//------------------------------// // That moment of transition // Story: It's Just A Bit of Baldness // by Charlie_K //------------------------------// Watching Twilight, Rarity concluded that it had been very, very wrong to ask her to make use of her illusion spell, after knowing full well that it hampered her magical abilities. That was the conclusion she'd drawn when witnessing the stark difference Twilight demonstrated in dishing up the second course of ice cream for them. The first time around, it was like watching an inexperienced earth pony awkwardly fumbling with utensils while trying to cook a meal they didn't understand. But with her magic back at her disposal, it was nothing short of experienced grace. She'd had absolutely no business putting her friend through such an ordeal for the sake of her own comfort. And she assumed that was why the second bowl of ice cream she was having, didn't seem nearly as enjoyable as the first had been. Watching her friend in action, as she moved about, further served to reinforce her earlier observations. Twilight was comfortable with herself and her surroundings, and it was evident in how she carried herself. She wasn't uptight, or apprehensive, or anything else that would be consistent with what she'd seen with the models she had supplied dresses for. Nor was it consistent with certain mares she'd had encounters with in the shadier areas of bigger cities. As much as it all clashed with her sense of order and understanding, Rarity was left with little option but to conclude that Twilight really did view nudity as a perfectly normal endeavor to engage in around the palace. But the more she observed Twilight, she eventually had to conclude that there was something disalarming about it all, as it didn't carry the same level of shock that it did at first. Perhaps it was the differing context in which her nudism was being witnessed. Or perhaps it was how casual Twilight was being about everything. She knew that some of these thoughts were redundant to keep having, as she was simply going back over them again and again. But this was still a hard concept to fully grasp. She would have to be forgiven for mentally repeating herself, as she struggled to make sense of everything at her own pace. "Bit for your thoughts?" Twilight's voice served enough to bring Rarity out of her thoughts, bringing her awareness back to her own surroundings. Across from her, lounging contentedly on the cushion she'd procured earlier, Twilight was enjoying her ice cream with much greater ease this time around, in between looking at her. "Hm? Oh. Just trying to wrap my head around everything, darling, that's all," Rarity replied. Twilight had done a great deal to explain everything to her as best she could; and she had done a marvelous job, all things considered. But none of that changed the fact that learning in an academic sense could only take one so far, before they had to put their learned information to the test. And she wasn't yet sure how to go about doing that. "Oh," Twilight replied, before taking another spoonful of ice cream. "So are there any ideas for how to go about bringing the others up to speed about this?" she asked. "Not as of yet. But I haven't stopped thinking on the issue," Rarity replied as she idly fiddled with her own bowl. "This requires a certain tact, a certain delicateness in how we approach the subject, a-" "We?" Twilight asked. "I'm not about to let you face this all by yourself, when it was my idea," Rarity pointed out, earning a friendly smile from Twilight. She would never forgive herself if she left Twilight high and dry with this whole idea. "As I was saying, it's a topic that must be approached carefully. But that was already known by the both of us. It's all a matter of determining who we approach first, and how we approach them," she explained. Twilight nodded in agreement. "Friends or not, this one is tricky. But..." she paused, "I think Applejack might be the best one to approach first. Out of everypony, I think she would be the most reasonable." She knew that Applejack could be judgmental at times about things she didn't fully understand; their first time meeting Zecora had been ample proof of that. But at the same time, Applejack was hardly intolerant of something she didn't understand. She sort of tended to be a middle of the road, live and let live type of pony. So long as nopony was at risk of getting hurt. "Hmm..." Rarity mumbled in thought as she considered the possibility, going over what she knew about Applejack, and how things might play out. If approached just right, there was a great deal of potential for success. And beyond that, Applejack carried a fair bit of weight and responsibility among their little group. She could prove to be quite beneficial when inducting the others, assuming all went well. "It has possibilities. Although..." "Although what?" Twilight asked. "Well it's just a thought really. What about Spike? Shouldn't he be the first to know, seeing as he lives with you?" Rarity suggested. If they were going to seriously consider bringing everyone in their group up to speed, it just seemed logical that he should be the first. He'd known Twilight longer than any of them, and she wasn't quite certain how he'd take it if he was the last one informed about this. "That... might actually be a good idea," Twilight agreed and nodded. It certainly made a lot of sense to her. She could already foresee how making Spike knowledgeable about this first could work out well in the long run. "It would probably be for the best, seeing as how Spike is technically a nudist too." The statement caused Rarity to nearly choke on her spoon in surprise, before it was finally dropped to the floor as she caught her breath again. "What!?" she asked, shock still very evident in her voice as she looked at Twilight for an explanation. "Well when you think about it. Skin, scales, there's really not much difference in the two, realistically speaking," Twilight pointed out. Simply because they hadn't made a big deal out of it due to the fact that Spike had no fur of his own, didn't change the facts. "It's something Princess Celestia pointed out to me a long time ago when Spike was still a freshly hatched baby. Back then I kept wondering when his fur was going to grow in. You can imagine how shocked I was when I learned that dragons don't have fur," she explained. "Oh," Rarity replied. That certainly made a lot of sense. "And the reason you didn't mention that fact earlier was... ?" "I didn't want you to think I might be blaming Spike for what would be considered bad behavior," Twilight explained. "This was my own decision. He didn't play any part in influencing it." Rarity simply nodded in response. She could've certainly seen that as being a possibility. And she was glad that Twilight had thought enough to avoid taking that route. Although now she really wished Twilight hadn't mentioned that little detail, as she doubted that she would ever see Spike in the same light again after this. Or at least not anytime in the near future. It was likely going to take a long, long time to either forget what she'd just heard, or stop being bothered by the notion. "... I probably shouldn't have said that, should I?" Twilight asked. "I'll be honest, darling I really could have done without being made aware of that concept. But what's done is done. One can't un-ring a bell, or whatever," Rarity replied. There was no point in holding it against Twilight simply because she was uncomfortable with it. "Although you might want to refrain from mentioning that little fact whenever you decide to address Spike. I'm not sure how he might take to being informed about such," she pointed out. Twilight nodded, able to see the wisdom in that. If she brought Spike in on this -and she really should, considering how he lived with her and all- then she'd have to be careful in how it was brought up. She'd need to think up something. However her thoughts on the matter were interrupted as the clock started chiming. "Oh dear. I didn't realize it was getting to be that late in the day already. I promised Lyra that I'd meet up with her today to go over some new spell work," she stated as she set her ice cream down on the table and stood up. "It looks like we're going to have to cut this discussion short, Rarity." "It's quite alright, darling, I completely understand," Rarity replied, understanding how important it was to Twilight that she kept her appointments with her friends. She would see to their little mess herself so she didn't keep Twilight any longer than she needed to. But then a thought occurred to her, and it desperately needed to be voiced before something bad happened. "Before you head out, however, you might want to see about putting your fur back in place," she pointed out. Knowing Twilight, she wouldn't be surprised if she rushed out of the palace, still nude, in order to keep her appointment. That simply wouldn't do at all. She couldn't live with herself if she allowed one of her friends to embarrass themselves to such a degree. "I'm not quite that far gone. But thanks for pointing it out all the same," Twilight replied, her horn already glowing as she worked her magic. Almost immediately Rarity could see the formation of Twilight's fur starting to grow back in various patches over her body. And almost immediately she saw Twilight doing her best to scratch at her skin in response to the growth. "I really hate this part of it all," she mumbled as she unfolded her wing to try and get to a spot on her back. Unfortunately alicorn flexibility had nothing on human flexibility and dexterity. Times like this made her wish she actually had fingers to use. "I really should invest in a backscratcher if I'm going to keep doing this..." Rarity watched, but only momentarily, before determining that watching wasn't called for; rather this was a time that called for acting. Without a word, she moved over to Twilight's side. "Sit down, darling," she stated simply. "Rarity?" Twilight asked. "Sit down," Rarity repeated. Twilight didn't know what Rarity had in mind, but as insistent as she was, asking questions for clarity might not get her anywhere in a reasonable amount of time. Instead she simply opted for sitting down, and waiting to see what she was up to. As soon as she did, she felt Rarity running her front hooves along her back. "Oh! Oh that's good!" she stated as she leaned into it. She was about to say how much better that felt compared to grinding herself against the palace walls, much like a bear would a tree. But such comparisons died in her throat, and nothing but a squeak was emitted as Rarity's hooves found their way to the spot of a particularly annoying itch she'd desperately been trying to get. She never would have thought to ask Rarity to actually scratch her back, as she assumed that would be a big imposition to introduce under the current circumstances. But she wasn't about to tell Rarity to stop doing it if it was of her own volition. Despite how much care she gave them, her hooves had just the right amount of coarseness, and just the right angles around the edges, to make it pleasant to feel them running up and down her itchy back. More than once it got one of her legs twitching, her hoof clacking against the crystal flooring. "Oh that felt good. Thanks," Twilight said and sighed contentedly, her back no longer driving her nuts with unbearable itching. But much to her curiosity, Rarity's hooves were continuing along her back. However they weren't moving about nearly as vigorously as before. Instead they were trailing gently along her back, causing her to giggle as it ran along her spine. "Rarity, what're you doing back there?" "I'm sorry, darling, it's just... your skin just feels so soft! I never expected it," Rarity explained as she absently trailed her hoof along Twilight's back. She'd never had experience with bare skin before, outside of her interactions with Spike, and this was quite a difference from his scales. It was so soft, and smooth, almost like it was a fine silk. But the qualities of her skin contrasted with the equal parts of firmness and softness of her muscles just below the surface, and the heat that was radiating off of her body. She had experience with feeling the bodies of her friends before, often when there was an occasion that warranted a dress being made, but this... this was just so different to experience. And then there was the matter of Twilight's fur as it slowly grew back in. At the moment it was so very short. And yet, at the exact same time it was so soft as it ran along the underside of her hooves; it was a tickling sensation she encountered, but she didn't really care. "Rarity..." It was the tone of Twilight's voice that snapped her out of her thoughts, bringing her back to the present, and what she was doing. She also became aware of the fact that Twilight had turned her head to look at her, a rosy tint on her cheeks where her fur hadn't yet grown back in. As hot as her face felt right now, it was safe to say Twilight wasn't the only one with rosy cheeks. "I... I'm sorry, darling," she stated as she pulled her hooves back and set them down on the floor. "I'm afraid I got a bit carried away..." For a moment, Twilight didn't say a single word. And it was that silence that had Rarity on edge, not knowing what she might be thinking about what had just transpired. But then she saw the grin creeping across Twilight's face. "You're not the first one. The first time I went without my fur, I pretty much did the same thing. It's definitely an interesting experience," she admitted. Rarity gave a relieved chuckle, glad to know that she hadn't done anything to make Twilight too uncomfortable with her. The way she'd acted, it certainly could've gone otherwise. Despite the calmness Twilight was exercising in the wake of everything, her behavior had still been uncalled for, and even a bit embarrassing. Not because of what she had been doing, but because of how lost she'd gotten in doing in. "I'll just... tend to all of this, so you can keep your appointment with Lyra," she offered, figuring it would be a good change of topic. "We can discuss this another time." "I really appreciate that," Twilight replied as she completely turned around to better face Rarity. "The next time we get together, remind me to tell you about the experiences I've had with textiles while nude. That's been something else." "Oh?" Rarity replied, curiosity piqued by that statement. Now that certainly sounded like it could prove to be an interesting story!