//------------------------------//
// Prompt #329-A Novel Idea 
// Story: Ponywatching 
// by ThunderTempest 
//------------------------------//

Prompt #329 - A Novel Idea

“Tight Ship,” growled Thunder Tempest, “Shut up.” And then, grabbing the unicorn by her shoulders, the pegasus pulled her in for a smouldering kiss, bringing a deep blush to her cheeks.

Twilight closed the book with a sharp snap, and sighed.

“Really, Rarity? This is just a cheap romance novel. Why would anypony ever read this?”

“Well, naturally such things are not talked about out in the open, dear. Some ponies like to fantasize, shall we say. But the point is not actually the novel here. It’s the author I wanted you to look at.” Rarity grabbed the book and turned it over in her hooves, and opened the back cover. There, plain as Celestia’s sun in the sky, was a picture of Pinkie Pie with a straight mane and a pair of glasses, though the name underneath was ‘Hidden Desire’.

“So Pinkie Pie wrote a romance novel and got it published. Well, it’s not the strangest thing she’s done,” mused Twilight.

“Not just one, Twilight. I have-I mean I’ve seen nearly a dozen books by this ‘Hidden Desire’. I’m just wondering why she kept this a secret from all of us.” Rarity picked the book back up and replaced it in her saddlebag.

“I’m sure she has her reasons. Maybe it’s just a private little hobby, like your obsession with Caverns and Castles,” explained Twilight, turning back to the stack of books she was reshelving. “We all have them, you know.”

“Twilight Sparkle, you leave my Caverns game out of this! You swore you’d never bring that up again!” exclaimed Rarity, but then she calmed down and thought about it more rationally, “Perhaps you are right. Maybe it’s something simply too embarrassing for her to talk about. I’m sure she has a good reason for not telling us about this.”

Twilight just rolled her eyes at Rarity’s histrionics, and tactfully ignored the unicorns’ defence of her unexpected hobby. “I’m sure if you casually asked her about it in a privately, she might offer some explanation. But sometimes, and especially with Pinkie, you just have to accept these things as they are. Besides,” she continued, finishing off the shelf she had been reorganising, “Does it really matter?”

Rarity looked thoughtful for a minute or two, and then gave a wide smile. “Of course it doesn’t, my dear. So what if Pinkie Pie writes bitstore romance novels? She’s still our friend, after all,” proclaimed Rarity, and with a flourish, she turned around and began trotting out of the library, “I’ll see you later, Twilight.”

Twilight waved to Rarity, gave a sigh, and continued her work.

And all was right with the world again.