out her feeling for her. She sobs pitifully, as she accepts her fate. Suddenly a loud crash erupted just above her, followed by the shrieks of pain coming from her attackers. She opened her eyes to see the Alpha pinned under a large tree trunk, the others, staggering. She craned her neck to look behind her and what she saw sent waves of relief and joy surging through her. Twilight had seen what was about to happen. As the Alpha timberwolf lowered its jaws towards Rarity, Twilight grabbed the fallen tree trunk she had only moments ago leapt over with her magic. The tree trunk glowed with a raspberry coloured hue as it lifted several feet off the ground. And with a mighty shove, Twilight sent the trunk flying, aiming directly towards the terrible creature. Her aim was straight and true as the solid wooden missile slammed into the open maw of the Alpha and barreled its way past the others. While they were still stunned, Twilight then grabbed all four of the timberwolves with her magic, anger and desperation fueling her on, she flung the timberwolves, all four of them as hard as she could towards the other edge of the clearing. They crashed against the trees with a sickening crack. Not wanting to tempt fate, she engulfed Rarity with her magic, unwilling to risk if she was injured or not, and carried her through the forest, back to Zecora’s home. Slamming the door behind her, she carefully laid Rarity onto the large bed. Only when they were safe in the hut did she finally allow herself to collapse, her body exhausted, her magic drained. Other than being muddy, gritty with sap in her mane, Rarity was unharmed. She lay there on the bed, unable to fully grasp what had just transpired. Twilight had braved the woods, fought the timberwolves, to save her. She had cradled her in the warm glow of her magic all the way back to safety. For a moment in time, Rarity felt loved. However, all good feelings faded as she realized that Twilight was lying on the ground, breathing heavily. She turned over onto her stomach, crawled to the edge of the bed and looked at the exhausted purple unicorn. “Twilight, you… you came after me…” Rarity said weakly, her eyes tearing. “Of... huff… course… huff… I did. Huff… I could not… huff… have left you… huff… out there… huff… alone.” It was then Rarity noticed the open package below her. “Oh… you opened the present I made for you.” She blushed slightly, looking away from Twilight as she wiped the tears from her eyes. “Well… huff… it was addressed to me… huff” Twilight answered, grinning sheepishly. Rarity was about to say something when Twilight stood up and raised a hoof. “Rarity,” she began. “I don’t know if I can love you the way you want me to,” she shifted uncomfortably from one hoof to another, “but I care for you, deeply. More now than I previously thought.” Rarity’s heart skipped a beat. “Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease…” her mind raced as the tears threatened to flow once more. “So, if you’d want, maybe… well, just maybe… we can give this relationship… a shot?” Twilight finished, a small smile on her face. All Rarity could do was lie there on the bed. Shock held her there. Her mind raced. Twilight had just about agreed to this relationship. Well, a tryout at least, but it was better than a ‘no’. “Twilight, are you sure? Are you alright with two mares in love?” Rarity asked, suddenly wishing she hadn’t. “I’ve seen pairing in town Rarity, Stallions and mares, both partners’ stallions, and both partners’ mares. And I’ve come to realize, that if you really love somepony, then it’s the pony that’s important. Not necessarily the gender.” Twilight said with a smile as she walked towards Rarity. “Just look at Applejack and Rainbow Dash for example.” “Twilight, you know about them?” Rarity asked, rather impressed by Twilight’s observation. Twilight giggled slightly, “It was kind of hard to miss, especially seeing that they would periodically disappear behind the barn every so often. Celestia knows what they do back there.” Rarity blushed slightly upon hearing that statement. Twilight continued, her voice becoming low, and a little comforting. “And I may not love you as you want me to just yet, but I know I really care for you. And I could not bear the thought of losing you out there.” She tilted her head towards the door. “So you are saying that you are willing to give ‘us’ a shot?” Rarity asked, hoping for the answer she so desired. “Yes.” Twilight said without hesitation. Rarity closed her eyes and laid her head between her hooves. She began to cry as tears of happiness flowed freely down her cheeks. “Oh Twilight, you cannot begin to understand how happy I am right now.” She sat up and raised her hooves towards Twilight, who responded by walking in close to her friend, embracing her in a tight hug. “I love you Twilight Sparkle. Will you come to bed with me?” she asked sweetly. Twilight pulled back and looked at her, unsure what she meant by that. Rarity caught on to the unasked question. “You naughty mare,” Rarity said teasingly, her expression softened as she continued “share the bed Twilight. Just sleep, nothing more… well, maybe just a little cuddling.” Twilight blushed at the thoughts she had now pushed aside and hugged her friend. “Alright, but just cuddling.” she said as she climbed onto the bed. “Oohhh… I’m so filthy.” Rarity moaned suddenly as Twilight sat beside her, realizing that she was covered in mud. “Quite filthy indeed.” Twilight agreed. “Here, I brought along a towel. Let me just wet it a little.” She said as she levitated the towel into the bathroom and dipped it in a bucket of water. Wringing it out, she brought it back to the bed. “Hold still.” She said as she carefully wiped the mud, and sap off Rarity. Soon after, she folded the towel in half and proceeded to clean the mud off herself. “Thank you Twilight.” Rarity said as Twilight tossed the used towel onto the floor. “It’s really late. Shall we?” she continued as she lifted the blanket with her magic. The two Unicorns crawled under the covers, both had mixed feelings of what was about to transpire. Rarity a feeling of excitement and happiness filled her as she finally had someone to banish the loneliness she felt every night. And Twilight, a weird feeling of both uncertainty and comfort seemed to lay over her like a blanket that now covered them both. “Um… would you… um… prefer me to face you, or... um… away from you?” Twilight asked rather nervously. Rarity pulled Twilight close, kissed her lightly on the nose and smiled. Her partner did not resist. “However that makes you feel comfortable.” She replied. “Um… I don’t know. This is the first time I’ve slept with another pony.” Twilight could not help but blush at their close proximity. “Well, if you are a little worried about it, show me your back.” Rarity said. Twilight did as she asked. “Um… what happens now… EEP!” Twilight yelped as Rarity placed her forelegs around Twilight’s chest and pulled her into a hug. “Well Twilight dear, now we sleep. That’s it.” Rarity said as she began nuzzling Twilight’s mane and neck. “Mmmmm…. Twilight, your mane is so soft.” She added as she yawned and closed her eyes. “Goodnight Twilight love.” “Goodnight Rarity.” Twilight replied, a little nervousness in her voice as she too closed her eyes.