Chapter eleven: Twilight’s Captain
The armor that was being bent and fitted around my barrel was almost as uncomfortable as the white unicorn that barely understood the meaning of “personal space”, though not quite. She wore a pair of tortoiseshell glasses that she peered through as she fastened straps with her magic and tutted at this or that, complaining about how the color didn’t match my coat, or that metal wasn’t in season. I never pretended to understand what she was going on about, it would take a mind sharper than mine to understand Rarity.
I was about halfway through zoning out and replaying the flight home from the hill yesterday morning when the mare’s irritatingly persistent voice cut into my concentration, “Could you lift your left hoof for me, darling?” she asked in a honey-sweet voice, poking at the aforementioned hoof.
With a show of heroic personal control, I managed not to sigh as I lifted my hoof for her to slip an armored forehoof guard onto my hoof. It was far too big, and I could feel the tingle of her magic as she made markings on the inside. Of course, the armor that we had to work with was a spare that had been dropped off from Canterlot, a set of Solar Guard armor that was clearly made for a stallion who must have been made more of muscle than anything else.
Despite the golden armor being almost twice the size of me, Rarity seemed to be certain that she would be able to resize it so that I could wear it comfortably. I wasn’t sure, but I wasn’t about to complain when Twilight told me that she was the best when it came to reshaping anything clothing related. I wasn’t going to mention the fact that Rarity had specifically said she’d never worked with armor before.
A few more minutes drew out before the presence of the unicorn backed off, followed closely by the plates of metal that had been strapped onto my back. Lifting her glasses and folding them with her magic, she gave a patient smile in my direction, “This should be a simple task. I shall have it done by this evening!” she exclaimed with confidence.
“Thanks, Rarity,” Twilight’s voice came from behind me as the alicorn walked up to my side, giving Rarity a grateful smile. I glanced to my side at Twilight and couldn’t stop the goofy smile that worked onto my muzzle, watching my personal savior and my new boss with admiration. The only thing that snapped me out of my thoughts was the sudden gasp that came from Rarity, drawing my gaze.
Rarity was glancing between Twilight and myself, or more specifically between Twilight’s chest and my own. I wasn’t sure what had made her gasp, but her eyes had lit up significantly, and an unparallelled grin shot onto her features. A beat passed where I was about to ask her what the problem was, before she broke the silence, “Idea!!!” she exclaimed in a haste.
Whatever the idea was about, she turned tail and sprinted out of the castle with the bits of armor held in front of her in her magic, and I could have sworn that her pen was writing in her notebook as she ran. If I had to guess, I’d say that it was just another thing about Ponyville that its citizens just didn’t question. Something I’d need to get used to.
Looking at Twilight, she only chuckled, “That’s Rarity for you. If she gets a idea she just drops everything else,” she explained, turning around to face me properly.
I nodded, “You have great friends,” I said, smiling as I glanced at the door that Rarity had sprinted out of just moments ago.
“I do. And now I have one more,” she gave me a beaming smile that made my heart melt and the goofy grin to crawl back onto my muzzle.
Before silence could grow between us, she clapped her hooves together, “How about we just relax a bit in the library with some tea? You must be tired after everything that happened yesterday,” she said with a little sympathetic smile. She was right, I had napped on and off for the rest of the day while she had taken care of all the legal stuff that came with both forming the Twilight Guard, and appointing me in charge of it. And then the entire night was spent warding off nightmares.
I nodded and followed her to the library where she collected the usual cushions to the pile on which we had fallen asleep last time, cuddled against each other. I settled down as she quickly made her way to the kitchen to make the tea, and I sighed in exhaustion as I laid back in the cushions.
Being alone for some time, I couldn’t help but to think over some things. I still had no idea why Twilight just trusted me, why she willingly helped me. Why she was willing to trust me with her security, of all possible things.
And I still want to know if she had really heard me…
My thoughts were disturbed by Twilight returning with two cups in her magic. Just like it was part of the regular routine before everything had gone all crazy, she settled down next to me on the cushions, her coat and wings brushing against mine. I took my tea from her in one of my hooves, giving her a grateful smile as I shuffled up against her, taking advantage of the closeness we shared.
I sniffed at the tea for a moment before speaking, “Thanks, Twilight,” I said, taking a small sip of the offered beverage. It wasn’t as good as coffee, but Twilight sure knew how to make a good tea.
“Don’t mention it,” she replied with a content smile, sipping at her own as silence fell back over us.
We stayed in silence for a few minutes, enjoying our tea and acclimating to one another’s presence. I was about to ask her about the shower when a book was suddenly dropped onto my lap, causing me to jump in surprise and Twilight to giggle at my reaction.
Putting a hoof on my shoulder, Twilight shook her head with a good-natured grin, “Easy there, soldier. Just getting a book so we can get back on track with our lessons,” she said, opening the book with her magic to the same page we had left off before Luna had come to visit.
I blinked a few times and raised an eyebrow, “Lessons?” I asked, curiosity edging into my voice.
There was a twinkle in Twilight’s eyes as she nodded, “Mhm, lessons. You’re still my student, in case you’ve forgotten,” she said, hiding her grin poorly behind her cup of tea.
I couldn’t help my own grin in response, a small laugh escaping my muzzle as all concerns and questions dropped from my mind. She was right; in the end, nothing had changed. I was still her student, and she was still my mentor, and we still had a lot of lessons to cover before I could claim to understand friendship.
Sipping at our tea, we started reading from the exact place we had left off. It reminded me of reading while Twilight slept on my shoulder, a night that I was sure I’d never forget. So, it was safe to say that I was a little distracted while Twilight read to me, but only on the surface. I paid rapt attention to Twilight’s voice and listened to what she was saying, enjoying the time we had together.
If I was going to be living in the castle with her, I had to assume that there’d be a lot more days like that in the long run. Not that I’d ever complain about spending a day reading with Twilight, it was a day well spent in my eyes, and it was very educational. The day’s topic covered letting go of old troubles, which I thought was particularly fitting.
Whether or not Twilight had planned for it to coincide, or if it was coincidental, I’d never know.
***
With the light in the library dying down to what reflections of the sunset could bring, we decided to call it quits for the night. We had lit a few candles, brought in dinner, and ate in companionable conversation on our comfortable little fort of pillows. It had turned out to be another fruitful day of lessons, as all lessons with Twilight had a tendency of doing.
With our bellies full and the library tinted orange from the sunset just outside, we turned to conversation to pass the time. Or, at least, Twilight spoke and I listened. She went off on a tangent about how much effort it was to set up a new faction of the Guard, and about how she couldn’t wait until all the red tape was cleared away. I just sat there and listened, content to just listen to Twilight ramble on about any topic that popped into her head. I didn’t need to contribute, she was really amusing enough by herself.
Of course, I did have a topic that I wanted to approach, but I wasn’t sure how to. It was sensitive to say the least, and very awkward. However, the only way that I had ever known how to deal with such issues was to approach them head on and deal with whatever fallout came from it. So, when there was a lull in the conversation, I took the chance.
“Twilight, did you actually hear me in the shower?” I asked as soon as there was a moment of silence, catching Twilight off guard.
She stared at me for a few moments, a familiar blush burning across her cheeks and flaring every few seconds. She stammered for a few moments as she tried to formulate words, “I… I, uhhh. Y-yeah, I heard,” she said, dying out in a whisper as she nodded a confirmation.
A blush found its way onto my cheeks as well, a near perfect mirror of her own. I hesitated a few moments in panic, trying to come up with my own reply. It was a solid minute before I could manage to speak, “I’m sorry, that must have been awkward,” I said, saying the first thing that came to mind.
Twilight mumbled something that sounded like a confirmation, but I couldn’t be sure. We passed into an awkward silence as neither of us figured out what to say. Twilight was clearly embarrassed, and I just had no idea what I could ask that wouldn’t sound creepy or weird.
What does she think about it?
The nagging voice in the back of my head was persistent, and it had a point. Twilight hadn’t said anything about what she felt about it, aside from feeling embarrassed. I bit my lips, thinking to myself as I thought about how exactly I could word a question that might get me an answer I wanted to hear.
Coming up a day late and a bit short, I decided to go with it the same way I just went with anything. Raising my chin to look over at her, I spoke, “W-well… What do you think?” I asked, forcing my embarrassed stammers into as much coherency as I could manage.
The blush on Twilight’s face redoubled as she looked up at me. Her mouth opened, closed, opened again, and then closed before she quickly averted her gaze and looked at one of the further bookshelves in the room. I thought I had lost her for a moment before she responded, “I… was flattered,” she said quietly.
I felt a weight fall from my shoulders at her words. At least she didn’t hate me for it, and she wasn’t so awkward that she couldn’t respond. A small smile tugged at the corners of my lips as I turned my head and looked off into the distance myself, wondering about the possibilities of where the conversation could go now that I had thrown that out in the open.
A beat passed before Twilight spoke again, softer than last time, “I really like you, Night Glider,” she said, her voice coming out in nothing more than a whisper. I felt her shift closer to me, the feeling of her barrel pressed against mine one that I found familiar and incredibly comforting.
I turned my head to look at her, only to find that she was facing me as well, and our muzzles were now only inches apart. I could feel the warm puffs of her breath against my nose, tickling the sensitive hairs inside and drying my lips with each breath. Her orbs were locked directly on mine, neither of us willing to be the first to break the gaze.
Time stood still as we laid there, gazing into one another’s eyes with our muzzles growing imperceptibly closer with each passing moment. I could hear the blood rushing in my veins, my heart throbbing in my chest so loud I could swear that Twilight would hear it. I could feel her breathing against me, each inhale pressing her barrel against mine, and each exhale puffing air against my muzzle.
With each eternity that passed us by, our lips drew ever so slightly closer together, drawn like two magnets held apart by a world of pressure. No matter how much distance was between us, we were slowly getting closer, we wanted to get closer. Her eyes fell into half lids as we got closer, our lips only a centimeter away and yet still so far apart.
“Finished!” came the irritatingly loud claim as the doors of the library barged open, forcing us to turn away from one another and look at the unicorn who chose the wrong moment to burst in. Twilight cleared her throat as her blush left her, quickly regaining her composure.
I sighed heavily and looked at Rarity, who seemed to not have noticed what she just interrupted, and got to my hooves. I walked a few paces closer to her before speaking, “You’re finished already?” I asked, raising an eyebrow as I looked her from front to back, unsure of where she was keeping the armor.
Rarity looked insulted, putting a hoof to her chest in mock pain, “Oh, darling! You do wound me with your cruel, cruel words! Of course I’m finished,” She said with a devilish grin, “Now, close your eyes and let me put it on,” she said, her horn lighting up and pieces of armor floating in behind her.
Deciding it best not to argue after she walked in on such a sensitive moment, I closed my eyes and let out a huff, doing my best to go along with it.
“Twilight, you can close your eyes, too,” Rarity called. Due to the lack of arguing, I assumed that Twilight had closed her eyes as well.
It took a few minutes, maybe more. I could feel the weight of the armor pressing down on me and getting strapped on, before getting readjusted into a position I found incredibly comfortable. When the back plate was on, it felt kind of like having my old Lunar Guard armor back on, except slightly lighter.
Each hoof was subsequently armored and the straps set on accordingly. My tail was hidden by the plate that went over my flank, which sat comfortably and didn’t move around much. Finally, after the neck plates were fastened, the helmet was lowered onto my head and strapped under my chin. All in all, the armor felt incredibly comfortable, and was a huge change from the massive armor that it had been just that morning.
How in the hay did she manage to get it fixed this fast?
Choosing not to ask any questions, I stayed standing in silence with my eyes closed while Rarity made a few finishing touches. After a few more moments, Rarity spoke, “Oh Twilight? You can open your eyes now,” she called out over me as I felt the tingling touches of magic finish touching around the bits of armor I wore.
I heard Twilight’s gasp from somewhere beside me, and got the urge to turn and look at her. However, I did my best to stand there in still silence, allowing myself to be presented before my princess. I stayed stock at attention, keeping myself still as a statue and as tall as I could make myself.
After a moment, I finally heard it, “And now you can open your eyes,” Rarity said. I didn’t need any more of an invitation; I opened my eyes and immediately turned to face Twilight.
I saw her standing there, mouth slack and eyes wide, with a hoof covering her mouth as she looked me up and down with a level of shock I hadn’t seen on her before. She wore a mix of shock, surprise, admiration and approval as she took in my appearance, the familiar twinkle in her eyes as she stared. From the look she was giving me, I could have sworn I was wearing a wedding dress and not a suit of armor.
The sound of magic brought my attention forward, where a full-body mirror had hovered in Rarity’s aura to a stop in front of me. Where she had gotten a mirror was a question that I’d never have answered, but at the moment, I didn’t particularly care.
The pony that stared back at me was wearing a set of sleek, curvaceous and slim armor that looked like a modernized version of Saddle Arabian armor, mixed with the more Equin style of royal guard armor that it had looked like before. It fit me perfectly, covering my barrel, neck, shoulders and hooves in light plate armor, leaving only my legs open to allow freedom of movement.
The helmet was distinctly Equin in origin; it clung fast to my head, keeping with the sleek style of the rest of the armor while still providing the angular look that the royal guard’s helmet had been known for. However, there was a flat amethyst set into the metal exactly where a horn would be, about the size of a bit, keeping with the Saddle Arabian influences the rest of the armor had gone with.
The plume of the helmet was the same color as my mane; white with silver highlights, and was the same as the faux-tail that stuck out of the flank plate. Over the back of the armor, tucked into the neck plate and draping loose, was a nearly transparent purple robe of sorts, with what looked to be depicted swirls of magic embroidered into it in a slightly lighter shade than the rest of the robe. Looking at it, I noticed that it looked sort of like if Twilight’s magical aura were made into silk.
Underneath the translucent robe, the armor had been repainted to the same lavender color that Twilight’s coat was. It was trimmed with a slightly darker purple, and the star crest in the center was nearly the same as the Solar Guard’s chest crest. However, the star that was on my chest plate was the same deep purple as Twilight’s mane, and was six-pointed instead of five, the same as her cutie mark.
There were engravings of gentle swirls and stars along the trim of each armor plate, placed there by a gentle hoof and made to look like magic turned to metal. It had a captivating effect, keeping with the armor’s sleek and sweeping look. Everything about the armor I wore screamed speed, agility, and magic.
Admiring myself in the mirror, I looked myself up and down a few times before testing out my wings, giving them a few experimental beats. Satisfied that my wings were given full movement, I tucked them under the smooth material of the robe and turned to look at Twilight, the grin on my face steadily growing. She looked happier than I had seen her all day.
“Darling, you look absolutely fabulous!” Rarity exclaimed, lifting the mirror in her magic along with a few tools she had brought along. Giving my armor an experimental tug, she nodded her approval of the job.
Turning my attention back to her, I couldn’t help but grin at her as well, “Thanks, Rarity! This is so awesome!” I exclaimed, giving the armor a trot in place to see how it felt. In short, the armor was barely noticeable as I moved, showing just how light the thick metal was. I had to wonder if Rarity had put an enchantment on it.
Tutting slightly, a smirk crawled onto her lips, “Oh, I know. Do take care of it, won’t you?” she asked, though it was clear she was being rhetorical. Turning with as much grace as she had barged in with, she started out, “I have other projects I must work on. So, ta-ta for now!” she exclaimed over her shoulder, leaving Twilight still gaping and me still trotting in place like a fool.
We only really realized that Rarity had left when she closed the door behind herself. When the doors slammed shut, I stopped trotting in place and turned to look at Twilight, giving her a charismatic grin, “How do I look?” I asked, throwing in a wink for good measure.
Finally shaking off her stunned paralysis, Twilight swallowed as she stood up, walking over to me. She set a hoof on the armor, feeling the smoothness of the metal and the gentle feel of the translucent robe for a moment before she looked up at me and managed to whisper, “Incredible,” she said, trailing off into silence as she admired either me or the armor.
She was silent for a long moment before she turned towards the door and walked to it, only pausing to open it with her magic before walking out. I stood there for a few moments, blinking in surprise before I quickly trotted to catch up with her. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to or not, but I didn’t want to just stand in the library alone.
I followed Twilight closely, staying a pace behind her and to the right, though not trying to be sneaky in the slightest. She didn’t tell me to stay, so I figured I was doing the right thing. We walked for a few long moments before we came out onto the balcony where everything had started to go so wrong.
We stopped at the ledge, looking out at the setting sun in silence, a princess and her guard. From the way that Twilight was chewing her lips, I had the feeling that she wanted to say something, but I didn’t want to be first to break the silence. As it so happened, she was the first to speak.
“I really, really like you, Night Glider,” she said, a blush crawling to her cheeks as she looked over at me. As shy as she was, I couldn’t help the smile that pulled at my lips. She was too cute.
“I really like you too, Twilight Sparkle,” I replied, keeping my face towards her and the smile still on my lips. It was strange how easily the words came out, I knew I wasn’t lying when I said that I liked her. It was just the truth.
Seeming to be emboldened by my comment, Twilight took a breath, swallowed, and then leaned in quickly, closing the short distance between us. Our lips touched. It was quick and short, but it felt like a spark of electricity had passed through me, originating from her lips.
She broke away, the blush still burning away at her cheeks as she looked into my eyes for a few moments in silence. When she saw my smile, she leaned back in, this time more slowly, and gently set her lips against mine in a longer, more loving kiss.
The balcony may have been where everything started going bad. But it was also where everything started going right.