Gore)2,438 words
485. Wonna by Foals Errand564 words

475. Chaste by Knight of Cerebus

***

Twilight cursed under her breath. How had she been cornered like this, anyway? It had been a quick luncheon. Between friends, that thrice-accursed unicorn had stressed. She'd been promised tarts and biscuits and an array of delicious teas and milks. Instead she was cornered and under interrogation. She swore into the side of her mouth again.

"Swearing does not become a lady, Twilight." Rarity's grin grew a little wider, eyes shining with anticipation. Twilight gave her a sulking glance. "Now then. It was a simple question. How do you feel," she paused with relish, eyes greedily soaking in the beads of sweat that were forming on Twilight's brow, "about Celestia."

Twilight heaved a great sigh. Her eyes darted back and forth, until at last she snagged upon an escape. She offered a silent prayer. "What we have is special. I couldn't define it even if I tried." Rarity's smile fell away and Twilight's own rose triumphantly. Rarity tapped her hooves together.

"Special?"

"Yup. No way I could explain it, even if I wanted to. Unidentifiable in the extreme." She faltered. Rarity's grin was back. She'd just made a mistake.

"Mhmm, perhaps. But if it were undefined you would be searching for an explanation. Attempting to organize it. The Twilight I know wouldn't be comfortable with not knowing, let alone pleased with her own ignorance. Ergo, you're deflecting." Curse Rarity and her ability to string together coherent thoughts. Perhaps if she'd followed through with a particularly juicy rumor she might have gotten her diversion off the ground. But that would be throwing somepony else under the bus. So she volunteered up another explanation.

"Well, you're right, naturally! Look, I don't like to bring this up much," Or to lie, the pony princess thought to herself, "but there's a part of me that still needs to be, well...How can I explain it? I like being the smart pony. Celestia is--was--my teacher. How else am I supposed to be the smart pony unless I prove it to her especially?" She tried her best to look ashamed, which wasn't hard, considering she was lying through her teeth so hard she was afraid they might crack. Rarity looked empathetic. She almost let herself relax.

Rarity tilted her head. "So you use Celestia to self-actualize?" Again with the accursed line of questions. Time to play offensive.

"Why's it so important to you, anyway?" She knew the answer as well as Rarity did but dammit if she was going to be deflecting through the entire conversation Rarity was too.

"Why, my dear Twilight, it's simple friendly concern. We all have our talents. You're endlessly helping us stay organized and bringing us together. Organization is your strength. Relationships," she let a predatory air linger upon the word, "are mine. And it's easy to see that something about your relationship that pony leaves you, hmm, flustered? And not in an academic way." Rarity's smile screamed 'checkmate', but Twilight stared her down as best she could. "It was Celestia who inspired you to learn magic to begin with. It wasn't her teaching that impressed you, but her image, her prestige. You were enamored by her long before you even knew she had a school."

"W-well, you can hardly deny that Celestia is impressive. She told me you once spent half an hour kissing her hooves." She nearly melted off her own traitorous cheeks, which had turned a quite fetching shade of crimson at the mention of the k-word, with the force of her glare. "She's an inspiration to everypony. It was only after I entered her school that I really started to look up to her."

"I suppose that would make sense. But then, Rainbow Dash feels that way about the Wonderbolts, but you've never bonded with her over that. And then there's the Galas." Rarity leaned over the table. "You've been her plus-one every single Gala since you left Canterlot. You wear each other's cutie marks. You use terms of endearment with her you won't use with Cadance or even your family--"

"--Rarity--" Twilight tried to calm the oncoming storm.

"--You touch her in ways I've never seen outside of married ponies, and comfortably married ones at that--"

"--Rarity, we are friends. If I say we are friends, really, really, really close, touchy-feely, friends, then we're friends. Just friends. Nothing more, nothing less. Alright?"

"Well, if she's only just a friend, how come she gets such special treatment instead of us? I'd be offended if I didn't see what you plainly refuse to. Why I should think you might grow comfortable if you could only allow yourself to see--"

"I don't need to see anything! You only have this problem because you see romance everywhere! Whether it exists or not! Whether it needs to or should happen or whether it's a horrible, shameful, insulting thing you should never, ever bring up around someone because it might ruin their perception of you forever and you wish you could unfeel it and just be what they want and expect of you every single time you even think of them!" Twilight's eyes began to twitch, her ear flopping to one side. "And you know, you still don't understand and can't understand that love even with this, this side to it you keep pressing on towards. I can't take what she thinks I feel from her! She needs friends, Rarity! More than you'll ever know, she needs ponies who really care about her. Not sycophants or worshipers. I can't take that from her for some selfish, pathetic--crush!"

She looked like she was going to say more, but she realized by Rarity's expression that she'd lost. The truth was out. The flimsy illusion of chastity long since cast aside. Twilight deflated, wings at her side. But the glee in Rarity's eyes was gone. Rarity pursed her lips and soften the hard line that had formed in her brow. Her eyes were wide with shock. They readjusted into what Twilight guessed was understanding during the subsequent awkward pause. "Twilight, if what you feel is selfish, than why does it sound like you value her feelings so much more than yours?"

She tried to work her jaw, but only a squeak came out. She felt her heart sinking towards the floor. Rarity knew, she knew and they were actually talking about it and now everyone would know and...

"You haven't thought about this very much, have you?"

"No." She squeaked the word out, trying very hard to be as small as was physically possible.

"Because you were too ashamed to?"

"Yes." Every word came out like a mouse's sneeze. Tiny and explosive all at once.

"And you want what's best for Celestia, right? Absolutely best?"

Twilight gave a solemn nod. She screwed her eyes shut. She was a big pony. She wasn't going to cry. She wouldn't cry. She wouldn't--She felt a trail of salty water run down her cheek. Damn.

"Then you owe it to her to say." Rarity's voice came down like the world's most gentle guillotine. "If you think she deserves genuine friendship, you need to be a genuine friend."

Twilight tried not to choke on her own running nose and clammy throat, tried to stop the shaking, tried to force back the emotions that had balled up so deep inside her that they would explode out any time Celestia was so much as mentioned. "And we don't have to do it all at once." She cracked a shamefully teary eye open.

"Really?" She tried to look at Rarity through the blurry vision that she held.

"Of course not." Rarity stood up and walked around the table to her, putting a hoof on her withers. "I told you. I am here for you, and will do my best for you. And when you are ready to tell Celestia you aren't as chaste as you'd like, I will be right behind you every bit as much as you've been when you helped set up my boutiques. I am not the petty town gossip." She amended her statement at Twilight's playful, sulking look. "I am not only the town gossip." She offered her hoof to Twilight. "I am also your friend. And you, and Celestia, both deserve this resolved."

Twilight rubbed away her tears, stood her full height, and took the hoof. "Right."

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Fuzzyfurvert

Fuzzyfurvert #1 · Dec 29th, 2017 · 1 · ·

Think of it as a Late Christmas/Early New Years gift as we revive the Twilestia Collab!

ultra1437

ultra1437 #2 · Dec 29th, 2017 · · ·

8637059
We are off to a good start! Several prompts already queued up.

Knight of Lycaeus

Knight of Lycaeus #3 · Dec 29th, 2017 · · ·

8637091
It’s off to a good start, but I feel we should have somewhere Twi playing mad science in the role of Dr. Frankenstein (even if the idea is overused). Either way, it’s good to see life in this again.

Oddboy