Equestria Girls 01: Friendship Is Creepy

by DragonShadow

Friendship Is Creepy

It was her favorite kind of day. A wonderfully normal, quiet day in the library, where all the knowledge of the ages could be found, if one knew where to look. Knowledge and entertainment wrapped up in concise, organized bindings on pages both new and old. A place where anything could be found, from wisdom to entire worlds that one could only dream about finding. Seeing the people walking back and forth, enjoying the numerous books meticulously sorted for easy finding… well, it was what made Twilight Sparkle get up in the morning.

With a satisfied sigh Twilight turned away from the library with a nod and a wave towards her boss. “I’ve gotta head home now, I’ll see you tomorrow Mr. Starswirl.”

“Take care of yourself, Twilight.” Starswirl waved back with a kind nod, his long, gray beard scraping against the counter in front of him with every move of his wizened head.

“I will, thank you.” Twilight smiled and pushed her way outside, only to be met with a peculiar sight.

On the other side of the street was a strange girl with the messiest hair she’d ever seen in her life, not to mention the pinkest. The messy pink hair wasn’t the strange part though. The strange part was that she was staring straight at Twilight with a steady, unblinking gaze.

Twilight could only stare back with wide confused eyes, until the girl’s eyes widened in surprise and she whirled away to vanish down the street in a fast sprint. Twilight could only stare after her as a cold chill crept down her spine. That had to be the single creepiest thing that ever happened to her. She had half a mind to let her brother know about it, but she supposed it had only been momentary, and she really had no logical reason to be worried. So with a half-hearted shrug Twilight Sparkle went home.

The next few days passed without much note; her days were mostly filled with studying and her part-time job at the library, just like always. Books day in and day out, and that was the way she liked it. Still, sometimes Twilight was sure she caught glimpses of pink locks of hair flitting by just on the edge of her vision on her way to and from the library. She couldn’t get a solid look though, so she let it go as just her imagination playing with her over that creepy incident a few days ago. Worrying about something that probably wasn’t there would be completely illogical.

Of course, when that thing was most definitely there, staring at her with a strange twinkle in her eyes as Twilight emerged from the library once again, it was no longer illogical to freak out just a little and bolt toward her house as fast as her spindly legs would take her.

“Twilee?” Her older brother, Shining Armor, whirled in surprise as Twilight threw herself into the house, slamming the door behind her. He was already wearing his midnight blue police uniform, but hadn’t yet left for work. “Are you okay?”

“Yes! No!” Twilight panted. “I don’t know, I think this girl has been following me around town for days!”

“You think?” Shining Armor raised an eyebrow curiously.

“Well, I’ve only seen her twice! But she was staring straight at me both times, like… like she was studying me!” Twilight pushed away from the door to peer out the nearby front window.

“You’ve seen a girl look at you twice.” Shining Armor’s expression lowered slightly.

Twiight looked up at him in surprise. “N-no! Well, yes! But I’ve seen pink… I think… a lot of pink just, like, out of my eye it was-“

“Twilee, please, listen to me.” Shining Armor placed two powerful, but comforting hands on her shoulders. “I know you prefer to be alone with your studies… you’re just that kind of girl, and I respect that. But you can’t get so lost in those books that you start seeing other people as scary. They’re not, those people out there are just like you, living their everyday lives and going about their business.”

“Y-yes, I realize that.” Twilight nodded. “B-but-“

“And if someone looks at you, it’s not a bad thing. Maybe they’re curious and want to meet you, or maybe it’s just a coincidence they’re looking in your direction when you turn around.” Shining Armor gave her a broad, comforting smile and moved back just slightly. “If you do have reason to suspect that someone is doing something untoward, you have my number. You know you can call me any time you feel threatened, alright?”

As her logical mind absorbed all of her BBBFF’s advice, Twilight finally began to calm down once again, her breath returning to a more normal rhythm as she returned his smile. “Okay… okay yeah, you’re right about everything… sorry.”

“Hey, don’t sweat it.” Her brother told her as he pulled his police cap off of the hook by the front door. “You know it couldn’t hurt to meet some people too… not that you have to, but it couldn’t hurt.”

“I’ll think about it…” Twilight flashed her big brother a smile before he gave her a wink and turned to head out, closing the door softly behind him.

Of course he was right. So some girl looked at her. Twice. It could have been a coincidence, Twilight just happened to be where she was looking at that particular point in time. It was unlikely perhaps, but far from impossible. Yeah, as always Shining Armor was the voice of reason in her life. She didn’t know where she’d be without his guidance and teachings.

With her mind at ease, Twilight turned to head into the living room to find a nice, relaxing-hey was that a lock of pink hair in the window?

After staring hard for several minutes Twilight finally tore her gaze away from the window to head towards the bookshelf. No way, she was working herself up over nothing. Shining Armor was right, she was just some girl Twilight had seen twice by coincidence, and who knew if she’d ever see her again…

___

A few more days passed without incident, and though she was sure there was a lock of pink hair following her around every now and again, she’d largely calmed herself down. Her brother had been totally right, as always, she thought to herself with a calm smile. It was all her own hyperactive imagination messing with her. Of course some girl she didn’t know wouldn’t start stalking her around town for no reason out of nowhere. What could she possibly even want? What kind of sick, crazy, demented person would do something like that? And what would they have planned if they did… come get her… one of these days… when she couldn’t possibly see it coming…

“Twilight!” A sudden voice nearly made Twilight leap clean off of the ladder she was perched on in front of a row of bookshelves, clinging to it with both arms to keep from tumbling to the floor far below. “Whoa! Easy there!” With deep breaths, Twilight looked down the ladder at one of her coworkers, Moon Dancer, standing with a bright smile beside the ladder.

“Ahehe… s-sorry Moon Dancer, you kind of caught me while I was thinking.” Twilight blushed while she waited for her heart to stop pounding.

“Mr. Starswirl has warned you about daydreaming at the top of ladders Twilight, you could fall!”

“I know, I know! I’ll be careful!” Her heart finally slowing to a more normal beat, Twilight made her way carefully down the ladder to the carpet. “So, what’s on your mind?”

“Well my birthday is in a couple of days, and I was wondering if you wanted to come to the party.” Moon Dancer pulled a sheet of paper out of her backpack and held it out to Twilight, who took it to read it curiously. “It’s just gonna be a quiet thing. A few close friends, just hanging out and having fun. What do you say?”

“Oh, that sounds like fun, but I really have a lot of studying to do that night.” Twilight smiled apologetically.

Moon Dancer stifled a sigh. “Of course you do Twilight. You’re always looking towards the future, right?” She flashed a subdued, almost sad-looking smile. “The invite’s open if you change your mind.” Moon Dancer turned to walk quickly away through the library, leaving Twilight holding the invitation between her hands.

It wasn’t the first time Moon Dancer had invited Twilight to a party. In fact she’d been doing it since they met here at the library two years ago. Birthdays, holidays, every reason to have a party someone could think of. Thinking back, Twilight couldn’t remember ever actually going to one either. It wasn’t that she hated Moon Dancer or anything, she just didn’t really know her, and she really did have a lot of studying to do. She wasn’t sure she could live with herself if she let her grades slip because she was too busy partying.

Carefully folding the invitation to stick it into one of her shirt pockets, Twilight turned to make her way back toward the front of the store, but stopped cold at the sight of a familiar messy pink head of hair at the main counter. The nearby bookshelf gave Twilight cover as she peered out with wide eyes, watching the girl speak to her boss. What was she doing here of all places? There was no way this was a coincidence, she had to know Twilight worked here.

When Mr. Starswirl rose from his seat to lead the girl toward the ‘sales’ section behind Twilight she squeaked and ducked back a bit further, to where she could peer through the rows of books at the girl as she approached. It was the closest look Twilight had gotten of the girl, and seeing her approach, she started to question if maybe she was overreacting after all. Her big, baby blue eyes were sparkling with a barely-constrained giddiness, and there was a wide, happy smile spread across her lips.

As the girl passed the bookshelf she slowed to a stop, then Twilight’s heart nearly clogged her throat when she suddenly whirled to look at her with a powerful, intense expression. Without even thinking Twilight bolted for the far side of the bookshelves, darting around the corner to make her way towards the small coffee shop built into the side of the building.

Moon Dancer looked her over from behind the counter as she entered, staring at her with a curious expression and a coffeepot held in one hand. “Um, yeah, I don’t think you need any coffee today.”

“Eeep!” Twilight squeaked when she looked back out the small window on the door, seeing the girl with the messy pink hair approaching the coffee shop door. Twilight lurched forward, sprinting to dive behind the counter between Moon Dancer’s legs.

“Gah! Twilight, what in the-“

“She’s coming!” Twilight exclaimed.

“She?” Moon Dancer looked toward the door curiously while Twilight peeked up over the wooden counter just enough to peer suspiciously at the entrance, but several minutes passed without a sound from the door. “I don’t think anyone’s coming Twilight.”

“But I saw her! She was following me!” Twilight sank back down behind the counter as if she had just burst into the room.

“Who was following you?”

“I don’t know, some girl with a crazy look in her eyes! I think she’s been following me for a while now!” Twilight panted, leaning back against the counter.

“Hey, Twilight, calm down.” Moon Dancer set the coffeepot on the counter to kneel down in front of her, placing her comforting hands on her shoulders. “There’s nobody after you, I promise.”

“I saw her coming this way!” Twilight protested. “The fact that she didn’t come in probably just means she knew you were here and she didn’t want to be caught following me! She’s probably waiting out there!”

“Um… yeah, maybe.” Moon Dancer flashed Twilight a comforting smile. “Hey, will it make you feel better if I go out there with you? We can see if she’s still there together.”

“R-really?” Twilight looked up in surprise.

“Yeah, it’ll only take a second. Come on.” Taking her hand with a gentle grip, Moon Dancer pulled Twilight out from behind the counter to approach the coffee shop entrance with her. Twilight pulled at her hand nervously, but was ignored as she was led through the door, out into the library proper. All seemed quiet, with people going about their business, and Mr. Starswirl was just moving back into his position behind the counter, but-

“Gah! There she goes!” Twilight pointed at the front entrance just as a piece of pink fluffy hair vanished outside. “She just ran out the door! She saw us coming out together and ran, that proves she’s up to no good!”

“What? I didn’t see anything.” Moon Dancer approached the front door to look outside through the glass, back and forth down the street. “I don’t see anything strange Twilight.”

“I saw her!” Twilight threw the door open and stepped outside, but Moon Dancer was right. The girl was already gone. “She ran! She ran away as fast as she could, that proves she’s guilty!”

“Guilty of what?” Moon Dancer asked.

“Stalking me!” Twilight exclaimed. “She keeps coming to the library to find me! I’ve seen her hovering around looking at me three times now!”

“I think you need some rest Twilight,” Moon Dancer told her worriedly. “You’ve been hitting the books extra hard lately.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” Twilight demanded. “I know what I’ve been seeing, and it’s not my imagination!”

Moon Dancer raised her hands as if to silence her. “Your shift ends in thirty minutes anyway, I’ll tell Mr. Starswirl you’re not feeling well, so you can go home and get some rest.”

“B-but you have to believe me! She was here!” Twilight insisted.

“I do believe you.” Moon Dancer gave her a reassuring smile. “I just also think you look tired.” With a wink she turned to open the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow, okay?”

“Y-yeah…” Twilight sighed in defeat. “Thanks…”

“Don’t mention it. What else are friends for?” With that Moon Dancer walked inside, letting the door swing closed behind her.

“Yeah…” With a deep sigh and a hand on her head Twilight turned to make the walk back towards her house. She suddenly wasn’t feeling very well at all… but she was still careful to keep watch for any sign of pink hair.

___

Twilight didn’t even bother attending the local high-school; her parents had agreed it would be best for her to learn at her own rapid pace, so years ago they’d hired her a part-time babysitter, part-time tutor named Mi Amore Cadenza, which little Twilight had quickly shortened to simply ‘Cadence’. Twilight didn’t need babysitting anymore, but she was still the best tutor she could imagine. Even when Twilight wasn’t at her best, she was always patient until she started to understand.

Well, she was patient when she was actually trying, anyway.

“Okay Twilight… you’re seriously not focusing.” Cadence’s voice was harsher than usual, yanking Twilight’s gaze away from her kitchen window to look into her eyes in surprise.

“Wh-what do you mean? I always pay attention, I promise!” Twilight objected.

“Then explain this.” Cadence tapped her finger patiently on the paper in front of Twilight, drawing her attention to her current math equation. She noticed instantly that she’d carried one too many numbers in one section and ended up messing up the entire equation.

“Oh my gosh…” Twilight whipped her pencil around to erase the offending numbers. “I am so sorry, I can get it right, really!”

“I know you can, when you’re not seriously distracted.” Cadence placed a gentle hand over Twilight’s, holding it down firmly against the book until Twilight lifted her eyes again. “Is there something wrong that you need to talk about?”

“Something wrong?” Twilight looked away quickly, almost guiltily. “Nothing I’d want to trouble you with…”

Cadence squeezed Twilight’s hand softly. “You know you can talk to me about anything, Twilight. I’m here to help you, as a tutor and as a friend. So please, if there’s anything on your mind, you can talk to me about it.”

Twilight looked away for a moment, then heaved a deep sigh. She had never been able to keep things from Cadence for long. “Everyone thinks I’m crazy… but I swear there’s this girl following me around at the library.” She shook her head. “I don’t know, maybe I am crazy, but it seems like lately I’ve been seeing her around, and she’s always looking at me. I don’t know what she wants!”

“Hmm… have you tried asking her?” Cadence asked with an understanding smile.

“Asking her? Well… I… no.” Twilight shook her head. “I mean she’s practically stalking me, what if she takes me away and tries to murder me or something?”

“Do you really think she wants to do that?” Cadence asked. “You said you’ve only seen her at the library, right? It’s not exactly an unpopulated place. She’d have a hard time getting away with it. Besides, maybe she just went there to check out some books and saw you there.”

“Well… yes, that’s true, but still what if she tries? What if she has some kind of poison she can slip me discreetly while we’re talking? I can’t do anything about that! She could-“ Twilight stopped when she looked at her old babysitter, who was watching with a gentle, concerned smile. “You think I’m crazy too, don’t you…?”

“Of course not.” Cadence shook her head. “I think you’re a special girl with her own way of doing things.”

Twilight huffed and folded her arms. “That was Shining Armor talk for ‘you’re crazy’ too.”

With a giggle Cadence moved around the table to give her a soft, comforting hug. “You’re not crazy, you’re scared and confused. You’re having an experience you’ve never had before, and for someone like you, someone so… ordered and structured, that can be a scary thing.”

“An experience?” Twilight huffed again, though she couldn’t help but be comforted by the embrace of her old babysitter. “Being stalked is an experience now?”

“Having someone take an interest in you is.” Cadence smiled as she pulled away from her. “I want you to promise me something… the next time you see her, I want you to march right up to her and say hello.”

“What!? What if she’s dangerous!?” Twilight demanded.

“Then you can walk away and call the police.” Cadence smiled smoothly. “You’ll be in a populated area, she can’t do anything to you with dozens of witnesses.”

“I already disproved that…” Twilight grumbled.

“Just promise me Twilee, please. As a personal favor.”

“Fine… I’ll think about it.” Twilight finally conceded, though she wasn’t happy about it.

“Thank you.” Finally Cadence released her fully to move around to the other side of the table. “Now, maybe we can focus on your studies if you’re feeling better?”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Twilight replied with a smile, though she certainly wasn’t feeling better. Still, she wasn’t about to let her personal problems get in the way of her studies. That was the last thing she’d ever want.

___

Suddenly Twilight’s normal life was beginning to spin out of control, at least in her own mind. The two most important people to her, Shining Armor and Cadence, were both telling her she was basically crazy, and she had this peculiar pink-haired girl showing up at random to follow her around the library. Even now two days later Twilight could barely round a corner without taking a small peek ahead just to make sure that girl wasn’t waiting in the shadows somewhere. Not only that but she was seeing that pink hair just on the edge of her vision more than ever. It was like she was following everywhere Twilight went, but that wasn’t even logically possible. Was it? Everyone thought Twilight was going crazy, maybe she was going crazy in thinking she was wrong about that girl being able to follow her everywhere.

“Twilight?”

Twilight yelped and nearly leapt straight into the bookshelf before whirling to see Mr. Starswirl standing behind her with a worried look on his face.

“Twilight, your shift ended over an hour ago.”

With a gasp Twilight looked toward the front of the store, where she saw the darkening orange light of the sun fading slowly from outside. She was supposed to be off at five…

“Oh my gosh… I’m sorry Mr. Starswirl, I just don’t know where the time went.” Twilight lifted a hand to her head.

“It’s okay, just go home and get some rest, alright? I’ll see you in the morning.” Mr. Starswirl smiled and turned to head back towards the front of the library.

With a sigh and a mumbled goodbye Twilight headed for the door and gripped the handle, but stopped before she could push it open. The sun was almost gone by now, and the street lights were starting to flare to life, leaving large pockets of deep shadow forming. The night would be total by the time she walked all the way home, and she swore she saw locks of pink messy hair flitting in and out of the street lights…

“Twilight?” Mr. Starswirl’s voice asked from behind the nearby counter. “Are you alright?”

“I…” Twilight tried to push the door open, but it felt like it simply wouldn’t budge. Maybe it was locked…

No, it wasn’t. A moment later another hand reached past her shoulder, opening the library door to the night growing outside. “I’ll see you tomorrow Mr. Starswirl.” Moon Dancer spoke from just behind Twilight, who was shaking in nervousness and embarrassment.

“Of course, have a good evening, Moon Dancer.” Mr. Starswirl replied.

“Come on Twilight… I’ll walk you home.” Moon Dancer gently pushed Twilight outside by her shoulders. Twilight moved stiffly along with the motions, whirling as she swore she caught another lock of pink hair passing just by. Maybe Shining Armor and Cadence were right, she was barely able to function like this.

Thankfully Moon Dancer didn’t bring up her strange behavior, instead walking with her through the night towards her house. Wait, wasn’t Twilight’s house in the exact opposite direction of Moon Dancer’s? Yeah, Twilight was pretty sure it was. Yet she was walking Twilight home without being asked or even asking herself. She was just… doing it. Not that Twilight wasn’t grateful. She felt far less nervous with someone with her.

“Thanks,” Twilight said softly.

“Don’t mention it, you seemed like you could use the company,” Moon Dancer replied simply.

Twilight felt like she should say something more, but she couldn’t think of any more. She realized she didn’t really know much about Moon Dancer, despite knowing her for so long. They’d talked a little during breaks, but she’d never bothered to ask about her. They mostly just talked about work or their coworkers. She could ask now, she should ask now… but what words would she use? How could she say it? She just didn’t know…

She found herself moving a little closer to Moon Dancer as the light faded further and further, taking her time walking through the lights while picking up speed a little in the space between them. She gasped when she felt a slender arm circle her shoulders, holding her gently up against Moon Dancer’s side as they continued to walk.

“This stalker girl thing is really freaking you out…” Moon Dancer noted.

Twilight nodded. “I keep seeing her hair everywhere. I feel like I’m going completely crazy.”

“Well if you need help some time… I’m here for you.” Moon Dancer assured her. Twilight blinked in surprise and looked over to see that Moon Dancer was no longer looking at her, in fact she moved away slightly and moved her arm off of Twilight’s shoulders. Once again Twilight barely knew what to think, let alone what to say. She wasn’t even sure what Moon Dancer was saying, and her confusion only grew as the silence did, carrying them the rest of the way down the sidewalk and up toward the front door of Twilight’s home.

Moon Dancer finally looked at her again as they stepped into the light of the lamp hanging above Twilight’s door. “I know I told you already, but my party is tomorrow at four, if you wanted to come.” Moon Dancer flashed a smile, to which Twilight had no response. “Well… have a good night.”

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, her mind searching quickly for something appropriate to say, only to eventually spit out, “Thanks!” Moon Dancer glanced back with a friendly wave and turned to make her way down the sidewalk back the way she had come.

“Thanks?” Twilight asked herself. “Really Twilight? After all that you say thanks.” Huffing quietly to herself Twilight turned to head inside, closing the door tightly behind her and making sure it was locked. “No wonder everyone thinks you’re crazy, you have no idea what you’re doing when you’re around people you… you…” Twilight slowed to a stop on her way into the back, looking down at the floor in deep thought.

She was right. She had no idea how to handle even being talked to by Moon Dancer, let alone being approached by some messy-haired girl she didn’t know. She was freaking out because she was too… too ignorant to know how to behave in situations like those. That was what Shiny and Cadence were trying to tell her before. She spent so much of her life studying and preparing for her academic future she hadn’t even bothered to learn how to get along with people at all.

Her academic future was all but assured… and, she feared, her social future might be just as assured. No… she would listen to Shiny and Cadence, she wouldn’t let this beat her…

___

Almost four o’clock, Twilight thought to herself as she walked down the thankfully well-lit sidewalk. She felt woozy, like her stomach was trying to eat her from the inside, but she kept her legs moving. What if she showed up too early? She could really annoy Moon Dancer if she showed up before everything was ready, maybe she should wait a few minutes past four to give her time to finish preparations. But then Twilight would be late, and that would be rude too. She had been told clearly that the party started at a specific time, if she wasn’t there on time she’d seem like she didn’t care, right? Uh-oh, it was decision time. Moon Dancer’s house was the next one. She still had time to turn around and wait a few minutes, or maybe even go home. If she wasn’t there she wouldn’t be rude, right?

Despite her mind screaming at her to stop, Twilight forced her body to keep moving forward, up the walkway to the door to rap her knuckles against the door with the touch of a butterfly. Nobody answered, there was still time to get out of here before someone noticed her, her mind screamed, and Twilight barely resisted the urge to leave until she heard the doorknob turn and the door was pulled open.

Oh God, Twilight thought to herself when she saw the casual blue jeans and multicolored t-shirt Moon Dancer was wearing. Twilight had been so sure they would dress up at least a little, but now she was hating the deep violent knee-length dress she was wearing. How could someone so smart be so stupid?

“Twilight?” Moon Dancer gaped, as if in shock.

“I’m so sorry, I am way overdressed, I’ll just-“ Twilight whirled to retreat, but she squeaked to a stop at a firm hand grabbing her shoulder.

“No! No… it’s fine!” Moon Dancer stepped out to meet her with a wide smile. “I’m just glad you came, you…” She looked down over the dress with a soft blush. “You look fantastic.”

“Thanks…” Twilight replied with a smile, then immediately mentally beat herself up. Stop saying thanks you idiot! Say something else! “You look… you look really good.”

“Thank you,” Moon Dancer replied with a smile. “Come on, you’re the second guest to arrive.” With a gentle hand on her elbow Moon Dancer turned to guide Twilight into the house. “Make yourself at home.”

“Thanks…” Twilight smiled, then grumbled to herself. The inside of Moon Dancer’s house was nice, not too large, not too small, and the carpet was nice and fluffy soft. It was also decorated across the ceiling and doorways with bright multicolored streamers more fit for a child than a teenage girl, and on the far side of the room was a girl with messy pink hair energetically blowing up the balloons with deep breaths to let them float up… to the… ceiling…

“AAAAHHHH!” Twilight screamed and pointed in shock. The pink-haired girl whirled and let out her own scream, leaping to her feet.

“AAAAAHHHHH!”

“EEEEEEEEE!”

“AAAAEEEEEEE!”

“Hey! Hey!” Moon Dancer leapt over to the pink-haired-girl to hold her mouth shut with both hands, silencing her scream. Twilight’s own scream faded soon after, though she moved no closer. “What the heck was that all about? Twilight?”

“Th-that’s her! That’s the girl whose been stalking me for almost a week!” Twilight insisted.

“Stalking you!?” The pink-haired girl retorted. “I have not!”

“What, this girl?” Moon Dancer let out a soft laugh. “Twilight, she’s not dangerous. This is one of my good friends, Pinkie Pie.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t hurt anybody, Twilight! I promise!”

“Guh… how do you know my name!?” Twilight exclaimed.

“Oh… uh… oops…” Pinkie looked down, twiddling her fingers together guiltily. “It’s kind of a long story…”

“A long story?” Twilight demanded.

“I just said your name, Twilight. She heard it from me.” Moon Dancer stared at Twilight drolly.

“Well… You… she…” Twilight stopped and took a deep breath. She was freaking out again, and that wasn’t going to get her anywhere. So instead she thought back to what Cadence had told her, and approached up close to Pinkie Pie, who eyed her with a watchful expression. With a deep, calming breath Twilight stuck out her hand in greeting. “Hello, Pinkie Pie.”

“Oh!” Pinkie Pie smiled brightly and took the hand in a firm, happy shake. “Hello Twilight Sparkle! It’s so nice to meet you!”

“Now maybe you can explain to me what you were doing at the library staring at me those times?” Twilight suggested.

“Oh, I wasn’t there to follow you, I was there to look for Moon Dancer’s birthday gift and…. Oh, shoot!” Pinkie blushed a deep crimson with a glance at Moon Dancer. “Sorry…”

“Hey, it’s cool.” Moon Dancer smiled reassuringly. “I can always use more reading materials.”

“But you kept looking at me.” Twilight insisted. “Like, staring straight at me.”

“Yeah…” Pinkie looked down slightly. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it. You look just like somebody I knew before… a super good friend who… isn’t with us anymore.”

Twilight’s breath caught in her throat at that. “O-oh… gosh… I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay… she’s back home now.” Pinkie smiled sadly.

“Yeah, I’m sure she is.” Twilight smiled back reassuringly. “And those times you ran from me…?”

“I didn’t want Moon Dancer to see me. It would spoil the surprise.” Pinkie nodded. “Plus Applejack told me I shouldn’t approach you, that I could freak you out… heh, I guess maybe she was right huh? Sorry…”

“Yeah well… it’s not your fault.” Twilight blushed. “Not completely, anyway.”

“I bet I can make it up to you with the most fantastic party ever!” Pinkie blew up another longer balloon and deftly tied the center into the shape of a knot, leaving a loop in the middle big enough to slip it onto Twilight’s wrist.

“Heh… thanks.” Twilight smiled, then grimaced and slapped herself in the face.

“Anything for a friend!” Pinkie swiftly tied another balloon bracelet around Moon Dancer’s wrist with a broad grin, then turned back to what appeared to be an infinite supply of balloons she resumed blowing up one by one.

By the time the party started properly there was barely room to move from all the balloons floating around the floor and the ceiling. Twilight wasn’t even sure where Pinkie Pie was keeping the helium tank, but such thoughts were quickly drowned out by the laughs and small talk that ensued once the rest of the party guests had arrived. Twilight herself mostly hovered on the fringes of the conversations, listening but not really speaking, taking in the atmosphere without wanting to impose in it too much. The other girls mostly ignored her, which was fine. It was where Twilight felt most comfortable.

Soon the small talk subsided and Pinkie Pie turned on the music, prompting the rest of the partygoers to join in the dancing despite the balloons that they continuously kicked out of their way, turning the entire room into a tornado of flying legs and bouncing balloons. The laughter that echoed out of the wall of balloons was almost infectious, even to Twilight, who was listening and watching from the safety and support of the living room sofa.

After a short while Moon Dancer stumbled out of the latex tornado, giggling and stumbling over to the couch to plop down on the cushion beside Twilight. “Ahehehe, wow… I feel lightheaded…”

“It might be all the helium from those balloons diffusing out into the room at once.” Twilight commented. When Moon Dancer simply looked over at her with a slightly droll smile she blushed and coughed into one hand. “Not that it’s important…”

“Mmmm… hey, why don’t you come dance with me, Twilight?” Moon Dancer suggested.

“Dance?” Twilight stared at her, half in shock and half in horror. “I don’t know a thing about dancing.”

“That’s what’s great about dancing, you don’t need to know how to have fun.” Moon Dancer jumped up from the couch and held a hand out to her. “Please?”

“I… I don’t know…” Twilight rubbed her arm nervously with one hand. “It’s not that I don’t want to, but…”

“If you want to, then just do it.” Moon Dancer smiled. “Isn’t it that simple?”

“I don’t know… is it?” Twilight looked up into Moon Dancer’s eyes, but received no reply. There was a soft blush on Moon Dancer’s cheeks, along with the soft, but almost nervous smile on her lips.

She was waiting for Twilight to join her. She’d been waiting a long time, Twilight realized. What she wanted Twilight to join her for, Twilight wasn’t sure, but she was sure that for all the years Twilight had turned her away she’d never stopped trying to be Twilight’s friend. Well, who was Twilight to turn her away now?

Slowly Twilight raised her hand from her lap, and laid her palm in Moon Dancer’s hand, feeling her close her fingers around her. With a smile Moon Dancer tugged, helping pull Twilight up from the sofa and into the sea of balloons, which had finally begun to die down somewhat as the music slowed, giving the other guests a chance to catch their breath from the whirlwind of the previous dances. Twilight blushed slightly deeper as Moon Dancer laid both hands in hers, spinning them slowly through the balloons.

Pinkie Pie was visibly grinning from beside the stereo, while the rest of the girls had stopped dancing to watch, some with giddiness, and others with confusion as Twilight Sparkle and Moon Dancer spun their way through the balloons together, chest-to-chest, face-to-face. When Twilight looked away from the outside crowd and in toward Moon Dancer, whose face was so close to hers, she saw a strangely serene look in her eyes. She looked like she could barely contain herself as their eyes met.

“Thanks for coming Twilight,” Moon Dancer whispered softly, only barely audible over the music from the stereo. “It really means a lot to me that you came. I know how much you hate social situations.”

It took Twilight a little longer to think of a response. “Well… yeah, I kind of did. But you’re really making me think they’re not so bad.”

A bright, toothy grin lit up Moon Dancer’s face. “Well that’s a start.”

The party didn’t turn out so bad after all, Twilight decided. In fact she ended up having a lot of fun. Pinkie Pie was difficult to get used to at first, but by the end of the party Twilight Sparkle couldn’t help but laugh at her silly ways. She was simply always looking for new ways to make the other girls laugh, and she was incredibly good at it. Twilight even resolved to let her introduce her to her other circle of friends. How bad could they be?

As for Moon Dancer, Twilight still wasn’t sure exactly what it was that she wanted. She’d always been there since they met extending the hand of friendship, and yet it felt different from what the other girls had, and what Pinkie Pie so vigorously offered. She didn’t even mind that Twilight had been so nervous about coming that she’d forgotten to bring a birthday present. It was almost like Twilight simply being there had been enough to make her extremely happy, and Twilight hadn’t even done much of anything. Not that she minded. Seeing Moon Dancer smile so happily and serenely made her smile too. Who cared why it made her happy? She liked seeing Moon Dancer happy.

As the party died down, the presents were left open on the table and the guests began to file out, Twilight made her way outside at the rear of the pack, turning to look back at Moon Dancer with a smile.

“Thanks.” Twilight kicked herself immediately. “I mean… it was a wonderful party, and thanks… for inviting me, I mean.”

Moon Dancer’s smile was unwavering. “Speaking of invitations… I was thinking of eating lunch tomorrow, if you wanted to join me then.”

“Don’t you always eat lunch?” Twilight giggled.

“It’s a habit… but not usually with you.” Moon Dancer giggled back.

Twilight cocked her head curiously, and finally nodded with a bright smile. “Yeah, I think that sounds like fun.”

“Great. I’ll see you then.” Moon Dancer smiled almost giddily before Twilight turned to head down the sidewalk, turning to head back towards her house.

It took her a few moments to realize that the pink locks of hair that had been following her around for almost a week had vanished. Pinkie Pie wasn’t such a bad person after all… Cadence couldn't have been more right. All she had to do was open up and talk to her, and Twilight was even looking forward to meeting her other friends… gradually. She wasn’t sure she was ready to walk into massive parties with complete strangers.

Not yet, anyway.

Baby steps.