//------------------------------// // That uncomfortable moment when questions lead to misunderstandings // Story: It's Just A Bit of Baldness // by Charlie_K //------------------------------// Making tea was hardly all that difficult a process to do; it was something Rarity had done so many times, she didn't even need to make eye contact with everything to do it properly. And to do it without the use of her magic was foal's play. Twilight, on the other hoof, lacked the same skill level when it came to utilizing her hooves exclusively. It was almost sad to watch her try. Even if Rarity hadn't agreed to help, there was no way she could simply stand back and watch the whole mess unfolding. "I'll tend to this, darling," she stated as she assumed control of the process with great ease, getting everything ready in practically no time. "Thanks," Twilight replied as she stepped back, allowing her friend to take care of things. "Usually I let Spike take care of the non-magical work." Rarity nodded, figuring that would be the case, based on what she'd been witnessing. But she didn't want to comment, as it would be too easy to sound rude if she did. She really had no desire to be anymore rude than she had been previously. But now that the pot was on the stove, there really wasn't much to do but wait in silence. That didn't appeal to her very much either. All there really was, was just sitting and looking at each other. And it was difficult for her to look directly at Twilight, knowing that her appearance was nothing more than a simple illusion, and how she was completely nude just below the surface. "Twilight?" "Yes?" "There's a... particular question that I feel the need to ask. But I don't actually know how to go about asking it, without coming off as being incredibly blunt. There's simply no way to exercise tact that I can see right now," Rarity explained. "Oh? Well that's alright. Sometimes bluntness is the only way to go," Twilight stated, curious as to what Rarity wanted to ask her. "Alright then," Rarity replied and nodded. "You said that you found a spell that caused your fur to fall out, meaning somepony else created it first. I don't want to come off as unreasonably judgmental, as I'm sure you had good reasoning, but just what sort of debaucherous publishing were you reading, that would mention a spell that induces total baldness?!" Twilight didn't even blink before replying. "It was an older issue of the "Neigh England Journal of Medicine" that came with the shipment of new books I got for the palace library. It's a medical spell, primarily used in the treatment of severe lice infestations." Now it was Rarity's turn to blink. And she did. "A medical spell? Really?" she asked. Now she was feeling quite bad for assuming that Twilight had been fumbling about with some obvious adult material of a dubious quality. "Really," Twilight replied and nodded, "that's why there's a counter spell that's used to regrow what's lost." "Well that certainly makes sense," Rarity said to herself. At least Twilight wasn't practicing something that some inexperienced writer of certain romance novels would dream up. "But... if there's a counter-spell, why didn't you use it instead of simply casting an illusion spell?" she asked. "Well for several reasons. The first is that is takes several minutes for complete regrowing to occur. It's also kind of a calorie intense spell, so I'd have to eat a big meal, either before using it, or after using it, since fur and feathers have to grow from something; that's why the spell for total baldness is only used for severe lice infestations. But the primary reason that I didn't used it, is because the regrowing spell is just so darn itchy to use! It's a little more tolerable if you do it while taking a bath or shower, so... yeah. It's sort of a lot of work to do when you have to answer the door. Especially if the interruption is only a brief one," Twilight explained. Rarity knew that she wasn't being directly addressed about the interruption aspect. Even if she was, Twilight would likely never outright state it. But regardless of that fact, she felt a bit more sympathetic for Twilight than she did just a moment ago, as so many thoughts about what was going on, were slowly being dispelled. She thought she knew what was going on, only to learn the hard way that she didn't. And that sympathy for Twilight soon turned into regret for herself as the came to terms with her own questionable actions. Now she felt positively terrible. "I'm sorry, darling," she eventually stated with a sigh. "What? No, Rarity I didn't mean that you-" Twilight started. "It's not that, Twilight, although you would certainly be justified if it was. What I'm sorry for is being such a terrible guest. And, dare I say, a rather terrible friend as well," Rarity said as she sat down on the kitchen floor. "This is your home, Twilight, where one is supposed to be free to do as they please. I come here bearing gifts for Spike in recognition of all his hard work, and what do I do? I become hostile, and incredibly judgmental of something that apparently makes you happy, all while I don't even fully understand it. I've just been utterly horrible!" she stated, sighing as she hung her head. "... Can you forgive my ignorance, my intolerance, my short sightedness? And me?" "I think I can do that easy enough," Twilight replied as she gave a friendly smile. "But it's really not that big of a deal, Rarity. There's a natural tendency to gravitate towards what's known, when confronted with a wholly foreign concept. I knew that you weren't personally attacking me." "Personally?" Rarity asked and blinked at the word. "I'll explain later. But suffice to say, I knew you were being critical of my behavior, rather than me specifically. I can only imagine what must've been going through your mind this whole time," Twilight explained. "I doubt that you truly could," Rarity replied, unsure of whether to look back at the floor, or continue looking at Twilight. "I should've kept a more open mind, rather than making assumptions that you were... were..." she paused, uncertain of what to say. The more she thought about it, the lack of knowing what to say might've been for the better. "I should have. But there's just so much about this whole concept that I simply don't understand. I simply don't know what to think about it all," she stated. Behind them the tea kettle began to whistle, signaling that the water had reached temperature. Wordlessly Twilight moved and turned the burner off. "Well if you have any questions, I'll do my best to answer them for you," she offered. "Yes. Yes I think I'd like that very much. Thank you," Rarity replied. The fact that Twilight had chosen to not berate her for her ignorance had reminded her of just how lucky she was to have such an understanding friend. And now it appeared that her luck was continuing to shine, as she was willing to continue putting up with her, even when she had plenty of reason to ask her to leave the premises immediately. But it hadn't happened. Instead she was being offered more tea, and answers to whatever questions she might have. She really couldn't help but smile at that fact. "Alright," Twilight began as she sat herself back down on the cushion in the library, a large pot of tea ready for whatever the question and answer session might bring them. "Where would you like to start?" Rarity mulled over the question, wondering how to go about answering Twilight's inquiry. Knowing so little about the subject of nudity, she didn't have the slightest clue where to start. Finally, she simply picked a point at random, and decided it would be best to start there. "Perhaps a bit of clarity regarded something that was said earlier. As you said, this isn't your first time going about part of your day while nude. How many times have you... gone nude outside of the palace?" she asked. "Um... does Sunset Shimmer's apartment count?" Twilight asked. "Not in this case, no," Rarity replied and shook her head. "Oh," Twilight replied, "well then, none actually." "None? Not even once?" Rarity asked, finding the answer hard to believe. "The way you were talking about it seeming so normal, I would've thought that... well..." Twilight quickly shook her head. "The inside of the palace is one thing. But Ponyville is something else entirely. I wouldn't be able to use my magic in case an emergency were to arise. And I'd be mortified if the illusion spell were to fail for whatever reason, leaving me caught out in public," she stated and shuddered. "Being the Princess of Friendship, I can't exactly take a chance like that. I have to set a good example for everyone. So unless some significant social revolution occurs in the near future, the palace is about as far as I'll be going." Rarity could do little more than nod in understanding of what Twilight said. She didn't want to imagine what those wretched tabloids would be saying if her friends' fear were to come to fruition, and she was caught out in public in a wholly indecent manner. She briefly -very, very briefly- considered asking if such a scenario might inspire the trend to become more widespread, seeing that it would be endorsed by royalty. But she didn't know if it might wind up mortifying Twilight, rather than comforting her. Better to be safe than sorry. "And... if there was some way to ensure that the illusion wasn't at risk of failing?" she asked as she poured herself a new cup of tea. "Well there are ways to bind spells to a talisman so they can work independently of the caster. But even so, I still don't think I'd do it," she stated as she extended one of her wings to wave it. "I know these feathers look real, but they're totally useless in case I ever need to take flight." Again, Rarity nodded. At least Twilight was approaching this whole endeavor from a pragmatic standpoint, taking a great many things into consideration, rather than just rushing in without the slightest thought about what consequences her actions might have. "Barring such possibilities from discussion, would you want to do such?" she asked. For a while, Twilight just sat there in thought, unmoving except for tucking her wing back in. Finally, she slowly shook her head. "I really don't think so. Even if I could flawlessly get away with doing something like that, it's not really what I'd want to do. Nudism isn't the same as exhibitionism, even thought it might come off as that. For me it's about relaxing, not getting excited with the prospect of..." she stopped and cleared her throat at that point, not really wanting to go into all the details. "I think I'm finally beginning to understand a little," Rarity replied. She could see that, despite her furless state, Twilight was exercising far more modesty than she'd first assumed. This wasn't about getting away with doing something that she shouldn't be doing at all, but more along the lines of indulging in a guilty pleasure of sorts. That didn't mean that she could see why nudity appealed to Twilight. But at least her friend was exercising responsibility with what made her happy, rather than approaching with a Discord may care attitude like some might be inclined to do in her position. "That's good," Twilight replied, before moving over to the table to pick up the tea pot. Or at least try to anyway. Before she could actually get it in her hooves, however, Rarity had levitated it up in order to pour her a fresh cup. "Thanks." "I'd like to think it's the least I can do, after you've done so much to try and make me feel more comfortable. I dare say you've been a far more gracious host than I would have if the situation were reversed," Rarity replied as she sat the pot back down on the serving tray. "It's really not that big of a deal, Rarity," Twilight insisted, realizing that she was going to need to go into explanation again. "It's true, nudity is a character attribute that I've acquired. But it's not the sole defining attribute of myself. I don't go around all day, eagerly looking forward to any opportunity to lose my fur as soon as I can. It's something that I enjoy doing, but I don't have to do it; I'm not going to go stir crazy if there are long stretches when I have to stay furry. I certainly haven't so far," she stated. "Oh..." Rarity replied, noting how another misconception was quietly and easily being debunked, discredited, and discarded. "Try and think of it like wearing socks when it gets cold in the fall and winter. Yes they feel good, and they keep our hooves warm. But it's not something we'd want to do all the time, wherever we went, just because we could," Twilight elaborated. "Ah!" Rarity stated. Now it really was starting to make more sense to her than it had. "That said, however, if there was a way to de-fur and re-fur at will, quickly and easily without the side effects involved with using medical magic, I would so do it," Twilight stated, before pausing to take a drink of her tea. "Humans have it so much easier than us when it comes to practicing nudity. They can put clothes on and take them off at will. If they have to answer the door, they can slip on a simple dress, or a bathrobe, or even just a pair of pants, and nopony thinks anything about it. But if I want to do it, it's a lot more work that has to be gone through. There's just no simple way of going about it," she explained and huffed. Twilight actually praising clothing. Rarity almost chuckled when she heard that, having never expected something like that. Herself, most certainly, but not Twilight. "So why isn't there?" Rarity asked as she decided to delve deeper, and figure out just how invested Twilight was in all of this. "I really don't know. I guess it's because nopony has ever had to come up with such a method, because it's not a concept seen as socially acceptable," Twilight replied and shrugged. Maybe if Equestria ever developed the concept of fur-optional communities, the idea might catch on. But that was neither here nor there, as she had no desire to be the first to try and orchestrate one. "Until then, if I want to continue, I'm just going to have to work for it." "It does sound a bit labor intensive to engage in," Rarity agreed and nodded. "Meaning that you've found some aspect to it, that you feel justifies the effort needed to get there. But... darling, I'm sorry, I'm just not seeing the appeal of going without your fur. What... what is it that appeals to you so much? What makes it so worthwhile?" she asked. "That..." Twilight paused, trying to think of what to say. She considered comparing it to Rarity trying to explain the benefits of extravagant clothing to ponies who had no need for them. But that might be treading too far into her territory, and possibly upset her. "It's... kind of hard to put into words without rambling. It's... well for me it just feels comfortable to go nude. Like on these stifling nights we've been having at times, you know what they're like. Nights when you can't stay asleep, waking up all sweaty in the middle of the night, where even a simple cotton bed sheet might as well be a mountain of heavy woolen blankets. It's times like that, where laying on the floor with a damp towel draped over your neck, and no fur getting in the way, is unbelievably comfortable compared to the alternative," she explained. Rarity really couldn't mount an argument to that. She knew the nights Twilight was talking about; she knew them very well. They were the bane of her coiffure's very existence. Nights like that demanded a significant amount of upkeep in the morning to make oneself presentable. And making matters all the worse, summer had only begun a few short weeks ago. According to what Rainbow Dash said, this summer was expected to be even hotter than it was already. There was no way she was going to fault Twilight for doing what she believed to be necessary during those difficult times. Although the idea of just laying on the bare floor, and not even with your own fur to act as a layer of insulation between your body and where one walked, just didn't appeal to her at all. But whether or not it appealed to her, she still had questions to ask. "So you being a nudist is a hot weather sort of thing? Something that will likely get used, what, four months out of the year?" she asked. "I... don't know yet. I'm still new to this, so I don't know just what I'm going to do yet. I can't really foresee wanting to go without my fur in the winter. But then again I don't know how the crystalline structure of the palace might react to the weather. It's just way too soon to tell anything," Twilight explained, making a mental note that the next time she visited the human world, she should really ask some more in depth questions on the message boards. To her credit she had thought enough to ask the people about what they did during the winter, so she had some idea. But she didn't yet know how applicable it would be in her case. She'd just have to wait and see how it played out. For a while Rarity stayed silent, mulling over things as she slowly sipped her tea. There were a lot of things to consider, leaving her uncertain what she should say, and what she should ask. Should she try and be supportive of Twilight as she attempted to face her own uncertainty, and figure out what she wanted to do? Or should she keep asking questions in an effort to gather more information to help her make sense of all this? Eventually she concluded that if she had more information to go on, she could better determine what to do as a friend. "Are there any other aspects worth mentioning?" she asked curiously. "Well..." Twilight paused, glancing upward in thought, "skin is less porous than fabric, feathers, and fur, so it's easier to wash off if it gets dirty. But not going outside, that's of very limited practical application..." Rarity, relying on her years of experience as a socialite, didn't frown at the tone Twilight's voice took during her attempted explanation. When she'd been detailing the issues of comfort, she spoke in a much more upbeat manner than she was now. To her it sounded like she was embarrassed or something. But why would she be embarrassed about... She stopped as a new thought entered her mind. If Twilight was embarrassed, it wasn't about being without her fur, but rather -dare she say- being unable to justify it beyond her own comfort. It was like being caught indulging in a guilty pleasure, and having no way of explaining it to those that simply didn't understand. And she'd wound up putting her friend in this position of discomfort in the first place, without even realizing it. She had practically challenged her to defend what made her happy. That had simply been uncalled for. There was the obligation for friends to look out for one another when one might be engaging in risky behavior that might put them in harm's way; especially if the one facing the risk was unaware of the danger they faced. But as best she could tell, Twilight was exercising her own due diligence, and maintaining responsibility. She was ensuring that her work was done, before relaxing in the privacy of her own home, and not out flaunting herself for everyone to see. As best she could tell, there was nothing to be concerned about, and no pressing need to stage an intervention. "Twilight, let me ask you something. Does doing this make you happy?" she asked. "Well... yes. Pretty much," Twilight slowly replied, a little confused by the sudden shift in topic. "Then I believe that's all I need to know. I still can't say that I understand the appeal of going without your fur, but then again I wasn't asked. If it makes you happy, and doesn't put you at risk of harm, that's all that really matters," Rarity explained as she climbed down off of the sofa, feeling the need to stretch her legs. "Really?" Twilight asked as she sat up on her cushion. "What changed your mind? And so quickly?" "Watching you try and justify something that ultimately needs no more justification than the simple fact that it's something you enjoy. I was reminded of some of my own past efforts, trying to explain my passion for fashion to ponies who were more than content to go about their daily business without a stitch on," Rarity explained and huffed. "There were some harrowing times involved when I was getting my start. It took me a long time to realize that their lack of understanding didn't make my passion invalid, it just wasn't understood is all. And based on how I've been acting since getting here, it appears that I've been repeating their lack of understanding. I'm sorry, darling. Again." Twilight wanted to tell Rarity that it was alright, and that she understood. But despite wanting to do that, she couldn't get the words out. Twice she'd tried to explain such, and it didn't appear to have worked. Would a third time actually succeed where the first two had failed? She really didn't think so. If she wanted to get her message across properly, she'd have to try something different. "I know what you mean. Few ponies enjoy a good book as much as I do. And even after meeting all of you, I still experience times where I don't understand why anypony would want to be outside, with the hot sun beating down on them, when they could otherwise be comfortable inside with a good book that'll take you on an amazing journey," she explained. Fortunately though, times like that weren't very common. "It would seem that, no matter how understanding we try and be, we're doomed to eventually encounter something that makes us stop and wonder just what it's all about, because we don't understand it," Rarity stated, causing Twilight to giggle and nod in agreement. For a while, after the laughing had stopped, a silence settled in over the library. But it wasn't the sort of silence that was born from discomfort or unease. Rather it was more of a silence born from simply not having anything that needed to be said at the moment. Regardless of that fact, however, Twilight eventually felt the need to speak up. "So. Are we good?" "Yes. I believe so," Rarity replied and nodded, "although if it's alright with you darling, I don't believe that I'll be joining in." Rarity observed the blank look she was getting from Twilight. She could practically hear the metaphorical gears in the alicorn's brain clicking against one another at this point as they tried to turn. And while it was certainly an appropriate comparison to make, considering how Twilight's mind worked, there was still the matter of not being sure just what her friend was thinking right now. "Wait, what now?" Twilight finally asked. "Did you... did you think that I was trying to convince you that you should..." she paused, a confused look on her face. But that look soon gave way to a fresh fit of giggles. "You mean you weren't trying to sell me on the idea that nudity is a worthwhile endeavor?" Rarity asked, both confused, and a bit embarrassed about assuming such. Twilight had to shake her head until she could stop giggling enough to actually talk again. "I know that it sounds strange, but being a nudist isn't like being part of a cult; it's nothing like what Starlight Glimmer was doing. There's no ulterior motives to set out and convince others to join. I was just trying to help make sense of everything. I guess I goofed a bit, huh?" "I think it's fair to say we both goofed on this one," Rarity replied as she chuckled, another inaccurate thought being laid to rest with ease. And also a feeling of relief at finding out she was wrong. "That's putting it mildly," Twilight said as she giggled anew. But giggling at least meant that there were no hard feelings to be had from how things developed. Again, silence settled in as the two of them calmed down, just looking at one another. But it was short lived as Rarity spoke again. "I admit, I do feel a bit silly for actually believing that you were trying to convince me to join in. In hindsight it just seems ridiculous to even consider." "I know," Twilight replied and nodded in understanding. "I mean, if you wanted to learn the spells, I could teach them to you; they're really not all that complicated. But what you did afterward would be entirely up to you." "Oh..." Rarity replied slowly, uncertain of just what to say. "If it's alright with you, darling, I think I'll take a pass on the offer. I just... whatever reason would I have to use something like that in my everyday life?" she asked. Other than the blatantly obvious -and unlikely- answer as to what they'd be used for. "Well that all depends," Twilight began as she took a more serious tone. "How often does Sweetie Belle come home from her crusading endeavors, with her fur covered in tree sap?" she asked. Rarity was about to respond to the question. But then she realized what Twilight was saying, and she remembered that the spells in question were originally intended for medical purposes. And considering what Sweetie Belle and the others got into... "Hmm... It could have some beneficial applications. Under the right circumstances," she eventually admitted as she rubbed her chin in thought. It would certainly save her a great deal of effort in keeping her little sister clean after a busy day of crusading and getting dirty. "Especially if those circumstances ever involve a bubblegum mishap," Twilight added, causing Rarity to start giggling again.