Chapter 6: Friendship S'moresgasbord
Twilight let the hot water rush over her, then shut it off, wishing she could have let it wash away more things than just the grime from the day's long activity. Things like a memory she had thought was pushed away swirled around her mind, taunting her in a stranger's voice.
As water gurgled and dripped down the drain, silent calm came back to her mind, and she thought it had left. But, as the rush of water faded to a dribble, the voice returned.
"You think you're so special. You're not, Twilight Sparkle. You've got her name, her face, her hair, but you're not Twilight Sparkle." Flash Sentry prodded her shoulder. "You're just a fraud."
His sneer grew vile in her memory, and she reached for the water, then stopped herself. Don't hog the water. She stopped, patting the plastic cap covering the braid coiled around her head, and leaned against the wall of the shower stall, eyes unfocused.
"You're just a fake. I can't believe I ever thought you could be her." Flash shoved her aside. "Come on, guys, let's leave this loser to her loser band." His eyes flashed green as they swept over her again. "Go back to your school, poser. You'll do less damage there."
Twilight gritted her teeth against the raw, jagged pain in her heart. She'd given up her place in the band that afternoon, foisting the responsibility off on Sunset Shimmer. She'd bought what he had told her, taken it into her heart and... And what?
She turned and pressed her back against the wall, savoring the comforting support of the smooth soapstone tiles. The steam of three showers in succession before her had heated the wall until it was pleasant enough, even if it wasn’t as nice as the hot water. She closed her eyes as the heat from the steam of her own few minutes slowly cooled, and let her thoughts become more ordered. Or at least less panicked.
What he’d said had felt true. When she had studied her friends in secret, she had seen a glimmer of what he’d said. Even then she had known it was fading, but at that moment, it had felt like he was right.
But he wasn't right.
Was he?
Fluttershy's hand on hers, Rarity's fingers whispering through her hair, and Rainbow standing at her side, victorious, swept through her again. He was right about one thing. I'm not the Twilight he was infatuated with. But I'm still me. She touched the braid under the shower cap, and smiled.
She picked up the bottle of soap and the pouf, and set about scrubbing away the worst of the grit. When she was done, her scalp itched slightly from the heat, reminding her that there was probably more than a little sand tucked into her hair. Sighing, she took off the shower cap and undid her braid. Maybe Rarity can teach me how to do it myself.
Flash's voice came back to her only once more, sounding contrite after the final performance, along with her friend's reply.
"Hey, uh…” The pause was like a slap in the face. “Twilight."
She flinched away, ducking behind Sunset Shimmer. She couldn’t face him, not after what he’d said… after what she’d heard from others.
"I heard what you said, Flash Sentry," Rarity said, voice harsh as she held out an arm to bar his way. "Leave her alone. She's not ready to talk to you yet." Her voice softened to a dangerous whisper as Sunset cooed to Twilight and led her away. "I know what you said was not meant to be said, but..." Rarity leaned closer to Flash, her voice dipping again.
What Twilight heard next was not meant for her to hear, but she had.
"I know the words did not come from the spell. Nor did what you said to Sunset."
She'd heard Flash protest, but anything else Rarity hissed at him was lost in the growing cheers and tumult as the rest of the band left the stage.
Twilight shuddered, the words were still seared into her memory, but they no longer held the pain they once had. Flash really did think that about me. She turned the water on again, letting the noise of the rushing water wash the memory, and the day's grit, from her head. But not my friends.
And not me. Not anymore.
Twilight plucked at the soft white, silk top sitting on the counter whose only mark was the triplet of diamonds emblazoned on the breast, then glanced at her own purple striped one-piece pajamas. Rainbow had called them ‘granny jammies’ the first night, earning her a slap upside the head from Applejack.
As uncouthly as Rainbow had described Rarity’s proportions, she had been right. Rarity was more generously endowed than Twilight was, and the top would sit comfortably, and as modestly, as Rarity could have enjoyed.
“And modesty is important,” Twilight murmured, looking up at herself in the mirror. Rarity had even given her a sports bra of her own, though the white top was loose enough to feel decadently immodest. Or maybe that was the material lining the interior. It wasn’t silk, but it felt sinful against her skin.
Her hand drifted to brush over her own pajamas, the soft cotton feeling comfortingly familiar under her fingers. Then she pushed it gently away and unfolded the satin white top Rarity had given her before her shower.
“It would be rude to turn down her generosity.”
A few minutes later, after binding her still faintly damp hair into a ponytail, Twilight pulled the door open, and stepped out to rejoin the company of her friends.
Laughter and quiet conversation drifted up the stairwell and through the upper hall. Rarity’s voice stood out above the quieter murmurings of Rainbow Dash and Applejack.
“…and then Sunset showed us where she’d been living all that time. It never really occurred to me until she did that she must have found someplace to live.”
“It makes it even more curious why she picked on me the most,” Fluttershy said quietly. “I mean, if she was living on a farm, helping that old couple take care of their animals…”
Twilight had known, peripherally, that Sunset Shimmer had to have found some kind of living arrangements after having come to their world. That she had lived on a farm hadn’t even occurred to Twilight. She stopped at the top of the stairs, just out of sight, and listened.
“It also makes sense why she didn’t go directly after Applejack all that often,” Rarity added quietly. “Still… she must have played two-face for a long time.”
“Oh, I don’t know… she must have had some goodness in her.”
Rarity made a noncommittal noise, and the conversation died.
I wonder what kind of animals she took care of. Were they horses? Ponies? Twilight tried to imagine Sunset letting a horse eat an apple out of her hand. It wasn’t all that hard, actually.
“Who’s up next for a shower?” Twilight asked as she stepped around the corner and started down the stairs.
“Me!” Rainbow shouted, leaping up from her place by Applejack and dashed for the stairs. “Sure hope ya left some hot water!”
“I used as little as I—”
“Good!” Rainbow’s hand slapped Twilight’s rear on her way up the stairs. “Nice bottoms.”
“Eep!”
“Rainbow Dash!” Rarity called up after her. Her attention shifted to Twilight, and a small smile twitched her lips as the bathroom door slammed shut. “I don’t know what has gotten into her.”
“S’moresgasbords,” Pinkie said, rolling her eyes as she slapped her forehead. “Duh.”
“Honestly…” Rarity shook her head, eyes flicking back to Twilight. She paused a moment, one hand fluffing her own hair, then shrugged and smiled again. “Did you have a nice shower?”
“Yes,” Twilight said as she descended the last few stairs, one hand to her posterior. “It was refreshing. Though…” Her hand reached up to touch the loose ponytail. “I had to undo the braid to get all the sand out.”
“Quite alright, dear! It is my pleasure to help you again. Same style? I think you’d look delightful in a twin braid, if you don’t mind my saying so.”
“Actually,” Twilight said, lowering her hand again, “I’d like to learn how to do it myself. Can you teach me?”
“But of course!” Rarity twirled a lock of her hair, lips pursed. “It’s easiest to learn if you do it for someone else.” Her eyes shifted to Applejack.
“Sorry, Rares. I like my hair the way it is.” She lifted her stetson, then settled it back down. She poked again at the fire, then settled the brass-framed glass spark-shield in place. “Hat don’t fit right if my hair isn’t loose.”
Fluttershy peeked up from the work she was doing on another bracelet and brushed back a lock of hair from her eyes. “Um.” Her fingers plucked at the long trail of her hair, stopping just shy of where she’d confided in Twilight that she had once worn extensions after an incident with gum forced her to chop out a large tangle of it.
Twilight saw Pinkie’s eyes flick back and forth between Fluttershy and Rarity, then settle on her for just an instant as a smile grew and Twilight could almost see the idea bubble up as she took a deep breath.
“Ooh! Oh!” Pinkie’s hand shot up. “Pick me! Pick me, please!”
“Pinkie, dear, I’m afraid your hair is, and no offense meant, but your hair is a little like a master’s level class in braiding.” Rarity shook her head as she reached out to pat Fluttershy’s hand gently, and whispered something Twilight didn’t hear, but whatever it was settled Fluttershy’s not-quite-frown into a smile.
“It’s okay, really. I’m—”
“Don’t you worry, Fluttershy. Your hair is quite beautiful as it is,” Rarity said in a quiet tone as she patted the other girl’s hand. “I—”
“It’s okay, Rarity,” Twilight said quickly. “I think I’d like to try, if Pinkie’s still—”
“What kind of question is that?” Pinkie shook her head, sighed, and flipped her hair back with a huge grin. “It’s like you don’t even know me at all.”
“Well, if you’re sure.” Rarity gave Pinkie’s tangle of mane a glance, then back at Twilight, and held up a mostly finished shell wrist-band. “As soon as I get this one finished, we’ll get started.”
“Take yer time,” Applejack said, pointing at the fire just starting to chew on the fresh logs. “It’ll take this little beastie a while to come up and settle down for makin’ s’mores.”
“Why?” The fire’s orange flame seemed perfectly serviceable for cooking. “I’ve done a little reading on campfire cooking, and I thought it was best to get the food in early, to let it—”
“Food, sugarcube. This ain’t ‘food’ like you’re thinkin’. This is s’mores.” She rolled her eyes at Pinkie’s shocked gasp. “Gasbords.”
“I’ve only had s’mores once,” Twilight said, inching closer to the fire with her arms folded over the hem of the white blouse. “When I was backyard camping with Shining Armor. He did all the work.”
“Oh.” Rarity’s eyes drifted back to the bracelet she was teasing into perfection. “Hmm.”
Twilight struggled to find something to say, her hand drifting back up to touch her still damp hair, but the words she wanted to say, to describe the fun of the night she’d spent with Shining Armor and Cadance in the big tent in the backyard, stayed locked away in the recesses of her mind.
“It was…” she started, then paused another moment, searching for the right word. “Fun.”
Pinkie leaned her head gently against Twilight’s knee. “Good. Fun is good.”
Twilight’s hand moved of its own accord to brush a lock of pink hair from Pinkie’s forehead, and she smiled at the warmth under her fingertips. She let the feeling of being close cling to her, and twined her fingers through Pinkie’s hair in slow strokes, combing back the thick, tangled curls into something almost straight.
Not that they stayed straight. As soon as her fingers left, the curls bounced back into a glorious snarl again.
“Mom and dad were away for the weekend,” she said, startling herself. “Um.”
Pinkie beamed a smile up at her, and snuggled in closer against Twilight’s leg.
Twilight stared down at the other girl, unaccountably reminded of a cat snuggling in. She was surprised when Pinkie didn’t start purring. That’s silly! She’s not a cat. “So, um… with them away, they hired Cadance, my babysitter, to come watch over me.” Heat suffused her cheeks, but she forged on. “She and Shiny were kinda dating at the time, not that mom and dad knew—but I think mom at least suspected. Cady brought marshmallows and graham crackers, and Shiny had stashed away some chocolate bars.”
“Sounds like a good night,” Rarity said quietly.
Twilight swept her gaze to each of her friends in turn, and saw all eyes on her. Applejack was leaning against the other couch, arms crossed on the back cushion, watching her with an encouraging smile. Rarity and Fluttershy had stopped working on their bracelets to listen.
They’re your friends. Twilight nodded. “Shiny had just started field survival week at his JROTC club. He dragged out a big tent from the attic… well, big for me at the time. I was, I think, six?” Twilight cocked her head to the side. Cadance was still coming by regularly… and Shining had just asked her on their third date? I think. Cadance said something like that. “Yes. So… Cady and I set up the tent while Shiny…” She trailed off again as she realized she was using the baby names she’d given them. “Erm… Shining Armor, Shiny.” She blushed, shaking her head.
Rarity frowned down at her bracelet, one shell still sticking up oddly from the ordered array, and set it down carefully. She stood after another moment and crossed the room to stand next to Applejack. “Go on, dear.”
If she hadn’t been watching, Twilight wouldn’t have seen Applejack shiver as Rarity settled a hand on her back. Are they… But that was silly. They’ve both done as much for me as a friend. One glance at her hand buried in Pinkie’s hair told her she was still doing as much for a friend. It was a comfort, and it was getting a little colder, despite the fire.
“O-okay.” Twilight stroked her fingers through Pinkie’s hair slowly, letting the task of trying, and failing, to straighten it push the worry about embarrassing herself out of her mind. “S-Shiny set up the fire. Sort of.” She giggled, curling her fingers deeper into Pinkie’s hair. “He spent an hour digging out a small fire-pit in the middle of the backyard, then set out stones from dad’s rock garden all around it, and then kept on consulting his JROTC Field Guide while he set out sticks and pieces of chopped wood in it.
“Cady had to stop him and point out he was building a signal fire, not a campfire. ‘If you want to have your mom and dad know we built a fire, I think signalling the fire department is a great idea,’ she said.” Twilight shook her head as the smile grew, her fingers finding Pinkie’s ear and scratched behind it as she would for a cat.
Pinkie pushed her chin more firmly against Twilight’s leg, making a sound almost like a purr.
“Cady brought her filly scout trail guide out and gave it to him. I’ve never seen him blush so much as he set about doing what it said, but he did it. By then, Cady and I were done with the tent, and it was getting colder.”
“Ooh. Cold night, with a campfire, and s’mores?” Pinkie pressed her head up into Twilight’s hand again. Her eyes flicked to the fireplace, and she flashed a broad smile. “Sounds like fun.”
“Oh yes.” Twilight watched the fire as she brushed her hand through Pinkie’s hair. Burning wood nestled in the iron cradle, red and gold chewing vigorously at blackening wood. She watched as a splinter curled up and dropped off as a red spiral. Seconds—or minutes—later, she jumped as one of the logs made a whining hiss and popped loudly. The logs settled more firmly into the cradle with a furious crackle of sparks pelting the glass shield.
She pulled herself out of the up to see most everyone was watching the fire, too. Pinkie’s eyes were closed, and Twilight could have sworn she was… but she couldn’t be.
Twilight hesitated, fingers curled in Pinkie’s hair, then slid her hand down through the wild tangle to rest against the nape of Pinkie’s neck. She is purring. Sort of. It was more of a growl than a purr, but that was okay. It was the thought that counted.
“It wasn’t that different from this, I guess. Colder, and without a cat on my lap.” She smiled down at Pinkie, brushing a finger down the purring girl’s nose, then jerked it back when Pinkie tried to bite it.
“Hey! No biting.” She really goes all out. She resisted the urge, barely, to bap Pinkie on the nose like she had to with Spike when he got it into his head to chew on her shoes. “So… it felt good to have the right book for the job. I helped him out a little with the fire, too. Did you know that the best angle for kindling to stand is at an even sixty degrees relative to the ground?”
Every head shook slightly.
“Oh. Well, it is. Shiny said we didn’t need my protractor, but Cady came down on my side, and we made sure the base of that cone was sixty degrees all around. Within a tolerance of four degrees in either direction. I argued for two, but Cadance and Shining didn’t, and Cady asked me to measure the angles of the bends in the different twigs from top to bottom. The few that I thought were straight enough weren’t.” She sighed.
“I think, looking back, that Shiny was, well, not exactly upset, but he certainly didn’t enjoy moving the sticks around as much as we did.” She giggled again. “But Cady took a picture of that stack of kindling, and I still have it on the wall in my room.”
Applejack shared another look with Rarity. “Were you ever a filly scout?”
“Me? Goodness, no. I mean, I tried for a couple months, after Cady suggested it, but I never could seem to get into it. Mom let me focus on my schoolwork instead.” She very carefully avoided saying the word ‘quit.’ Because I didn’t quit. I chose to refocus my priorities on school instead of making macaroni drawings. “Shiny… thought I should have stayed.” She looked between them, then down at Pinkie. “Were any of you filly scouts?”
“I was,” Applejack said, nodding. “Rarity…”
“I got my fashion awareness patch.”
“There ain’t no such thing.”
“Fine. I made my fashion awareness patch. All that… wilderness, and camping. But Sweetie Belle seems to enjoy it, and I’m happy for her.”
Why do they call it ‘filly scouts’? Twilight shook the stray thought out of her head. “Maybe if Cady had been my scout leader…”
“And your folks?” Applejack asked.
“They wanted me to be happy. Just like Cadance. She arranged more sleepovers with my folks after I stopped going to scout meetings, and I don’t think she asked to be paid for most of them.” I should ask her. Twilight turned her attention to the ceiling—beyond it—and could almost see the gleaming stars twinkling in the cool night air. She almost felt Cadance’s presence with her as she stared at the constellations in her mind’s eye, and smiled as remembered excitement filled her again. She smiled dreamily, eyes closed, as she savored the moment. “It was much better than being a filly scout.”
“I just couldn’t make friends there, and the things they had us do were so… so…” She waved her free hand, and shrugged. “I wanted to do all the astronomy things on camping out nights, and the other girls just wanted to talk about how icky boys were or tell each other ghost stories. I wandered far from the fire to gaze up at the stars.”
The endless nights spent watching the stars through her telescope, tracking the motion of the heavenly bodies, charting them in her notebooks, and searching for… She shied away from that thought, turning her attention back to the fire until Pinkie patted her calf.
“Were ya looking for something? Like ponies and dragons and princesses, oh my?”
Twilight couldn’t help it; she laughed, but clamped it down to a giggle quickly. “Something like that.”
“What were you looking for?” Rarity asked quietly.
“Magic.” It just came out, buoyed by laughter. For a moment, she stared straight ahead, shock thrumming through her, then she slapped a hand over her mouth while her eyes darted from friend to friend, not really seeing them.
“That’s adorable, Twilight!” Her scout leader, Mrs. Butterscotch, patted her head gently when Twilight had admitted it with as much dignity as she could muster. “Why are you looking to the stars for magic?” She continued, her voice holding the same tone normally reserved for puppies, and children with silly but cute ideas.
Her eyes snapped shut, unable to bear seeing that in the eyes of her friends.
Then Pinkie bit her on the leg.
“Ow!” It didn’t really hurt, but the surprise made up for the absence. “What was that for?”
“Biting friends is only for when other things bite them.”
“And you got your, your…” Rarity’s strangled voice from the other side of the room cut off suddenly in a sound like a tea kettle on the verge of boiling over.
Surprised, Twilight looked down to see a dark wet spot on the white satin covering her knee. “I’m sorry, I know she didn’t—” She swallowed. “I mean, it’ll clean out, right?”
Rarity deflated as Twilight looked back up. Applejack stood at Rarity’s side, hand patting her on the shoulder. “Oh, it doesn’t matter. I suppose…” She sighed, relaxing again as the hand on her shoulder settled and kneaded slowly. “Thank you, Applejack.”
“Welcome. At least she ain’t had her s’moregasbord yet. Now that’d make a mess.”
Rarity stiffened again, but kept her mouth shut.
Pinkie pushed her nose against Twilight’s knee. “You were looking for magic?”
She found curiosity in Pinkie’s eyes, looking up at her. Twilight brushed her fingers through Pinkie’s hair, and she could have sworn she heard a purr as she did so. Applejack and Rarity were watching her carefully. From Fluttershy, sharing a brief look with her, she saw concern but, again, no disparagement.
“I—”
“Darling—”
“Sugarcube—”
Rarity and Applejack glanced at each other, then Twilight after all three of them interrupted each other. Applejack tipped her hat back with a bright smile. Twilight stayed silent.
“Twilight,” Rarity said, accepting Applejack’s concession with a slight tip of her head, “magic is real. True, it is something that every little girl, and boy, wants to be real at some point, and that you knew long before we even suspected… well we didn’t really know it was until—” She shrugged, glancing at Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie in turn. “Well, until we had our faces rubbed in it.”
A chorus of assent came bubbling up from all of the girls sitting around her, and Twilight felt that spark in her heart leaping like an ember from the fire. “I never did really let go. I found you all because I was still searching for it, even if I felt like I had to keep it secret.” She paused, taking a deep breath, and made herself say it: “I was still searching for magic.”
None of the disappointment or condescending looks she’d seen in the eyes of the few people she tried to share her deepest secret with. Moondancer’s scoffing laugh, Lyra’s barely hidden titter... that was another world, and these friends would never scoff at her. Not for believing in magic.
She looked at each of them in turn, her smile growing as relief swam up through the worry, bringing tears to blur their faces.
“Hey now,” Pinkie said from her knee, twisting around to rest her chin on Twilight’s thigh. “No crying for the victor. Unless they’re tears of...” she trailed off and reached up to brush away a tear from Twilight’s cheek, then stuck the finger, and the tear, in her mouth. “Nevermind. Cry all you want. Happy tears are okay.”
“Pinkie,” Applejack said slowly, leaning against the back of the other couch, palms rubbing slowly at her forehead, “how in the world can you tell they’re happy tears?”
“Duh. She’s smiling.” Pinkie prodded Twilight’s cheek. “You can’t smile while you’re sad.” She cocked her head. “Unless you’re crazy, I suppose. Or mad. Or something not happy.”
“I am happy,” Twilight said, shaking her head and drawing Pinkie’s hand down from the corner of her mouth. She clasped the hand in both of hers, then pressed her cheek to the warm palm. “I’m so happy that I found all of you.”
“Shoot,” Applejack said with a chuckle. “So are we.”
“Darn right—” Rarity started to say more, but she was cut off by a high pitched scream from the bathroom, followed by a thump, some muffled cursing, and then the door to the bathroom wrenching open with a thud-thump.
The thumping rush of feet heralded a very wet Rainbow Dash stuck her head around the corner and peered down at all of them, locking her eyes on Rarity after a moment.
“Rarity, I thought you said there would be plenty of hot water!”
Rarity didn’t skip a beat. “Remember what else I said! I said ‘as long as you use it sparingly!’ And I heard the shower running for the last twenty minutes!”
Rainbow stepped out around the corner, without even a towel or a single sud anywhere, and jabbed a finger at Rarity. "Twenty minutes? We've spent more than twenty minutes in the shower just today. It's only Wednesday, what did you expect to happen tomorrow?"
Twilight covered her eyes with a hand, heat rising up her cheeks, and tore her eyes away.
“I expected…” Rarity trailed off, her finger lifted in a return jab wilting as she stared up at Rainbow. “Oh. Oh, dear. Mommy and daddy must have not filled the tank.” The finger came back up after a moment. “That still doesn't change the fact that you're standing at the top of the stairs, bare for all of us to ogle! I don't care that you're used to the communal showers! Most of us aren't.”
Twilight risked a look up, and saw Rainbow standing at the top of the stairs, fists planted on her hips and a cocky smirk curling her lips. She couldn’t stop herself from looking. Rainbow’s clothes today didn’t hide much. The thought surprised her enough to jerk her eyes up to Rainbow’s face even as her own heated even more.
Rainbow wasn’t watching her, though. All of her attention was focused on Rarity’s furrow-browed countenance. “Heh. Ogling, eh?” She flipped her hair, still braided, and turned around with a sashay of her hips. “Fine, fine. I’ll get out of your delicate sensibilities.” She stopped, just before she disappeared around the edge of the wall. “You know I’m not gonna complain about cold showers, because I’m used to em. But what about you?” She winked at Rarity, wiggled her butt, and dashed back out of sight.
“That… that unrepentant…” Rarity's face was shading deeper red when Twilight tore her eyes away from the empty hallway, and the way her teeth ground audibly in the silence said it wasn't from embarrassment. After a long moment, Rarity took a deep breath and brought her hands up to her chin, then let it back out as she swept both hands back down in a smooth sweep from neck to knees.
“You okay, Rares?” Applejack asked, watching from where she leaned against the couch.
"Fine. Just… fine.” She took another deep breath, and let it out again. “She's not wrong, though," she said, her face still faintly pink. "Unless we get someone down here to top off the tank, it'll be cold showers for three more days."
Twilight shot a glance at Rarity, then back at the wall, her own cheeks still hot.
"Well," Applejack said after a moment. "This is one of those things we'll need to do if we wanna take over caring for the place." She reached out to tap the list she and Twilight had written earlier in the day, then turned her attention to Rarity. “You got someplace that normally does it?”
“My parents know,” Rarity said, hands still resting on her knees. “But we don’t have cell reception down here.”
Pinkie, still sitting with her chin on Twilight’s thigh, chirped and lifted her head. “You know what this calls for?”
Groans came from everyone but Twilight.
“What?”
“Road trip!”
Later, after Rainbow Dash had come back down, fully clothed once more, she and Twilight sat together on the couch while Pinkie and Applejack assembled the spoils of victory.
“Just lightly browned,” Applejack said, holding the trio of marshmallows just away from the low, crackling fire. “Don’t wanna get em too crusty on the outside, or they won’t stick proper.”
Pinkie turned the caramel-cinnamon-sugar glazed apple slices over and over slowly in their tub, coating and re-coating them in ooey-gooey deliciousness. “Black crusties are bad for s’moresgasbords,” she said with a short nod.
The smell of roasting marshmallows shortly filled the room with a sugared, smoky scent that twined through Twilight’s nose and set her stomach to growling. The sight of the apple slices was doing a number on her ability to stop drooling, too, as was the final garnishment of shaved, candied orange peels.
“So…” Twilight said after a moment of staring at the bowls where graham crackers and chocolate bars sat, waiting for their final toppings. “I thought they were s’mores… like we would eat them like s’mores.”
Rainbow rolled her eyes, snorted, and yawned as she stretched, flopping an arm across Twilight’s shoulders. “Nah. Unless you want to take another shower. Gooey doesn’t even begin to describe how messy these things are. but take it from me… there’s nothing better to savor on the field of victory.”
“Darn tootin’,” Applejack said with a grin that barred her teeth for just a moment. “Ooey, gooey, and darn good eatin’.”
“For junk food,” Rarity murmured from across the small coffee table, in a tone of voice not meant to be quiet.
“Junk food, skunk food.” Rainbow rolled her eyes and slapped Twilight’s shoulder. “You’re just jealous we get the first ones.”
“Skunk food?” Twilight raised an eyebrow.
Rarity raised her voice to cut through Rainbow’s. “Alliteration isn’t Rainbow’s strong suit.”
“Heh.” Rainbow slumped deeper into the plush couch cushions lining the back of the couch, pulling Twilight back with her, and raised an eyebrow. “You’re jealous. Admit it. You want—”
“I am not jealous.” Rarity huffed, and turned partially away, though Twilight could still see the faint smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
“Psh. Whatever.”
They’re teasing each other? Twilight glanced between Rainbow’s smug smile and Rarity’s halfway hidden one that she was doing her best to make appear like a scowl. The twinkle of her eyes and the way the downturned corners of her lips kept twitching upwards gave it away. Do friends do that with each other?
A moment later, Twilight laughed and shook her head. Obviously. “I’ll share some of mine with you, Rarity. If you want a taste of the first, that is.”
“No, no, that’s quite alright. I think the wait will make it even more savory than getting the first. And,” Rarity said, her eyes locked on Rainbow’s, “I’ll still have some left even after you’ve finished wolfing yours down.”
‘Yeah, yeah.” Rainbow snorted, and she yawned again, leaning her head onto Twilight’s shoulder. “Stupid cold showers…”
“I thought you didn’t mind cold showers,” Twilight whispered back as she tipped her head to rest her cheek into Rainbows still damp hair.
“I don’t,” Rainbow shrugged slightly and settled more deeply into the luxuriant cushion, closer to Twilight. “‘Sides, warm now.”
Resisting the urge to kiss the rainbow hued hair brushing her cheek, Twilight let out a quiet sigh and worked at easing her arm up behind Rainbow, trying not to think of what it felt like to hold the other girl closer. It was to relieve some of the tension from her shoulder long before it could fall asleep. That made sense. No prickling for me in the morning. The only response she got to the slow creep and twist of her arm was a succession of soft grunts as Rainbow slumped slowly against her, each one quieter and later in coming than the last.
Awkward as the position felt to Twilight, it wasn’t long before Rainbow’s breathing tapered off into the steady, slow rhythm of sleep. She watched as Pinkie and Applejack discussed the proper way to heat the apple slices, which order to put it all together in the bowl, and a host of other differences between their ideas on the best way to present and prepare the apparently mythical confection.
It began to fade as the soft buzz of Rainbow’s snore, quiet so far, thrummed against her shoulder, and her own eyes grew heavier and heavier.
She closed them for just a second, resting her cheek against Rainbow’s head and let herself relax back into the cushion at last. Just a moment. Just until they figure out their differences.
A moment later, she jerked when a hand touching her knee lightly, and she opened her eyes to a blurry white shape. She blinked once, twice, and Rarity’s face greeted her, a smile halfway parting her lips.
“Shh.” Rarity’s eyes flicked briefly left and right, and Twilight saw past her to the other girls unfurling sleeping bags again. “Would you like some help getting to your bed?”
The nonsense question tugged fitfully at her attention. I’m already in bed. She was warm, and if not exactly comfortable, she wasn’t in her own bed, and that made plenty of sense. She blinked owlishly at Rarity again, her own mind half-heartedly trying to let her know the question really did make sense.
Twilight blinked twice more up at Rarity before an abruptly stifled clash of metal rattled from the kitchen, followed by a muffled ‘Whoopsie!’ startled a yelp out of her and drove away the sleep in her mind.
The warmth against her side shifted and groaned with a muttered, half-intelligible imprecation. She looked down.
Rainbow slumped against her side, cheek resting just below her collar-bone, and was curled up so her knees touched Twilight’s. One arm, laying across Twilight’s lap, tugged at her leg, as though trying to pull up a blanket. The other was tucked against her waist.
Vaguely, she realized that she should be embarrassed, but the remnants of hazy sleep covering her thoughts turned it into satisfaction. The body against hers really was nice against the chill starting to seep into the spacious room. And Rainbow’s a friend. It’s okay with friends. Right?
The gentle hand on her knee and the smile Rarity gave her said it was. Beyond, she saw Fluttershy with her hands pressed to her mouth, failing to hide the smile blooming behind them.
Twilight gave Rarity a small shake of her head and curled her arm more tightly around Rainbow’s shoulders. “I-I think—” she cut herself off as Rainbow grumbled again and pulled Twilight closer. Mutely, she shook her head again.
“Okay.” The smile Rarity gave her grew slightly as she tucked a blanket up over Twilight and Rainbow. She’d been holding it behind her, as though she had known what the answer was going to be. “Sleep well.”
Vaguely, she heard the other girls whispering as her own eyes fell closed, and the smell of roasting marshmallows and sizzling hot cinnamon apples filled her nose with a warm delight she could almost taste.
Or maybe it was a dream.
“That’s so adorable,” a voice whispered. Fluttershy, she thought.
“Take a picture!” another one said. Pinkie?
Then she was gone, the warmth resting against her side dragging her down into a deep sleep.
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Damn it Lambent, are you trying to give me a heart attack? That last scene was far too cute to be legal.
Also this is amazing and I'm going to go re-read it now just to bask in that glorious prose.
Echoing Meridian. When the diabetes kicks in, I'm blaming you, you monster.
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You know, you two might wanna get your insulin shots pre-emptively. Waking up... well...
Edit: Whoops. Sorry 'bout that, Carabas!
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Joke's on you. I already have diabetes!
...
Wait, why am I laughing?
I wana see fan art of that last scene.
I ship the TwiDash!
Two things about this chapter:
1) That ending was just made of adorable.
2) I now want s'moresgasbord... damn it, Lambent.
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Me, too. Me, too.
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Whoops, not time for that tag yet. Or will there be time? I have not revealed all, but I have revealed some, and nobody but my editor and I know where this is ending up. At least... not until the next chapter, when the final plot point comes home after being hinted at a few times.
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1. Acquire Candied Orange Peels
2. Acquire sliced apples (peels removed) soaked in a mixture of caramel, cinnamon and sugar (melted together with water to make it gooey, don't boil, it'll caramelize too soon.)
3. Acquire Marshmallow (not Rarity)
4. Acquire Dark Chocolate (or milk, as your pleasure) Square
5. Acquire Graham Crackers.
Lightly toast the marshmallows so the outside is golden-brown and the inside gooey. Two per s'moresgasbord. Pan-sear three slices of apple, with enough gooey to caramelize when seared. Shred the orange peels. Place marshmallows on top of the chocolate square, place apples on top of the marshmallows, sprinkled shredded candied orange peel on top. Eat with fork or spoon.
Acquire sugar rush.
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You know how goofy I already am... You realize that my family would kill you if they found out that you were the cause of me having a sugar rush, right?
Too freaking cute there at the end. :D
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It is. And this is where things get more complicated.
So Twilight's searching for something that can only be found when not looking for it? How's that for a paradox? And I have to admit, while what Flash said was hurtful, it's not as bad as all that. (Especially given the fact that he was expecting someone else entirely.) What I'm really curious about is what the others are whispering around Twilight so she can't hear them (especially near the first of the story.)
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What was AJ whispering to Rainbow at the very start of the story? Well, I think that'll come up soon.
And no, in absolute terms, what Flash said wasn't 'terrible'. In absolute terms, he could have said much worse. But, his goal and (by proxy) that of the Sirens was to break up their group and cause strife. To that goal, there's not much that could be more effective (in my view).
On a more personal note, however, few people, least of all Twilight, deal with personal insults on a scale of how terrible they could have been. It was very hurtful to a girl who'd just transferred, was already a social newbie, and uncertain of her place in a new circle of friends. To her, they were pretty terrible. It's all a matter of scope. To Twilight, whose circle of acquantances at her new school was essentially just six girls, being told that she didn't belong with them--and believing it to be at least partly true--hurt a lot.
As for what she's searching for--magic--well, she has been seeking it. She's been looking for it for a long time. It does exist in her world, just not nearly as strongly as in Equestria. It does exist, but it's not exactly a measurable, scientifically quantifiable force. It is, like in Equestria, strongest around the best of friends.
Sunset Shimmer's bringing of the element of Magic into the human world brought a lot of things into alignment, and set off a lot of chains of events. That chain includes this AU's inevitable meeting of Twilight and the six girls, and the Sirens becoming aware of the increased level of magic in the world, too.
If you meant something else by what she was searching for, well, there's a lot of things we find before we were even really aware we needed them. Keys. The left sock. Friends. She wasn't looking for friends, just answers. She ended up with both.
Not really a fan of the TwiDash (Twishy and Sunlight all the way!) but I am loving everything else about this story so far; excellent job tracking Twilight's emotional journey here. I feel the description is a bit sparser than I would like in some places, but you do manage to paint a good picture of the important parts. Good work so far!
I approve of all the cutesy moments, especially Pinkiecat. That was adorable!
I'm also liking this take on the characters. It's kind of refreshing seeing these familiar characters, but with a new twist. (Or, well, characters that were designed as basically clones of familiar characters being shown as similar, but not the same.)