//------------------------------// // Chapter 27: Flowers Don't Judge // Story: Green // by Steel Resolve //------------------------------// “Twilight!” a very cheery voice called out to her in the darkness. Twilight stirred from her sleep, looking around for its origin. The owner of that voice should have been several hours away, but logic never seemed to bother her. Indeed, she sometimes suspected logic to be in cahoots with the pink mare. “Pinkie?” “In here!” the voice called again, followed by a giggle. “C’mon, you can find me!” “Where are you hiding...?” Twilight looked around the room, and finally found the source of the voice: it was coming from her mirror. “Pinkie!” “Hi!” The earth pony waved happily from the glass pane. “Are you ready to come home yet?” Twilight shook her head, trying to clear it. She looked again, but against all reason Pinkie was still there, exactly where Twilight’s reflection should have been. “Pinkie! You’re not supposed to be here!” “Pfft! You’re here, so I’m here!” She flashed a wide grin at Twilight. “Come home, Twilight. I miss you.” Twilight shook her head. “I want to, you have no idea how much. But I can’t! I-I’m what’s wrong with us.” Pinkie giggled in the adorable way that had always made Twilight’s heart sing, but now it only brought a sting of pain. “Silly filly, you worry too much. I’ll be fine.” She leaned up against the glass, looking as if she planned to push through it, as if passing through solid glass were no more inconvenient to her than easing into a pool of water. “Here, let me just come through the mirror and you can ask me out again.” “No!” Twilight surrounded the mirror with a forcefield, causing Pinkie to butt her head against it when it blocked her exit. She rubbed her head with a hoof and looked at Twilight in confusion. The unicorn sighed heavily. “That didn’t work the first time, it’s not going to work now. We can’t just pretend and make all our problems go away.” Pinkie brightened at that. “I can pretend really really really hard!” “I-I don’t want you to have to pretend to be happy, Pinkie.” Pinkie looked at the glowing barrier, then pounded a hoof on the glass. “This isn’t funny anymore! You need to come home now. I’ll be fine!” Pinkie began headbutting the glass, causing it and the forcefield to ripple like a pond being struck by a skipped stone. “Pinkie, I can’t. I’m sorry!” She sent another surge of energy into the shield to strengthen it. “Just find somepony else, be happy again.” Twilight sobbed as Pinkie paused in her assault of the mirror. “I-I love you, that’s why I had to let you go. Please just stop. I can’t... I don’t know where I went wrong, and I won’t watch you suffer because of me.” Pinkie again put her hooves up to the glass, renewing her efforts to push through. “Don’t say that! Please don’t say that! I love you too! Just come home, and I’ll be happy, I Pinkie Promise!” Twilight stubbornly held the shield on the mirror. “Go home!” The earth pony stomped a hoof on the glass. “No! Not without you!” Twilight squeezed her eyes shut in pain. “I’m sorry.” She sent a bolt of energy at the mirror, shattering it. The shards covered her floor like glittering gems. “I’m so sorry...” Thousands of voices called out to her from the glass. “Twilight...” Her eyes snapped open and she looked down at the floor in horror; every piece of glass held an image of Pinkie. “No...” Every image was pounding on the face of its shard, trying to get out, but unable to. “Pinkie! I’m sorry!” She tried piecing the mirror together but, try as she might, she could not reform the glass into a single pane. “Just hold on, I’ll get help!” The individual images all put their hooves up to the glass, trying to reach her. Every image spoke in Pinkie’s voice. “I love you!” One by one, the images left the shards, leaving only her own reflection. She woke with a start, sitting bolt upright in her bed. The unicorn looked around frantically, finding her nightstand mirror holding nothing but her own terrified face. She sagged in relief, then laid her head down on her pillow and cried silently. She woke again several hours later, having fallen into an exhausted but thankfully dreamless slumber. Once again she glanced at her mirror, but saw only the reflection of her room in it. Gingerly, she climbed out of bed and approached the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot, her cheeks were puffy, and the pelt around her eyes was matted with her tears. She hated the reflection before her. She hated it for being weak when she needed to be strong. She hated the tears that streamed down from her eyes. But most of all, she hated that reflection for not being Pinkie Pie. Twilight turned away from the mirror in disgust. She needed to make herself presentable, and apologize to the Princess for burdening her with her problems. This was no friendship issue; it wasn’t even properly a love issue. What did Twilight really know about love, anyway? She couldn’t get it right, so she didn’t deserve to have it. But Pinkie... Pinkie deserved all the love in Equestria and more. The thought of Pinkie finding happiness with somepony else filled her with both joy and an immeasurable amount of dread. She wanted to be the one to make the pink pony happy, but she’d screwed it up. Twice. Enough; she’ll be okay. I just need to give her some time to get used to the idea. Twilight nodded tiredly. She had eliminated the error, therefore the equation should correct itself with time. Granted, the division had been painful, but better a clean excision than having to watch their love die because of a flaw in its inception. Pinkie would find somepony new, who could treat her the way she deserved to be treated. She deserves better than somepony who cheated to get her.   After a nice hot shower and a good mane brushing, Twilight finally felt like she could present herself to the world again. She opened the door to her room, nodding in passing to the newly appointed guards stationed there. They smiled at her, but she could see sympathy in their eyes, and she winced inwardly because of it. Nothing quite like a pony pitying you because they heard your early morning yell of horror...  She buried the thought, and the subsequent feelings it brought. She had to maintain her composure around her mentor. Yesterday had been an embarrassing slip for her, and she had to reassure Princess Celestia that she was okay. Reassure her, or yourself?  She dismissed the errant thought irritably. She could do this. It was just breakfast. The Princess would likely ask her if she was ready to talk. She just had to explain that she was all right now. Then she had to go back to her tower and stay there until the urge to run back to the pink mare and beg her forgiveness subsided. There would be time for that later; first the separation had to set in for both of them. Going back now would be too painful. She walked the halls purposefully, nodding and even attempting to smile at each of the guards. There were some new ones she did not recognize, but she smiled all the same. “C’mon, silly filly, I wanna see that grin. I’ll keep tickling you until I see it!”  She choked back a sob and tried to smile again, but her face refused to cooperate. Pinkie!  She stopped and slumped down against a nearby wall. She could do this, she just had to be strong! Going back to Pinkie meant seeing her be sad again, and Twilight loved her too much to do that to her. But... it was okay to cry for a while longer, she supposed. Twilight opened the doors silently, or as silently as she could being that they were giant double doors intended to allow banquet carts in. Her face was composed once more, her eyes were no longer red from crying, and she felt ready to blatantly lie to her mentor about how she was now fine. “Good morning, Twilight.” Celestia nodded to her courteously, gesturing to an empty seat. “Good morning, Princess.” She put up her best fake smile for her mentor. What she hadn’t counted on was her mentor’s sister. “Twilight Sparkle! How art thou this fine morning? Better rested, we hope?” Luna pulled out the seat next to her with her magic. “Sit, please!” Twilight nodded politely, trying to shake the ringing from her ears. “T-thank you, Princess.” She sat down and picked up the first thing she recognized as edible to place on her plate. The two sisters were chatting amiably about some matter of court, although occasionally the discussion made Luna pound the table for emphasis. “Charlatans and thieves, the lot of them! We set down a simple flat tax over a millenia ago; how did it come to this morass of forms and rules?” Twilight remained silent throughout their bantering, using the extra time to come up with viable excuses for those questions she knew they would inevitably ask. Eventually the talk moved onto more agreeable matters, but despite her fears, she was never directly asked about what had happened, or whether she was willing to talk yet. It was almost as if they had other things on their mind, more important things than the life of a single unicorn! She sighed in relief. Maybe she would be okay after all. Neither sister seemed to be meddling in her life without being asked. She was now free to go back to her room and stay there until she felt like she had punished herself enough for her failure. Still, in some tiny, selfish part of her mind, she wished she had been asked. It seemed an awful waste of time to have spent the whole morning worrying over nothing. Her mentor could have at least have had the courtesy to ask about her, so she could use all the wonderful obfuscations she had been devising to deflect those very questions! Maybe they just don’t care...  “—these dreams, Twilight?” Twilight paused mid-chew. “Wha?” She finished the bite quickly. “I’m sorry, Princess Luna. What was that?” Luna looked at her with thinly veiled concern, although it was tinged with a hint of amusement. “We were certain we asked for less formality the last time we spoke at length, Twilight. We... I suppose I am asking for that when I slip into old habits... I don’t mean to pry, but your friend... the Element of Laughter, the one who dressed as a chicken and led the foals...” “What about Pinkie?!” She hadn’t realized she was shouting until the words left her mouth. “Oh! I’m so sorry, Luna...” “‘Tis nothing, we assure you. When mine sister still used the Voice I had to devote a good bit of energy into a constant eardrum regeneration spell.” She chuckled at the memory while Celestia harrumphed good-naturedly. “But yes... Pinkie. Her dreams are normally quite inviting things, if extremely odd. However, she seemed beset by nightmares last night. We normally do not speak of such things to any save the subject themselves, but your own dreams seemed of similar bent this morning. With two of you being so subjected to nightmares, I was concerned that the Elements might all be under attack. Is everything well?” Twilight's breathing hitched, and she took a deep breath to compose herself before replying. "I’m sure it’s nothing... What kind of nightmares was she having?" she asked in a pleasant conversational tone, though her heart was hammering in her throat even as the icy grip of fear squeezed it with unyielding claws. It was taking every bit of mental strength she had left not to break down crying again. Pinkie is having nightmares, because of me—  “That’s the strange thing... She was on an ocean-going vessel, being made to... ‘walk the plank’ I believe its called. Stranger still, the captain of the vessel looked exactly like you.” Twilight’s complete and total breakdown could be heard well outside the dining room. “I am beginning to think you are stalling again, darling. I know this confrontation frightens you, but it wouldn’t do to stand your parents up, would it?” Rarity asked gently of her marefriend, who was busy giving yet another set of directions to the driver of their coach. Fluttershy did not respond at first, perhaps thinking that if she ignored the question it would slink away on its own. After an uncomfortable length of time she turned back to Rarity. “Um...” “You do remember your own parent’s address, don’t you, love?” Fluttershy sighed heavily. She turned and gave an entirely different set of directions to the coachpony, who turned the vehicle around with no small amount of grumbling. The pegasus settled back in her seat, not able to look at her marefriend. Rarity snuggled up to her and kissed her on the cheek. “That’s my brave love.” “I’m... sorry.” “Shhhh, no need. It is nerve wracking, I am well aware. I promise you that no matter what happens, I will still be at your side when we return. But I want their love, just as I have yours. And I am willing to earn the right to be called their daughter... errr, someday,” Rarity finished quickly. “I just...” Fluttershy took a steadying breath. “I want them to like you. Really like you. And my mom doesn’t like anything, ever. I don’t even know if she likes me! I-I want to believe she loves me, but I can’t tell. Oh! That’s so horrible to say! But I love her, and I want her to be p-proud.” They arrived in due time at an unassuming cottage on the outskirts of Canterlot. It was of simple enough design, as were all the others around it. Rarity guessed that these were mass-produced for members of the military that were stationed in Canterlot, away from their families. The thing that made this home stand out was a lush flower garden on either side of the path to the front door. A rather large pegasus was out front watering the flowers, his coat the uniform grey of a storm cloud; Rarity supposed this must be Fluttershy’s father. He... is certainly... The sheer size of him was what stuck out in her mind. He looked like he could easily wrestle a manticore. She began assessing him mentally, taking rough measurements almost by habit. I might have to fit this stallion for a suit at some point, after all. Sisters, I’d be hard pressed to say if he would dwarf Macintosh. His mane was a very aesthetically pleasing silver, and he was wearing some sort of tool belt that obscured his cutie mark. He looked up as their carriage approached, and suddenly Rarity was made aware of whose eyes and smile Fluttershy seemed to have inherited, for the resemblance was unmistakable. For that fact alone Rarity found herself liking this giant of a pony, and hoping he would like her in return. He rushed forward as they got out of the carriage, and picked Fluttershy up bodily. “Shy-shy!” He spun her around in the air, he laughing in a loud, deep voice, she squealing in fillyish glee. Rarely had she seen her marefriend so unabashedly happy, save perhaps for certain private moments. It made her all the more determined to coax that expression from the petite pegasus’s face in the future. When they had finished their father-daughter bonding, he looked at Rarity with evident curiosity. “Well, hello there. You must be Shy-shy’s friend, Twilight Sparkle?” Fluttershy blushed at his mistake. “Um... no, Daddy. This is Rarity.” He blanched suddenly. “Oh gosh, I’m sorry, I knew she had two unicorn friends and I figured I had a fifty-fifty chance. She talks about you, but, well, she never really goes into great detail about how you look...” He looked to the side in embarrassment. “Please, I hope you can forgive the mistake.” Rarity giggled slightly at this huge, imposing giant looking abashed. “Think nothing of it! You must be Silver Lining then. Goodness, Fluttershy had mentioned you were quite handsome, but I had assumed that was merely a daughter’s love for her father. She clearly has as good a taste in stallions as she has in mares.” Silver actually blushed at that, and Rarity was struck again by just how odd that expression looked on this particular pony. It was clearly something she would have to get used to. “Well, my wife always thought so. Everypony else always seemed kinda scared of me.” He shook his head ruefully. “I have to say this is a nice surprise, Shy-shy, you talk about your friends all the time, but this is the first time you’ve brought one by to meet us.” Fluttershy smiled happily. “She’s a really really close friend, Daddy, that’s why I wanted her to meet you. I hope that’s okay...” The large stallion snorted good-naturedly. “Of course it is, Shy-shy. I love meeting your friends. I liked that one you met in flight school... Rainbow Dash? Tough kid, stuck up for you. My kinda pony. But I keep hearing from your mother that you made a bunch more, and I barely know anything about them! I'm glad we can finally do something about that.” He set the watering can down and gestured indoors. “Well, let’s go inside, then.” “—and the whole time, if we’d just talked to one another, she would have known I was as unhappy with her modeling career as she was!” Rarity finished dramatically. “Oh, goodness, I felt so foolish when I finally broke down and told her.” Silver laughed uproariously, smacking his knee with a hoof. “So that’s why you quit? Your mother always wondered about that. You would not believe how she ranted at me about it, as if I had had a hoof in your decision.” There was a flash of some other emotion in his eyes at that moment. Rarity wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. “Um... sorry, Daddy. I never meant to make you two fight...” “Oh no, Shy. It wasn’t a fight. Sometimes your mother just needs to get things off her chest. Kinda like how she felt when you turned down following in her hoofsteps. You showed so much promise, Shy...” He shook his head sadly. “Well, at least you’re happy, right? You can’t let us dictate your life forever.” That flash again. Resentment? Rarity decided she had to be seeing things. He took a sip from his glass, eager to change the subject. “Hey, what happened to your new coltfriend? Did he stand you up or something?” “Um...” There was a long, uncomfortable silence. In all of history, its length had only been rivaled by the silence that fell between the royal pony sisters, shortly after Celestia had commented about how beautiful the night sky was one fine evening. Luna had remarked that she was glad, since she did not intend for it ever to end. This moment came a distant second, but was impressive nonetheless. Rarity noted this with some trepidation. When neither spoke, she finally cleared her throat noisily. “Sir, I believe I should more properly introduce myself. I am your daughter’s marefriend.” The silence continued; when it was finally broken again, it was by Silver Lining. “I... see.” His expression had gone from jovial to quite stricken. “It seems I owe you another apology, miss.” Fluttershy finally found a voice. “Daddy, I’m sorry. I wanted to tell you, but I was nervous—” He flashed her a smile that did not touch his eyes. “Y-you have nothing to be nervous about, Shy-shy. You didn’t do anything wrong.” Fluttershy didn’t seem to notice his odd behavior, and hugged him joyfully. “Thank you, Daddy! I just... I didn’t know how you would feel about— I love her so much, and I was worried you wouldn’t like her.” His expression softened, and he finally hugged her back. “I’m sorry, I do like her, Shy-shy... I-I hope you’ll be very happy together. Um... I should make something to eat, your mother will be home soon.” “Oh, I’ll make us something! You two should sit down and get to know each other some more!” She kissed her father on the nose, having to stand on the tips of her hooves to reach, then skipped into the kitchen. Rarity nodded graciously, watching Fluttershy leave the room. “That sounds like a lovely idea. Please, Mr. Lining, perhaps you can tell me about your daughter’s foalhood?” “Oh yes, we really do need to talk.” She turned, and found Silver staring at her with that same expression he had displayed earlier. “So, marefriend. How exactly did that happen?” She felt a bit uncomfortable with the tone of his voice, but passed it off as his being shocked. He didn’t know Fluttershy even felt that way towards mares, after all.  “Well, we’ve known each other for several years, sir. I’ve had a bit of a crush on her for some time now. I was just worried she didn’t feel the same, so I kept silent.” “How long...” “I’m terribly sorry, how long since what exactly?” She smiled at him, trying not to show how nervous she was. He flared his wings back in a sudden motion, then closed them again. Rarity at first misunderstood the body language. However, in a moment it was clear this was agitation, not arousal, that he was displaying. Rainbow Dash had similar reactions when she was upset. “Why?” Rarity looked at him in concern; she wasn’t sure what was going on, but this meeting did not seem to be going well at all. Looking at the kitchen door hopefully, she decided that perhaps they needed a mediator. I should ask Fluttershy to come back.  “Sir, I think I should go help Fluttershy in the kitchen. I am really very sorry to have dropped this on you so suddenly.” “Wait!” She turned, and found herself facing an entirely different stallion than the one who had spun his daughter around and laughed happily. “What do you think you’re doing with my daughter?” This was an entirely unexpected reaction, as was the cold way in which the stallion, who had seemed so very friendly, now regarded her. The question took her off guard badly.  “Excuse me?” The stallion glowered down at her. “I didn’t stutter. I asked what you think you’re doing. What did you do to her?” Rarity put a hoof to her breast. “Do to her? Sir, I love her! And if you had listened just now you would have heard her tell you she feels the same for me!” He drew back his upper lip in distaste. “Oh, I’m sure she thinks she does. I have no doubt you told her the same. Maybe you even meant it. Well, if you think I’m going to stand by while some pony like you swoops in— ” “Daddy?” They both turned. Fluttershy had a pan in one hoof, and the doorknob in the other. “I-I needed some sage... Do you know where—” To his credit, in his daughter’s presence, he had the decency to look apologetic. “Shy... I never meant for you to hear—” “I-I’ll be in the kitchen...” She walked back inside, looking stunned and saddened. Silver watched her leave, pain etched in his expression. He turned back to Rarity. “Look what you made me do!” “What I—” Rarity stood up straighter and glared at the stallion. “All I ever wanted to do is love your daughter! I had hoped to have your love as well, because you are important to her, and by extension, to me!” She poked a hoof into his chest. “You were the one being hateful.” He backed away from her glare and her hoof, finally stopping when his rump hit the wall and staring back at her incredulously, his voice rising in volume in his anger. “How dare you! You come to my home, tell me you’re dating my daughter, and have the guts to say I’m being hateful?” She glared right back at him, refusing to be intimidated. “Yes, hateful. You should be ashamed, sir! Your daughter told me you were a nice stallion, and I quite believed her. You were kind and courteous when you believed I was her friend, and the moment you found out what I truly was to her you treat me like some villain who has corrupted her! Shame on you!” Silver opened his mouth several times, on each occasion closing it without saying anything. When he did finally speak again, he was no longer shouting, but his voice was very cold. “You don’t have the right... I raised her, I took care of her when she was sick. She needs somepony to be there for her. Somepony to be strong when she is weak and helpless. Not some prissy little thing like you.” Rarity stared for a moment, unable to believe what he had just said. “Prissy little... I’ll have you know I could mop the floor with—” The fashionista took a deep breath. The shouting had ended for the moment, that was a small victory, but she still wanted to salvage this meeting that had gone so horribly wrong. She couldn’t do that by giving into her frustration, justified as it was. “Sir, I realize I am not what you expected. But love doesn’t always come in the form you were looking for. I found out recently that your daughter felt strongly for me for many years before it even occurred to me to look in her direction with that in mind. What would you have me do? Shall I leave her heartbroken to satisfy your notion of what should be?” He did not answer for some time, but the look in his eyes spoke volumes. This was a stallion at war with himself, and words alone would not end that battle. “Just... don’t talk to me.” He turned and went into the kitchen to check on his daughter. Rarity stared after him, uncertain whether to follow or not. She finally elected to go back outside; suddenly this house seemed very uninviting. The garden, however, was bright and friendly. The flowers were having no issues about who should be allowed to pollinate whom, it seemed. She slumped down in front of the flowerbed, loudly exclaiming to nopony in particular, “How did this go so horribly wrong?!” The flowers in the garden refused to respond, leaving her alone when she so desperately needed an answer. Still, she was grateful for the silence. At least the plants did not resent her for being what she was. “Daddy, please...” Silver snorted in irritation. “Don’t. Just... don’t. I can’t. I won’t!”  “But Rarity didn’t do anything... I kissed her, Daddy. S-she needed me. She loves me.” Fluttershy’s voice fell on the last sentence. She’d been pleading with him to make up with Rarity for several minutes now, and was making no headway. She’d never expected this from her father, and it hurt her badly to see two ponies she loved not getting along. “Oh, I’m so sure she does. I bet she just pleaded her way into your b-bed. Smooth as silk, I have no doubt. I just can’t believe after all this time, after I worried about some colt sweet-talking you into something you weren’t ready for, it was a mare that did it.” He slammed a hoof down on the counter. “You know, I was happy to hear you’d made so many mare friends. I figured they’d protect you from the wrong type of pony.” The pegasus mare let out the choked sob that she’d been holding in for some time now. Silver looked up in alarm. “Shy-shy, it’s not your fault, honey! You’re so nice to everypony, I’m sure you just couldn’t help yourself. But it’s not right, Shy! Who’s gonna watch out for you? She can’t do that; you need a big strong stallion that can stand by you, not some weak little thing like that... unicorn.” Fluttershy just looked at him sadly. “She’s not weak. She’s one of the strongest ponies I know.” Silver either ignored her words or simply had no response to them. “This is because of those bullies, isn’t it? I wanted to go beat their flanks and both you and your mother said I shouldn’t. Shy-shy, not all stallions are like that! I’ll help you find a nice one. He’ll be kind and gentle and everything you could want!” “I-I don’t want a nice stallion, Daddy, I want my Rarity.” Fluttershy gave him a pleading look, which he quickly looked away from. She let out a small sigh. “I just want you to give her a chance. Is that too much to ask?” The silence in the room at that moment said more than Silver ever could. Rarity, her face a picture of dejection, sat in the front yard contemplating the beauty of the flower garden, in a fruitless attempt to distract herself from the argument she could clearly hear going on inside. It was breaking her heart to hear Fluttershy’s pleading words fall on deaf ears. This was a mistake. I never should have expected any different. Being a fillyfooler carried no real stigma in Ponyville, as she’d quickly found out herself. In a town with such a low male population it was almost expected. Canterlot and Cloudsdale, on the other hoof, were still very traditional with respect to relationships. It was actually something she’d worried about when dating Snow — that it might ruin her professionally — until she’d found out that Hoity Toity was a coltcuddler and Photo Finish was a fillyfooler. But then, the fashion industry could be expected to be on the cutting edge of all things. The city as a whole, however, adhered to the standards of the Canterlot elite. And those ponies, while their family trees were suspiciously bereft of branches in some cases, very much favored stallion and mare partnerships, and frowned on anything but. “They’re nice to look at, aren’t they?” Rarity turned in alarm at sound of the quiet voice. At first she was convinced Fluttershy was behind her, but she quickly realized this mare was years older, though no less striking physically. “They are! I’m more fond of roses myself, but these are lovely.” Pleasantries having been observed, the logic centers of her brain kicked into gear. It’s her... “Terribly sorry, mademoiselle. You are Posey, I presume?” The mare was looking past her at the garden, and did not respond right away. “You presume correctly. Should I guess your name, then?” The fashionista blanched at the faux pas. “My most sincere apologies, I am Rarity. I’m actually here to meet you.” Posey swept her gaze to Rarity, and suddenly the fashionista knew how her clients must feel when she was eyeing them for a new outfit. “Hmmm, fit. Well groomed. You’d look good in uniform. Did you want to sign enlistment papers now or should I tell you more first?” “N-no, mademoiselle, I am not here to enlist!” Idiot, why would she know you are here to meet her as Fluttershy’s marefriend? Her father was clearly expecting a colt.  “Pity. Unicorn recruitment is down, and we can always use more combat casters. So then, you’re not here to see Sergeant Posey. What can Posey the civilian do for you?” She pointed at her flower garden meaningfully. “Perhaps you needed gardening tips?” A very small smile graced the other mare’s mouth for just a moment. Rarity actually snorted in laughter for a moment before she caught herself. “Oh dear, I am having the worst difficulty with first impressions today! My apologies again, madam. I don’t mean to disparage your gardening skills, and I would love to talk at length with you about them at some point. I’m actually here with your daughter. I am her—” She hesitated; brief as this meeting had been, she was already growing to like this mare. The fact that she so resembled her daughter, or rather the other way around, did not hurt. But mostly it was the wry sense of humor she’d just displayed, and the no-nonsense way she carried herself. However, if her husband’s reaction was any indication, any goodwill she had with Posey would evaporate the moment she revealed she was dating the mare’s daughter. “—friend! Yes, Fluttershy and I are very close friends and she wanted me to meet you.” “Friend...” Posey looked over the unicorn in a different light now. “Yes... the dressmaker. She speaks of you often when I visit. I had you pegged as more of a frail thing... Hmmm. Well, good to meet you then. I take it my daughter is inside?” “Well, yes, but she and your husband are in a bit of a tiff at the moment over... something, and they needed some privacy. I hate to impose, but could you and I possibly go somewhere so we might chat while they work it out?” Rarity smiled her very best ingratiating smile. The older pegasus looked at her coolly, clearly not impressed by the display, but just as Rarity was beginning to give up hope she nodded slowly. “Fine, I have an office I maintain nearby for paperwork and recruitment drives. We’ll give them some time to work things through.” “Oh, thank you, mademoiselle!” Rarity fought an urge to hug her right then and there. Perhaps if she had a moment to really get to know Posey, and vice versa, she might have a chance with at least one of Fluttershy’s parents. She gestured for Posey to lead on. Oh! I bet she has some wonderful stories! She still felt cheated that she’d missed out on tales of her love in her foalhood. Blast you, Silver. You could have at least chatted a bit before blowing up like that. So much for civility. She let that thought lie for the moment; she didn’t care to be angry right now, it would be rude to Posey. “Tell me, what was your daughter like as a foal? I really only had a chance to know her as an adult. Was she always so adorable?” "Twilight?" Celestia gently nudged the softly sobbing unicorn with her wing. "Can you please tell us what's wrong?"  Twilight would eventually snap out of it, but for the moment she remained unresponsive. Luna had long since sent their kitchen staff away, and they were patiently trying to cajole the distressed unicorn into talking with them. “Really, Luna, you had to ask her about a nightmare of all things? Do you have any idea how badly upset she was yesterday?” Celestia gently held Twilight as the other mare wailed into her chest, looking at her sister with barely-disguised annoyance. “No, actually, I didn’t know. I was sleeping at the time. Please excuse me for having a different schedule than the rest of the world!” Luna rolled her eyes at Celestia. “I was concerned for her safety and that of her friends, of course I was going to ask about it. Would you care to fill your  sister in on whatever you might know about our Twilight’s problem?” "I..." Celestia paused and looked down at the wailing unicorn. "I don't know what the problem is." “What’s this?” Luna raised an eyebrow with just a hint of disbelief. “Surely such a thing does not just occur out of the blue? Have there been no friendship reports that might shed some light on the subject?” Celestia leveled her gaze at Luna and frowned slightly. “Sister, I apologize for suggesting you might in some way magically know that day court was interrupted when Twilight showed up... breaking through several of the castle's wards, I might add. But there has been enough talk about it that you could have found out some other way. There's no need to be rude.” “Well, I was... busy... last night, visiting a friend. I certainly thank you for your apolo — wait, she did what now?” Celestia ran a hoof gently over Twilight’s mane. “She...  never mind, just come here a moment.” Celestia looked down at Twilight and gave her a gentle squeeze before offering her horn to Luna, who in a practiced fashion touched it with her own. In a flash Luna saw the events from Celestia’s perspective, up to the moment her sister had left the unicorn sleeping in her bed. “There, do you see now?” Luna nodded, nearly as distraught as Twilight looked. “My poor Twilight, what possessed you to leave a lover forlorn?” Twilight’s sobbing had not diminished. In fact, it seemed she was determined to disappear entirely under Celestia’s wing if it was at all possible. The Princess of the Night pursed her lips thoughtfully. Twilight had not entered the room crying; Luna’s question about the dreams had set this off. She wished now that she had looked in on Twilight’s dream as she had Pinkie’s. Unfortunately, she had been searching the dreams of the other four, and had missed Twilight’s nightmare until she woke from it very jarringly. When Twilight had gone back to sleep Luna had placed her in a dreamless state, in order to provide more rest than she had gotten during her troubled night. Now she nearly wished she had allowed the unicorn to dream again, realizing that Twilight’s dream might have helped her to know what was causing her distress. Wait...  Of course! The crying had begun after she had mentioned Pinkie’s dream... Twilight was the one forcing her off the ship. The imagery had confused her, but with the context her sister had provided, it all clicked into place. “Twilight, the mare whose heart you broke... Were you dating Pinkie Pie?” The sobbing stopped as Twilight’s head snapped up in alarm. “W-we’re not—” Gotcha. Luna nodded in triumph. Now she was getting somewhere. “Twilight?” Celestia was looking down at her now. Twilight turned her head to face her mentor’s eyes, then looked away from the confused and slightly hurt look in them. Celestia sighed heavily. “My poor, heartbroken student. I had hoped you could tell me anything that was bothering you. Was it too much to tell even me?” “Be not so harsh with her.” Luna’s eyes had softened, recalling all the many crushes and loves of her long life. Still, however many loves a pony had, each only ever had one first time. “Assuredly, her first love felt a bit too important to discuss in such a manner. Is that not so, Twilight?” The unicorn was silent at first, but Luna was glad to see that the tears had ended. Twilight spoke at last, though very haltingly. “She... I didn’t know what to do. She was so confusing, bouncy, adorable... I wanted to tell her how she made me feel.” “I would have been happy to talk to you at length about how to court her, Twilight...” Celestia trailed off sadly. “Tia, not now. Let her speak.” Celestia glared daggers at her sister, but nodded in acquiescence. “What happened?” Twilight sobbed again, but continued after a moment. “I messed it all up. I couldn’t find anything in the library about how to say it. It was all useless stuff about flowers and restaurants and all of it was written for stallions trying to date mares, or for mares being courted by stallions. It didn’t seem right. Then I found an entry in the ‘Complete Egghead’s Guide to Romance’ that mentioned rules of etiquette for ‘friendship with benefits’—” Luna had been listening with her head resting on her hooves; she loved hearing about the first stirrings of love. At the mention of the book’s title, however, her eyes lit up. “Oh! I’ve read that one!” Celestia looked at her in shock. Luna smiled back at her, winking.  “What? It’s a perfectly valid lifestyle. Since rejoining pony society I have found myself with certain urges that badly needed fulfilling after a long time spent living solitarily! I’m not quite ready for a proper consort, but I have found several discreet friends with whom I spend my nights.” The Princess of the Sun nodded carefully, eyes still wide in shock. “Yes, well, I’m... happy to hear you’ve acclimated to modern dating practices so well, Luna. I certainly hope the press never catches wind of the stallions—” “And mares,” Luna interrupted, grinning. “Oh, and a griffon! Feisty thing she is—” “Thank you for clarifying... but while that is valid for somepony who isn’t ready for love, it’s probably a bad choice of methods to start things off with somepony you want to have a more meaningful relationship with.” Luna tapped a hoof to her chin. “Well, I don’t know about that. Certainly, it’s not the ideal way to go about it. The more traditional methods of courting were, after all, designed to allow you to get to know one another prior to actually having intimate relations... but it’s not impossible to transition, it just presents certain challenges.” Twilight had been watching their exchange in growing confusion; she was learning things about Luna she wasn’t certain she wanted to know, but this last statement made her sit up from Celestia’s embrace and demand clarification. “You know a way to go from casual to a proper relationship?” “Well, yes. It’s not so much different than asking a friend to be your mate. You already care for one another, you just need to talk it through and be honest about what you need. Having casual relations with a friend is less about emotional needs and more about the physical, but that does not negate the feelings you already have for one another.” Twilight nodded sadly. "I... I was selfish. When I found that book, I thought it was the easiest way to get what I wanted. But when I realised it wasn’t just a crush, that I loved her, I got so scared." She swallowed a few times, trying to get her heart to vacate her windpipe. "I don't know what happened... she always enjoyed our playtimes. But I..." She choked back a sob. "Lately, I could see it in her eyes... I was just hurting her." “Playtimes?” Celestia shook her head in mild disapproval. “Twilight, we’re all mares here, it’s okay to say what you mean.” Twilight refused to be distracted, her whole demeanour seeming hopeful for the first time since arriving. “It’s much more literal in our case.” She sat up straight and held her head high. "I broke it off so Pinkie could find somepony she could really be happy with." She shook as the tears again rolled from her eyes.  "I just... I just wished I could have been the one to make her happy. But maybe now... if you help me, maybe I can be! Princesses, please, let me explain everything. If you can help me get her back... Oh please, help me!” Their discussion went on for some time. Celestia listened intently, trying not to blush. She was fairly certain she’d tried just about everything two ponies could do together in the bedroom by this point in her very long life, but it seemed Twilight was fairly inventive in her loveplay. Luna, meanwhile, had acquired a notepad and quill. Her next session with one of her friends was going to be memorable.