//------------------------------// // From Bad to Worse // Story: Till Summer's End // by Next Gen Wonderbolt //------------------------------// Twilight walked steadily towards town square. She wasn't really paying attention to where she was going and she almost bumped into a couple of ponies. She hastily apologized and returned to her meddling. Her mind was still back at the library, replaying the kiss over and over again. Twilight had never harped on anything this much and in some cultures ponies exchanged kisses all the time when greeting and saying goodbye; so why was she so concerned with her friend giving her a kiss on the cheek? The reason eluded her and would continue to thanks to Rainbow's insistent calls. "Earth to Egghead! Watch where you're going!" Rainbow called. "What?" Twilight asked as she walked right into a wall. "Ow..." Twilight moaned as she rubbed her throbbing nose. "I tried to warn ya! So what's got you're attention this time? Is it another late friendship report?" Rainbow joked. Twilight flushed when she remembered her little "incident". "No, it's-" I don't know if I want her to know about Rarity yet...let's just keep this between me and her for now... "-just that I lost some of my uh books! Yeah, I was up studying a new spell and I can't find it now!" Twilight replied. Rainbow rolled her eyes. "So, typical Egghead stuff?" Twilight nodded. "Yep, by the way how's the weather coming along?" "We got clear skies and sunshine all the way through! We should be good until the middle of next week, that's when we'll be getting one heck of a downpour to make up for this week." "Excellent." Twilight placed a check mark next to the weather cloud. She looked underneath it to the cupcake with sprinkles. "Ok, time to head over to Sugarcube Corner and see how Pinkie Pie and Applejack are handling things. I'll see you tonight?" Twilight asked. "You know it!" Twilight watched as Rainbow sped off towards another cluster of clouds shifting them into various shapes and sizes. Twilight turned and started walking towards Sugarcube Corner. Try as she might, her mind inevitably wandered back to the library again. Twilight could recall every minute of it, even though it was very short. The more Twilight thought about it, the redder her face got until she could have sworn it was scorching hot outside. Twilight shook her head vigorously to clear her head. She looked up and found herself right in front of City Hall and the place Rarity was currently decorating. Maybe I could try talking to her about it now...Plus it'll save me the trip Twilight continued towards City Hall and entered the massive building. Yellow, orange and white streamers were hung all over the place and a giant sun logo hovered above the balcony from which the princess was to appear on. Folding tables were all laid out with white coverings on them, and sun banners littered the walls. Twilight caught Rarity up on the balcony fiddling with some golden ribbon. Ones just like it looped around the guardrails and the one Rarity had would complete the chain. "Rarity!" Twilight called. "Twilight!" Rarity shouted happily. A pop, a flash, and a second later and Rarity was on the ground in front of Twilight, the golden ribbon left hanging on the railing. "How are the decorations coming along?" Twilight asked. "Oh they're going just fine, darling! I've been having a problem with that troublesome ribbon up there, but it shouldn't be too much of a problem." "That's good to hear...um, Rarity?" "Hmm? What is it dear?" Twilight's face was already a light shade of pink. "About what happened in the library..." "What about it?" Rarity asked. Her face showed her concern. "Why did you kiss me?" Twilight's face was now crimson. "Why wouldn't I? Twilight dear, did you forget that we're dating?" "D-DATING!?" Twilight shrieked. Twilight felt herself start to fall backwards and her eyes droop shut. Rarity barely had anytime to react as the lavender unicorn in front of her had lost consciousness. Twilight awoke in the library. She was in her bed with the covers draped over her body. Sunlight seeped through the blinds into the dimly lit room. Books littered the floor like sleeping bodies, some open to random pages while others were closed in giant piles. Twilight flung the covers off and swung her hooves to floor. She immediately withdrew her hooves when the sound of pages crunching hit her ears. She looked down to see what book she had desecrated with her carelessness. The book's pages had a complex diagram on it with a list of ingredients and steps on how to brew a potion. The longer Twilight stared at it, the more familiar it looked. I remember this! This is the book that gave me the idea for the sun cloth! Maybe I can find out what went wrong that caused it to implode. Twilight picked up the book. She read over the instructions once more checking them off as she went along. "Step 6: Let the solution sit in the sun for approximately 5 minutes. Check! What did I miss?" Twilight was about to read through the steps again when she heard the door creak open. "Twilight! You're awake." Rarity exclaimed happily. "Oh, hi, Rarity! I didn't realize you were here, um why are you here again?" "You don't remember, darling? You fainted after I had told you we were dating." "Oh, r-right." Twilight mentally kicked herself for that. "After you had passed out, I brought you back to the library to recover. I already explained everything to Spike." "You what!? Oh no, no, no, no! What did he say?" "He said when in Equestria did this happen!?" Spike shouted from the doorway. "Seriously, Twilight, what the hay! You can't just do that to someone especially since you knew how I felt!" "Spike, will you relax! I don't even know how or even when this happened myself!" Twilight shouted back. "No I won't 'relax'. One minute I'm making a gem cake and the next Rarity is over here telling me you two are dating!" Twilight shot a frazzled glance at Rarity, who in return sheepishly smiled. "Spike, I didn't know we were dating! That's the whole reason why I came back unconscious! I don't know why she's acting like this or even how it happened, but I'm trying to figure that out and coming in here screaming at me ISN'T HELPING!" The trio stood in silence for what seemed like an eternity. Eventually Spike sighed and dragged his claws down his cheeks. "Alright, alright. I'm sorry for yelling." Spike said. "Believe me when I say I wasn't trying to hurt you, Spike. Like I said I'm still trying to figure out how this happened in the first place." "Just...figure it out, please!" Spike walked over and hugged Twilight. Twilight returned the embrace. "Now, if you'll excuse me. There is a cake waiting for me down in the kitchen." Twilight laughed as the young drake walked back downstairs leaving the two mares alone in Twilight's bedroom. Twilight's eyes shifted to Rarity who had a downcast look on her face. "Rarity?" Twilight asked. "Did you really forget?" Rarity asked gloomily. "Forget what?" Twilight asked. "Th-that you loved me..." Even in the dim lighting Twilight could see the faintest drops of tears as they fell onto the wooden floor. Horsefeathers "No! Of course not! I just didn't want Spike to know until I was ready to tell him myself!" Twilight said hastily. Rarity's tear-stained eyes met Twilight's. The lavender unicorn saw the doubt hiding inside the alabaster's eyes and she could tell she wasn't very convincing. "Then why were you surprised when I told you at City Hall, and why you were concerned that I had kissed you before I departed earlier?" Rarity asked. Twilight cringed. Rarity had her there. Twilight's brain frantically searched for a reason to give Rarity. "I, uh...I..." Every minute she wasted trying to come up with a reason meant that every minute Rarity's faith in her supposed lover's feelings for her dwindled. Twilight watched as more tears built up in Rarity's eyes. Twilight couldn't take it anymore and something inside her snapped. She walked right up to Rarity inches away from her face. Twilight felt Rarity's hot breath against her muzzle as she looked the fashion designer right in the eyes. "I'm sorry. I didn't sleep well last night. You know, late night studying." "How do I know you're telling the truth?" What Twilight did next was something she had never considered in her life up to that point. She leaned in close, placing a hoof on Rarity's cheek. In an instant Twilight placed her lips on Rarity's for a brief second, but a second was all she needed to convince Rarity. The fashionista's crimson blush shone through her pearl white coat like a flashlight in the dead of night. Twilight had her own blush, but it wasn't as visible as Rarity's. The two stood in silence for a moment, each one at a loss for what to say. "I believe you." Rarity said softly. Her voice was just barely audible. Twilight smiled on the outside, but on the inside she was mentally sighing. "But no more late night studying sessions! I'm absolutely fed up with having to clean up all of these books!" Twilight laughed. "Alright, I promise." Rarity turned towards the door and headed downstairs. She flicked Twilight's nose with the tip of her tail grinning while she trotted downstairs. Twilight's smile held until her friend was out of the room. Phew, crisis averted. So that's what it's like to kiss somepony. I wish it had been under different circumstances, but... Twilight stared at the open doorway. At least Rarity's happy now. I'll have to keep it that way until I can figure out how to fix this whole thing. Twilight sighed heavily and ran a hoof through her mane. She placed the book she was reading on her bed, a white feather as her page marker. She started towards the kitchen, but stopped short of the hall to look back at the book. It's contents beckoned to her, tempting her to turn back and pick it up again, possibly finding a solution to her dilemma. Twilight shook her head, however, stepping outside and promptly closing the door. She walked down the stairs down to the lobby. She glanced up at the clock. It was currently four thirty-eight and she was expected to be at Pinkie's around nine to celebrate the day they all became friends. Twilight would have liked the celebration to actually be on the exact day, but given that it was the same as the Celebration, that was a no-go. The lavender unicorn took a seat on one of the couch cushions, grabbing a random book off the shelf. Twilight didn't bother reading the title or the cover, anything to distract her from reality right now. She opened up to the first chapter and began reading, allowing her mind to wander in the words.